In 2011, Bryant was featured in Taiwanese singer Jay Chou's single "The Heaven and Earth Challenge" (天地一鬥, pronounced "Tian Di Yi Dou"). Not to be confused with the American football player Coby Bryant.

I had the unenviable task of guarding Kobe all through training camp. There aren’t too many guys who get a chance to sit down down, speak to Kobe and really pick his mind, however I was afforded this privilege. It was an unimaginable studying experience for me, to say the least.

Bryant's daughter Gianna played for the collective and he labored carefully with its young gamers to help cultivate their talents. The academy later dropped Mamba from its name following Bryant's dying. His maternal grandfather would send him videos of American basketball games, which Bryant stated he would watch again and again. This fostered his love for not solely the sport, but in addition for watching players just like the Atlanta Hawks' John Battle and the Los Angeles Lakers' Magic Johnson, which knowledgeable his ability set and data of basketball.

Later, on March 6, he appeared to repeat the movement, this time putting Minnesota Timberwolves guard Marko Jarić. On March 7, the NBA handed Bryant his second one-game suspension. In his first sport back on March 9, he elbowed Kyle Korver within the face which was retroactively re-classified as a Type 1 flagrant foul.

Bryant called Sherman not simply to poke fun at him, however to advise him on his impending rehab. Every single day, Saquon Barkley writes “Mamba Mentality” on the first web page of the notebook he carries with him to his movie sessions and game-planning conferences. It was October eleven, 2020, and Prescott’s foot was pointing the wrong path. The Dallas Cowboys quarterback sat on the turf at AT&T Stadium, staring down in disbelief.

After years of regular improvement, Bryant became one of the premier capturing guards within the league, incomes appearances within the league's All-NBA, All-Star, and All-Defensive teams. The Los Angeles Lakers became true championship contenders beneath Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, who fashioned a legendary center-guard mixture. Jackson utilized the triangle offense he used to win six championships with the Chicago Bulls, which would help both Bryant and O'Neal rise to the elite class of the NBA.

He is broadly thought-about the best basketball participant of the 2000s and perhaps top-of-the-line of all time. Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. A heated feud between the duo and a loss within the 2004 NBA Finals was followed by O'Neal's commerce from the Lakers after the 2003–04 season. Following O'Neal's departure Bryant became the cornerstone of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise.

Bryant is probably one of the most completed gamers in NBA historical past, winning five championships during his 20-year profession with the Lakers. The 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee was also an 18-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA honoree, a 12-time All-Defensive honoree, a four-time All-Star Game MVP, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, and a two-time scoring champion and one-time MVP. He finished his career with 33,643 factors, which ranks fourth in NBA historical past. Bryant's affiliation with the NBA 2K online game series dates back to his first appearance on the duvet of NBA 2K10. Since then, he has been featured a quantity of instances, including as the special version athlete cover for NBA 2K17. In a poignant tribute to his life and legacy following his dying in January 2020, the Mamba Forever version was launched for NBA 2K21.