Kobe Bryant was born on August 23rd 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Pamela and Joe Bryant (A former NBA player).
Kobe learned the fundamentals of basketball in Italy when he was just a boy and chose to concentrate solely on basketball when he had his growth spurt at around 11 years old. He dreamt of going straight to the NBA from high school and continued to improve his skills from 11 to age 13 when he knew he could play anyone. By the time he was 14 he was beating his former NBA dad one-on-one and knew that basketball was the sport for him.
His high school team was a big transition for him when the team went from worst to first, to state champion during his fours years with them. Kobe was in school with a young girl who's dad was a coach for the 76ers and later got a chance to perform infront of him which led to him working out with them (He still works with the same coach today).
He did as he dreamed and went straight from high school to the pros in 1996. He was transferred from Charlotte Hornets to LA Lakers and was a significant contributor as the Lakers won 56 games in 1996-1997. He scored double figures 25 times and also grabbed the spotlight at the All-Star Weekend by winning the Nestle Crunch Slam Dunk and leading all players with an event-record 31 points in the Schick Rookie Classic. In 1997 Kobe was the youngest ever player to start an NBA game. In 1998 he was voted a starter for the All-Star Game making him at 19 the youngest All-Star in NBA history. In 1998-1999 he started all 50 games for the LA Lakers (which no-one else did) and averaged 19.9ppg which put him second on the team.
The 2000 - 2001 season heralded more successes as the Lakers finished with a 56-26 record and Kobe reached a new career high with an average of 28.5 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists per game. This year they met the New Jersey Nets in the finals where they won their second title.
This consistency continued into the 2001 - 2002 season with Bryant named as MVP of the 2002 All-Star game. The Lakers record bettered the previous year finishing up at 58-24 and Kobe averaged 25 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Partnered with O'Neal the prodigious pair led the Lakers to their third title with a victory against the New Jersey Nets.
This wasn't to be repeated in the 2002 - 2003 season. Despite Kobe having his best season yet with an average of 30 points per game the Lakers failed to make it past the playoffs, falling to the San Antonio Spurs.
In the summer of 2003 Bryant reached a peak of media frenzy but this time relating to allegations off the Basketball court rather than successes on it. A young woman called Katelyn Faber, an employee at a hotel where Bryant had stayed, filed a sexual assault claim against the Lakers star, in which she accused Bryant of raping her. Investigation continued into the 2003 - 2004 NBA season before Katelyn Faber withdrew her support for the criminal prosecution. Speculation at the time and since has suggested that this was due to the fear of her personal life been publicly examined. As part of this withdrawl Kobe released a statement in which he said that he believed their encounter to be consensual but that that Faber "did not and does not view this incident the same way that I did." He later settled a civil law suit with her.
Despite the case not making it through to criminal prosecution a significant amount of damage had been done to what had previously been a clean public image regardless of his on-court critics. Further conflict, this time inside the Lakers team bewteen Bryant and Oneal over leadership issues further damaged his image but this has not stopped him having some major endorsement deals over the years including giants such as McDonald's, Adidas, Coca-Cola and Nike.
Back on the court, in the 2003 - 2004 season Bryant opted out of his contract becoming a free agent. This meant that he could leave for another team if he desired. Conflict inside the team at this time had further tarnished his public image and the rift between O'Neal and Bryant eventually became complete - O'Neal demanded a transfer and Kobe took his seat at the helm.
His first season as "leader" in 2004 - 2005 was a difficult one. He was severely scrutinized following what had now been a tumultuous couple of years. The Lakers missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade and Bryant failed to make the NBA-All Defensive Team and was demoted to the All-MBA Third Team.
With the sudden resignation of Rudy Tomjanovich as head coach during that season, the 2005 - 2006 season saw the return of Phil Jackson as LA Lakers coach. Surmounting their past differences Bryant and Tomjanovich worked hard to get the Lakers back to the playoffs. This they managed and although they didn't make it beyond the first round It may be that the Lakers now have their darkest hours behind them and that they will soon be back to the magical ways of the 1999 - 2001 season - this time with Bryant leading the way.
Kobe is currently ranked #2 in the world and continues to push his game to perfection. Regardless of the public scrutiny he has received his career highlights show just how good he is on the court.
