kobe bryant
Lower Merion, Ardmore, Philadephia -
Bypassed college by electing to enter the NBA directly from
high school,
becoming the first ever player in Los Angeles history to
do so. Finished as the all-time leading scorer in Southeastern
Pennsylvania history (2,883). As a senior, voted USA Today's
National High School Player of the Year after averaging
30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.8
blocked shots per game. Led the Aces to the class AAAA Champions
High School Player of the Year.Selected by Charlotte in
the first round (13th overall) of the 1996 NBA Draft. Draft
rights traded by the Hornets to the LA Lakers for Vlade
Divac.Made his NBA debut at the age of 18 years, 2 months
and 11 days old, becoming the youngest NBA player ever to
appear in a league game. Participated in the Rookie Game,
where he scored a rookie game record 31 points, and won
the Slam Dunk Championship during the 1997 NBA All-Star
Weekend.Was named after a type of steak (Kobe) seen on a
restaurant menu prior to his birth. He is fluent in Italian
after spending part of his childhood in Italy. Enjoys reading,
playing video games and lists Star Wars as his all-time
favourite movie. His father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant,
played eight NBA seasons for Philadelphia, the San Diego
Clippers and Houston. Has two older sisters, Sharia and
Shaya.
Kobe Bryant is the son of former NBA player Joe "Jellybean"
Bryant ... In his second season he was voted a starter for
the 1998 All-Star Game, becoming at 19 the youngest All-Star
in NBA history.
2000-2001:
Appeared in 68 games, averaging 28.5 points, 5.9 rebounds
and 5.0 assists in 40.9 minutes ... Ranked among league
leaders in scoring (4th), field goal percentage (.464/37th),
free throw percentage (.853/18th), and minutes played (40.9/7th)
... Recorded a career-high-tying six steals 4/10 vs. Phoenix
... Registered eight double-doubles (points/rebounds) and
two triple-doubles (points/rebounds/assists) on the season
... tallied 44 points, nine rebounds and a career-high-tying
five blocked shots in playing the entire 48 minutes 2/2
vs. Charlotte ... Converted a franchise record 23 free throws
(23-26) in tallying a game-high 47 points 1/30 against Cleveland
... Set a franchise record for most free throws converted
in a half by making 17 free throws in the second half 1/30
at Cleveland ... Tallied the first triple-double of his
career with 26 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high 11
assists 1/15 vs. Vancouver ... Named NBA Player of the Month
for December when he averaged 32.3 points, 4.8 rebounds
and 4.9 assists in 16 games ... Was ejected for the first
time in his career after receiving two technical fouls 12/20
at L.A. Clippers ... Named NBA Player of the Week for games
played between 12/18 and 12/24 (second time he has won the
award) ... Scored 30+ points in 24 games, 35+ in 15 games
and 40+ on six occasions ... Converted a career-high 20
field goals (20-26) 12/21 @ Houston ... Scored 40 points
in a career-high 52 minutes 12/17 at Toronto ... Recorded
career-highs in field goals attempted (35), and points (51)
12/6 @ Golden State ... Scored 30+ points in five consecutive
games for the first time in his career 11/8 at San Antonio
(32), 11/12 vs. Houston (37), 11/14 vs. Denver (31), 11/16
against Sacramento (31) and 11/18 at Denver (32) ... Missed
14 games due to various injuries (nine games - sore left
foot; two games - viral infection; three games - moderately
sprained right ankle).Appeared in 16 postseason games, averaging
29.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 43.4 minutes
... Played a postseason career-high 52 minutes 6/6 vs. Philadelphia
... In the Western Conference Finals against San Antonio,
averaged 33.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 42.0
minutes (four games) ... Shot .514 (54-105) in the Western
Conference Finals ... Handed out a postseason career-high
11 assists 5/27 vs. San Antonio ... Tallied postseason career-highs
in points (48), rebounds (16), free throws made (17) and
free throws attempted (19) 5/13 at Sacramento ... Recorded
postseason career-highs in field goals made (19) and field
goals attempted (35) 5/19 against San Antonio.
