KOBE BRYANT Biography - Famous Sports men and women

 
 

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KOBE BRYANT

Name: Kobe Bryant                                                                       
Nickname Black Mamba                                                                   
                                                                                       
Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an             
American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA)           
who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant is the only son of former                 
Philadelphia 76ers player and former Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe "Jellybean"     
Bryant. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they         
saw on a restaurant menu.                                                               
                                                                                       
Bryant rose to national prominence in 1996 when he became the first guard in           
league history to be drafted out of high school, and led a wave of high school         
basketball players skipping college for the NBA. Bryant and then-teammate               
Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000       
to 2002. Since O'Neal's departure following the 2004 season, Bryant has become         
the cornerstone of the Lakers' franchise, and was the NBA leading scorer during         
the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.                                                       
                                                                                       
In 2003, Bryant made headlines when he was accused of sexual assault. The               
charges were dropped after Bryant's accuser declined to testify, and the two           
sides ultimately settled the matter outside of criminal court.