It was candy revenge certainly for Bryant over Iverson. The piece began with Kobe evaluating his output with AI's production on November 12th, 1996. He said Iverson scored 35 in a win over the Knicks that night time. Meanwhile, Bryant's Lakers received over the Rockets that same day, but Kobe logged in only 5 minutes and scored two points. Later, Kobe talked about how important guarding Iverson in a game meant to him. A newspaper profile described them as prizefighters engaged in a warfare of wills, a standoff that threatened to divide one of the gifted basketball groups ever assembled.

Bryant additionally recorded his first triple double since January 21, 2009. On January 30 towards the Celtics, he turned the youngest player to attain 27,000 points. On February 1, 2011, Bryant became considered one of seven players with no much less than 25,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists. In Boston on February 10, Bryant scored 20 of his 23 factors in the second half as the Lakers rallied from an early 15-point deficit for a 92–86 win over the Celtics. It was the Lakers' first victory of the season in opposition to one of many league's top 4 teams, as they entered the sport 0–5 in previous matchups and had been outscored by a median of 11 factors.

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

The player, who entered the league straight from high school, would often answer international reporters’ questions in their native languages. He even learned French, Serbian and Bosnian just to trash talk his opponents. For an entire generation, he was a lighthouse, a role model, and an actual reside superhero. His dedication, integrity, and athleticism made him a true leader in black history. In his 41 years, he achieved so much personally and professionally. Kobe’s journey represented hope, demonstrated overcoming, and displayed family legacy in a method we don’t typically see from someone like him.

So Vanessa Kaneshiro Garber, our video producer on the time, and I took off for Oklahoma City, where we’d meet Bryant on a Lakers off day in February. OKC was an ideal spot, as the Thunder were of their first yr in Oklahoma after relocating from Seattle. Kevin Durant was a second-year player, Russell Westbrook was a rookie, and the staff wasn’t very good—the Thunder completed that season. Bryant would have time to do an illustration, the day before L.A. It has been three years since NBA legend Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020 in Calabasas, California.

It was me, Kobe, Brian Shaw, Mitch Richmond and Kurt Rambis. We would get to follow the following day and certain sufficient, Kobe would already be there taking pictures nothing however threes. Like clockwork, on the finish of apply he’d say, “Let’s play the game! I’m prepared for you.” And we might beat his ass once more. He practiced until at some point, a couple months later, he finally won. If you literally said, “Kobe, I bet you can’t make five in a row by dropping the ball and kicking it in from half court,” that motherfucker would go out there and practice it till he might do it.

Kobe Bryant is congratulated by teammates after passing Michael Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list throughout a recreation against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 14, 2014. Kobe Bryant walks off the courtroom together with his spouse, Vanessa, and daughter Natalia after scoring a career-high 81 points in a Lakers win over the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center on Jan. 22, 2006. Despite Jason Kidd’s hand in his face, Kobe Bryant puts up the successful shot within the Lakers’ victory over the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals at Staples Arena. Kobe Bryant drives past Chris Webber in Game four of the primary spherical of the 2000 Western Conference playoffs at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

Bryant is one of the most achieved gamers in NBA history, winning five championships throughout his 20-year profession with the Lakers. The 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee was additionally an 18-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA honoree, a 12-time All-Defensive honoree, a four-time All-Star Game MVP, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, and a two-time scoring champion and one-time MVP. He completed his profession with 33,643 factors, which ranks fourth in NBA history. Bryant's association with the NBA 2K video game sequence dates again to his first look on the duvet of NBA 2K10. Since then, he has been featured a quantity of instances, together with as the special edition athlete cover for NBA 2K17. In a poignant tribute to his life and legacy following his death in January 2020, the Mamba Forever edition was launched for NBA 2K21.