Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant is names after the Japanese beef. He is an All-Star player who along with fellow Laker Shaquille O'Neal led the team to three consecutive NBA Championships between 2000-2002.
With the departure of O'Neal in 2003, Bryant became the team's star player, leading the league in scoring in the 2005-2006 and 206-2007 seasons. He is an 11 time NBA All-Star, 2008's NBA MVP and 3 time NBA Champion, along with having won a gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics as part of the US Olympic Men's Basketball team.
Kobe is no stranger to basketball, his father played for the Philadelphia 76'ers and coached the Los Angeles Sparks until Kobe was six years old. The family moved to Italy, where Kobe actually became interested in soccer, which he would have pursued had they stayed in Italy.
When his family returned to the US in 1991, Bryant began playing on his high school basketball team, where he was a star player. He decided against college despite his good academic record, instead entering the NBA at 17. His parents had to co-sign his contract with the Lakers, since he was still a minor; Bryant became the youngest person ever to start in an NBA game.
In his first season with the Lakers, Bryant secured a spot in the NBA Rookie all second team and won the 1997 Slam Dunk competition. By 1998, he was already acknowledged as one of the NBA's best guards; the following year, he became a shooting guard as well and started to be compared to Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
Kobe Bryant averaged 30 points per game and posted 40 or more points in nine consecutive games during the 2002-03 season. He was voted to the All0NBA and All Defensive 1st teams for the first time in his career. Before the next season would start, Kobe Bryant went through arrest for sexual assault and his reputation was badly damaged.
In the 2003-04 season, his coach would write that Bryant had become uncoachable and he was being scrutinized and criticized. While Kobe was the NBA's second leading scorer, the Lakers missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. Kobe's status dropped with the NBA that year.
He floundered through the 04 and 05 seasons before breaking a franchise record with 81 points in a game and a point total that was the second highest in NBA history. During the 2006-07 season, Kobe Bryant's jersey became the top selling NBA jersey in the United States and China. In December, 2007, Kobe became the youngest player, at 29 years old, to reach 20,000 points in a career.
Bryant's appearance in the 2008 Olympics cemented his status as an international star. It was his first appearance in the Olympic Games, but Bryant was hardly a rookie when he became a gold medalist. Bryant has set and broken several records in his career.
With the departure of O'Neal in 2003, Bryant became the team's star player, leading the league in scoring in the 2005-2006 and 206-2007 seasons. He is an 11 time NBA All-Star, 2008's NBA MVP and 3 time NBA Champion, along with having won a gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics as part of the US Olympic Men's Basketball team.
Kobe is no stranger to basketball, his father played for the Philadelphia 76'ers and coached the Los Angeles Sparks until Kobe was six years old. The family moved to Italy, where Kobe actually became interested in soccer, which he would have pursued had they stayed in Italy.
When his family returned to the US in 1991, Bryant began playing on his high school basketball team, where he was a star player. He decided against college despite his good academic record, instead entering the NBA at 17. His parents had to co-sign his contract with the Lakers, since he was still a minor; Bryant became the youngest person ever to start in an NBA game.
In his first season with the Lakers, Bryant secured a spot in the NBA Rookie all second team and won the 1997 Slam Dunk competition. By 1998, he was already acknowledged as one of the NBA's best guards; the following year, he became a shooting guard as well and started to be compared to Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
Kobe Bryant averaged 30 points per game and posted 40 or more points in nine consecutive games during the 2002-03 season. He was voted to the All0NBA and All Defensive 1st teams for the first time in his career. Before the next season would start, Kobe Bryant went through arrest for sexual assault and his reputation was badly damaged.
In the 2003-04 season, his coach would write that Bryant had become uncoachable and he was being scrutinized and criticized. While Kobe was the NBA's second leading scorer, the Lakers missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. Kobe's status dropped with the NBA that year.
He floundered through the 04 and 05 seasons before breaking a franchise record with 81 points in a game and a point total that was the second highest in NBA history. During the 2006-07 season, Kobe Bryant's jersey became the top selling NBA jersey in the United States and China. In December, 2007, Kobe became the youngest player, at 29 years old, to reach 20,000 points in a career.
Bryant's appearance in the 2008 Olympics cemented his status as an international star. It was his first appearance in the Olympic Games, but Bryant was hardly a rookie when he became a gold medalist. Bryant has set and broken several records in his career.
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