Bryant was also a 12-time All-Defensive Team choice, trailing solely Duncan's 15, and nine instances he was named to the All-Defensive First Team, tied with Jordan, Garnett, and Gary Payton for probably the most all time. He was the primary guard to play 20 seasons in the NBA. He additionally received the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1997 and was its youngest winner. In his profession, Bryant scored 40-plus points in 121 video games, and 21 occasions he recorded a triple-double.

Once again he led the team in assists with 5 per recreation. The Lakers however, solely gained fifty six games, an 11-game drop off from last 12 months. They simply swept the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and San Antonio Spurs, earlier than losing their first game against the Philadelphia 76ers in OT. They would go on to win the following 4 video games and produce their second championship to Los Angeles in as many seasons. Bryant ended up making the All NBA Second staff and All NBA Defensive Team for the second year in a row. In addition, he was additionally voted to start within the NBA All-Star Game for the 3rd yr in a row .

In that first-person article, Bryant talked about how he 'obsessively hunted' Allen Iverson after AI pissed off him after a daily season game in Philadelphia. The life they led — half fairy story and part prolonged family drama — would explode in the summer of 2003 when Bryant, visiting Colorado to rehab from a knee surgical procedure, was accused of raping a 19-year-old lodge worker. Bryant’s curious background may additionally have set him apart from different players who grew up underneath very totally different conditions. He was identified to keep to himself on the staff bus, listening to music or talking on the cellphone. Some teammates considered him as distant or even aloof. In these early days, Bryant bought a Pacific Palisades residence, where he lived along with his mother and father till they ultimately moved a quarter-mile away.

Stream SHOWTIME collection, movies, documentaries, sports activities and far more all on your favorite devices. He performed for the Lakers from 1996 to 2016 and have become the face of the franchise. Kobe Bryant had a successful enterprise profession off the court docket. He had a successful basketball profession even before joining the NBA. He tragically died in a helicopter accident in January 2020 alongside his daughter Gianna.

Bryant and his daughter had been laid to rest in a personal funeral on February 7, 2020. Among his philanthropic endeavors, the basketball great partnered with the non-profit After-School All-Stars as part of the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation. He additionally ran an annual summer season camp referred to as the Kobe Basketball Academy. In July 2003, Bryant was charged with one depend of sexual assault on a 19-year-old feminine lodge worker in Colorado. Bryant said he was responsible of adultery however harmless of the rape charge. The case against Bryant was dismissed in 2004, and he settled the civil lawsuit filed by the resort employee towards him out of court.

While the Lakers swept the Blazers and defeated the Spurs 4–1, the Lakers did not have home court docket advantage towards the Sacramento Kings. The series would stretch to 7 games, the primary time this occurred to the Lakers because the 2000 Western Conference Finals. In the 2002 Finals, Bryant averaged 26.eight factors, fifty one.4% capturing, 5.8 rebounds, 5.three assists per recreation, which included scoring a quarter of the teams points. Bryant's play was notable and praised for his performance within the 4th quarter of video games, specifically the last 2 rounds of the playoffs. This cemented Bryant's status as a "clutch player." Statistically, the 2000–01 season saw Bryant carry out similarly to the previous 12 months, but he averaged 6 more factors a recreation (28.5).

Maybe my line of pondering is that of a rotary telephone. Maybe this smartphone generation enjoys sharing video games of domination. Maybe I’m the one with the problem, possibly it's right to have multiple alphas, perhaps I’m the weaker one, the selfish one. Maybe, just maybe … Either method, I refuse to change what I am.

The new NBA 2K24 is not going to solely feature a slam dunk-worthy lineup of gamers to select from, but comes in multiple covers, together with two with the legendary Kobe Bryant on entrance, which you'll acquire. We were in a battle with him, and we were attempting to be one of the best player in the world, similar to he was. I grew up with Jordan, Jordan is my favourite participant of all time. But once I got within the recreation, Kobe Bryant was that bar for all of us and make no mistake about it we were attempting to make him proud. We by no means probably spoke it, mentioned it to the media, or stated it to him, but deep down inside, that’s what we had been making an attempt to do. And I think he knew, as a end result of the best way that we competed versus each other.