1999-2000:
Selected to the 1999-2000 All-NBA Second Team ... Named
to the 1999-2000 NBA All-Interview Second Team ... Selected
to the 1999-2000 NBA All-Defensive First Team ... Named
the NBA Player of the Week (4/10 - 4/16), averaging 29.7
points, 7.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds ... Tallied 33 points,
10 rebounds and 6 assists in a 106-103 OT win over Seattle
on 4/10 ... Registered 24 points and 14 rebounds in a 90-89
win at Sacramento on 3/26 ... Recorded 28 points, 7 assists
and 6 rebounds in a 109-101 win over Phoenix on 3/24 ...
Posted a career-high 40 points to go along with 10 rebounds
and 8 assists in a 109-106 win over Sacramento on 3/12 ...
Tallied 30 points in a 109-92 win at Golden State on 3/9
... Scored 31 points in a 101-85 win over Houston on 2/27
... Netted 15 points as a starter in the 2000 NBA All-Star
Game ... Totaled 25 points and 13 rebounds in a 95-86 win
over Cleveland on 1/19 ... Scored 30 points (27 in the first
half) in a 130-95 win over Denver on 1/10 ... Posted 31
points in a 110-100 win in Seattle on 1/8 ... Notched 26
points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in a 118-101 win over
the Clippers on 1/5 ... Recorded 28 points, 12 assists and
7 boards in a 97-88 win in Minnesota on 12/17 ... Registered
30 points and 7 rebounds in a 95-88 win in Atlanta on 12/16
... Tallied 19 points and 6 rebounds in his first game after
coming off the injured list on 12/1 ... Activated from the
injured list on 12/1, after missing first 15 games of the
season with a fracture of fourth metacarpal in his right
hand
1998-1999:
Named to the 1998-99 All-NBA Third Team after leading the
Lakers in steals (1.44 spg) and ranking 2nd on the team
in scoring (19.9 ppg, 15th in the NBA) and free-throw percentage
(.839, 20th) ... Logged 9 double-doubles and led the Lakers
in scoring in 11 games ... Scored 19 of his 28 points in
the 3rd quarter, adding 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked
shots, in a 91-84 win over the Seattle SuperSonics on 5/2
... Registered 25 points, a game-high 9 assists and 5 rebounds
against the Seattle SuperSonics on 4/11 ... Recorded a game-high
29 points (11-20 FG, 7-8 FT), 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 3
assists in a 99-91 win over the New York Knicks on 3/28
... Scored 33 of his career-high 38 points (15-24 FG) in
the 2nd half, adding 4 assists and 3 rebounds, in a 113-104
victory over the Orlando Magic on 3/21 ... Scored 9 straight
points in the 3rd quarter, totaling a game-high 32 points
(11-19 FG, 10-12 FT), 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocked
shots, in a 101-95 win over the Phoenix Suns on 3/3 ...
Posted 26 points and career-highs of 13 rebounds and 9 assists
against the Denver Nuggets on 2/22 ... Registered 23 points
and a career-high 13 rebounds against the Seattle SuperSonics
on 2/21 ... Notched 5 consecutive double-doubles to open
the season, averaging 21.0 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.40
spg and 1.60 bpg, from 2/5 to 2/11
1997-1998:
Scored 25 points and added 3 assists in a 102-98 victory
over the Utah Jazz on 4/19 ... Posted 20 points (7-11 FG)
and 4 rebounds in a 117-105 victory over the New Jersey
Nets on 4/2 ... Registered 23 points (8-12 FG, 5-5 FT),
3 rebounds and 3 assists in a 107-86 victory over the Denver
Nuggets on 3/23 ... Recorded 21 points (7-10 FG, 7-8 FT),
a team-high 7 assists and 4 rebounds in a 131-92 win over
the Denver Nuggets on 2/19 ... Made his first start of the
season, totaling 17 points and 4 rebounds, against the Portland
Trail Blazers on 2/10 ... Posted a team-high 18 points and
6 rebounds, becoming the youngest All-Star in NBA history,
in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game in New York ... Teamed with
Lisa Leslie of the WNBA's L.A. Sparks in the inaugural Nestle
Crunch All-Star 2ball during All-Star Saturday ... Registered
26 points (6-10 FG, 13-13 FT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists and
3 steals in a 122-115 win over the Portland Trail Blazers
on 2/4 ... Recorded 22 points, a career-high 7 assists and
