60 Fun Facts About Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant was named after what?

His father spotted it on a restaurant menu. His middle name, Bean, came from his dad's own nickname, Jellybean.

How many seasons did Kobe's father, Joe Bryant, play in the NBA?

Joe then took the family to Italy, where he kept playing professionally into Kobe's early teens.

When Kobe was six, his family moved to which Italian town so his father could keep playing?

They later lived in Reggio Calabria, Pistoia and Reggio Emilia, and Kobe grew up fluent in Italian.

Which soccer club did Kobe, who played the game as a boy in Italy, call his favourite team?

He kept up the Serie A fandom for life and was often spotted at Milan matches.

Kobe played high school basketball at Lower Merion, located just outside which city?

The family had moved back to Philadelphia when he was 13, and he first enrolled at Bala Cynwyd Middle School.

As a senior, Kobe led Lower Merion to its first state championship in how many years?

That season he was named Naismith High School Player of the Year and a McDonald's All-American.

Kobe finished high school as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all-time leading scorer, passing which NBA legend?

He totalled 2,883 points, also passing La Salle star Lionel Simmons.

In May 1996, Kobe was the prom date of which R&B singer?

He had met the Moesha star at a Nike All-Star game earlier that year and escorted her to Hollywood High's senior prom.

Which team originally selected Kobe in the 1996 NBA draft before trading him to the Lakers?

He was the 13th pick, and the deal had been agreed the day before the draft.

The Lakers acquired Kobe's draft rights in exchange for which center?

Lakers GM Jerry West made the trade after watching the teenager work out in Los Angeles.

Which Lakers general manager made the trade for Kobe after watching him work out?

Because Kobe was still a minor, his parents had to co-sign his $3.5 million rookie contract.

Kobe wore 8 for his first decade as a Laker. How did he arrive at it?

He later switched to 24, his first high school number, at the start of 2006-07.

At 18 years and 158 days, Kobe became the youngest what in NBA history?

He was also the second-youngest player ever to appear in an NBA game, at 18 years and 72 days.

Kobe won which All-Star weekend event in 1997, at 18 the youngest champion ever?

He also played in the Rookie Challenge that weekend and made the All-Rookie Second Team.

In his second season, Kobe Bryant was runner-up for which NBA award?

Fans voted the 19-year-old bench player into the starting five for the 1998 All-Star Game.

Kobe's play took a leap in 1999 when which coach was hired by the Lakers?

The triangle offense era produced three straight titles from 2000 to 2002.

In the 2000 Finals against Indiana, Kobe hurt his ankle in Game 2 after landing on whose foot?

He returned to hit key overtime shots in Game 4 with Shaq fouled out; the Lakers won in six.

The Lakers completed their three-peat in 2002 by sweeping which team in the Finals?

At 23, that made Kobe the youngest player ever to win three championships.

At what age did Kobe become the youngest player ever to win three NBA championships?

Shaq took Finals MVP all three times; Kobe would have to wait until 2009 for his own.

On January 7, 2003, Kobe set an NBA record by making how many three-pointers in one game?

It came against the Seattle SuperSonics; the record has since been passed, most notably by Klay Thompson's 14.

The Lakers lost the 2004 Finals in five games to which team, after which Shaq was traded?

Kobe became the franchise centrepiece and Shaq went to Miami.

Kobe took the nickname 'Black Mamba' from a codename in which films?

He wanted his game to mimic the snake's ability to strike with 99% accuracy at maximum speed.

On December 20, 2005, Kobe scored 62 points in just three quarters against which team?

He sat out the fourth quarter having outscored the entire Mavericks team by himself, 62-61.

How many points did Kobe score against the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006?

It is second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 in NBA history and broke Elgin Baylor's Lakers record of 71.

Kobe's 81-point night broke a Lakers franchise record of 71 held by whom?

Chamberlain also played for the Lakers, but his 100-point game came as a Philadelphia Warrior.

Kobe won his first scoring title in 2005-06 by averaging how many points a game?

That made him only the fifth player ever to average 35 or more over a season.

Why did Kobe switch from 8 to 24 in 2006?

In 2017 the Lakers retired both numbers, making him the only NBA player with two numbers hung by one franchise.

Which mid-season trade in 2008 helped Kobe lead the Lakers to a 57-25 record and his only MVP award?

The Lakers reached the Finals that spring but lost to Boston in six games.

Kobe played all 82 games of 2007-08 despite an injury to which body part, rather than opting for surgery?

The injury included a complete ligament tear and an avulsion fracture, and he played through it into the Olympics.

In the 2008 Olympic final, Team USA beat which country 118-107 for its first gold since 2000?

