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How old was kobe bryant when he started playing basketball

Kobe Bryant's life in pictures

Kobe Bryant, pictured in 2007, spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images

Updated 1757 GMT (0157 HKT) January 26, 2021

Basketball legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in January 2020, along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people. He was 41.

Born in Philadelphia, Bryant started playing basketball when he was 3 and went on to become one of the NBA's greatest players. He was drafted to the NBA straight out of high school in 1996, and he was the youngest player in NBA history at that time.

Bryant played his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Lakers and won five NBA championships.

He also won two Olympic gold medals during his career, which ended with his retirement in 2016.

Bryant's youth basketball team poses for a picture in the early 1990s in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Courtesy Davide Giudici

Bryant dunks the ball in his high school gym in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, during a practice in 1996.Rusty Kennedy/AP

Bryant jokes with the media as he holds his Los Angeles Lakers jersey at a news conference in Inglewood, California, in 1996.Susan Sterner/AP

Bryant eyes the basket during the 1997 NBA Slam Dunk contest in Cleveland. Bryant was the youngest player to win the contest.Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty images

Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls eyes the basket as he is guarded by Bryant during a 1998 game in Los Angeles.Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images

Bryant sits on the sidelines during the Euro ABC camp in Berlin in 1999.Marcus Brandt/Bongarts/Getty Images/file

Shaquille O'Neal and Byrant sit on the bench before a game in 1999 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images

Bryant hugs his fiancee, Vanessa Laine, in the locker room in Los Angeles after the Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers in Game 6 of the 2000 NBA Finals to win the series 4-2. Bryant later married Laine, and they had four children.Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images/File

Bryant goes in for a slam dunk against the New Jersey Nets in January 2001.Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images

Bryant appears on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at NBC Studios in 2001.Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Bryant stands for the National Anthem at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

President Bush holds up a Lakers jersey that Bryant gave him at a ceremony for the 2001 NBA World Champions in the East Room of the White House in January 2002.Doug Mills/AP

Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, attend a news conference at the Staples Center in 2003. The NBA star proclaimed his innocence after facing sexual assault charges for the alleged rape of a 19-year-old Colorado woman. The charges were later dropped. "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did," Bryant later said in a statement. J. Emilio Flores/Getty Images

Bryant goes up for a shot between the Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce, left, and Al Jefferson during a 2006 game in Los Angeles.Branimir Kvartuc/AP

Bryant kisses his daughter Natalia during a 2008 photo session at his home in Newport Beach, California.Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images

Bryant jumps for a rebound against the Denver Nuggets during Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs.Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Bryant celebrates after Game 5 of the 2009 NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic. The Lakers won 99-86 for their 15th title and first since 2002. Bryant had 30 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists as the Lakers completed a four-games-to-one victory in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Bryant holds his daughter, Gianna, after the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals.Elsa/Getty Images

Bryant rides the Matterhorn Bobsleds with Jonathan Guerrero, 4, and his father, David Guerrero of Pomona, California, at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in 2009. The Guerreros were among thousands of Lakers fans who turned out for a special Disneyland parade honoring the Lakers' 15th World Championship.Scott Brinegar/Disney/Getty Images

US President Barack Obama chats with Bryant at a Boys and Girls Club in Washington in 2010. Obama welcomed the Lakers to honor their 2009-2010 season and their second consecutive NBA championship. Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Bryant celebrates after defeating the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals in Los Angeles.Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

Bryant joins a teaching session for fans during a 2011 promotional tour of South Korea at Korea University in Seoul.Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Bryant is injured in the second half while playing the Golden State Warriors in 2013. The injury took him out of the rest of the season.

From left, Kevin Durant, Lebron James and Bryant pose with their gold medals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.Sergio Perez/Reuters

LeBron James guards Bryant during a 2016 game between the Cavaliers and Lakers in Los Angeles. Harry How/Getty Images

Magic Johnson hugs Bryant before the final game of his career in 2016.Harry How/Getty Images

Bryant runs up the court during his final game in 2016. The Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz 101-96. Bryant scored 60 points in the game.Harry How/Getty Images

From left, Peyton Mannin, Abby Wambach and Bryant accept the Icon Award during the 2016 ESPYS at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, right, gestures while posing with Bryant alongside members of his family and city officials in 2016. The city council announced August 24 as Kobe Bryant Day. The date commemorates the numbers Bryant wore as a Laker: 8 and 24.Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Bryant walks to center court at his jersey retirement ceremony at halftime of a basketball game in 2017.Harry How/Getty Images

Bryant and filmmaker Glen Keane accept the 2018 Oscar for best animated short film. "Dear Basketball" was based on a letter Bryant wrote in 2015 announcing his retirement from basketball. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Bryant posted this photo to Instagram on Mother's Day in 2019. He and his wife, Vanessa, had four daughters: Natalia, Gianna, Bianka and Capri, who was born in June. "Happy Mother's Day @vanessabryant," Bryant wrote. "We love you and thank you for all that you do for our family. You are the foundation of all that we hold dear. I love you #mybaby #lioness #mamabear #queenmamba"Kobe Bryant/From Instagram

