This person is one of the most explosive and best shooting guards in the National Basketball Association. In 1996, he was the first guard in NBA league history to be drafted out of high school. Together, Shaquille O'Neal and this person have won three consecutive NBA championships in 2000-2002. Read on to find more about this NBA star.
This person was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest child and the only son of Joe and Pam Bryant. Joe Bryant was a player for the Philadelphia 76ers and the coach for the Los Angeles Sparks. He was named after a piece of Kobe, a famous meat in a Japanese restaurant menu in Japan. Joe and Pam also had two daughters, named Shaya and Sharia. When he was six, his father left the NBA so he could play professional basketball in Italy. He moved his whole family.
This person because used to the lifestyle in Italy, and he could speak fluent Italian. At an early age, he learned to play soccer. If he stayed in Italy, he would have tried to become a professional soccer player. In 1991, he moved backed to the United States. At his high school, Lower Merion in a Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion, he had earned national recognition for his basketball skills. This person got a score of 1080 on his SATs. That for sure would earn him a basketball scholarship to good colleges. If he had gone to college, he publicly said he would've gone to Duke. However, he decided to make the skip from high school to the NBA.
This person was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996 as the 13th overall pick. He made a good impression on Jerry West, the current general manager of the Lakers at that time. He saw incredible potential in this person during pre-draft workouts. After the draft, this person said he did not want to play for the Hornets. Fifteen days after the draft, Jerry West traded their star center, Vlade Divac for him.
During his first season in the NBA, he wasn't a real star player He came off the bench. On the depth chart, he was behind Eddie Jones and Nick Van Excel. He didn't play many minutes, but as the season continued, he started to see more playing time. In his first year, he won the Slam Dunk Contest.
In this persons second season, he got more playing time. He was runner up for the NBAs Sixth Man Awards, and he became the youngest ever in NBA history to be an NBA All-Star starter. Yes, he still came off the bench. He wasn't a starter yet, because he didnt have the experience to work with Shaquille ONeal and win a championship for the Lakers. During the 1998 to 1999 season, Nick Van Excel and Eddie Jones were traded, due to Shaquille ONeals request. He then became a starting guard.
They did not do any better, as they were beaten four games to none in the Western Conference semi-finals. The next year, a great coach named Phil Jackson became the coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. This was during the 1999 season. In this year, he became on e of the best shooting guards in the league. He started to make the All-NBA teams, All-Star teams, and All-Defensive teams. The Lakers quickly became championship contenders. Phil Jackson used the triangle offense he had used with the Bulls to win 6 championships, and helped this person and Shaquille ONeal win 3 championships.
During the 2002-2003 season, this person was accused of rape. A person named Katelyn Faber accused him of this horrible crime. This led to the termination of endorsement contracts with McDonalds, Nutella, and Ferrero Spa. Sales from his replica jerseys fell from highs. When the police were investigating he told the police, He should have done what Shaq does
that Shaq would pay his women not to say anything, and that Shaq had paid up to 1 million for situations like this. This was a very controversial statement, as many people thought he broke locker room code. This was because he revealed confidential information, and was falsely accusing teammates to deflect attention from himself. This was later resolved, when this person agreed to apologize to Kaetlyn Faber. Here is part of his public apology. although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. The financial compensation was not released to the public.
In 2004, this person got into another dispute, this time with teammate Karl Malone. This was just before when Malone was expected to re-sign with the Lakers. This person said Karl Malone made inappropriate comments to his wife. Malone said that these comments were just jokes, and this person was overreacting. A few months later, Karl Malone decided not to rejoin the Lakers, another team, and ultimately decided to retire.
