Kobe Bean Bryant was born on August 23, 1978. He was one of basketball’s greatest players.

He played his entire 20-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Los Angeles Lakers.

He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships.

Kobe was an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, and the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, ranks fourth on the league’s all-time regular-season scoring, and ranks fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list.

Kobe was the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons.

Kobe was the son of former NBA player Joe Bryant. He attended Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, where he was recognized as the top high-school basketball player in the country.

Upon graduation, he declared for the 1996 NBA draft and was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick; the Hornets then traded him to the Lakers. As a rookie, Kobe earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, and he was named an All-Star by his second season.

Despite a feud between the two players, Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002.

After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat, and Kobe became the cornerstone of the Lakers. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons.

In 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors; the second-most points scored in a single game in league history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962.

Kobe was awarded the regular season’s Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in 2008.

After the Lakers lost in the 2008 NBA Finals, Kobe led the team to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, earning the Finals MVP Award on both occasions.

He continued to be among the top players in the league through 2013 when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon at age 34. Although he recovered from that injury, he suffered season-ending injuries to his knee and shoulder, respectively, in the following two seasons. Citing his physical decline, Kobe retired after the 2015–16 season.

At 34 years and 104 days of age, Kobe became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points.

He became the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history on February 1, 2010, when he surpassed Jerry West.

During his third year in the league, Kobe was chosen to start the All-Star Game and was selected to start that game for a record 18 consecutive appearances until his retirement.

His four All-Star MVP Awards are tied with Bob Pettit for the most in NBA history.

At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team.

In 2018, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his film Dear Basketball.

Kobe died on January 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California

(As reported by Wikipedia).