Last Updated on September 14, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake
Here is the detailed information about Kobe Bryant:
- Full Name: Kobe Bean Bryant
- Nickname: Jelly Bean, Black Mamba
- Nationality: United States (born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Age: Born August 23, 1978
- Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Wingspan: 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 meters)
- Weight: 220 pounds (100 kg) during his playing career
- Height: 6 feet 4.5 inches (1.94 meters)
- Shoe Size: Size 14 (US)
- Shoe Brand: Nike Kobe 11, Nike Kobe 10, Nike Kobe 9, Nike Zoom Kobe 8, Nike Zoom Kobe 7, Nike Zoom Kobe 6, Nike Zoom Kobe 5, Nike Zoom Kobe 4, Nike Zoom Kobe 3, Adidas The Kobe II, Adidas The Kobe (Crazy 1)
- Number: #8 (Lakers), #24 (Lakers), #10 (Team USA)
- Position: Shooting guard / Small forward
- High School: Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
- College: Did not attend college (entered the NBA directly from high school)
- Draft: 1996, 1st round, 13th pick overall by the Charlotte Hornets (traded to the Los Angeles Lakers)
- Teams: Los Angeles Lakers (did not play a game for Hornets)
- 2K Rating: 98 (2K01), 95 (2K04), 99 (Lakers – general)
- Accolades:
- NBA Championships: 5 (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010)
- NBA Finals MVP: 2 (2009, 2010)
- NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP): 1 (2008)
- NBA All-Star Appearances: 18 (1998, 2000–2016)
- All-Star Game MVP: 4 (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011) — Tied for the most in NBA history.
- All-NBA Team:
- 1st Team: 11 times
- 2nd Team: 2 times
- 3rd Team: 2 times
- NBA All-Defensive Team:
- 1st Team: 9 times
- 2nd Team: 3 times
- NBA Scoring Champion: 2 times (2006, 2007)
- NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion: 1997
- NBA All-Rookie Team: 2nd Team (1997)
- Scoring and Records:
- Career Points: 33,643 (4th all-time at the time of his retirement)
- Single Game Scoring: 81 points (January 22, 2006) — Second-highest in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points.
- Most points in a player’s final NBA game: 60 points (April 13, 2016)
- Olympic Achievements:
- Olympic Gold Medals: 2 (2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London) as part of Team USA.
- Legacy and Honors:
- Jersey Numbers Retired: Lakers retired both of Kobe’s numbers, 8 and 24 — the only player in NBA history to have two numbers retired by the same team.
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Inducted posthumously in 2020.
- Academy Award Winner: Won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2018 for “Dear Basketball.”
- Kids: Four daughters (Natalia, Gianna, Bianka, and Capri)
- Siblings: One sister (Shaya)
- Retirement Age: Retired from playing in 2016 at age 37
- Supports: Philadelphia Eagles, AC Milan
Kobe Bryant was arguably the best shooting guard in NBA history, rivaling Michael Jordan. He had told Tracy McGrady that he wanted to die young when they grew up together. Kobe passed away at age 41 in a helicopter accident in Calabasas on the way to a basketball game. I sat in pubs and watched Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers go against the Boston Celtics in the 2008 and 2010 NBA Finals. I viewed those games as whether Bryant can beat the Celtics’ Big 3 of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett. He nearly did in 2008 and then he did in 2010. Kobe was the best player in those series. It was reminiscent of watching Michael Jordan. Kobe’s issues with respect in his early life remind me of the story of Dan Majerle who was originally booed by his own crowd after being drafted because nobody knew who he was. Majerle used that as motivation to show them who he was.
Notes:
- Kobe Bryant’s playing weight ranged from 212 pounds (96 kg) and 220 pounds (100 kg) during his playing career.
- Kobe Bryant’s height with shoes is between 6 feet 6 inches and 6 feet 6.5 inches tall.
Fun Facts
- He was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets but was traded to the Lakers before playing a game for the Hornets. So he spent his entire career playing for the Lakers.
- He said that the hardest player to play against in his career was Tracy McGrady.
- He spent part of his childhood growing up in Italy and said that being an outcast in Italy is what fueled his motivation to be a great NBA basketball player. Bryant didn’t feel respected during his time in Italy. What fuels a player’s “greatness” has been a hot topic in the NBA, and Shaquille O’Neal agrees that you need something to fuel you as a driving factor to be great.
- Players called him “jelly bean” because his middle name was Bean.
Quotes
- What you have to understand is that those pressures are self-inflicted. They’re self-made. It’s the imagination. So you have to be able to control your mind and understand exactly that pressure does not exist. It does not exist. We create pressure ourselves. Whether somebody’s watching or not watching, whether you make it or miss it, you’re going to get up the next day, and you’re going to learn, and you’re going to do it all over again. The cycle’s just going to keep coming, whether you make it or miss it, so why worry about it?