Bryant led the NBA in scoring through the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. His 81-point efficiency towards Toronto in 2006 was the second-highest in NBA historical past, behind only Chamberlain's 100. He scored no much less than 50 points 24 occasions in his profession, which is third in league history behind Jordan and Chamberlain ; six occasions Bryant scored at least 60. He was just the third participant in NBA historical past to common 40 points in a calendar month, which he completed 4 times. Bryant was voted the league MVP in 2008 and led his group to the 2008 NBA Finals as the primary seed within the Western Conference. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal as a member of the united states men's basketball staff, often referred to as "The Redeem Team".

While enjoying second fiddle to O'Neal in the playoffs, Bryant had some clutch performances together with a 25-point, eleven rebound, 7 assist, four block game in recreation 7 of the Western Conference finals in opposition to the Portland Trail Blazers. He also threw an alley-oop pass to O'Neal to clinch the sport and the sequence. In the 2000 NBA Finals towards the Indiana Pacers, Bryant injured his ankle within the second quarter of Game 2 after landing on the Pacers' Jalen Rose's foot. Rose later admitted he positioned his foot underneath Bryant intentionally. Bryant didn't return to the game, and he also missed Game three as a result of damage.

Bryant's begin within the NBA wasn't as stellar as his counterparts Allen Iverson and Ray Allen. He spent a lot of time on the bench with sporadic time on the court docket. After teammate Shaquille O’Neal fouled out, Kobe put the group on his back to hold them to the win vs the Pacers in Game four of the 2000 NBA Finals. Following Kobe Bryant's untimely passing again in 2020, Pau and his family have remained shut with Vanessa and her kids, supporting them in no matter method they'll. Although emergency personnel responded as shortly as potential, they were unable to save anyone’s life. Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowksi confirmed Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna was one of the passengers who was also killed.

In the 2002–03 season, Bryant set an NBA report for three-pointers on January 7, 2003, making 12 against the Seattle SuperSonics. He averaged 30 points per sport and embarked on a historic run, posting forty or more factors in 9 consecutive games whereas averaging forty.6 in the whole month of February. In addition, he averaged 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, all career highs to that time. Bryant was once again voted to each the All-NBA and All-Defensive 1st groups, and got here in third place in voting for the MVP award. After ending 50–32 in the regular season, the Lakers floundered within the playoffs and misplaced in the Western Conference semi-finals to the eventual NBA champions San Antonio Spurs in six games. He also had a profession excessive 46.9% capturing and once once more led his team in assists.

If you literally stated, “Kobe, I wager you can’t make five in a row by dropping the ball and kicking it in from half court docket,” that motherfucker would go out there and follow it until he could do it. And that’s what folks don’t understand after they speak about champions — after they talk about a winner’s mentality. And I imply that within the truest sense … it was literally unbelievable.

Bryant's efficiency all 12 months long earned him a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team with fellow bench teammate Travis Knight. Bryant was born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, the youngest of three kids and the one son of Pamela Cox Bryant and former NBA player Joe Bryant. He was also the maternal nephew of NBA participant John "Chubby" Cox. His mother and father named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they noticed on a restaurant menu.

In 1999, Bryant appeared on a remix of "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child on the Maxi single version of the song. Bryant admitted to an adulterous sexual encounter together with his accuser but denied her sexual assault allegation. However, Bryant's attorneys requested the auction home to return the gadgets. Before the scheduled trial, a settlement was reached allowing the public sale house the sale of lower than 10% of the gadgets.

In the following three video games, Bryant had a minimal of 10 assists in three wins with a three-game whole of 39 assists, essentially the most in his career. He missed a triple-double in each game with nine rebounds twice and eight in the other. In two crucial wins in March, he scored at least forty factors and had at least 10 assists in back-to-back games, turning into the first Laker to accomplish the feat since West in 1970. Bryant surpassed Chamberlain to become the fourth-leading scorer in league history in a March 30, 2013 victory over Sacramento. Aided by the trade for All-Star Pau Gasol, Bryant led his staff to a West-leading 57–25 report. The Lakers swept the Nuggets within the first spherical and on May 6, 2008, Bryant was formally introduced as the league MVP.