“Shaq Diesel” and the crew watched footage of the enduring play before sharing thoughts on the Los Angeles Lakers’ comeback win over the Portland Trailblazers that year. Shaquille O’Neal reminisced on his days playing with Kobe Bryant throughout Game 2 of the 2023 NBA Finals. Intraday Data supplied by FACTSET and topic to phrases of use. Historical and present end-of-day knowledge offered by FACTSET. Real-time final sale information for U.S. inventory quotes mirror trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday information delayed at least quarter-hour or per exchange necessities.

He learned tips on how to speak Italian and performed a lot of soccer. Kobe played for the Los Angeles Lakers his entire professional career. He holds the record for the most career points scored by a Los Angeles Laker. Kobe scored 81 points in an NBA sport, which is the second most points scored in a single game.

He was just the third player in NBA history to average forty factors in a calendar month, which he achieved 4 times. Bryant was voted the league MVP in 2008 and led his team to the 2008 NBA Finals as the first seed in the Western Conference. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he gained a gold medal as a member of the united states males's basketball staff, often referred to as "The Redeem Team". He received one other gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

This followed with O'Neal successful the MVP and Bryant being named to the All-NBA Second Team and All-NBA Defensive Team for the first time in his career (the youngest player to obtain All-Defensive honors). While taking part in second fiddle to O'Neal in the playoffs, Bryant had some clutch performances, including a 25-point, 11-rebound, 7-assist, 4-block game in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals towards the Portland Trail Blazers. In the 2000 Finals, against the Indiana Pacers, Bryant injured his ankle in the second quarter of Game 2 after touchdown on the Pacers' Jalen Rose's foot. In Game four, Bryant scored 22 factors within the second half and led the group to an OT victory as O'Neal fouled out of the sport. With a 116–111 victory in Game 6, the Lakers received their first championship since 1988.

The Kobe Bryant edition will have you go back to the athlete’s early profession days and work your way up to stardom stage. Card-collecting mode has returned, which comes with hours of customizable choices. The Kobe Bryant version solely comes with the base game with the option to buy the past-gen or current-gen model of the sport. Michael Jordan did certainly give Kobe Bryant his flowers during the public memorial service, and it was a sweet sight to see.

The Bryants' first daughter, Natalia, was born in January 2003. The birth resulted in a reconciliation between Bryant and his dad and mom. Due to an ectopic pregnancy, Vanessa suffered a miscarriage within the spring of 2005. Their second daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore (also referred to as "Gigi"), was born in May 2006.

Among his philanthropic endeavors, the basketball nice partnered with the non-profit After-School All-Stars as a part of the Kobe & Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation. He also ran an annual summer season camp called the Kobe Basketball Academy. In July 2003, Bryant was charged with one rely of sexual assault on a 19-year-old feminine hotel worker in Colorado.

The Lakers swept the Utah Jazz within the second spherical and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, the place they faced Phoenix Suns. In Game 2, Bryant completed the sport with thirteen assists, setting a model new playoff profession high; it was essentially the most assists by a Laker in the playoffs since Magic Johnson had thirteen in 1996. The Lakers went on to win the sequence in six games capturing the Western Conference Championship and advancing to the NBA Finals for a 3rd straight season. Bryant won his fifth championship and earned his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award.