Kobe scored 20 with six assists in the game; the squad became known as the Redeem Team.

Kobe won his first Finals MVP in 2009 as the Lakers beat which team in five games?

He repeated as Finals MVP a year later against Boston for his fifth and final ring.

On December 4, 2009, Kobe beat the Miami Heat with a buzzer-beating one-legged three-pointer over whom?

It was one of seven game-winners he hit that season on the way to the 2010 title.

Kobe's four All-Star Game MVP awards tied a record held by which Hall of Famer?

He won them in 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011; his 18 All-Star selections are the third most ever.

At the 2012 All-Star Game, Kobe scored 27 points to pass whom as the career All-Star Game scoring leader?

LeBron James has since taken the record.

Kobe travelled to which country in 2011 for experimental Orthokine platelet-rich plasma therapy?

He went back in 2013 for the same treatment on his right knee.

In April 2013, Kobe tore his Achilles tendon in a game against which team?

He famously stayed on the floor to sink two free throws before limping off.

Which former teammate coached Kobe in his 19th season, 2014-15?

That season ended early with a torn rotator cuff against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Kobe announced his retirement on November 29, 2015, through which outlet?

The announcement was the poem 'Dear Basketball', later animated into an Oscar-winning short.

Kobe was the leading vote-getter for the 2016 All-Star Game with 1.9 million votes, beating whom?

The farewell tour he had said he did not want turned into a season-long ovation.

How many shots did Kobe take while scoring 60 points in his final NBA game?

That was the most field-goal attempts in a game in 30 seasons; he outscored the Jazz 23-21 by himself in the fourth quarter.

Kobe was the first guard in NBA history to play how many seasons?

All of them were with the Lakers, and he retired as the franchise's all-time leading scorer.

With 33,643 career points, where did Kobe rank on the NBA's all-time scoring list at his death?

LeBron James passed him for third the night before the crash, on January 25, 2020.

Kobe won an Academy Award in 2018 for which animated short film?

It also won an Annie Award and a Sports Emmy, yet the Academy still denied him membership for lack of a body of work.

Beginning in 2018, Kobe wrote, produced and hosted which film-breakdown series on ESPN?

He also launched Granity Studios, which produced novels like The Wizenard Series.

In March 2014, Kobe paid $6 million for a 10% stake in which sports drink company?

The stake grew enormously in value when Coca-Cola later bought the brand.

Before his rookie season, Kobe signed a six-year, roughly $48 million deal with which brand?

He moved to Nike in 2003, and the Zoom Kobe signature line followed.

Kobe met his future wife Vanessa in 1999 while she was working as what?

The video was Tha Eastsidaz's 'G'd Up'; they married on April 18, 2001.

Kobe skipped the 2000 Olympics for what reason?

He also sat out the 2002 World Championship, and did not play for the national team until 2007.

What type of helicopter was Kobe travelling in when it crashed on January 26, 2020?

It had left John Wayne Airport bound for a youth game at his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks; nine people died.

The NTSB concluded that the pilot of Kobe's helicopter probably became disoriented by what?

Light rain and fog that morning had grounded LAPD helicopters and most other air traffic.

Kobe's second Naismith Hall of Fame induction, in 2025, was as part of which group?

He was also posthumously named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.

Los Angeles marks Kobe Bryant Day on which date, chosen for his two jersey numbers?

8/24 pairs the 8 he wore first with the 24 he wore last; the city held the day again on August 24, 2023.

Kobe and Vanessa were founding donors of which Smithsonian museum, giving it his 2008 Finals uniform?

The uniform is from the series the Lakers lost to Boston, before the back-to-back titles.

Kobe's middle name, Bean, came from what?

His first name came from a cut of Japanese beef his father spotted on a restaurant menu.

Besides English, which two languages did Kobe speak fluently?

He spent much of his childhood in Italy while his father Joe played there.

Which baseball player did young Kobe want to be like as a New York Mets fan?

He also followed his hometown Philadelphia Eagles alongside his beloved Lakers.

What SAT score did Kobe post, enough for admission to any college he considered?

He weighed Duke, Michigan, North Carolina and Villanova but never officially visited a campus before turning pro.

What was the name of the production company Kobe launched in 2013?

Its output ranged from films and TV shows to novels, including the Oscar-winning Dear Basketball.

In a 2008 Nike Hyperdunk video, Kobe appeared to leap over what?

The stunt was widely judged fake, with the Los Angeles Times noting a real jump would have been far too dangerous.

How much funding did the venture capital firm Bryant-Stibel launch with in 2016?

Kobe and partner Jeff Stibel focused the fund on media, data, gaming and technology.