Kobe Bryant Biography

Kobe Bryant has very quickly become one of the all time greats in the NBA. His story has been a controversial one involving public and hostile rifts with former LA Lakers partner, Shaquille O'Neal and a very public rape charge by a young hotel employee which eventually was dropped from criminal prosecution and later settled in a civil law suit. Love him or hate him, it can't be disputed that on-court he makes things happen and he was fundamental to the magical LA Lakers 1999 - 2002 seasons where they won an historical three NBA titles in a row. He's currently number 7 on the America's favorite sportstar list behind sporting icons like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Brett Favre and is very likely to stay there for some time.

In 1996 the big day arrived - the first NBA draft that he was eligible for - and he went straight to the Charlotte Hornets after which he was soon transferred to the LA Lakers for the 1996 - 1997 season. He was then the youngest ever player to start an NBA game. His first three seasons were successful ones. He contributed significantly to the development of the LA Lakers as a team who won their first title in 1999, he scored double figures an impressive 25 times (in his first season alone!) and averaged 19.9 points in the 1998 - 1999 season placing him second in the team.

This success continued into the 2000 - 2001 season and the 2001 - 2002 season. These were the glory days of the LA Lakers in which they went on to win their second and third NBA title. Kobe's personal score card also continued to improve with a record-breaking 28.5 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists per game in the 2000 - 2001 season and 25 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in the 2001 - 2002 season. Much of the success of the Lakers and of Kobe's own development at this time is attributed to his dynamic partnership with Shaquille O'Neal.

However, neither the triumphs of the Lakers or the awe-inspiring partnership of two of the most gifted basketball players the sport has ever seen were to last. In the 2002 - 2003 season the Lakers failed to make it past the playoffs and growing conflict between leading duo Bryant and O'Neal was causing rifts in the team.

This situation worsened in the 2003 - 2004 season as Kobe became a free agent and eventually Shaquille demanded a transfer. In reference to this time coach Phil Jackson later released a poignant book which was titled: The Last Season: A Team In Search Of It's Soul which accurately depicted the struggles that existed at the heart of the LA Lakers.

Off-court Kobe also found himself in trouble in the summer of 2003 as a young woman called Katelyn Faber, an employee at a hotel where Bryant had stayed, filed a sexual assault claim against the Lakers star, in which she accused Bryant of raping her. The media attention was massive and although criminal proceedings were later dropped against Kobe, he did settle a civil claim and the effect that this saga has had on his public image will be longstanding.

As O'Neal left the Lakers, Kobe took the leadership role in the 2004 - 2005 season. This season turned out to be the darkest for the Lakers in a whole decade as they failed to make the playoffs for the first time in that period and Kobe failed to make the NBA-All Defensive Team.

It was the return of Phil Jackson in the 2005 - 2006 season that hailed a potential turnaround with Kobe and Jackson overcoming their past differences to lead the Lakers back to the playoffs. They made the first round which bettered the previous year and now the future of the team and Kobe's position in it rests on their ability to recapture the winning ways of 1999 to 2002.

The next two to three seasons should prove very interesting and at only 27 there's a lot more to come from Kobe Bryant.