The Great Kobe Bryant
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Kobe Bean Bryant, named after the Japanese beef, is the shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. This American All-Star, along with Shaquille O'Neal led the team to three consecutive NBA Championships form 2000 to 2002, making both of them household names.
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 grew up around basketball; his father played on the Philadelphia 76'ers and was coach of the LA Sparks when he was a young child. However, the young Kobe Bryant developed an interest in soccer when his family moved to Italy.
When they moved back to the States in 1991, he gained recognition during his high school years with his basketball career. He earned a SAT score of 1080, but decided to go directly into the NBA at the age of 17, having his parent co-sign his contract with the Lakers since he could not sign on his own until he turned 18. He became the youngest player to play and 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.
In the 2002-2003 season, he achieved a stunning 30 point per game average and even posted 40 or more points in nine consecutive games. This season saw Bryant being voted to the NBA All Defensive 1st Team and the ALL NBA Team. It seemed he was destined for ever greater things; however, an arrest for sexual assault before the beginning of the 2003-2004 season greatly damaged his reputation.
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.
He floundered through the 04 and 05 seasons before breaking a franchise record with 81 points in a game and a point total that was the second highest in NBA history. During the 2006-07 season, Kobe Bryant's jersey became the top selling NBA jersey in the United States and China. In December, 2007, Kobe became the youngest player, at 29 years old, to reach 20,000 points in a career.
Bryant's appearance in the 2008 Olympics cemented his status as an international star. It was his first appearance in the Olympic Games, but Bryant was hardly a rookie when he became a gold medalist. Bryant has set and broken several records in his career.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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