Biography of Kobe Bryant | Basketball player.

(Philadelphia, 1978) Basketball player American, one of the best scorers in NBA history. Winner of three rings, lived in the shadow of the monumental figure of Shaquille O'Neal on Los Angeles Lakers. The March East to the Miami Heat forced him to prove that, without the best pivot-anotador of the world, it could be transformed back into Champion Los Angeles Lakers, the team of his life.

Kobe Bryant

He was the youngest of the three offspring of Joe JellyBean Bryant and Pamela Cox, sister of the men's basketball player John Chuby Cox. The basketball they breathed in the family environment. Until her two older sisters, Sharia and Shaya, practiced on the street with his friends. His father was a notable professional basketball player, who in the 1970s highlighted the 76ers from San Diego and Houston. It was, however, a defensive player who worked for open spaces. He sped his career in Italy, where his family was. It played in several teams for seven years, so Kobe studied elementary in Italian.

More than basketball, in college he played football, although his father bought him a basket to force you to practice your favourite sport. In this sense, was the protagonist of an unusual fact: in the all-star of the Italian League, which involved his father, Kobe, only eight years old, challenged in the contest of triple J. J. Anderson, fresh out of the Bradley University, he defeated to the incredulity of the public.

In 1991 the family returned to the United States and settled in a smart residential area of Philadelphia, where Kobe studied at the Institute Lower Merino. He devoted himself completely to the basketball and is proposed to reach the NBA, as told to his teacher. With the high school team scored an average of 30.9 points, 12 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.

By that time youth already gave signs that he was a singular player: broke the record of annotation of the Southeastern Pennsylvania the legendary Wilt Chamberlain held by more than 500 points; the USA Today named him best player of the year Institute, and also got the national trophy, Naismith player of the year. He was a born leader who had even dared to go out with Brandy Norwoord soul singer.

In 1995 was the player they wanted all universities of the country, but, after having made some tests with the 76ers from San Diego, where he played his father, the then coach, John Lucas, confirmed that Kobe was prepared to jump directly to the NBA.

It happened, therefore, directly from the Institute to the NBA, not the first step of the University, "because my father has been my true University". Until then, only three players had given this early jump and failed. But Kobe was confident in its forces and its talent. Tested with success in several teams, including Los Angeles Lakers, who was rebuilding the template around the figure of O'Neal, but then the Charlotte Hornets surprised by choosing it in the number 13 of the first round of the Draft, when the normal would have been the second. Even so, the father pressed to finally made it in the Californian team, which for this purpose transferred to Vlado Divac North Carolina team. Kobe was just seventeen years old, and signed a $ 3.5 million per season.

On November 3, 1996, at age 18, he made his debut in the NBA against Minnesota. Although in its first year of rockie a series of injuries prevented him from show their worth in a star-studded team of Star, at the end of the season, in the all-star game of the rockies, enjoyed a moment of punctual glory: with a performance pride (31 points) was proclaimed winner of the competition for mates.

In his second season already marked some very high goals: equated with the legendary Michael Jordan, who clashed for the first time without the competition of O'Neal. Kobe spent half of the party asking for tips to Air Jordan, who did not allow his impersonator to overcome it. Kobe scored 33 points and Jordan 36. Even so, Kobe hates that they named him Michael Jordan IIbecause he wants to be only the first Kobe Bryant.

His sporting career statistics are spectacular, while in Los Angeles Lakers lived under the shadow of the colossal figure of Shaquille O'Neal, that had their rods in and out of the track, until in 2005 O'Neal joined the Miami Heat. With the Lakers he was champion of the NBA in three consecutive seasons (2000, 2001 and 2002). In 2000 he resigned to participate in the Olympic Games to marry his girlfriend of the Institute, Vanessa Lane, which would give him two daughters, Natalia Diamante (2003) and Gianna Maria-Onore (2006).

His record includes other unique achievements. He was the youngest player in history to reach 10,000 points (24 years and 193 days). It has surpassed the barrier of 50 points in nine matches. He was the first player in 41 years to reach 45 points in four consecutive games in the 2005-2006 season. In the 2002 all-star he was elected MVP, i.e., the most valuable player among all the figures of the NBA. On January 8, 2003 he became the first player who got triple 12, 9 of them consecutive, and on December 21, 2005, in a game against the Dallas Mavericks, scored 62 points in three quarters.

But your best brand did running rivers of ink. On January 22, 2006, in a game against the Toronto Raptors, got the second best mark scorer history, with 81 points, only surpassed by the 100 points that considered best history alongside Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, player got on March 2, 1962, when the defences were not so aggressive.

The ability to lead a team to reach the NBA Champion must not already appear so far to Bryant since halfway through the season 2007-2008, landed in Los Angeles Lakers player so desequilibrante like himself: Pau Gasol. The Bryant-Gasol couple is revealed immediately as a perfectly committed tandem and lethal effectiveness, which can be attributed the merit of bringing to Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals. Despite losing defeated in the final against the Boston Celtics, the expectations that woke up the good play of the team have the Lakers become firm candidates for the best League in the world champions; a title that, continue in the same vein, could come in the next few seasons.

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol

Despite his brilliant record in the personal history of this legendary player plans to a shadow: in July 2003 was charged with sexual assault. Bryant acknowledged that he had committed adultery with a young man of twenty years, but with the consent of her, who refused to testify against the player. Shortly after that will disseminate the news, the judge in charge of the case, Terry Ruckriegle, dropped the charges. Despite this incident, his marriage to Vanessa, apologised that, not he resented.

Among other businesses, Kobe is proprietary, since 1999, of Italian basketball Adecco Milano, of which his father is President. Rap music, love him to the point that it came to record an album, Vision. In addition, concentrations is dedicated to reading and writing poems. But its huge future challenge is to lead Los Angeles Lakers to recover the ring of Champions without his great personal rival, Shaquille O'Neal contest. His sponsor is Adidas, which receives about 5 million dollars a year.

Extracted from the website: Biografías y Vidas