Bryant and his daughter Gianna attend a Los Angeles Lakers game against the Atlanta Hawks in 2019.Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images

Bryant listens to the National Anthem prior to a 2019 Lakers game against the Atlanta Hawks in Los Angeles.Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP

Kobe Bryant | Biography, Stats, & Facts

Kobe Bryant

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Born:: August 23, 1978 Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Died:: January 26, 2020 (aged 41) Calabasas California

Awards And Honors:: Olympic Games Basketball Hall of Fame (2020) Most Valuable Player (2008) 18x NBA All-Star selections 2x NBA scoring champion 5x NBA champion 15x All-NBA selections 12x All-Defensive selections 4x NBA All-Star Game MVP 2x NBA Finals MVP NBA Most Valuable Player (2007–08) selected for NBA All-Rookie team, 1996–97

Notable Family Members:: son of Joe Bryant son of Pamela Bryant married to Vanessa Laine Bryant (m. 2001) father of Natalia Diamante Bryant (b. 2003) father of Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant (b. 2006) father of Bianka Bella Bryant (b. 2016) father of Capri Kobe Bryant (b. 2019) brother of Sharia Bryant brother of Shaya Bryant

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Kobe Bryant, in full Kobe Bean Bryant, (born August 23, 1978, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died January 26, 2020, Calabasas, California), American professional basketball player, who helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to five championships (2000–02 and 2009–10).

Bryant’s father, Joe (“Jelly Bean”) Bryant, was a professional basketball player who spent eight seasons in the NBA and eight more playing in Italy, where Bryant went to school. When his family returned to the United States, Bryant played basketball at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, where he received several national Player of the Year awards and broke the southeastern Pennsylvania scoring record set by Wilt Chamberlain with 2,883 points. Bryant opted to forgo college and declared himself eligible for the NBA draft when he graduated from high school. The Charlotte Hornets chose him with the 13th pick of the 1996 draft. He was traded to the Lakers shortly thereafter and became the second youngest NBA player in history when the 1996–97 season opened. He quickly proved his merit with the Lakers and was selected for the NBA All-Star Game in just his second season, becoming the youngest All-Star.

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Bryant was forced to share the role of the Lakers’ star player with his popular and talented teammate Shaquille O’Neal. The two had an uneasy relationship, but they found success under the leadership of Phil Jackson, who became coach of the Lakers in 1999. Bryant, a shooting guard, and O’Neal, a centre, meshed into a remarkably effective combination, and, by the time Bryant was 23, the Lakers had won three consecutive NBA championships.

After winning their third title in 2002, Bryant and the Lakers encountered difficulties. In the 2003 playoffs the Lakers were defeated in the second round. Several months later Bryant was accused of raping a young woman in Colorado. He maintained his innocence, and all charges were eventually dropped when the woman refused to testify after a monthslong campaign of harassment by fans of Bryant and some members of the media. (Bryant later apologized, admitting that he realized his accuser did not believe their sexual encounter was consensual, and a civil suit was settled in 2005.) The incident greatly tarnished his image. Led by Bryant, the Lakers returned to the finals in 2004, but they were upset by the Detroit Pistons. O’Neal subsequently was traded, and Bryant emerged as the team’s sole leader.

Bryant led the league in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, and in 2008 he was named the league’s MVP for the first time in his career. Bryant won his fourth NBA title in 2009, and he was named the finals MVP after averaging a stellar 32. 4 points per game in the series. He led the Lakers to their third straight Western Conference championship in 2009–10, and he was once more named NBA finals MVP after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series. The Lakers won division titles in each of the following seasons but were eliminated in the second round of each postseason. Entering the 2012–13 season, the Lakers added superstars Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to their lineup and were considered one of the preseason title favourites, but the disappointing team was barely on pace to qualify for the final Western Conference playoff spot when Bryant ruptured his Achilles tendon in April 2013, causing him to miss the rest of the season. (The Lakers were ultimately the eighth and final playoff seed that season and were swept in their first series.) He returned to the court in December 2013 but played in just six games before fracturing his kneecap and missing the remainder of that season as well. Bryant returned for the beginning of the 2014–15 season before he was again injured, tearing his rotator cuff in January 2015. He played almost all of the following season but again struggled, with a career-low .358 shooting percentage while averaging 17.6 points per game, and he retired following the last regular-season game of the 2015–16 season.

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In addition to his professional accomplishments, he was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s basketball teams at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games. In 2015 Bryant wrote the poem “Dear Basketball,” and two years later it served as the basis for a short film of the same name, which he also narrated. The work won an Academy Award for best animated short film. In 2018 Bryant published the book The Mamba Mentality: How I Play, in which he described his approach to basketball; the title reflected a nickname he bestowed upon himself during his playing days, “The Black Mamba.” On January 26, 2020, Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter were among a group traveling to a girls basketball game in a helicopter when it crashed, killing all nine people aboard. He was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later that year.

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.

