During the season, Bryant signed a six-year contract extension worth $70 million. The all-time leading scorer in Lakers history, Bryant was the first guard in NBA historical past to play 20 seasons. His 18 All-Star designations are the second most all time, and he has the second most consecutive appearances as a starter.

The Lakers had been eradicated from the playoffs in the Western Conference Semifinals as they have been swept by the San Antonio Spurs. Dennis Rodman says Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal did not like him throughout his time with the Lakers and wished him out of the staff. However, Durant eventually developed his game and became one of the deadly scorers in NBA historical past and Bryant couldn’t work out a formulation to sluggish him down. Bryant was picked 13th overall in the identical draft, whereas Iverson was chosen first general by Kobe's hometown Sixers.

But as a substitute of watching the two stars go at it in a shootout, it was a shutdown. But Bryant was a unique sort of athlete, the son of a well-to-do Philadelphia family who spent his early life in Europe. His unusual upbringing and steely determination — holding himself and people around him to the best standards — generally led to friction with coaches and teammates.

He remained the league's highest-paid player, though he accepted a discounted deal; he had been eligible to obtain an extension starting at $32 million per yr. Bryant resumed enjoying on December 8 after lacking the season's first 19 video games. On December 17, Bryant matched his season high of 21 factors in a 96–92 win over Memphis, but he suffered a lateral tibial plateau fracture in his left knee that was expected to sideline him for six weeks. He had played six games since coming back from his Achilles injury, which included time at level guard after injuries to Nash, Steve Blake, and Jordan Farmar. Bryant was averaging thirteen.8 factors, 6.3 assists, and four.three rebounds.

On December 16, 2011, Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, and the couple requested joint custody of their daughters. On January 11, 2013, Bryant and his wife both announced by way of social media that that they had called off their divorce. In early December 2016, Vanessa gave birth to their third daughter, and in January 2019 the Bryants announced they had been anticipating a fourth daughter. Bryant was within the building and working on his debut album. The two began dating and became engaged six months later in May 2000, whereas Laine was nonetheless a senior at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. In addition to his skills on offense, Bryant additionally established himself as a standout defensive player.

He performed three seasons on the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan, throughout which he received three straight world championships. Shortly afterward, he performed for the Los Angeles Lakers with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. The retired NBA superstar was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on January 26, 2020. The accident shocked basketball fans and athletes from across the country and around the globe. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia information supplier, reaching billions of individuals worldwide daily. Reuters provides enterprise, financial, nationwide and worldwide news to professionals through desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, trade events and directly to customers.

Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to a few 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. He led the NBA in scoring through the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, setting quite a few scoring records in the process. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high eighty one points towards the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single recreation in NBA history, second solely to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point sport in 1962. He was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award in 2008.

The group was signed by Sony Entertainment, however the firm's ultimate aim was to eliminate the group and have Bryant report on his own. The label wanted to capitalize on Bryant's youth and NBA fame. In the summer of 2003, the sheriff's workplace of Eagle, Colorado, arrested Bryant in connection with an investigation of a sexual assault criticism filed by a 19-year-old hotel worker.