Kobe Bryant Biography

Fast Facts

• In 2007, he founded the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation to help improve the lives of disadvantaged youth
• In his senior year of high school, he was named Gatorade Player of the Year
• The Los Angeles Lakers retired the jersey numbers 8 and 24 in his honor
• At the age of 34, he became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points
• In 1997, he became the youngest player to win the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest
• Is the son of former NBA player Joe Bryant
• Led his high school basketball team to its first state championship in 53 years during his senior year at Lower Merion High School
• Possesses the ability to speak Spanish, English and Italian
• His parents named him after the beef created in Kobe, Japan
• Is the first player to play 20 seasons with the same team
• Was a member of the rap group CHEIZAW while in high school
• Was only the 27th player in NBA history to enter the draft straight out of high school
• Was selected 13th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets
• Was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" by his classmates during high school