31 Inspiring Facts About Late Basketball Veteran Kobe Bryant You Didn’t Know

Kobe Bryant, famously known by his nickname of “Black Mamba,” died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020 along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant. Considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he played his entire 20-season career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Here are a few important points from his fascinating career that will make you love him more:

1. He was the first shooting guard to play at least 20 seasons, in the history of National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known for his triple-doubles he had recorded 21 times in his entire career.
2. He became the youngest player in the league history, at 34 years of age, to reach 30,000 career points. He has scored 40-plus points in 121 games.
3. He also became the all-time leading scorer in the history of Los Angeles Lakers franchise, when he surpassed Jerry West on February 2010.
4. He became the first African American to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film with his 2018 Academy Award win for the “Dear Basketball.”
5. Bryant also became the first professional athlete and NBA player to be nominated and win an Oscar, with his win Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for “Dear Basketball.”
6. Bryant started the Kobe Bryant China Fund in partnership with a charity Soong Ching Ling Foundation that is supported by the Chinese Government. The fund raises money earmarked for education and health programs.
7. He was actually named after a special type of beef known in Japan as Kobe. His parents liked the name when they saw it on a restaurant menu and decided to name him Kobe Bean Bryant, before his birth. As for his middle name, it was derived from his father’s nickname of “Jellybean.”
8. Son of former NBA player Joe Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant, he started playing basketball at the very young age of three. His grandfather would send him videos of NBA games for him to understand the game better.
9. He met Vanessa Laine in November 1999, while he was working on his debut musical album. The duo dated for six months, and got engaged in May 2000. The couple married on April 18, 2001 at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. They have four daughters – Natalia Diamante Bryant, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, Bianka Bella Bryant and Capri Kobe Bryant.
10. He was the all-time leading scorer in the schoolboy history of Southeastern Pennsylvania with a score of 2,883 points, breaking the marks of Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain and former St. Joseph’s player Carlin Warley.
11. Bryant was a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a record for most occasions in the NBA history, tied with Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan.
12. He and his wife Vanessa Bryant founded the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation (KVBFF), which focuses on helping young people in need. Through the foundation, young people are encouraged to develop physical and social skills through sports.
13. He was featured in singer Jay Chou’s single, “The Heaven and Earth Challenge” in the year 2011. It was reported that the proceeds from the song’s downloads were donated to impoverished schools for basketball facilities and equipment.
14. He was named as a member of the All-Defensive Team selection for 12 times, out of which he was named to the All-Defensive First Team for nine times. This 9-time All-Defensive First Team is a record for most all time, which he tied with Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett, and Gary Payton.
15. He is often cited as one of the most dangerous scorers in the NBA, most known for shooting a fall-away jump shot. Another famous move of his is the “jab step-and-pause,” as described by Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated.
16. He signed a collaboration with Nubeo, to release the “Black Mamba collection” in the year 2009. The collection is a line of sports/luxury watches that range from $25,000 to $285,000.
17. He appeared at the “Call of Duty: Black Ops” launch event, alongside Zach Braff, on November 4, 2010, at the Santa Monica Airport. The duo presented the Call of Duty Endowment, an Activision-founded nonprofit organization, with a $1 million check, in an effort to help veterans transition to civilian careers.
18. His book “The Mamba Mentality: How I Play” was published by MCD / Farrar, Straus and Giroux on October 23, 2018. The book, with an introduction by Phil Jackson, an afterword by Andrew D. Bernstein, and a foreword by Pau Gasol, looks back on his career with photographs.
19. He was also an 18-time All-Star, which stands second only to the legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 19.
20. He was awarded the All-Star Most Valuable Player Award, for four times in 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002. He shares the record of most All-Star MVP Awards in the NBA history, with Bob Pettit.
21. He made his debut in NBA at the age of 18 years, 2 months and 11 days old, becoming the youngest player ever to play in a NBA game on November 3, 1996, at that time. He was also the youngest player to appear in an NBA All-Star game in the year 1998.
22. He had an unsuccessful career in music industry. He recorded and released a song with Tyra Banks called “K.O.B.E,” as a single. The full album was never released.
23. In the year 1997, he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, becoming the league’s youngest winner.
24. He hosted the new analysis show “Detail,” that looks at the detailed aspects of trends, X’s and O’s of how basketball is played and won.
25. He has scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, which is the second-highest single-game scoring by a player in the NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain’s legendary 100 points scoring is till date the highest.
26. Noted as one of the premier closers in NBA history, he established a reputation, very early in his career, for taking shots in the closing moments of tight games.
27. In December 2010, he signed a two-year endorsement deal with Turkish Airlines, which involved him being in a promotional film. The film was reportedly aired in over 80 countries.
28. He was reportedly working on a children’s book with Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, before his unexpected death. The book aimed at inspiring underprivileged children around the world.
29. Author Coelho said in an interview just after his death that he had deleted the draft, claiming that it made no sense to publish such a book without him.
30. He was a member of CHEIZAW, a rap group named after the Chi Sah gang in the movie “Kid with the Golden Arm.” The group was signed by Sony Entertainment, who wanted to just capitalize on Bryant’s youth and NBA fame, was ready to eliminate the entire group.
31. Kobe Bryant Net Worth: $500 Million