Kobe Bean Bryant was born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were Joe Bryant and Pamela Cox. Kobe Bryant spent most of his childhood days growing up with his two sisters in Rieti, Italy. His family brought him up in the Roman Catholic religion. His father, Joe Bryant was a professional basketball player who played eight seasons for NBA and eight more seasons playing in the Italy League. Being the son of such a great player, it didn’t come as a surprise that Kobe also had an interest in the game. His interest in basketball was ignited at a very young age of 3. He was also a good player in soccer. While growing up, his favorite team was the Los Angeles Lakers. In the year 1991, his father retired from professional basketball, and they moved back to the United States. Upon their return, he got his education from the Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Philadelphia.
In his high school basketball career, Kobe became one of the few first freshmen who were selected to play for the varsity basketball team. He was also awarded the Pennsylvanian Player of the Year award that year. In his senior year, he was awarded the Naismith High School Player of the Year, USA Today All-USA First Team Player and McDonald’s All-American. He decided to choose his NBA career over college and went straight into the NBA. In the 1996 NBA draft, he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets but was traded to Los Angeles Lakers on draft night. He became the second youngest player in NBA and performed well in his first season with the Lakers. Based on his performance, he was chosen for the NBA All-Star Game for which he became the youngest All-Star.
He participated in the Rookie Challenge event at All-Star Weekend. He also participated in the Slam Dunk Contest in 1997 and won it. He was then made to play in the Western Conference Semifinals in the playoffs. During his 1998-99 season, he signed a 6-year extension contract with the Lakers. With a lot of hard work, Bryant began getting many honors which include All-NBA, All-Star, and Champion The center guard combination of Bryant and O’Neal led the Lakers to win three championships from 2000 to 2002. He also became the youngest player to win defensive honors like All-NBA Team Second Team and All-NBA Defensive Team. In the year 2016, Bryant went on to play his final game against the Utah Jazz, after which he announced his retirement. Bryant was highly appreciated throughout his career and even at the start of his career, he was being compared to players like Magic Johnson ad Michael Jordan.
In 2001, Kobe Bryant married Vanessa Lanie in Dana Point, California. His parents were against the marriage and didn’t attend the ceremony. In the year 2003, Bryant and his wife became the proud parents of a daughter, Natalia Diamante Bryant. They welcomed their second daughter named Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant in the year 2006. In the year 2011, Vanessa filed for divorce, but in the year 2013, they announced that they had canceled their divorce. His salary was pretty high with a net worth of $260 Million.
In late January 2020, Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old little girl Gianna, and seven others passed away after a helicopter crash. The gathering was traveling to a young ladies basketball tournament at Bryant's Mamba Sports Academy. Gianna's group was coached by Bryant and was playing in the tournament. A report in February 2020 said there was no proof of motor failure in the helicopter crash and authorities still don't have the foggiest idea about what caused the accident.
| Birth Date: | 23 Aug, 1978 |
| Age: | 41 yrs |
| Occupations: | Basketball player Screenwriter |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Philadelphia |
| residence: | Lower Merion Township Newport Beach Italy |
| Education: | Lower Merion High School |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | American basketball player |
| Twitter Id: | KobeBryant |
| Spouse: | Vanessa Laine Bryant[2001-2020] |
| Net Worth 2020: | 500 million |
| Net Worth 2021: | 600 million |
