I even have good relationships with players across the league. But when it comes to having one of those nice, bonding friendships—that’s one thing I will in all probability never have. This self-perpetuating image of Bryant as an unyielding workaholic has become so integral to his ethos that it reflexively informs every different detail about his life. He has turn into The Last Hard Man, the realest of the real, the lone remnant from a Precambrian NBA period when players still hated each other and the one individuals who cared about AAU basketball had been actual eighth graders. Yet folks neglect that this was not all the time the case.

Bryant had no doubts, displaying the type of bravura that might — at instances — irritate his critics. Though scouts characterised him as “borderline sensational,” young players were expected to spend no much less than a few years honing their skills at the college level. “Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting began in what would have been simply as significant a second act,” former President Obama said in a statement.

At the identical time, the Hornets wanted a center, so West noticed that as an ideal opportunity to unload Vlade Divac’s wage in exchange for the thirteenth choose, which was the first outdoors of the lottery, saving much more cash to sign O’Neal. Greg Thomas, the president of Visual Concepts, which developed the sport, stated in an announcement that the decision was made to honor Bryant's "impact" on the sport of basketball. The Kobe Bryant Edition will characteristic the Lakers legend leaping through the air in his No. 8 jersey. The Black Mamba Edition will function Bryant in his No. 24 uniform.

Later in February, the NBA redesigned the All-Star Game MVP trophy as part of the main redesign of the All-Star Weekend trophies in celebration of the league's 75th anniversary season. Bryant shoots a fadeaway over Shane Battier in 2009.Bryant primarily played as a shooting guard. He was listed at 6 toes 6 inches (1.98 m) and 212 pounds , He was often cited as one of the most harmful scorers within the NBA.

But he also stated he has been asked about it enough to “grasp what it was conceptually,” and he actually doesn’t dispute the takeaway. Bryant was drafted as the thirteenth pick by the Charlotte Hornets at age 17. However, in a deal previously worked out with the Los Angeles Lakers, he was traded per week later with the Hornets choosing up center Vlade Divac. Bryant's goals of donning a Lakers uniform got here true as a outcome and he remained with the group all through the length of his career.

He then retired from the league and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. As it stands now, Durant is thirteenth all-time in NBA scoring at 26,892 points at 34 years old and has led the NBA in scoring on four totally different events. He’s additionally the youngest scoring champion ever after his spectacular 2009–10 marketing campaign when he led all scorers at simply 21 years old. Kobe Bryant wrote a 2017 piece for The Players Tribune entitled "Obsession is Natural".

Bryant was forced to share the position of the Lakers’ star participant with his well-liked and proficient teammate Shaquille O’Neal. The two had an uneasy relationship, but they found success beneath the management of Phil Jackson, who became coach of the Lakers in 1999. Bryant, a shooting guard, and O’Neal, a centre, meshed into a remarkably efficient mixture, and, by the time Bryant was 23, the Lakers had gained three consecutive NBA championships. "Even although I play like shit, I've labored actually, really hard not to play like crap and I do every thing I probably can. And I feel good about that", he said.

In addition, he averaged 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and a pair of.2 steals per game, all career-highs to that time. Bryant was as soon as again voted to each the All-NBA and All-Defensive First Teams, and got here in third place in voting for the MVP award. After finishing 50–32 within the regular season, the Lakers floundered within the playoffs and lost in the Western Conference semi-finals in six video games to the eventual NBA champions San Antonio Spurs.