Curiously enough, Kobe Bean Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard is named after the Japanese beef. Along with Shaquille O'Neal, this All-Star player led the Lakers to no less than three consecutive NBA Championships (in 2000, 2001 and 2002).
When Shaq left in 2003, Kobe Bryant became the star of the Lakers, leading the NBA in scoring in 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. Kobe is an 11 time NBA All-Star, 3 time NBA Champion and voted the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2008. This basketball hero won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics for the US Men's Basketball team.
Kobe is no stranger to basketball, his father played for the Philadelphia 76'ers and coached the Los Angeles Sparks until Kobe was six years old. The family moved to Italy, where Kobe actually became interested in soccer, which he would have pursued had they stayed in Italy.
When his family returned to the US in 1991, Bryant began playing on his high school basketball team, where he was a star player. He decided against college despite his good academic record, instead entering the NBA at 17. His parents had to co-sign his contract with the Lakers, since he was still a minor; Bryant became the youngest person ever to start in an NBA game.
In his first year, he earned a spot on the NBA All Rookie second team and gained recognition by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest. By 1998-99, he was a premiere guard in the league and being compared to basketball greats like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. In 1999, with new coach of the Lakers, Phil Jackson, he started his rise to the elite class as one of the best shooting guards in the league.
Kobe Bryant averaged 30 points per game and posted 40 or more points in nine consecutive games during the 2002-03 season. He was voted to the All0NBA and All Defensive 1st teams for the first time in his career. Before the next season would start, Kobe Bryant went through arrest for sexual assault and his reputation was badly damaged.
In the 2003-2004 season, Bryant was criticized by many, including his coach who complained in writing that he was becoming uncoachable. He suffered another hit to his reputation with the Lakers first failure to make it to the NBA playoffs in more than ten years.
His next two seasons were not among his best; however, this was until breaking a Lakers record by scoring 81 points in a single game and amassing the second highest point total in the history of the NBA. His jersey became the top selling jersey in the US and China during the 2006-2007 season. He became the youngest player to ever reach a career total of 20,000 points in December 2007, when he was 29.
In 2008, with his Olympic career, he became an internationally known basketball star. While it was his first time going to the Olympics, he was certainly no rookie when his team won the gold medal. Kobe Bryant is a basketball great who has set many milestones, despite his ups and downs. - 16887
When Shaq left in 2003, Kobe Bryant became the star of the Lakers, leading the NBA in scoring in 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. Kobe is an 11 time NBA All-Star, 3 time NBA Champion and voted the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2008. This basketball hero won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics for the US Men's Basketball team.
Kobe is no stranger to basketball, his father played for the Philadelphia 76'ers and coached the Los Angeles Sparks until Kobe was six years old. The family moved to Italy, where Kobe actually became interested in soccer, which he would have pursued had they stayed in Italy.
When his family returned to the US in 1991, Bryant began playing on his high school basketball team, where he was a star player. He decided against college despite his good academic record, instead entering the NBA at 17. His parents had to co-sign his contract with the Lakers, since he was still a minor; Bryant became the youngest person ever to start in an NBA game.
In his first year, he earned a spot on the NBA All Rookie second team and gained recognition by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest. By 1998-99, he was a premiere guard in the league and being compared to basketball greats like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. In 1999, with new coach of the Lakers, Phil Jackson, he started his rise to the elite class as one of the best shooting guards in the league.
Kobe Bryant averaged 30 points per game and posted 40 or more points in nine consecutive games during the 2002-03 season. He was voted to the All0NBA and All Defensive 1st teams for the first time in his career. Before the next season would start, Kobe Bryant went through arrest for sexual assault and his reputation was badly damaged.
In the 2003-2004 season, Bryant was criticized by many, including his coach who complained in writing that he was becoming uncoachable. He suffered another hit to his reputation with the Lakers first failure to make it to the NBA playoffs in more than ten years.
His next two seasons were not among his best; however, this was until breaking a Lakers record by scoring 81 points in a single game and amassing the second highest point total in the history of the NBA. His jersey became the top selling jersey in the US and China during the 2006-2007 season. He became the youngest player to ever reach a career total of 20,000 points in December 2007, when he was 29.
In 2008, with his Olympic career, he became an internationally known basketball star. While it was his first time going to the Olympics, he was certainly no rookie when his team won the gold medal. Kobe Bryant is a basketball great who has set many milestones, despite his ups and downs. - 16887
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