He additionally had a career excessive forty six.9% capturing and once again led his group in assists. While making the All-Star group and All-NBA Defensive staff once more, he was also promoted to the All-NBA First Team for the primary time in his profession. The Lakers won fifty eight games that yr and completed second place within the Pacific Division behind in-state rival Sacramento Kings. In 1984, after ending his NBA career, the elder Bryant took the family to Italy, the place he performed within the Italian League. Growing up in Italy alongside two athletic older sisters, Shaya and Sharia, Bryant was an avid participant of each basketball and soccer.

While the Lakers swept the Blazers and defeated the Spurs 4–1 in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Lakers did not have home-court advantage in opposition to the Sacramento Kings. The sequence would stretch to seven video games, the primary time this had happened to the Lakers because the 2000 Western Conference Finals. However, the Lakers had been in a place to beat their division rivals and make their third consecutive NBA Finals appearance. In the 2002 Finals, against the New Jersey Nets, Bryant averaged 26.8 factors, fifty one.4% capturing, 5.8 rebounds, 5.three assists per sport, which included scoring a quarter of the team's points.

During the season, Bryant moved from twelfth to 6th place on the NBA all-time career scoring list, passing John Havlicek, Dominique Wilkins, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, and Moses Malone. Bryant completed the season averaging less than 20 pictures a sport, his fewest since the 2003–04 season. Bryant started the 1999–2000 season sidelined for six weeks due to an injury to his hand suffered throughout a preseason recreation in opposition to the Washington Wizards. With Bryant again and enjoying over 38 minutes a sport, he saw a rise in all statistical classes in the 1999–2000 season. This included leading the team in assists per sport and steals per game. The duo of O'Neal and Bryant backed with a powerful bench led to the Lakers successful 67 video games, tied for fifth-most in NBA history.

Bryant was an 18-time All-Star, which ranks second behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's and LeBron James’ 19. He was chosen a then-record 18 straight times, each time as a starter. Four times Bryant was named the All-Star MVP, a document he shares with Bob Pettit. He was selected to the All-NBA Team on 15 occasions, tied for probably the most with Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan, and his 11 first-team honors are tied for the second-most with Karl Malone. Bryant was also a 12-time All-Defensive Team selection, trailing only Duncan's 15, and nine occasions he was named to the All-Defensive First Team, tied with Jordan, Garnett, and Gary Payton for probably the most all time. He was the first guard to play 20 seasons in the NBA.

His father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, played in the NBA for a quantity of years earlier than transferring the family to Italy so he could play within the Italian basketball league. Kobe Bryant was identified for his impressive work ethic and devotion to basketball, but he also found time to take pleasure in life and pursue ventures off of the courtroom in his retirement. This marks the fourth time the Hall of Famer and Los Angeles Lakers icon has been chosen to grace the duvet. The quantity 24 within the recreation's title holds particular significance, because it represents one of many two jersey numbers Bryant wore all through his illustrious 20-year NBA career. A media village sprang up throughout the road from the Justice Center in Eagle in the course of the summer season of 2003 following an accusation of rape lodged on the basketball star. He performed for the Italian basketball group Virtus Bologna through the NBA lockout.

Kobe Bryant performed his entire20-season career for the Los Angeles Lakers. But he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, so how did he wind up in L.A.? But West knew that Bryant was something special, and thought he could in the future win titles alongside Shaquille O'Neal, a free agent in the summertime of 1996, when Bryant was draft eligible. Knowing he'd have to pay a fortune to safe famous person O'Neal, West needed to make Bryant unattractive sufficient to push him out of the NBA Draft lottery , and to the place the wage demands wouldn't be as excessive. The Charlotte Hornets had the 13th decide, they usually had been in such desperate need of a middle that they did not care a lot about Bryant.

This marked the fifth time in Bryant's career, and the primary time without O'Neal, that he made the NBA Finals. The Lakers then misplaced to the Boston Celtics in six games. Later within the season, it was reported that Bryant would change his jersey quantity from 8 to 24 initially of the 2006–07 season. Bryant's first high-school number was 24 before he switched to 33. After the Lakers' season ended, Bryant stated on TNT that he wanted 24 as a rookie, however it was unavailable because it was worn by George McCloud, as was 33, retired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant wore 143 at the Adidas ABCD camp and selected 8 by including those numbers.

It wasn’t even preseason yet, however Kobe was going full velocity. Somehow he made it look as if he was just gliding round. I don’t suppose he had performed all summer season as a result of his injury, however he nonetheless killed everybody. The first possession, he caught the rock along the baseline and hit a turn-around jumper in my face … a shot I’ve seen him hit literally a thousand instances on TV. “Hey, don’t damage your self, young fella,” Kobe uttered to me.