Kobe Bryant biography for children

Main Games Kobe Bryant's biography for children

Kobe Bryant
Author: Sgt. Joseph A. Lee

Occupation: Basketball player
Born: August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Aliases: Black Mamba, Mr. 81, Kobe Wan Kenobi
Most famous: Win 5 NBA championships with the LA Lakers.

Biography:

Kobe Bryant is known as one of the best basketball players in NBA history. He played defenseman for the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years. He was known for his tough defense, vertical jumping, and ability to score winning baskets late in the game. He is widely regarded as the best basketball player of the 2000s and arguably one of the best players of all time.

Where was Kobe born?

Kobe was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 23, 1978. He has two older sisters, Sharia and Shaya. His father, Jellybean Joe Bryant, was also a professional basketball player. Kobe attended Lower Merion High School in suburban Philadelphia. He was an outstanding basketball player and won several awards, including Naismith High School Player of the Year.

Kobe Bryant went to college?

Kobe decided not to go to college and went straight to professional basketball. He said that if he had gone to college, he would have chosen Duke. He was the 13th pick in the 1996 draft. The Charlotte Hornets drafted Kobe but immediately traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Vlade Divak. Kobe was only 17 years old when he was drafted. By the time he started his first season in the NBA, he was 18 years old.

Has Kobe won any championships?

Yes. Kobe won 5 NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. The first 3 championships were at the beginning of his career (2000-2002). His teammate at the time was All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal. After Shaq was traded, the Lakers took some time to recover, but they won two more championships, one in 2009.year and another in 2010.
His high school team won the state high school championship.
He won two Olympic gold medals in basketball in 2008 and 2012.
He was the NBA slam dunk champion in 1997.

Kobe Bryant D.C. Local
Posted by US Government Resignation

After a wildly successful 20-year NBA career, Kobe retired at the end of the 2016 NBA season. He scored 60 points in his last game on April 13, 2016. This was the most points scored by a player in a single game in the 2016 NBA season.

Does Kobe have any records?

Kobe scored 81 points in an NBA game, the second-highest point in a single game.
He holds the all-time career points record for the Los Angeles Lakers.
He is the youngest player to score 26,000 points in his career. He actually had many "youngest" records in the NBA, but LeBron James catches him in many categories.
Kobe was the NBA scoring champion in 2006 and 2007.
He was selected to the NBA Team fifteen times and to the All-Defensive Team twelve times.
At the time of this writing, he was the third all-time leading scorer in the NBA.

Interesting facts about Kobe Bryant

Kobe was the first defenseman to be drafted by the NBA after graduating from high school.
Kobe played for the Los Angeles Lakers throughout his professional career.
He was the youngest player to start in the NBA.
Kobe's mom's brother, John Cox, also played in the NBA.
It was named after the Japanese kobe steak.
His middle name is Bean.
He spent most of his childhood in Italy, where his father played professional basketball. He learned to speak Italian and played a lot of football.
He was married in 2001 to Vanessa Lane Bryant and has two children.

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Biography of Kobe Bryant - RIA Novosti Sport, 01/27/2020

https://rsport.ria.ru/20200127/15631.html

Biography of Kobe Bryant

Biography of Kobe Bryant - RIA Novosti Sport, 27.01. Kobe Bryant

American basketball player Kobe Bryant (Kobe Bean Bryant) was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, USA) in the family of former NBA player Joe ...0003

2020-01-27T00: 44

2020-01-27T19: 18

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Kobi Bryant

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American basketball player Kobe Bryant (Kobe Bean Bryant) was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia (state of Pennsylvania, USA) where his father worked in the family of the former player NBA, USA) coach. At 19He graduated from high school in 96, after which he put forward his candidacy for the NBA draft. He was selected in the first round under the overall number 13 by the Charlotte Hornets. He made his NBA debut on November 3, 1996. He became the youngest player to start in an NBA game, at the time of the match he was 18 years old 2 months and 11 days. More than 20 seasons played for the Los Angeles Lakers club. Played as an attacking defender. Became the Lakers' highest scoring player in history. In 1998, he became the youngest player to start in an NBA All-Star game. He became an NBA champion in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009and 2010. In 2007, as part of the US team, he won the American Basketball Championship. Olympic champion in 2008 and 2012. In December 2015, he announced his retirement from the NBA. In April 2016, he played the final game, in which he scored 60 points. Winner of the Teens Choice Award (2001, 2002). animated short film" (2018). Kobe Bryant was married to Vanessa Lane Bryant. The couple raised four daughters. On January 26, 2020, Bryant died in a helicopter crash in California. According to TMZ, one of his daughters, Gianna Maria, was on board with the athlete.

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References, USA, Kobe Bryant

family of former NBA player Joe Bryant.

He spent his childhood in Italy, where his father worked as a coach.

Graduated from high school in 1996, after which he entered the NBA draft.

How old was kobe bryant when he started playing basketball

Kobe Bryant's life in pictures

Kobe Bryant | Biography, Stats, & Facts

Read a brief summary of this topic

Kobe Bryant biography for children

Biography of Kobe Bryant - RIA Novosti Sport, 01/27/2020

Learn more