On December 23, 2007, Bryant grew to become the youngest player to succeed in 20,000 factors, in a game towards the New York Knicks, in Madison Square Garden. In the next 2003–04 season, the Lakers were able to acquire NBA All-Stars Karl Malone, and Gary Payton to make another push on the NBA Championship. Before the season started, Bryant was arrested for sexual assault.

“Have fun,” he says, looking straight into the digicam earlier than flashing the peace sign. Bryant embraced the project, which put us all comfy. Still, if I come across as jittery within the video, there are good reasons.

Both have been named for Bryant, who – for now – is the one player named Kobe to make it to the NBA. LAS VEGAS — There’s Kobe, wearing the uniform of a group from Los Angeles. Natalia Bryant, the eldest daughter of the late Kobe Bryant, has filed a restraining order in opposition to a man who has allegedly been stalking and harassing her since 2020, stating, "I do not really feel secure." Bryant and his daughter were laid to rest in a non-public funeral on February 7, 2020.

In 2003, Bryant was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old girl in Colorado. While Bryant did not point out the case directly, he did spend a nice deal of time within the documentary talking about how close his family came to breaking up. In his 2015 auto-documentary "Muse," Bryant revealed that he created The Black Mamba to cope with the struggles he was going via off the court docket in 2003 and 2004. After the court case, Bryant says he wanted to prepare his life and for "Kobe" to deal with his "personal challenges." Receive the digital, interactive PDF of the newspaper in your inbox.

But for the primary time because the Lakers’ Hall of Famer retired in 2016, the NBA is about to have fans watching guys named Kobe once more. Vanessa Bryant was awarded $16 million over the sharing of photographs taken at the helicopter crash website where her husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna died. Vanessa Bryant paid tribute to her late daughter Gigi Bryant, three years after she and pop Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash. On April 13, 2016, Bryant dazzled a sold-out crowd at the Staples Center and fans all over the place in the last recreation of his career, scoring 60 points and leading the Lakers to a win against the Utah Jazz. In 2008, Bryant was named Most Valuable Player and carried his staff to the NBA Finals, the place they misplaced to the Boston Celtics. In the 2009 NBA Finals, the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic to win the championship.

He bought into the all-consuming nature of rehab that Grover details in his book. He selected to embrace any surrounding negativity—about his damage, his future contract, and even his own self-doubts—and used it as gas. It was natural to really feel angry about what had occurred to him on the field that October day, and Bryant’s writing taught him to channel that emotion into one thing productive. For many, it could be easier to conjure confidence by borrowing the confidence we see in others. Think of Steph Curry listening to a Drake track earlier than a game, then Drake watching that sport and being inspired to write a lyric about Steph Curry.

In 2018, Bryant grew to become the first African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and the primary former professional athlete to be nominated and to win an Academy Award in any class for his movie Dear Basketball. Despite winning the Oscar, he was denied membership into the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as a outcome of his past sexual abuse case and their new set of requirements of conduct within the current MeToo motion. The movie also received the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject and a Sports Emmy Award. The film was produced by Bryant's production firm, Granity Studios.

For her 19th birthday, he purchased her a Lamborghini with a special adapter so she wouldn’t have to drive a stick shift. When the Lakers gained their second championship in Philadelphia in 2001, Kobe was spotted holding the trophy in the bathe and crying. Some questioned if the conflict with O’Neal was taking its toll; Bryant would later say he was excited about the rift in his family. Bryant and Vanessa were married in Dana Point in 2001. Neither his dad and mom nor his sisters nor any of his teammates attended.