Bryant made two buzzer-beaters to win the sport and the Pacific Division title. At the top of the fourth quarter, Bryant made a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to ship it into overtime. The sport finally went to a second overtime, during which Bryant made another three-pointer as time expired to carry the Lakers previous the Blazers, 105–104.

He led the NBA in scoring in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons and was named league MVP in 2008. On January 22, 2006, he scored a career-high eighty one factors; the second most factors scored in a single NBA game, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game. Bryant led the staff to consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, being named NBA Finals MVP on each occasions. He continued to be among the premier players in the league through the 2012–13 season, when he suffered a torn achilles tendon at age 34.

Bryant on the free-throw line, 2005In the primary recreation of the 2002–03 season, Bryant recorded 27 factors, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and four steals in an 87–82 loss to the visiting Spurs. On November 1, Bryant recorded a triple-double of 33 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in a 108–93 win over the LA Clippers. He also set an NBA document for three-pointers in a recreation on January 7, 2003, when he made 12 against the Seattle SuperSonics.

After graduating in 1996, Bryant decided to enter the National Basketball Association and was chosen by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA draft. Thirty minutes later, the helicopter was within the air, touring from John Wayne-Orange County Airport to Camarillo, California, where the passengers would then be driven to a youth basketball recreation in nearby Thousand Oaks. Bryant was joined on the flight by his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna; John and Keri Altobelli and their daughter, Alyssa; Sarah Chester and her daughter, Payton; and Christina Mauser, an assistant coach. On January 26, 2022, coinciding with the 2nd anniversary of his death and the helicopter crash, a statue of Bryant and his daughter Gianna was placed on the site where the crash occurred.

As we enthusiastically anticipate the arrival of NBA 2K24, allow us to reward the lifetime of Kobe Bryant. Rodman was 38 years old on the time and the Mavs were his final staff in his profession. He then retired from the league and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.

After winning another gold medal, Bryant decided to retire from the group. He completed his national group career with a document of 26–0 throughout three tournaments, profitable a gold medal every time. Bryant, in his final Cleveland sport, defending LeBron JamesBryant requested that opposing teams on the highway not hold any on-court ceremonies in his honor or current him any gifts in public. Prior to asserting his retirement, he had been steadfast about not wanting the fuss of a staged farewell tour, preferring to hear boos as a substitute of cheers.

I could inform you his reply, but I assume you already know what he mentioned. One of the toughest video games I bear in mind taking half in against Kobe occurred in Boston. I think he made seven or eight photographs in a row on me. So we come into the huddle during a timeout and Coach is looking at me with a face that I knew meant he wanted me to change off of Kobe. And the rest of the fellows on the team might see what was happening and so they have been looking at me too.

On December 18, in a 101–100 win over the Charlotte Bobcats, Bryant scored 30+ points in his seventh consecutive recreation, the longest streak by an NBA player after turning 34 years old; it was the fourth-longest such streak in his career. Derek Fisher and Bryant with President Barack Obama in the course of the White House visit honoring the Lakers' 2009 championshipIn early September 2008, Bryant determined to not have surgical procedure to repair his proper pinkie. In the 2008–09 season, the Lakers opened the campaign by profitable their first seven video games.