NBA Career

Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player for the Los
Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He entered the NBA
directly from high school, and has played for the Lakers his entire career, winning
five NBA championships. Bryant is a 17-time All-Star, 15-time member of the AllNBA Team, and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team.
In his second season as guard, with the Lakers, Bryant was voted a starter for the
1998 All-Star Game, becoming at 19 the youngest All-Star in NBA history. Bryant
went on to help the team win three consecutive NBA championships and was voted
first-team all-NBA in 2002 and 2003. He also inked multi-year endorsement deals
with Adidas, Sprite and other top sponsors.
After a few lackluster seasons, Bryant helped his team make it to the 2008 NBA
Finals. The team was defeated by the Boston Celtics, but they returned the
following year. In the 2009 NBA finals, the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic to win
the championship title. Shortly after the NBA Finals, Bryant was part of the
memorial service to honor friend and music superstar Michael Jackson. He also
announced his decision to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers for several more years
around this time.
Bryant played on both the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams, winning two
consecutive gold medals with teammates Kevin Durant, LeBron James and
Carmelo Anthony, among several other top players.