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Kobe Bryant American basketball player Ask Anything Also known as: Kobe Bean Bryant Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Dec. 11, 2025 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything Top Questions

Where was Kobe Bryant born?

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

When was Kobe Bryant first named MVP in the NBA?

In 2008 Kobe Bryant was named the National Basketball Association (NBA) league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the first time in his career.

How many Olympic gold medals did Kobe Bryant win?

Kobe Bryant won two Olympic gold medals as a member of the U.S. men’s basketball teams at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games.

When was Kobe Bryant inducted into the Hall of Fame?

Kobe Bryant was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020.

When did Kobe Bryant die?

On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter were among a group traveling to a girls basketball game in a helicopter when it crashed, killing all nine people aboard.

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Kobe Bryant (born August 23, 1978, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died January 26, 2020, Calabasas, California) was an 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, Joe (“Jelly Bean”) Bryant, was a professional basketball player who spent eight seasons in the NBA and eight 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 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, where he received several national Player of the Year awards and broke the southeastern Pennsylvania scoring record set by Wilt Chamberlain with 2,883 points. 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. Bryant, a shooting guard, and O’Neal, a centre, meshed into a remarkably effective combination, and, by the time Bryant was 23, the Lakers had won three consecutive NBA championships.

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After winning their third title in 2002, Bryant and the Lakers encountered difficulties. In the 2003 playoffs the Lakers were defeated in the second round. Several months later Bryant was accused of raping a young woman in Colorado. He maintained his innocence, and all charges were eventually dropped when the woman refused to testify after a monthslong campaign of harassment by fans of Bryant and some members of the media. (Bryant later apologized, admitting that he realized his accuser did not believe their sexual encounter was consensual, and a civil suit was settled in 2005.) The incident greatly tarnished his image. Led by Bryant, the Lakers returned to the finals in 2004, but they were upset by the Detroit Pistons. O’Neal subsequently was traded, and Bryant emerged as the team’s sole leader.

Bryant led the league in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, and in 2008 he was named the league’s MVP for the first time in his career. Bryant won his fourth NBA title in 2009, and he was named the finals MVP after averaging a stellar 32.4 points per game in the series. He led the Lakers to their third straight Western Conference championship in 2009–10, and he was once more named NBA finals MVP after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series. The Lakers won division titles in each of the following seasons but were eliminated in the second round of each postseason. Entering the 2012–13 season, the Lakers added superstars Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to their lineup and were considered one of the preseason title favourites, but the disappointing team was barely on pace to qualify for the final Western Conference playoff spot when Bryant ruptured his Achilles tendon in April 2013, causing him to miss the rest of the season. (The Lakers were ultimately the eighth and final playoff seed that season and were swept in their first series.) He returned to the court in December 2013 but played in just six games before fracturing his kneecap and missing the remainder of that season as well. Bryant returned for the beginning of the 2014–15 season before he was again injured, tearing his rotator cuff in January 2015. He played almost all of the following season but again struggled, with a career-low .358 shooting percentage while averaging 17.6 points per game, and he retired following the last regular-season game of the 2015–16 season.

Quick Facts In full: Kobe Bean Bryant (Show more) Born: August 23, 1978, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. (Show more) Died: January 26, 2020, Calabasas, California (aged 41) (Show more) Awards And Honors: Olympic Games Basketball Hall of Fame (2020) Most Valuable Player (2008) 18x NBA All-Star selections 2x NBA scoring champion 5x NBA champion 15x All-NBA selections 12x All-Defensive selections 4x NBA All-Star Game MVP 2x NBA Finals MVP NBA Most Valuable Player (2007–08) selected for NBA All-Rookie team, 1996–97 (Show more) Notable Family Members: son of Joe Bryant son of Pamela Bryant married to Vanessa Laine Bryant (m. 2001) father of Natalia Diamante Bryant (b. 2003) father of Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant (b. 2006) father of Bianka Bella Bryant (b. 2016) father of Capri Kobe Bryant (b. 2019) brother of Sharia Bryant brother of Shaya Bryant (Show more) Education: Lower Merion High School (Ardmore, Pennsylvania) (Show more) Height: 6 ft 6 inches (198 cm) (Show more) Weight: 212 lb (96 kg) (Show more) Team: Los Angeles Lakers (Show more) Draft: Drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in the first round (13th pick, 13th overall) of the 1996 NBA draft. (Show more) Trades: Traded by the Charlotte Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac on July 11, 1996. (Show more) Debut In Nba: November 3, 1996 (Show more) Position: small forward, shooting guard (Show more) Shoots: right-handed (Show more) Jersey Number: 24 (Los Angeles Lakers, 2007–2016) 8 (Los Angeles Lakers, 1997–2006) (Show more) Olympic Games Attended: Beijing 2008 London 2012 (Show more) Olympic Medals: gold in men's basketball (Beijing 2008) gold in men's basketball (London 2012) (Show more) Games Played: 1346 (Show more) Points Per Game: 25.0 (Show more) Rebounds Per Game: 5.2 (Show more) Assists Per Game: 4.7 (Show more) Field Goal Percentage: 44.7 (Show more) 3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 32.9 (Show more) Free Throw Percentage: 83.7 (Show more) Twitter Handle: @kobebryant (Show more) Instagram Username: kobebryant (Show more) Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In): "The 19th Annual Animation Show of Shows" (2017) "Daddy's Home" (2015) "Bette" (2000) "Moesha" (1996) (Show more) Movies/Tv Shows (Writing/Creator): "Dear Basketball" (short; 2017) "Detail" (2018–2019) (Show more) Published Works: "The Mamba Mentality: How I Play" (2018) (Show more) Albums: "K.O.B.E." (2000) (Show more) See all related content Show More

In addition to his professional accomplishments, 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; the title reflected a nickname he bestowed upon himself during his playing days, “The Black Mamba.” On January 26, 2020, Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter were among a group traveling to a girls basketball game in a helicopter when it crashed, killing all nine people aboard. He was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later that year.

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