The Lakers were trying to trade their beginning center Vlade Divac for a player's draft rights to release wage cap space to make a suggestion to free-agent heart Shaquille O'Neal. Bill Branch, the Charlotte Hornets' head scout at the time, stated that the Hornets agreed to commerce their No. thirteen pick to the Lakers the day before the draft. Before the commerce settlement, the Hornets never considered drafting Bryant.

"He would publicly say that neither of us might cease the other," added Bryant. "I refused to consider that. I score 50. You score zero. That is what I believe. When I started guarding AI, he had 16 at the half. He completed the sport with sixteen. Revenge was candy." In the fourth quarter, as Bryant made shot after shot towards the Utah Jazz, on his method to 60 points, the world was crammed with a steady, deafening cheer. Bryant picked up a microphone afterward to address the crowd.

The Lakers finished the season with a record of 21–61, surpassing the franchise document for many losses in a season that they'd set the earlier year. Bryant wanted a sixth championship to match Jordan's complete. The Lakers began the 2010–11 season by successful their first eight video games.

Derek Fisher and Bryant with President Barack Obama in the course of the White House go to honoring the Lakers' 2009 championshipIn early September 2008, Bryant decided not to have surgery to repair his right pinkie. In the 2008–09 season, the Lakers opened the campaign by winning their first seven video games. Bryant led the staff to tie the franchise report for many wins to start the season going 17–2, and by the center of December they compiled a 21–3 record. He was chosen to his eleventh consecutive All-Star Game as a starter, and was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for December and January in addition to being named Western Conference Player of the week three times. In a sport in opposition to the Knicks on February 2, 2009, Bryant scored 61 points, setting a report for probably the most factors scored at Madison Square Garden. During the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, Bryant tallied 27 points, four assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals and was awarded All-Star Game co-MVP with former teammate O'Neal.

Every Kobe fan is conscious of his alter ego is "Black Mamba." But, the moniker's roots have a deep emotional and mental significance in Bryant's life. He explains in "Kobe Bryant's Muse" that in 2003 he was being heavily ridiculed by the gang and felt like his life was spiraling uncontrolled. So, he created the Black Mamba to detach from that reality.

Bryant was a notable in the Philadelphia space, a star at Lower Merion High School, main the squad to a state championship. He was such a hot prospect that he obtained an invite to an enormous shindig hosted by Essence journal, where Brandy also occurred to be in attendance. "When I was 17, I didn't get an opportunity to go to my very own prom," Brandy informed Zimbio.

On Thursday, it was introduced the enduring Los Angeles Laker and Hall of Famer can be featured on two totally different versions of the NBA2K24 cover. Bryant’s cover resume extends beyond “2K.” He was the star of “Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside,” which debuted in 1998 for the Nintendo sixty four. In 2018, Bryant turned the primary African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and the primary former skilled athlete to be nominated and to win an Academy Award in any class for his filmDear Basketball. On August 22, 2016, Bryant and his enterprise companion Jeff Stibel launched Bryant-Stibel, a enterprise capital firm focused on completely different companies including media, data, gaming, and technology, with $100 million in funding. In 2011, Bryant was featured in Taiwanese singer Jay Chou's single, "The Heaven and Earth Challenge" (天地一鬥, pronounced "Tian Di Yi Dou"). The proceeds for downloads of each the single and ringtones were donated to impoverished schools for basketball services and gear.

He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, setting numerous scoring information within the process. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 factors towards the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single game in NBA historical past, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point sport in 1962. He was awarded the common season's Most Valuable Player Award in 2008. After dropping in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bryant led the Lakers to 2 consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, earning the NBA Finals MVP Award on both events.