Born: August 23, 1978 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Height: 6 feet 6 inches Weight: 220 lb. Position: Shooting Guard NBA Team(s): Los Angeles Lakers Pro career: 10th season Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an All Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association. He currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers; he is also the son of former Philadelphia 76ers player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant. At 27 years of age and already in his 10th season in the league, Bryant is considered by many a future Hall-of-Famer and one of the greatest NBA players of his time. Contents 1 Early Life 2 NBA Career 3 Controversy and Trial 4 Honors 5 External links Early Life Bryant spent much of his childhood in Italy, where his father played professional basketball. Consequently, he speaks fluent Italian. Bryant entered the NBA at the age of eighteen after a spectacular high school career in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion, at Lower Merion High School. He was originally selected 13th by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA Draft, but they traded him on July 11, 1996 to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Vlade Divac. Though young and somewhat introverted, Bryant's immense talent made an immediate impression on his teammates on the practice court. He married Vanessa Laine on April 18, 2001 in Dana Point, California and their daughter Natalia Diamante was born on January 19, 2003. Bryant's parents initially disapproved of the marriage because of the couple's young age, but have since reconciled with Kobe. In November 2005, after Vanessa suffered a miscarriage (due to an ectopic condition) in the spring of 2005, the Bryants announced that they are expecting another child in May 2006. NBA Career Bryant's career trajectory as an NBA player out of high school has been nothing short of exceptional. By the age of 24, Bryant had already won many individual accolades, from his annual inclusion in the All-NBA teams and a seven time selection into the NBA All-Star team. Bryant, along with former teammate Shaquille O'Neal, helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers as perennial championship contenders, resulting in three consecutive NBA championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. The Lakers also ventured to the 2004 Finals against the Detroit Pistons, but lost the series four games to one. Following the loss to the Pistons, Bryant opted out of his contract to test the free agent market. After flirting with the idea of joining several teams, including the Lakers' cross-town rivals the Los Angeles Clippers, he signed a new seven-year deal with the Lakers worth over $136 million on July 15, 2004. Bryant, soaring for a breakaway dunk Bryant's looks and accomplishments on and off the basketball court made him one of basketball's most popular and marketable players. He became a spokesperson for major corporations such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola. For several years, he had an exclusive apparel and shoe deal with Adidas but is currently under a four-year, $45 million advertising contract with Nike [1]. During the 2004-05 season, dunking over Dwight Howard Much of Kobe Bryant's meteoric rise to NBA superstardom is attributed to his consummate work ethic. In each of his years in the league, Kobe showed improvement in all areas of his game, from offense to strength to defense. On-court he is a very composed and competitive player with impressive concentration, able to deliver the toughest and clutch shots at the times most needed. These attributes, for the most part, have made him a premier player in the NBA. Controversy and Trial Kobe Bryant is, however, open to a lot of criticism spawning from what critics consider a collection of personality flaws. Detractors have branded Bryant as a selfish, egotistic player who pads his own achievements at the expense of his team. These criticisms came under great discussion following sexual assault allegations stemming from his June 2003 encounter with Katelyn Faber in a Vail, Colorado hotel room. Consequently, Bryant's "squeaky-clean" image was tarnished considerably. Although these charges were eventually dropped in the fall of 2004 (a civil suit followed but has since been settled as well), Bryant's tarnished image continued to plummet. Furthering Bryant's blemished reputation was the public rift through the Laker core of O'Neal, coach Phil Jackson, and him. In well-documented episodes throughout their careers together on the Lakers, mainly over leadership of the team, O'Neal and Bryant have feuded in dramatic fashion. The 2000-era Lakers were built around the dominant center in O'Neal but