Kobe Bryant
Considered by basketball fans and critics alike as the top player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the 2000s, Kobe Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers to multiple championships while also establishing himself as one of the game's highest scoring and most skilled players. Born Kobe Bean Bryant on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he spent a portion of his childhood in Italy, where his father, former NBA veteran Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, was playing in that country's A1 and A2 leagues. The younger Bryant began playing basketball at a very early age, and upon returning to the United States in 1991, launched an impressive high school career at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Philadelphia. He led the school's basketball team to four state championships before foregoing college to begin his professional career. In 1996, Bryant was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA draft, but was soon traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. There, he became the youngest All-Star in NBA history when he was elected as a starter in the 1998 All-Star game. With the addition of coach Phil Jackson and center Shaquille O'Neal to the Lakers' roster the following year, Bryant became part of a seemingly unbeatable triangle that led the team to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002. The following year, both Bryant and the Lakers suffered setbacks: Jackson and O'Neal departed the team, and Bryant became embroiled in a high-profile sexual assault case which tarnished his career and ended several major promotional endorsements. Following the case's dismissal in 2004, Bryant would spend several years rebuilding his standing in the league. With the return of Jackson in 2006, he resumed his stellar ascent, scoring fifty or more points in consecutive games during the season and collecting his second All-Star Game MVP trophy. By 2010, Bryant had become the all-time leading scorer in Lakers history and collected his fourth and fifth championships against the Orlando Magic in 2009 and the Boston Celtics in 2010, respectively. Though subsequent years were plagued by injury, Bryant continued to play impressively into his 19th season, surpassing Michael Jordan's record in 2014 to become the NBA's third all-time leading scorer. Bryant announced on November 29, 2015 that he was planning to retire at the end of the 2015-16 season. Kobe Bryant died on January 26, 2020 at the age of 41 when the private helicopter in which he was traveling crashed. His 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant was among the other eight passengers killed in the crash.
Photos
Kobe Bryant
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Tony Parker: The Final Shot | Unknown (Character) | - | 2021 |
No Score Yet |
|
Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story | Self | - | 2019 |
100% |
|
The 19th Annual Animation Show of Shows | Narrator (Character) | - | 2017 |
69% |
|
Dear Basketball |
Screenwriter, Producer |
- | 2017 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Drew: No Excuse, Just Produce | Unknown (Character) | - | 2015 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Kobe Bryant's Muse | Executive Producer | - | 2015 |
No Score Yet |
|
Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot | Self | $40.6K | 2014 |
75% |
|
I Am Bruce Lee | Unknown (Character) | - | 2012 |
No Score Yet |
|
Kobe Doin' Work | Unknown (Character) | - | 2009 |
No Score Yet |
|
1 Love | Unknown (Character) | - | 2003 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | NBA Now! Showmen of Today | Unknown (Character) | - | 2000 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | 55% | The Kelly Clarkson Show | Guest | 2019 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Talk | Guest | 2019 |
No Score Yet | 42% | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Guest | 2008-2010 2013-2015 2018-2019 |
No Score Yet | 18% | The Late Late Show With James Corden | Guest | 2017 2019 |
No Score Yet | 44% | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Guest | 2015 2017 2019 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Ridiculousness | Guest | 2019 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Guest | 2016 2018 |
No Score Yet | 12% | The View | Guest | 2013 2018 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Extreme Weight Loss | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2015 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Conan | Guest | 2011 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Lopez Tonight | Guest | 2009-2010 |
85% | 90% | Modern Family | Kobe Bryant (Guest Star) | 2010 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Sesame Street | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2010 |
No Score Yet | 41% | The Proud Family | Himself (Guest Voice) | 2003 |
62% | No Score Yet | Bette | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2000 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hang Time | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1997 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | In the House | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1997 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Sister, Sister | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Moesha | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1996 |