Kobe Bryant Net Worth
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Few basketball players have entered the NBA with as much fanfare as Kobe Bryant. He was 18 years old and fresh out of high school when he joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. Bryant was the only player on the team who had never played in college.
Kobe Bryant was named for a type of steak that his parents noticed on a restaurant menu. He was born into a basketball family. His father, Joe “Jelly Bean” Bryant, was an NBA guard who played 606 career games with the 76ers, Clippers, and Rockets. After his NBA career, Bryant’s father went to Italy. The family spent eight years there, and Bryant became fluent in Italian. He grew up playing pickup games with his two older sisters, Sharia and Shaya. Bryant once said that his sisters were the only players who could beat him.
By the time Bryant entered high school in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, he was already being watched by college and NBA scouts. Bryant led his team to a Class AAAA state title. Along the way, he became the leading scorer in southeastern Pennsylvania history. His 2,883 points surpassed the previous record held by Wilt Chamberlain. Bryant set other records for average points per game, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. If there was ever a high-school player prime for entry into the big time, Bryant was it.
On November 3, 1996, Bryant made his NBA debut as a Los Angeles Laker in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was 18 years, 2 months, and 11 days old—the youngest player ever to appear in an NBA game. And in 1998, Bryant was named to the NBA All-Star Team. He was the youngest player ever to receive that honor.
The 1998–99 season was a stellar one for Bryant. That season, he and teammate Shaquille O’Neal, the most dominating center in the NBA, scored basket after basket. Bryant led the team in steals per game (1.44).
Bryant and O’Neal became the nucleus of a powerhouse Lakers team that dominated the league. The Lakers won the 2000 championship series in six games against the Indiana Pacers. Bryant averaged 15.6 points per game and 4.6 assists. The following year, in a five-game championship victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, he averaged 24.6 points per game, with 5.8 assists. In 2002, the Lakers won again, this time in four games against the New Jersey Nets. In that series, Bryant averaged 26.6 points and 5.8 assists.
Bryant excelled during the 2002–03 season, scoring 30 points per game, the second-best average in the league. But the Lakers’ championship streak ended that year when they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals. The team again came up short in the 2004, 2006, and 2007 playoffs. O’Neal had been traded to the Miami Heat prior to the 2004–05 season. Bryant finished first in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. He then averaged 28.3 points per game during the 2007–08 season, was second in the league in scoring, and was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the regular season.
Led by Bryant, the Lakers captured another championship in 2009. Bryant averaged 30.2 points in the playoffs and was named MVP of the playoff finals.
With Bryant averaging 27 points per game, the Lakers finished the 2009–10 season with the third-best winning percentage in the NBA. Bryant led the Lakers as they defeated the Boston Celtics in seven games to win a second consecutive NBA championship. Also for a second year in a row, Bryant was named MVP of the playoff finals. In April 2010, Bryant signed a three-year contract extension with the Lakers.
The Lakers finished first in their division in the 2010–11 season. Bryant averaged 25.3 points per game. He was named MVP of the 2011 All-Star game. He also was named to the NBA’s all-defensive team for the ninth time. The Lakers, however, were swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the semifinals of the Western Division playoffs.
Kobe Bryant Net worth listed above is only an estimate based on our current research, it is possible that Kobe Bryants net worth has changed since the net worth estimate date listed above.
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