Kobe Bryant, was (born in August 23, 1978, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

—died January 26,

2020, Calabasas, California), American professional basketball player, who helped lead the Los

Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to five championships (2000–02 and

2009–10).

Bryant’s father, was a professional basketball player who spent more playing in Italy, where Bryant

went to school. When his family returned to the United States, Bryant played basketball at Lower

Merion High School.

Bryant opted to forgo college and declared himself eligible for the NBA draft when he graduated

from high school. The Charlotte Hornets chose him with the 13th pick of the 1996 draft. He was

traded to the Lakers shortly thereafter and became the second youngest NBA player in history when

the 1996–97 season opened. He quickly proved his merit with the Lakers and was selected for the

NBA All-Star Game in just his second season, becoming the youngest All-Star.

Bryant was forced to share the role of the Lakers’ star player with his popular and talented

teammate Shaquille O’Neal. The two had an uneasy relationship, but they found success under the

leadership of Phil Jackson, who became coach of the Lakers in 1999. They were meshed into an

incredible effective combination, and, when Bryant was 23, the Lakers has won three consecutive

NBA championships.

With Bryant, the Lakers returned to the finals in 2004, Bryant emerged as the team’s leader.

Bryant won his fourth NBA title in 2009, and he was named the finals MVP.

He was leader of the Los Angeles Lakers until 2016 when he retired following the last regular-

season game of the 2015–16 season.

In addition to the NBA career he was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s basketball

teams at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games. In 2015 Bryant

wrote the poem “Dear Basketball,” and two years later it served as the basis for a short film of the

same name, which he also narrated. The work won an Academy Award for best animated short film.

In 2018 Bryant published the book The Mamba Mentality: How I Play, in which he described his

approach to basketball; On January 26, 2020 at the age of 41, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old
daughter were in a group traveling to a basketball game in a helicopter when it crashed, and killing

all nine people.

He was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.