Kobe Bryant: Quick Facts

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American basketball player Kobe Bryant was widely celebrated as one of basketball's all-time greats. His luminous professional career included five NBA championship wins with the Los Angeles Lakers, 18 All-Star selections, and two straight seasons (2005–06 and 2006–07) atop the league's scoring charts. He retired following the last regular-season game of the 2015–2016 season. On January 26, 2020, Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash while traveling with his 13-year-old daughter to a girls basketball game.

Facts

Also Known As	Kobe Bean Bryant • Black Mamba
Born	August 23, 1978 • Philadelphia • Pennsylvania
Died	January 26, 2020 (aged 41) • Calabasas • California
Awards And Honors	Olympic Games • Naismith Memorial 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
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
Education	Lower Merion High School (Ardmore, Pennsylvania)
Height	6 ft 6 inches (198 cm)
Weight	212 lb (96 kg)
Team	Los Angeles Lakers
Draft	Drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in the first round (13th pick, 13th overall) of the 1996 NBA draft.
Trades	Traded by the Charlotte Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac on July 11, 1996.
Debut In Nba	November 3, 1996
Position	small forward, shooting guard
Shoots	right-handed
Jersey Number	24 (Los Angeles Lakers, 2007–2016) • 8 (Los Angeles Lakers, 1997–2006)
Olympic Games Attended	Beijing 2008 • London 2012
Olympic Medals	gold in men's basketball (Beijing 2008) • gold in men's basketball (London 2012)
Games Played	1346
Points Per Game	25.0
Rebounds Per Game	5.2
Assists Per Game	4.7
Field Goal Percentage	44.7
3-Point Field Goal Percentage	32.9
Free Throw Percentage	83.7
Twitter Handle	@kobebryant
Instagram Username	kobebryant
Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In)	"The 19th Annual Animation Show of Shows" (2017) • "Daddy's Home" (2015) • "Bette" (2000) • "Moesha" (1996)
Movies/Tv Shows (Writing/Creator)	"Dear Basketball" (short; 2017) • "Detail" (2018–2019)
Published Works	"The Mamba Mentality: How I Play" (2018)
Albums	"K.O.B.E." (2000)

Did You Know?

Bryant was the first guard to be drafted into the NBA straight out of high school.
Bryant finished his basketball career with a total of 33,643 points in the regular season, placing him behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (with 38,387 points) and Karl Malone (with 36,928 points) on the scoring charts until LeBron James surpassed Bryant the day before the latter's death in January 2020.
Bryant, who spent part of his childhood living in Italy, spoke fluent Italian and gave occasional interviews in Spanish; his linguistic exploits also included forays into French and Mandarin, among other languages.