Bryant seemed to tire of his formal role as "second fiddle" on the team. The two (Bryant and O'Neal) would often launch jarring verbal attacks at each other, including O'Neal's allegations of Bryant as a greedy ball-hog and Bryant's maligning of O'Neal as "fat." Bryant also clashed with coach Jackson. While offensively efficient in Jackson's "triangle offense," Bryant had a personal distaste for Jackson's brand of ball and subsequently called it "boring." In games, Bryant would often disregard the set offense completely to experiment with his own one-on-one moves, incensing the normally calm Jackson. Bryant managed to test Jackson's patience enough that the "Zen Master" demanded a Bryant trade, although Laker management rejected the request. When Jackson's coaching contract ran out following the 2003-04 season and the Lakers failed to produce a championship despite sporting hall-of-fame caliber players in Karl Malone and Gary Payton, in addition to O'Neal and Bryant, Jackson was not invited back to coach the team. Many fans attributed Jackson's departure directly to Bryant, whom Laker owner Dr. Jerry Buss championed. Buss also seemed determined to facilitate O'Neal's departure from L.A.. Bryant was a free agent and O'Neal had two more years of record-breakingly high pay left on his contract. Kobe and Shaq, now in a Miami Heat uniform For these reasons, many basketball fans have blamed Bryant for the break-up of the Lakers' dynasty after their one-sided 2004 Finals loss to the Detroit Pistons. Shaquille O'Neal was hastily traded to the Miami Heat, resulting in a complete overhaul of the Laker roster, with Kobe Bryant as its centerpiece. Bryant re-signed with the Lakers for the veteran maximum salary after a surprisingly long flirtation with the Lakers' perennially disappointing suitemates, the Los Angeles Clippers. Bryant's first chance at the helm of a team would prove to be a very rocky one, however. With his reputation already badly damaged from the proceedings in Colorado, Bryant was closely scrutinized and criticized in the 2004-05 NBA season. The first salvo came from Phil Jackson in the hastily published The Last Season: A Team in Search of its Soul. The book detailed the sordid events of the Lakers' tumultuous 2003–04 season and hurled numerous harsh criticisms of Bryant. Along with other unsavory adjectives, Jackson called Bryant "uncoachable." Then, midway through the season, Rudy Tomjanovich suddenly resigned as Lakers coach, citing the recurrence of health problems and exhaustion (although many speculated that Tomjanovich, a two-time NBA champion coach, had despaired of getting his offense to work with the Lakers' depleted and bickering personnel). Without "Rudy T," stewardship of the remainder of the Lakers' season fell to career assistant coach Frank Hamblen. Despite the fact that Kobe was the league's second leading scorer at 27.6 points per game, the Lakers floundered and missed the playoffs for the first time in many years. Honors After winning the 2002 NBA All-Star Game MVP in Philadelphia. Three time NBA champion: 2000, 2001, 2002 NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2002 NBA All-Star: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 All-NBA First Team: 2002, 2003, 2004 All-NBA Second Team: 1999, 2000, 2001 All-NBA Third Team: 1998, 2005 All-NBA Defensive First Team: 2000, 2003, 2004 All-NBA Defensive Second Team: 2001, 2002 NBA Slam Dunk Champion: 1997 Co-holds NBA record for most made 3-point field goals in one game with 12 versus the Seattle SuperSonics on January 7, 2003. Co-holds NBA record for most consecutive made 3-point field goals in one game with 9, and shares the NBA record for most consecutive made 3-point field goals in one half with 8 (both came during the same game as above). Youngest player to score 10,000 points in his career (24 years, 193 days), set March 5, 2003, vs. the Indiana Pacers. Along with Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain, one of only three players in NBA history to score 40-plus points in 9 consecutive games. Named the 1996 Naismith High School Player of the Year. Led Lower Merion H.S. to a 31-3 record, including 27 straight wins, and the PIAA Class AAAA state title as a senior (1996). USA Today and Parade Magazine's 1996 National High School Player of the Year with a seasonal average of 30.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.9 blocks per game. External links Player profile at NBA.com NBA Fantasy Basketball Stats - Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant at ESPN.comde:Kobe Bryant Search Term: "Kobe_Bryant" Categories: 1978 births | African American basketball players | Los Angeles Lakers players | NBA high school players | American basketball players | People from Philadelphia