Table of Biography
Kobe Bryant was a professional basketball player, producer, and also actor. Kobe Bryant is popular for his appearances in “Dear Basketball” of the year 2017, “Daddy’s Home” of the year 2015, and “The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2018: Live-Action” of the year 2018. Sadly, he passed away on 26th January 2020, in Calabasas, California, USA.
Early Life
The birthdate of the basketball player is 23 August 1978, in Philadelphia. His zodiac sign was Leo. Moreover, Kobe has two siblings, Shaya, and Sharia and both of them are older than him. Just like him, his dad, Joe is also an NBA player. He was just three years old when he began playing basketball. Moreover, his grandfather used to show him videos of NBA games in the NBA. Meanwhile, after his father’s retirement, the whole family moved to the United States.
Caption: Kobe Bryant with his sister when they were kids (Source: Instagram)
Kobe Bryant – Death
26th January 2020 was the day when Bryant passed away. At that time, he was onboard a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter which sadly crashed in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas. Nine people were adding Bryant and his thirteen-year-old daughter Gianna “Gigi,” in the helicopter. The helicopter was heading from Orange County to Thousands Oaks, California where Bryant was about to train for a tournament game at Mamba Sports Academy. Kobe and his daughter have their private funeral on 7th February 2020. On 24th February, everyone was admiring them in a memorial service at the Staples Center.
Also, Beyoncé and Alicia Keys were doing musical tributes, and Jordan, Shaq, and their wife Vanessa were among those sharing emotional remembrances of the basketball great and family man. “We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe — the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna — a loving, thoughtful, and wonderful daughter, and amazing sister to Natalia, Bianka, and Capri,” his wife Vanessa wrote on her Instagram account.
Career and Professional Life
In the year 1984, after the end of his father’s NBA career, Kobe took his family to Italy, where he was playing in the Italian League. Then, he went on to be a passionate player in both basketball and soccer. Then, his family got back to Philadelphia in the year 1991 and he attended the Lower Merion High School basketball team, guiding it to the state championships for 4 years straight. After that, he began working together with the 76ers. In his 2nd season with the Lakers, Bryant got the vote as the beginner for the 1998 All-Star Game, turning into the youngest All-Star in NBA history at nineteen.
The shooting guard then got together with superstar center Shaquille O’Neal to become the winner of the 3 NBA championships. Also, he got the vote of the 1st-team all-NBA from 2002-2004. He also signed multiple endorsement deals with Adidas, Sprite, and other top sponsors. Even though the Lakers after O’Neal quit in the year 2004, he was playing perfectly. He got eighty-one points in opposition to the Toronto Raptors in January 2006. Bryant was given the name of the Most Valuable Player and took his team to the NBA Finals in 2008. Unfortunately, they were defeated by the Boston Celtics.
More…
The Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic and won the championship in the 2009 NBA Finals. The next year, the Lakers were the winner of their 2nd straight name by beating the Celtics. He was present in both the 2008 and 2012 United States Olympic groups, achieving gold medals together with Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony. After getting injured in April 2013, he was trying to get back to the court before fracturing his knee just six games into the 2013-2014 season. The veteran All-Star excelled Michael Jordan for 3rd all-time on the NBA scoring list in December 2014, but his season came to an end because of an injury in the 3rd year.
Retirement
Even though he got back in time for the beginning of the 2015-2016 NBA season, he was working hard together with his young Lakers fellows. Then, he reported that he would retire after the season ended. “This season is all I have left to give,” he wrote on The Players’ Tribune website. “My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye”, said Kobe. the announcement pulled out a powerful reaction, especially from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
On 13th April 2016, he glared at a crowd at the Staples Center and fans everywhere in his last game and helped the Lakers to victory over the Utah Jazz. After the game, he told the crowd, “I can’t believe how fast 20 years went by. This is crazy … and to be standing at center court with you guys, my teammates behind me, appreciating the journey that we’ve been on — we’ve been through our ups, been through our downs. I think the most important part is we all stayed together throughout”.
More about his retirement
Every Laker figure even rewarded tribute to him, adding O’Neal, Phil Jackson, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, and also Magic Johnson. In November 2015, he was reporting about his retirement from the Lakers with a poem on The Players’ Tribune website whose title was “Dear Basketball”. Then, they were successful in converting the poem into a short movie, adding Disney animator, Glen Keane, and composer, John Williams. The outcome turned into a 5-minute, 20-second movie, which was starting at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.
Oscar voters took note, guiding them to the unpredicted vision of him receiving an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Movie at the 2018 ceremony. However, in June 2018 it was public that the Academy’s governors committee had revoked the invitation. Also, he was telling that the retired basketball great was required to exhibit more effort in the field before being examined for membership. Apart from his philanthropic attempts, he collaborated with the non-beneficial After-School All-Stars as a member of the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation. He even ran an annual summer camp, the Kobe Basketball Academy.
Caption: Kobe Bryant at a program (Source: Instagram)
Kobe Bryant – Net Worth 2024
The basketball player was earning a great amount of net worth from his career as an athlete. Kobe Bryant’s net worth must be around $600 million. Similarly, he was also earning some money from his career as an entrepreneur as well. He belongs to one of the richest basketball players. Other than this there is no information regarding the assets and salary. Moreover, he was spending $5.8 million to buy a building in Newport Beach to house the offices of Kobe Inc. in the year 2014.
Relationship Status
Bryant’s wife was Vanessa Laine and their wedding was in April 2001. At the time of their marriage, Vanessa was just fourteen years old. The pair has four kids and they are Natalia Diamante who was born in 2003, Gianna Maria-Onore who was born in 2006 and died in 2020, Bianka who was born in 2016, and Capri who was born in 2019. Other than there is no further information about how the couple got to meet each other for the first time.
In July 2003, Kobe was asked with one count of sexual assault on a nineteen-year-old female hotel worker in Colorado. He said he was guilty of adultery but innocent of the rape charge. The case in opposition to him finished in the year 2004. Then, he settled the civil lawsuit filed by the hotel worker in opposition to him out of court.
Caption: Kobe Bryant with his family (Source: Instagram)
Kobe Bryant – Body Measurement
Talking about the basketball player’s physical appearance, Kobe Bryant had a good height of 6 feet 5 inches. Kobe had a body weight of 96 kg. Being an athlete, he had a well-exercised muscular body type. Similarly, he had a pair of brown eyes with super small black hair. Bryant’s body measurements are 42-16-35 inches. Also, he had a dark complexion with a huge strong body. Moreover, the basketball was very handsome and had a dashing personality.
Social Media
The professional basketball player is quite active on social media platforms. Kobe Bryant has an Instagram account with 20.8 million and a Twitter account with 15.2 million followers. Similarly, he even has a Facebook page where he has more than 22 million followers. His social media accounts are full of his works, collaboration, and his family pictures as well. his love and affection for his family and career can be seen in his social media posts.