Kobe Bryant
Kobe was drafted by the Hornets with the 13th pick in the draft,
barely slipping into the lottery, then traded to the LA Lakers for
Vlade Divac. He signed a 3 year deal with the Lakers estimated at 3.5
million dollars. The Lakers didn't want to take any chances, so in the
third year of his deal, they re-signed him to a six year contract worth
70.9 million dollars. Kobe says he's a Laker for life. He started
his career giving them valuable minutes off the bench, already scoring
better than 20 points in a game. The son of former NBAer, Joe
"Jellybean" Bryant, Kobe
became the youngest player ever to appear in an NBA game at 18 years, 2
months and 11 days. He held the record until Jermaine O'Neal beat him a
month later. On January 28, 1997 against Dallas, Kobe became the youngest
player ever to start an NBA game, at 18 years and 5 months. On the Court with Kobe Bryant |
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As a high
school player, he scored more points than anyone, even Wilt, in
Southeastern Pennsylvanian history with 2,883. He averaged 30.8 ppg, 12
rpg and 6.5 apg for Lower Merion High School on his way to being picked
prep player of the year. He set an NBA Schick Rookie Game scoring record
with 31 points. He was looking real good at mid-season, with many talking
All-Rookie First Team Honors for him, before tapering off a bit. Kobe
still deserved the recognition of being named to the All-Rookie Second
Team. In 1998, the fans voted Kobe to start the all-star game at 19 years
and 5 months old, making him the youngest all-star ever. He started
for the western conference again from 2000-2006. He also had some
serious consideration for the sixth man award in 1998. In 1999, Kobe was
named to an All-NBA Team for the first time, it was the All-NBA Third
Team. In 2000 he moved up to the All-NBA Second Team. He repeated as
an All-NBA Second Team Selection in 2001. And then in 2002, he moved
up to the All-NBA First Team! He had a truly remarkable season in 2003 on his way to a second-straight All-NBA First Team selection, but many thought he deserved the MVP trophy. He was a member of the All-NBA First Team again in 2004, but slipped all the way to NBA-Third Team honors in 2005, but was back on the All-NBA First Team in 2006. Once Eddie Jones
was traded away, Kobe locked down the starting
guard spot, never giving it up. His statistics and court presence
improved year to year, game to game, until he has become one of the top players in the league. Kobe's 1999-2000 season got off to
a slow start due to injury, but he has taken the league by storm since
then. He has even been named to the 2000 All-Defensive First
Team. In 2001, he was bumped from the All-Defensive First Team and
was named to the All-Defensive Second Team, instead. He was also a
member of the the All-Defensive Second Team in 2002, but back on the All-Defensive First Team in 2003 and once again in 2004 and in 2006. Kobe
is getting a lot of spotlight, being named to the All-Interview first team
in 2000. On July 15, 2004, The LA Lakers re-signed Kobe Bryant to a 7 year, $136.4 million
contract, keeping him in LA, after they shipped Shaq and coach Phil Jackson out of town.
Kobe married his sweetheart Vanessa Cornejo Ubrieta Laine on April 18, 2001. Kobe seemed to be the poster boy for the steady life. His daughter, Natalia, was born on January 19, 2003. About six months later, Kobe's life fell apart with the rape accusations in Colorado. After a tumultuous year, or so, the charges were finally dropped. But can he put it in his past?
| PPG | RPG | APG | |
| Rookie | 7.6 | 1.9 | 1.3 |
| 1997-98 | 15.4 | 3.1 | 2.5 |
| 1998-99 | 19.9 | 5.3 | 3.8 |
| 1999-00 | 22.5 | 6.3 | 4.9 |
| 2000-01 | 28.5 | 5.9 | 5.0 |
| 2001-02 | 25.2 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| 2002-03 | 30.0 | 6.9 | 5.9 |
| 2003-04 | 24.0 | 5.5 | 5.1 |
| Career (thru '04) | 21.8 | 5.0 | 4.3 |
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Last updated February 8, 2005
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