Kobe Bryant wrote a 2017 piece for The Players Tribune entitled "Obsession is Natural". In that first-person article, Bryant talked about how he 'obsessively hunted' Allen Iverson after AI annoyed him after an everyday season game in Philadelphia. The life they led — part fairy story and part extended household drama — would explode in the summertime of 2003 when Bryant, visiting Colorado to rehab from a knee surgery, was accused of raping a 19-year-old lodge worker.

The Lakers have been knocked out of the playoffs by Durant and Oklahoma City in the second round of the playoffs, losing in five video games in what could be Bryant's ultimate playoff look. The road to the Finals would prove so much harder than the record run the Lakers had enjoyed the previous 12 months. While the Lakers swept the Blazers and defeated the Spurs 4–1 in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Lakers did not have home-court benefit towards the Sacramento Kings. The series would stretch to seven games, the primary time this had occurred to the Lakers because the 2000 Western Conference Finals.

His debut album, Visions, was scheduled to launch within the spring of 2000. The first single, "K.O.B.E'", featured supermodel Tyra Banks singing the hook. The single debuted in January 2000, and was performed at NBA All-Star Weekend that month; the song was not properly obtained. Sony abandoned plans for the album, which was never launched, and dropped Bryant later that 12 months.

On January 26, 2020, Bryant was onboard a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter that crashed in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas. Nine individuals, including Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna "Gigi," died. The helicopter was on its method from Orange County to Thousands Oaks, California where Bryant was scheduled to coach a tournament game at Mamba Sports Academy. An all-star lineup of Laker icons also paid tribute to Bryant, including O’Neal, Phil Jackson, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom and Magic Johnson. "We are right here to have fun greatness for 20 years," Johnson mentioned. "Excellence for 20 years. Kobe Bryant has by no means cheated the sport, never cheated us as the fans. He has played by way of harm, he has performed harm. And we now have five championship banners to point out for it."

After being sidelined for 5 video games from an ankle injury, Bryant made his return and made another clutch three-pointer to provide the Lakers a one-point lead with four seconds remaining towards the Memphis Grizzlies. Two weeks later, he made his sixth game-winning shot of the season in opposition to the Toronto Raptors. After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, O'Neal was traded and Bryant turned the cornerstone of the Lakers. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In 2006, he scored a career-high 81 factors; the second most points scored in a single recreation in league historical past, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962. Bryant led the group to 2 consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, and was named NBA Finals MVP on each occasions.

The widespread denominator in each championship staff is the mentality that Kobe has … You should be so obsessed with winning that you simply pull no punches along with your teammates, even when you’re in first place. On January 30, the primary sport after the crash was played at Staples Center between the Clippers and the Kings; the Clippers honored Bryant before the game, with Southern California native Paul George narrating a video tribute to Bryant. The next day, the Lakers played their first recreation after the crash towards the Trail Blazers.

He was suffering from soreness in his knees, toes, back, and Achilles tendons, and Scott planned to reduce his workload going forward. Three times Bryant had exceeded forty minutes in a recreation, and the coach blamed himself for overloading him after he began the season in such nice shape. For the season, Bryant had been taking pictures simply 37 % from the field, and the staff's document was only 8–19.

In one of Kobe’s last interviews, he talked about that folks would make feedback to him that he wanted a son to hold out his legacy, however as a proud #GirlDad, he always encouraged his four girls to dream big. He was grooming one particularly to carry on the family tradition. It’s inconceivable to know precisely how many individuals are named Kobe. Natalia Bryant, the eldest daughter of the late Kobe Bryant, information a restraining order in opposition to a person who has allegedly been stalking and harassing her since 2022. Six months after successful her lawsuit in opposition to Los Angeles County, Vanessa Bryant agreed to settle her excellent points with officers for practically $29 million. Vanessa, Natalia, Bianka and Capri Bryant honor the late NBA legend throughout a ceremony to unveil his handprints and footprints on the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.