Kobe Bean Bryant was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) and was the

youngest of the children, after his sisters Shaya and Sharia, of Joe Bryant, a basketball professional
who at the time played for the Philadelphia 76ers, and Pamela Cox Bryant. When Bryant was six
years old, his father left the NBA and moved with his family to Italy, in which league he continued
his professional career. Little Bryant acclimated to the lifestyle and became fluent in not only Italian
but also Spanish. At an early age he learned to play soccer and even stated that if he had not left
Italy he would have become a soccer player. His favorite team were AC Milan and FC Barcelona;
and he was a recognized fan of Frank Rijkaard and Ronaldinho
Son of former basketball player Joe Bryant, he is considered one of the best basketball players of all
time. He won five NBA championships with the Lakers and two Olympic gold medals with the US
team, was an eighteen-time All-Star, fifteen-time All-NBA (eleven in the first five), twelve-time All-
Defensive Team member , MVP of the Season in 2008, MVP of the Finals in 2009 and 2010 and top
scorer in the league in 2006 and 2007. In 2020 he was posthumously inducted into the Basketball
Hall of Fame.
In 1991 Bryant returned to the United States, where he attended Lower Merion High School in
Ardmore, in Philadelphia's Lower Merion Township, and joined the Aces, his basketball team.
Despite having a mediocre first year, in which they only managed 4 wins and 20 losses, in the next
three years the team accumulated a balance of 77 wins and 13 losses, a period in which Bryant
played in all positions on the court. He became the highest scorer in the history of the institute with
2883 points, after surpassing the mark of Wilt Chamberlain (2359 points) and Carlin Warley (2441
points). USA Today and Parade Magazine honored him as a senior with the Naismith Prep Player of
the Year Award and he was named to the McDonald's All-America Team. After finishing high school,
he decided to skip college and enter the NBA draft, becoming the sixth player in the league to do so
up to that point.
Bryant made the jump to the NBA directly from Philadelphia's Lower Merion Institute in 1996, the
year in which he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the Draft, but was immediately traded to
the Lakers. Along with Shaquille O'Neal, he led his team to three consecutive NBA titles between
2000 and 2002. After O'Neal's departure in 2004, Bryant became the lone star of the Los Angeles
team and from 2005 and 2007 he achieved several annotation records. After losing the Finals in
2008, he led the Lakers to back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. Injuries plagued the last
few years of his career and he retired after the 2015-16 season.
Bryant ranks fourth on the list of top scorers in NBA history, both in the regular season and in the
playoffs, and the 81 points he scored against the Toronto Raptors
He died on January 26, 2020 at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash in the Californian town of
Calabasas along with eight other people (including the pilot), including his 13-year-old daughter
Gianna Maria.
In November 1999, Bryant, 21, met Vanessa Laine, 17. The two began dating and within six months
were already engaged, in May 2000, when Laine was a senior at Marina High. School in Huntington
Beach, California. To avoid the media, she finished her studies independently. According to
Vanessa's cousin, Laila Laine, there was no prenuptial agreement. They were married on April 18,
2001 in Dana Point, California.
His first daughter, named Natalia Diamond Bryant, was born on January 19, 2003. Natalia's birth
helped the player reconcile with his parents. Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, who was born on May 1,
2006 and who died with her father in the accident that killed him on January 26, 2020 In December
2016, the couple welcomed their third daughter, another girl named Bianka Bella. In January 2019,
the couple announced that they were expecting another daughter. Their fourth daughter, named
Capri, was born in June 2019.