3 rebounds in a 121-114 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves
on 1/30 ... Totaled 26 points and 5 rebounds against the
New Jersey Nets on 1/28 ... Posted 25 points (7-12 FG, 3-4
3FG, 8-10 FT), 5 rebounds and 3 assists in a 119-109 win
over the Phoenix Suns on 1/21 ... Registered 21 points (6-9
FG, 8-9 FT) and 5 rebounds in a 108-99 victory over the
Miami Heat on 1/17 ... Scored a career-high 33 points, hitting
3-of-5 three-pointers, and grabbed 3 rebounds against the
Chicago Bulls on 12/17 ... Recorded a game-high 30 points,
3 rebounds and 3 assists in a 119-89 victory over the Dallas
Mavericks on 12/14 ... Totaled 27 points (8-15 FG, 2-4 3FG,
9-10 FT) and 5 rebounds in a 119-102 win over the Houston
Rockets on 12/12 ... Posted 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
and 4 steals in a 119-102 victory over the L.A. Clippers
on 11/23 ... Registered 25 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds
and 3 steals in a 132-97 victory over the Golden State Warriors
on 11/9 ... Recorded 23 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds
in a 104-87 victory over the Utah Jazz on 10/31
1996-1997:
Playing at shooting guard, point guard and small forward,
Bryant appeared in 71 games as a rookie, including six starts,
and averaged 7.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in
15.5 minutes ... He averaged 11.3 ppg in the last 13 games
of the seaon and 12.4 ppg in the 26 games in which he played
20+ minutes ... He was chosen to the NBA All-Rookie Second
Team ... Bryant scored a career-high 24 points, shooting
9-for-11 from the field, in a 109-85 win at Golden State
on April 8 ... The 24 points were the most by a Laker reserve
all season ... He scored in double figures 25 times and
four times had 20+ points ... He ranked third on the team
in free throw percentage at .819, fourth in three-pointers
with 51 and fifth in three-point percentage at .375 ...
He became the youngest player to ever start an NBA game
on January 28 at Dallas, when he was 18 years, five months,
five days ... He's the second-youngest player in NBA history,
behind Portland's Jermaine O'Neal ... Bryant was one of
the stars of the All-Star Weekend. He led all scorers in
the Schick Rookie Game with an event-record 31 points, then
came back to become the first Laker ever to win the Nestle
Crunch Slam Dunk later that night, posting a score of 49
out of a possible 50 in the final round ... Bryant appeared
in all nine of the Lakers' playoff games in a reserve role,
ranking fifth on the club in scoring at 8.2 ppg ... He scored
22 points in Game 3 of the First Round against Portland
and 19 in Game 3 of the Conference Semifinals against Utah.
PRE-NBA:
Bryant was the all-time leading scorer in Southeastern Pennsylvania
schoolboy history with 2,883 points, breaking the marks
of NBA legend and Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain (2,359
points) and former St. Joseph's player Carlin Warley (2,441
points) ... Bryant led his high school team to a 77-13 record
in his last three seasons and was a four-year starter ...
His father, Joe, played eight NBA seasons for the Philadelphia
76ers, San Diego Clippers and Houston Rockets, and is a
former assistant coach at La Salle ... As a senior at Lower
Merion High School, Bryant was selected by USA Today and
Parade Magazine as the National High School Player of the
Year ... He was also named Naismith Player of the Year,
Gatorade Circle of Champions High School Player of the Year
and to the McDonald's All-America Team. Bryant averaged
30.8 ppg, 12 rpg, 6.5 apg, four spg and 3.8 bpg ... He led
Lower Merion to Class AAAA state title with a 31-3 record.
Bryant scored a career-high 50 points vs. Marple Newtow
and scored 34 points to go along with 15 rebounds, six assists
and nine blocks to lead Lower Merion to District I Class
AAA title over Chester ... He scored 117 points and was
named Most Outstanding Player in Prestigious Beach Ball
Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
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