Kobe Bean Bryant (/'koUbi:/ KOH-bee; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was a professional basketball player from the United States. He was a shooting guard with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for his entire 20-year career (NBA).
Bryant played high school basketball in Italy before moving on to play college ball at two American universities: the University of North Carolina and the University of Tennessee. He then went on to have a 12-year NBA career as a Laker where he became one of only three players in league history to score 100 points in a game (along with Jerry West and LeBron James). In addition to being a three-time NBA champion, he is also regarded as one of the greatest shooters of all time due to his ability to make shots from long range.
Bryant was named the MVP of the 2000 NBA All-Star Game after making all five of his shot attempts. He is also one of four players in NBA history to score 50 or more points in each of their first five seasons.
On January 26, 2020, Bryant was found dead in his hotel room at age 41. An autopsy reported that he had died of acute intoxication caused by cocaine and alcohol. His death came less than two days after he called his wife and daughter to tell them that he was okay following a violent collision between his car and a truck on Southern California highways.
The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, he declared for the 1996 NBA draft and was selected with the 13th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets; he was then traded to the Lakers... Kobe Bryant.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 8, 24 |
| Career history | |
| 1996–2016 | Los Angeles Lakers |
It was a different era in the NBA. Kobe Bryant was the son of NBA star Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, and as a high schooler, he frequently scored on players of the Philadelphia 76ers on open runs. Guards, however, did not make the transition from high school to the NBA at the time.
In 1996, when Kobe entered the University of Tennessee, Michael Jordan had just retired after his third season with the Chicago Bulls, and Scottie Pippen was still playing alongside him. As a result, many believed that there was no chance for someone like Kobe to make it into the league. But thanks to his father's influence, and also because of his own talent, he changed all of this. From 1996 to 1999, Kobe played for the University of Tennessee, during which time he averaged 27.4 points per game. In addition, he became one of the first guards to use moves outside of the traditional ball screen to attack defenders.
When he entered the NBA in 2000, almost everyone thought that he would fail because he was only 6 feet 4 inches tall and didn't look like he could handle himself against players much bigger than he was. However, thanks to his incredible work ethic and passion for the game, he improved very quickly, and within three seasons, he was among the top scorers in the NBA.
Kobe Bryant, full name Kobe Bean Bryant, was an American professional basketball player who played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and died on January 26, 2020 in Calabasas, California (2000-02 and 2009-10). Why are basketball hoop heights set at ten feet?
He was a professional African American basketball player who went on to become an investor and businessman. Kobe Bean Bryant was born as the youngest of three children and the only son of former NBA player and former WNBA head coach Joe "Jellybean" Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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