KOBE

"Mamba, Out."

2023-2024 PReview From KID To CHAMP To LEADER TO LEGEND



MAMBA MENTALITY

KOBE

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CONTENTS PAGE 2 HISTORY OF KOBE 'BEAN' BRYANT

PAGE 3 & 4 CAREER OF NUMBER 8 & 24

PAGE 5 AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS

BLACK MAMBA

KOBE BRYANT

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KOBE BEAN BRYANT Kobe Bean Bryant was born in the United States on August 23, 1978. Joe Bryant, who was his father, was a well-known basketball player. At age six, Kobe's family relocated to Italy. Kobe returned to the United States when he was 13 and joined the basketball team at his new school. For the first time in a very long time, the school won the state championship. HISTORY

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CAREER OF "THE MAMBA" Kobe had always envisioned himself as a successful professional basketball player. He quit school when he was 17 years old to pursue his passion. Kobe joined the LA Lakers, a team that he had admired since he was a small boy, a few months after becoming 18 years old. Kobe had a very successful career playing with the LA Lakers for the following 20 years. Throughout his tenure, the team won the National Basketball Association (NBA) finals multiple times. In 2016, Kobe formally announced his decision to stop playing basketball.

Bryant, then 19 years old, was selected as a starter for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game during his second season with the Lakers, making him the league's youngest All-Star ever. The shooting guard then teamed up with great center Shaquille O'Neal to win three straight NBA titles, and from 2002 to 2004 he was selected to the first team of the NBA. Additionally, he signed multi-year endorsement contracts with prominent companies including Adidas and Sprite. Despite the Lakers' problems following O'Neal's departure in 2004, Bryant excelled. He topped the league in scoring both that year and the following year with 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006, the secondhighest single-game total in NBA history.

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CAREER OF "THE MAMBA" Bryant led his team to the NBA Finals in 2008, where they were defeated by the Boston Celtics. That year, Bryant won the award for Most Valuable Player. The Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals of 2009 to claim victory. Bryant attended the memorial service for his friend and legendary musician Michael Jackson shortly after. The Lakers defeated the Celtics the next season to claim their second consecutive championship.

Bryant put a lot of effort into getting back on the court after tearing his Achilles tendon in April 2013, but only six games into the 2013–2014 season before breaking his knee. The seasoned All-Star eclipsed Michael Jordan for third place all-time in NBA scoring in December 2014, but his season was cut short by injury for the third consecutive year in January 2015 after suffering a torn rotator cuff. Even though Bryant was able to make a comeback in time for the 2015–2016 NBA season, he nonetheless struggled along with his inexperienced Lakers teammates. He declared his intention to retire at the conclusion of the current campaign in November 2015. He posted on the website of The Players' Tribune, "This season is all I have left to give. "My body knows it's time to say goodbye, but my heart can take the beating and my mind can withstand the strain."

KOBE

CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS Bryant was chosen by the Charlotte Hornets as the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. A month later, he was moved to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac. He and his then-teammate Shaquille O'Neal guided the Lakers to three straight NBA titles from 2000 to 2002. Bryant became the focal point of the Lakers organization after O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat at the conclusion of the 2003– 04 campaign. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, which ranks second in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point performance and is the highest output for a guard. In the 2007–08 regular season, Bryant won the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) and guided the Lakers to the 2008 NBA Finals as the top seed in the Western Conference. Bryant also won two Olympic gold medals with the U.S. men's basketball team, first with the 2012 Summer Olympics team. In 2009 and 2010, he helped the Lakers win two more titles, winning MVP of the Finals honors both times.

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AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS Bryant is currently ranked fourth in both the league's all-time post-season and regular-season scoring lists. He has been named to 15 All-NBA Teams (eight of which were All-NBA First Teams) and 12 All-Defensive Teams (nine times to the AllDefensive First Team). He was chosen to play in the NBA AllStar Game 18 times, and he won the All-Star MVP Award in 2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011 (he shared the 2009 award with Shaquille O'Neal). In 2020. In his career, he has 1 80-point game, 6 60-point games (including his final game), 26 50point games, and 134 40-point games. At 37 years old, he became the oldest player to score 60 points in a single game on April 13, 2016, and set the 2015-16 regular season point total.