At the time of the writing of this text he was third on the all-time NBA scoring record. He was chosen to the All-NBA Team fifteen times and the All-Defensive Team twelve times. His high school group received the state championship his senior 12 months. To continue Kobe's mission in creating a positive influence for underserved athletes and boys & women in sports activities, please consider donating to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation.

Bryant began the 1999–2000 season sidelined for six weeks due to an injury to his hand suffered during a preseason game against the Washington Wizards. With Bryant back and enjoying over 38 minutes a recreation, he saw an increase in all statistical categories in the 1999–2000 season. This included leading the team in assists per sport and steals per sport.

"Even though I play like shit, I've worked actually, really exhausting to not play like crap and I do everything I presumably can. And I feel good about that", he stated. Bryant driving towards the basketDuring the 2006–07 season, Bryant was selected to his ninth All-Star Game look, and on February 18, he logged 31 points, 6 assists, and 6 steals, incomes his second profession All-Star Game MVP trophy. Over the course of the season, Bryant became involved in a quantity of on-court incidents. On January 28 while making an attempt to draw contact on a possible game-winning jump shot, he flailed his arm, putting San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginóbili in the face together with his elbow. The foundation given for the suspension was that Bryant had performed an "unnatural motion" in swinging his arm backward.

Bryant was awarded his first NBA Finals MVP trophy upon profitable his fourth championship, reaching series averages of 32.4 factors, 7.four assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.four steals and 1.4 blocks. On January 22, 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points in a victory towards the Toronto Raptors. In that very same month, Bryant also became the first player since 1964 to score 45 points or more in 4 consecutive video games, becoming a member of Chamberlain and Baylor as the one players ever to take action. Bryant completed in fourth place within the voting for the 2006 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, but received 22 first place votes—second solely to winner Steve Nash. The Los Angeles Lakers posted a 45–37 report, an eleven-game enchancment over the previous season, and the whole squad gave the impression to be clicking. The first guard to ever be taken out of excessive school, Bryant was chosen as the 13th overall draft choose by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996.

However, he was as soon as once more sidelined after knee surgery and didn't take part in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. The 1998–99 season marked Bryant's emergence as a premier guard in the league. With beginning guards Van Exel and Jones traded, Bryant started every game for the lockout-shortened 50-game season. During the season, Bryant signed a 6-year contract extension price $70 million.

A heated feud between the duo and a loss within the 2004 NBA Finals was adopted by O'Neal's trade from the Lakers after the 2003–04 season. Following O'Neal's departure Bryant became the cornerstone of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise. He led the NBA in scoring through the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, setting numerous scoring data within the process. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high eighty one points in opposition to the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single recreation in NBA historical past, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point sport in 1962. He was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award in 2008.

This marked the fifth time in Bryant's profession, and the first time with out O'Neal, that he made the NBA Finals. The Lakers then lost to the Boston Celtics in six games. Later within the season, it was reported that Bryant would change his jersey number from 8 to 24 firstly of the 2006–07 season. Bryant's first high-school number was 24 before he switched to 33. After the Lakers' season ended, Bryant stated on TNT that he wished 24 as a rookie, but it was unavailable because it was worn by George McCloud, as was 33, retired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant wore 143 on the Adidas ABCD camp and chose 8 by including these numbers.

Why LeBron James Is Worth $100 Million to the Lakers, Win or LoseIf all James did was win basketball video games, that might be greater than enough. January 26, 2023, is the third anniversary of the death of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and 7 others who perished in a helicopter crash in California. NBA Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant was introduced Thursday as the cover athlete for NBA 2K24. It's the fourth time Bryant will be on the quilt of NBA 2K. One of the greatest sports photographers of all time, Walter Iooss Jr captured award-winning photographs of the most important names, including Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant. The marketplace for the late basketball player’s memorabilia has grown since his dying.