Kobe Bryant

 Kobe Bean Bryant (/koUbi/ KOH-bee, 23 August 1978 – January 26, 2020) is an American professional basketball player. A guard at the shooting position who played all of his 20 years playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the top basketball players and scorers of all time, Bryant won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), and two-time NBA Finals MVP. Bryant also was the top scorer in the NBA in scoring two times and ranks fourth in the league's all-time postseason and regular season scoring. Bryant was inducted posthumously into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020, and was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, he was born in Philadelphia and was raised in Italy. Bryant was a top American high school basketball player at Lower Merion in Philadelphia. He declared for the 1996 NBA Draft and was chosen by the Charlotte Hornets as the 13th overall pick. The team later traded him to the Lakers. Bryant was a rookie who gained a reputation as a skilled player. He took home the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest and was later named an All-Star during the second year of his. Despite a rivalry with his teammate Shaquille O'Neal, the pair led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships between 2000 and 2002.