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Tim Bryant Biography & Facts

Kobe Bean Bryant ( KOH-bee; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, Bryant won five NBA championships and 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 a two-time NBA Finals MVP. He also led the NBA in scoring twice and ranks fourth in league all-time regular season and postseason scoring. He was posthumously voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, he was born in Philadelphia and partly raised in Italy. Recognized as the top American high-school basketball player while at Philadelphia suburb Lower Merion, Bryant declared for the 1996 NBA draft and was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick; he was then traded to the Lakers. As a rookie, he earned a reputation as a high-flyer by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest and was named an All-Star by his second season. Despite a feud with teammate Shaquille O'Neal, the pair led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Bryant was charged with sexual assault, the alleged victim being a 19-year-old hotel employee. Criminal charges were dropped after the accuser refused to testify, and a lawsuit was settled out of court, with Bryant issuing a public apology and admitting to a sexual encounter he maintained was consensual. The accusation briefly tarnished his reputation, resulting in the loss of several of his endorsement contracts. After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, O'Neal was traded and Bryant became the cornerstone of the franchise. He led the NBA in scoring in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons and was named league MVP in 2008. On January 22, 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points, the second most points scored in a single NBA game behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game. Bryant led the team to consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, and was named NBA Finals MVP on both occasions. He continued to be among the premier players in the league through the 2012–13 season when he suffered a torn achilles tendon at age 34. His next two seasons were cut short by injuries to his knee and shoulder, respectively. Citing physical decline, Bryant retired after the 2015–16 season. In 2017, the Lakers retired both his Nos. 8 and 24, making him the only player in NBA history to have multiple numbers retired by the same franchise. The all-time leading scorer in Lakers history, Bryant was the first guard in NBA history to play 20 seasons. His 18 All-Star designations are the third most all time, and he has the second most consecutive appearances as a starter. His four NBA All-Star Game MVP Awards are tied with Bob Pettit for the most in NBA history. He gave himself the nickname Black Mamba in the mid-2000s, and the epithet became widely adopted by the general public. He won gold medals on the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams. In 2018, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for the film Dear Basketball (2017). In 2020, Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and seven others, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. A number of tributes and memorials were issued, and the All-Star MVP Award was renamed in Bryant's honor. Early life Bryant was born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, the youngest of three children and the only son of Pamela Cox Bryant and former NBA player Joe Bryant. He was also the maternal nephew of NBA player John "Chubby" Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu. His middle name, Bean, was derived from his father's nickname "Jellybean". Bryant's family was Catholic and he was brought up with this faith. Bryant started playing basketball when he was three, and the Lakers were his favorite team when he was growing up. When he was six, his father retired from the NBA and moved his family to Rieti in Italy to continue playing professional basketball. After two years, they moved first to Reggio Calabria, then to Pistoia and Reggio Emilia. Kobe became accustomed to his new lifestyle and learned to speak fluent Italian. He was especially fond of Reggio Emilia, which he considered a loving place and where some of his best childhood memories were made. He began to play basketball seriously while living in Reggio Emilia. His grandfather mailed him videos of NBA games for him to study. Another source of inspiration was animated European films about sports, from which he learned more about basketball. From 1987 to 1989, his father played for Olimpia Basket Pistoia where he paired with former Detroit Pistons player Leon Douglas. Kobe worked at the games as a ball and mop boy and practiced shooting at halftime. Douglas said, "At every one of our games at halftime, it was the Kobe show. He'd get out there and get his shot up. We'd come out of the locker room at halftime and have to chase him off the court". Bryant also learned to play soccer, and his favorite soccer team was A.C. Milan. During summers, he returned to the United States to play in a basketball summer league. When he was 13, he and his family moved back to Philadelphia, where he enrolled in eighth grade at Bala Cynwyd Middle School. High school (1992–1996) Bryant earned national recognition during a spectacular high-school career at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, located in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion. He played on the varsity basketball team as a freshman. Bryant became the first freshman in decades to start for Lower Merion's varsity team, but the team finished with a 4–20 record. The following three years, the Aces compiled a 77–13 record, with Bryant playing all five positions. During his junior year, he averaged 31.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 3.8 blocks and 2.3 steals and was named Pennsylvania Player of the Year while also earning a fourth-team Parade All-American nomination, attracting attention from college recruiters in the process. Duke, Michigan, North Carolina and Villanova were at the top of his list. However, after high schooler Kevin Garnett went in the first round of the 1995 NBA draft, Bryant also began contemplating going directly to the pros. At Adidas ABCD Camp, Bryant earned the 1995 senior MVP award while playing alongside future NBA teammate Lamar Odom. While in high school, then 76ers coach John Lucas invited Bryant to work out and scrimmage with the team, where he played one-on-one with Jerry Stackhouse. In his senior year of high school, Bryant led the Aces to their first state championship in 53 years. During the run, he averaged 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4 steals, and 3.8 blocked shots .... Discover the Tim Bryant popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Tim Bryant books.