Curiously enough, Kobe Bean Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard is named after the Japanese beef. Along with Shaquille O'Neal, this All-Star player led the Lakers to no less than three consecutive NBA Championships (in 2000, 2001 and 2002).
After O'Neal's retirement in 2003, Bryant was the brightest star on the Lakers, becoming the NBA's highest scorer in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. An 11 time NBA All-Star, Bryant is also a 3 time NBA Champion, the 2008 NBA MVP and a gold medalist as a member of the US Olympic Men's Basketball Team in the 2008 Summer games.
Bryant has spent his entire life around the sport; his father was a player for the Philadelphia 76'ers and also coached the Los Angeles Sparks while Kobe was a child. Basketball almost lost Bryant to soccer when the Bryant family moved to Italy and he took an interest in soccer.
Upon returning to the US in 1991, he began playing basketball on his high school team. Despite being a high achiever academically, Bryant opted to enter the NBA draft at the age of 17. His parents had to co-sign his contract with the Lakers since he was still too young to do so on his own! Kobe Bryant was in fact the youngest player to start in an NBA game.
He earned a place on the NBA Rookie all second team in his first season as a Laker and won the 1997 Slam Dunk competition. He was recognized as one of the best guards in the league by 1998, when he began to garner comparisons to Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.
During the 2002-2003 season, Bryant averaged 30 points per game, posting 40 or more in nine games in a row! He was also voted to the All Defensive 1st Team and the All NBA team in this season. However, his reputation was badly tarnished before the following season due to his arrest for sexual assault.
His coach complained that Kobe had become uncoachable in the 2003-2004 season. His stock further declined with the failure of the Lakers to make the playoffs, the first time this had happened in more than a decade.
His next two seasons were not among his best; however, this was until breaking a Lakers record by scoring 81 points in a single game and amassing the second highest point total in the history of the NBA. His jersey became the top selling jersey in the US and China during the 2006-2007 season. He became the youngest player to ever reach a career total of 20,000 points in December 2007, when he was 29.
In 2008, with his Olympic career, he became an internationally known basketball star. While it was his first time going to the Olympics, he was certainly no rookie when his team won the gold medal. Kobe Bryant is a basketball great who has set many milestones, despite his ups and downs. - 24585
After O'Neal's retirement in 2003, Bryant was the brightest star on the Lakers, becoming the NBA's highest scorer in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. An 11 time NBA All-Star, Bryant is also a 3 time NBA Champion, the 2008 NBA MVP and a gold medalist as a member of the US Olympic Men's Basketball Team in the 2008 Summer games.
Bryant has spent his entire life around the sport; his father was a player for the Philadelphia 76'ers and also coached the Los Angeles Sparks while Kobe was a child. Basketball almost lost Bryant to soccer when the Bryant family moved to Italy and he took an interest in soccer.
Upon returning to the US in 1991, he began playing basketball on his high school team. Despite being a high achiever academically, Bryant opted to enter the NBA draft at the age of 17. His parents had to co-sign his contract with the Lakers since he was still too young to do so on his own! Kobe Bryant was in fact the youngest player to start in an NBA game.
He earned a place on the NBA Rookie all second team in his first season as a Laker and won the 1997 Slam Dunk competition. He was recognized as one of the best guards in the league by 1998, when he began to garner comparisons to Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.
During the 2002-2003 season, Bryant averaged 30 points per game, posting 40 or more in nine games in a row! He was also voted to the All Defensive 1st Team and the All NBA team in this season. However, his reputation was badly tarnished before the following season due to his arrest for sexual assault.
His coach complained that Kobe had become uncoachable in the 2003-2004 season. His stock further declined with the failure of the Lakers to make the playoffs, the first time this had happened in more than a decade.
His next two seasons were not among his best; however, this was until breaking a Lakers record by scoring 81 points in a single game and amassing the second highest point total in the history of the NBA. His jersey became the top selling jersey in the US and China during the 2006-2007 season. He became the youngest player to ever reach a career total of 20,000 points in December 2007, when he was 29.
In 2008, with his Olympic career, he became an internationally known basketball star. While it was his first time going to the Olympics, he was certainly no rookie when his team won the gold medal. Kobe Bryant is a basketball great who has set many milestones, despite his ups and downs. - 24585
About the Author:
When you want a question answered about sports, be sure to visit http://nothingbutsports.info. Here you will find sports trivia, tips, quotations, and resources about all kinds of sports activities. Visit us today at Nothing But Sports.
No comments:
Post a Comment