Born in Philadelphia, USA, on August 23, 1978, Kobe Bean Bryant is one of the most famous basketball
players in the world.
At basketball he approached the age of 3 thanks to his father who was a professional player. He had his
first experiences in Italy even though he returned to the United States at the age of 16.
He made his NBA debut in 1996 when the Los Angeles Lakers bet on him. And since then, he hasn’t left the
American team’s “tank top’. 20 years of career with the same club and several records beaten. He also won
two consecutive Olympic gold medals.
The 1999-2000 season opened with the arrival of Phil Jackson on the bench of the Lakers. Under the
guidance of the former coach, six-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan and Scottie
Pippen, the Los Angeles-based team won four titles in five years. After winning his first title, Kobe Bryant
began to take more and more control of the team’s sceptre, bypassing Shaquille O’Neal in the team
hierarchies.
His career is generally divided into two stages by the media: from the 1996-97 season to the 2005-06
season, Kobe wears No. 8, and from the 2006-07 season until his retirement, he wears No. 24.
After injuries in recent years, especially Achilles tendon and shoulder, Kobe returned to the field had
missed 123 games out of 164 in the previous two seasons but it was soon realized that the number 24 had
remained little more than the name on the jersey. Among Bryant’s heartfelt thanks to basketball is a special
one for making his childhood dream of playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant’s only team in his 20 NBA
seasons come true.
In the Gialloviola Bryant became a man and a champion, winning 5 NBA titles, an Mvp title, scoring 81
points in a game and closing as the third ever scorer.
Not just success in basketball for Kobe. The former basketball player in March 2018 also won the Academy
Award along with director and animator Glen Kean, for best short film thanks to the production Dear
Basketball. The former basketball player was in a plane crash. The helicopter he was travelling in lost
altitude and crashed on 26 January 2020 with his daughter.
