He also gained the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1997 and was its youngest winner. In his profession, Bryant scored 40-plus points in 121 games, and 21 occasions he recorded a triple-double. Bryant enjoying towards Gary Neal of the Washington Wizards after asserting his forthcoming retirement, 2015After recovering to play in the 2015–16 preseason, Bryant suffered a calf injury and missed the ultimate two weeks of exhibition video games. However, he played in the season opener to start his twentieth season with the Lakers, surpassing John Stockton's league record of 19 for essentially the most seasons with the identical group.

His brother, Jace, took his personal life in April 2020, and Prescott spoke publicly about how difficult that experience had been on his personal mental health, particularly whereas within the midst of the isolating COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor, the sports activities psychologist, mentioned taking over alter egos offers folks a psychological shortcut to faucet into different features of themselves. “The more you'll be able to take psychological things and switch them into tangible things or beings, it’s extra manageable,” Taylor mentioned. “A character means you don’t have to consider all this deep psychological stuff. You simply say, ‘There’s that character.’” Decision-making turns into easier; simply channel how you think that person would react—exactly what Ryan implored Prescott to do. Grover stated many youthful gamers wrestle with this entire dedication to their craft, especially NBA gamers who are younger millennials or a half of Gen Z.

"Not unhealthy for the seventh-best participant in the league", mentioned Bryant, referring to a preseason ESPN ranking of the NBA's prime gamers. It was the sixth time in his profession he scored 40 or extra points in 4 straight video games, a feat exceeded solely by Chamberlain . At the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, Bryant scored 27 points to cross Jordan because the career scoring chief within the All-Star Game. He sat out the season finale in opposition to Sacramento, foregoing the chase for a possible third NBA scoring title, having wanted 38 points to surpass Kevin Durant. The Lakers were knocked out of the playoffs by Durant and Oklahoma City in the second round of the playoffs, dropping in five games in what can be Bryant's last playoff appearance. The highway to the Finals would show a lot tougher than the report run the Lakers had loved the earlier 12 months.

The households argue that Zobayan should not have flown in opposed circumstances, and that Island Express Helicopters ought to have had laws in place to forestall him from doing so. The NTSB has examined the helicopter itself as part of its investigation, including each upkeep data and bodily evidence obtained on the crash scene. It said in a preliminary report last 12 months that the engines had been found close to the wreckage and showed "no proof of an uncontained or catastrophic inner failure." Without the sudden boon of involvement from the game's prime gamers and Bryant’s iconic second, who knows if the Drew League would have survived to see 50 years.

All nine folks on board, including Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, died within the crash. National and international tributes got here flooding in from sports activities stars, fans and celebrities. Bryant really made his mark on the history of basketball, and his dying leaves an immense void.

He died tragically in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020. In genuine reverence to one of many biggest basketball gamers ever, Kobe Bryant is honored on the cover of NBA 2K24, a legendary tribute. This choice observes Kobe’s impression on the sport of basketball that stretches throughout generations. Bryant avoiding a collision in a sport in opposition to China at the 2008 Summer OlympicsBryant declined to play within the 2000 Olympics because he was getting married within the off-season. He also decided not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. Bryant was originally selected for the FIBA Americas Championship in 2003 but withdrew after undergoing arthroscopic shoulder and knee surgeries.

The Lakers labored out at Southern Nazarene University, and Vanessa and I arrived close to the tip of the L.A. In change for the additional court docket time, I wore a Southern Nazarene University T-shirt within the clip. In his younger days, Bryant partied with a variety of the finest and brightest within the league and was pals with quite a few celebs. His time in Italy might have influenced Bryant's love for Italian automobiles.

This adopted with O'Neal profitable the MVP and Bryant being named to the All-NBA Team Second Team and All-NBA Defensive Team for the first time in his career . While taking part in second fiddle to O'Neal in the playoffs, Bryant had some clutch performances together with a 25-point, eleven rebound, 7 assist, 4 block game in sport 7 of the Western Conference finals towards the Portland Trail Blazers. He additionally threw an alley-oop pass to O'Neal to clinch the sport and the sequence. In the 2000 NBA Finals towards the Indiana Pacers, Bryant injured his ankle in the second quarter of Game 2 after landing on the Pacers' Jalen Rose's foot. Rose later admitted he placed his foot beneath Bryant deliberately. Bryant did not return to the game, and he additionally missed Game 3 as a result of harm.