Both numbers he wore during his career, eight and 24, were retired by the Lakers on December 18, 2017. In his first year of eligibility, Bryant was named a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, weeks after his dying, earlier than being elected a couple of months later in April 2020. His formal induction was delayed till 2021 as a end result of COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2021, Bryant was honored as one of many league's best gamers of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. The Lakers swept the Utah Jazz in the second round and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they faced the Phoenix Suns.

The two players have been good associates and it’s clear Durant had earned Bryant’s respect on the hardwood—something he still appreciates to today. In that sport, Iverson also outrebounded Shaquille O'Neal with 5 rebounds towards Shaq's four. AI additionally had extra assists than anybody from the Lakers and was just four shy of L.A.'s complete assists manufacturing.

Kinzo Beachem writes on the cement next to a makeshift memorial for former Lakers player Kobe Bryant at L.A. Fans Alex Fultz, Eddy Rivas and Rene Alfaro collect with others near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outdoors Staples Center on Sunday after studying of his death. Returning to the U.S. as an adolescent, Bryant stood out amongst his classmates at Lower Merion High in Ardmore, Pa., talking fluent Italian and earning a excessive score on his SAT. The Times is offering choose protection of Kobe Bryant’s death at no cost. Please contemplate a subscription to support our journalism. He referred to as himself Black Mamba, a code name for an assassin in considered one of Quentin Tarantino’s films.

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 against the Sacramento Kings. The sequence would stretch to seven games, the first time this had occurred to the Lakers since the 2000 Western Conference Finals. However, the Lakers had been in a position to beat their division rivals and make their third consecutive NBA Finals look.

He would come proper up to you in the course of the handshake and let you know he didn’t such as you and that he was going to destroy you. Seriously, he wouldn’t just say it within the pregame, he would say it in the heat of battle. He’d say, “I can’t imagine they’re placing you on me. And when you had that seed of doubt towards Kobe, it was over. On Thursday, it was introduced the long-lasting Los Angeles Laker and Hall of Famer would be featured on two different variations of the NBA2K24 cover. Bryant’s cowl resume extends past “2K.” He was the star of “Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside,” which debuted in 1998 for the Nintendo 64.

The reason for the crash continues to be unknown, because the helicopter was not geared up with a black box. The Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, and the FBI have launched investigations into the crash. On January 28, Bryant's id was officially confirmed utilizing fingerprints. The following day, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner stated that the official reason for demise for him and the eight others on the helicopter was blunt force trauma.

He led the NBA in scoring within the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons and was named league MVP in 2008. On January 22, 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points; the second most points scored in a single NBA recreation, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point recreation. Bryant led the staff to consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, being named NBA Finals MVP on each occasions. He continued to be among the premier players in the league via the 2012–13 season, when he suffered a torn achilles tendon at age 34. His subsequent two seasons had been minimize short by accidents to his knee and shoulder, respectively. In 2017, the Lakers retired each his Nos. 8 and 24, making him the only participant in NBA historical past to have multiple numbers retired by the same franchise.

With a watch on the NBA, he additionally started understanding with the 76ers. Regarded as probably the greatest American basketball players of all time, Kobe Bryant performed a decisive role in Team USA’s Olympic triumphs of 2008 and 2012. He died tragically in a helicopter crash, on the age of forty one, on 26 January 2020. Bryant was pressured to share the role of the Lakers’ star participant together with his popular and gifted teammate Shaquille O’Neal. The two had an uneasy relationship, however they discovered success beneath the leadership of Phil Jackson, who grew to become coach of the Lakers in 1999.