Kobe Bean Bryant (born birth date1978823) is an American (United States) shooting guard who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career and made instant headlines when he decided to go directly into the NBA upon graduation. He was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets (New Orleans Hornets), then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant and then-teammate Shaquille ONeal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships (NBA Finals) from 2000 (2000 NBA Finals) to 2002 (2002 NBA Finals). After ONeals departure following the 2003-04 season (2003-04 NBA season), Bryant became the cornerstone of the Lakers franchise. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005-06 (2005-06 NBA season) and 2006-07 (2006-07 NBA season) seasons. In 2006, Bryant scored a career high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second highest number of points scored in a single game (List of National Basketball Association players with 60 or more points in a game) in NBA history, second only to Wilt Chamberlains 100 point performance (Wilt Chamberlains 100-point game). Bryant won his fourth NBA championship in 2009 (2009 NBA Finals), leading the Lakers to their fifteenth title. He also won his first Finals MVP award (Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award).

Bryant was awarded the regular seasons Most Valuable Player Award (NBA Most Valuable Player Award) (MVP) in the 2007-08 NBA season and led his team to the 2008 NBA Finals as the first seed in the Western Conference. In 2008, he won a gold medal as a member of the 2008 Summer Olympics U.S. Mens Basketball Team (USA mens national basketball team), occasionally referred to as "The Redeem Team," a play on the name of the first Olympic team that featured NBA players, the Dream Team (USA mens national basketball team#1992 Olympics (Barcelona) - The Dream Team). Since his second year in the league, Bryant has started in every NBA All-Star Game that has been hosted, winning the All-Star MVP award (NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award) in 2002 (2002 NBA All-Star Game), 2007 (2007 NBA All-Star Game), and 2009 (2009 NBA All-Star Game). In 2009 Bryant had the top selling jersey in the United States, Europe, and China. Although known by several names throughout his career, Bryants current nickname is Black Mamba (Black mamba). After having been represented by Arn Tellem, Bryant is now represented by Rob Pelinka.

In 2003, Bryant made headlines when he was accused of sexual assault (Kobe Bryant sexual assault case) at a hotel in Edwards, 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. Bryants accuser brought a separate civil suit against him that was ultimately settled out of court.