In a 2008 video promoting Nike's Hyperdunk footwear, Bryant seems to leap over a speeding Aston Martin. The stunt was thought-about to be faux, and the Los Angeles Times said a real stunt would probably be a violation of Bryant's Lakers contract. On February 9, 2009, Bryant was featured on the quilt of ESPN The Magazine.

This marks the fourth time the Hall of Famer and Los Angeles Lakers icon has been chosen to grace the cover. The quantity 24 in the recreation's title holds special significance, because it represents one of many two jersey numbers Bryant wore all through his illustrious 20-year NBA career. A media village sprang up across the street from the Justice Center in Eagle during the summer of 2003 following an accusation of rape lodged on the basketball star. He played for the Italian basketball team Virtus Bologna during the NBA lockout. Before serving to to carry Cincinnati into the upper echelon of college soccer and earlier than the Seahawks made him a outstanding a part of their defensive overhaul, he was a baby whose household beloved the NBA. So when it came time to call his youngest son, Ronnie decided to pay homage to his favorite player.

In Game 4, Bryant scored 22 points within the second half and led the staff to an OT victory as O'Neal fouled out of the sport. With a 116–111 victory in Game 6, the Lakers won their first championship since 1988. With career averages of 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, four.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game, he is thought-about one of the full players in NBA history.

Jianing Zhang, proper, and his girlfriend Cathy Xiao collect with others close to the helicopter crash site in Calabasas that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others Sunday. People gather on Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas near the location of a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others Sunday. Bryant Hirshman is hugged by his father, Craig, and mother, Elena, near the helicopter crash website in Calabasas that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and 7 others Sunday.

He has received the All-Star MVP Award 4 times , tying him for probably the most All Star MVP Awards in NBA historical past. He is a 14-time member of the All-NBA staff and an 12-time member of the All-Defensive staff; he is also the youngest player ever to receive defensive honors. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he gained gold medals as a member of the USA nationwide staff. In 2009, Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the highest NBA player of the 2000s . Tragedy struck the world of basketball and sport in general on 26 January 2020 when Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in California at the age of forty one.

In 2012, American rapper Chief Keef released a music paying tribute to Bryant referred to as "Kobe". It was featured on his debut studio album, Finally Rich, as a half of the deluxe version. For the NBA 2K21 soundtrack, Damian Lillard, underneath his stage name Dame D.O.L.L.A., launched a tribute observe additionally titled "Kobe," that includes Snoop Dogg and Derrick Milano.

Prior to asserting his retirement, he had been steadfast about not wanting the fuss of a staged farewell tour, preferring to hear to boos as an alternative of cheers. Previously, Bryant was respected however not beloved, and he was astonished on the cheers he was now receiving. Bryant later confirmed his want for West's return to the franchise but denied stating that he would want to be traded if that did not happen. Bryant was later proven in an infamous amateur video saying that center Andrew Bynum ought to have been traded for All-Star Jason Kidd. Bryant was an NBA Most Valuable Player, five-time NBA champion, and one of the most influential players who has ever picked up a basketball.

Zobayan, 50, first became thinking about flying when he emigrated from Lebanon in the Eighties, his girlfriend of seven years advised investigators. He obtained his private pilot certificate in 2001 and had flown greater than 8,500 hours on the time of the crash, together with 1,250 within the Sikorsky S-76. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Los Angeles Police Department later mentioned low clouds and fog within the area had prompted them to ground their very own helicopters on the morning of the crash. Investigators even compared footage from cameras within the space, perched behind residence plate at three youth baseball fields, to estimate visibility on the time of the crash. The helicopter did, however, lack two notable components. It did not have a flight recorder, colloquially known as a "black field," that might have supplied extra information for investigators.