Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978(1978-08-23)) is an American All-Star shooting guard who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. Bryant is the only son of former Philadelphia 76ers player and former Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe "Jellybean" Bryant. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu.
Bryant rose to national prominence in 1996 when he became the first guard in league history to be drafted out of high school. Bryant and then-teammate Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. Since O'Neal's departure following the 2003-04 season, Bryant has become the cornerstone of the Lakers franchise, and was the NBA's leading scorer during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. In 2006, Bryant scored a career high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second highest number of points scored in NBA history. He was awarded the season's MVP in the 2007-08 NBA season after leading his team to the 2008 NBA Playoffs as the first seed in the Western Conference.
In 2003, Bryant made headlines when he was accused of sexual assault at a ski resort in Eagle, Colorado by a hotel employee. Bryant admitted an adulterous sexual encounter with the accuser, but denied the sexual assault allegation. In September 2004, prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser informed them that she was unwilling to testify. Bryant's accuser brought a separate civil suit against him that was ultimately settled out of court.
Bryant is a shooting guard who is capable of playing the small forward position. He is considered one of the most complete players in NBA history, has been elected to every All-NBA Team since 1999, and has been featured in the last ten NBA All-Star games. He is a prolific scorer, averaging 25.0 points per game for his career, along with 4.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 steals. He is known for his ability to create shots for himself, and is an adept outside shooter, sharing the single-game NBA record for three pointers made with twelve. He has exceptional ballhandling skills and utilizes his speed and athletic ability to elude defenders to finish at the basket. Aside from this, he is also a standout defender, having made the All-Defensive 1st or 2nd Team 8 of the last 9 seasons.