Kobe Bryant

Professional Basketball Player, Olympic Games Gold Medalist Athlete. A perennial National Basketball League All Star, he played his entire career for the Los Angeles Lakers. During his 20-year career, he won five national championships, was named to the All-Star team 18 times, was a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2008, a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and an Oscar Winner. He was the son of NBA player Joe Bryant and started playing basketball when he was three years old. He was the first Freshman in decades to start for the varsity basketball team at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. His Junior year he was named Pennsylvania Player of the Year. He ended his high school career as Southeastern Pennsylvania’s all-time leading scorer at 2,883 points, beating the records of Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons. Although he drew the interest of college recruiters from Duke University, the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Villanova University, he elected to enter the 1996 NBA draft. Originally drafted by the Charlotte Hornets, he was traded to the Lakers. He represented the United States at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics where the team won Gold medals, and received an Oscar for the 2017 short “Dear Basketball.” He was killed in a private helicopter crash with eight other people, including his 13 year old daughter Gianna.