Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, obtained the Eucharist together just hours before they died. Before the 1996 NBA draft, Bryant had labored out in Los Angeles, where he scrimmaged in opposition to former Lakers gamers Larry Drew and Michael Cooper and, in accordance with then-Laker common manager Jerry West, "marched over these folks". Kobe Bryant had indicated that transitioning from a basketball player into a enterprise mogul was a long-term aim that was necessary to him, especially given his goal-orientated mindset. Bryant made $323,312,307 from the Los Angeles Lakers throughout his enjoying profession, the sixth-highest earnings in NBA history behind LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Garnett.

Bryant's varsity coach, Greg Downer, commented that he was "a complete participant who dominates" and praised his work ethic, even because the team's high participant. In 1996, Bryant took R&B singer Brandy to her Hollywood High senior promenade. Ultimately, the 17-year-old Bryant decided to go directly into the NBA, becoming solely the sixth participant in NBA historical past to do so. Bryant's news was met with lots of publicity at a time when prep-to-pro NBA players were not quite common . His basketball expertise and SAT score of 1080 would have ensured admission to any faculty he selected, but he didn't officially visit any campuses. In 2012, Bryant was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans for his high-school play in addition to his later accomplishments.

Zobayan wasreprimanded once by the FAA, in 2015, for flying into busy airspace without clearance. He was endorsed on the incident however not required to undergo any remedial training. "I haven’t seen something within the data that I’ve looked at that might counsel that there was something bodily incorrect with the helicopter, that may cause an accident," said Brickhouse, who reviewed the NTSB's public docket of the crash. Cress said the Sikorsky S-76 is usually well-regarded amongst pilots and has a strong safety report over decades of use. He noted that it has been the "helicopter of alternative" for Queen Elizabeth II, among different high dignitaries, since 2009. Minutes later, there was a shift change on the Southern California TRACON, which supplies air visitors management companies to airports in the region.

His legacy is affected by the corpses of slackers who couldn't match his dedication, significantly underachievers of surprising size . It has turn out to be popular to counsel that his ego—and his two-year, $48.5 million contract—are now actively hurting the franchise. The notion has turn into so universal that ESPN The Magazine published a story suggesting the Lakers can not signal top-flight free brokers as lengthy as Bryant controls the system. Most of the story’s sources were nameless and Bryant claims he didn’t learn the article.

On December 16, 2011, Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable variations, and the couple requested joint custody of their daughters. On January eleven, 2013, Bryant and his spouse each introduced through social media that they'd called off their divorce. In early December 2016, Vanessa gave birth to their third daughter, and in January 2019 the Bryants announced they were expecting a fourth daughter. Bryant was in the building and working on his debut album. The two began courting and became engaged six months later in May 2000, while Laine was still a senior at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. In addition to his talents on offense, Bryant additionally established himself as a standout defensive participant.

In 2013, Bryant launched a manufacturing company called Granity Studios, which developed different media, ranging from movies to tv exhibits and novels. Bryant was the subject of Spike Lee's 2009 documentary film Kobe Doin' Work, which chronicled Bryant during the 2007–08 NBA season. In 2009, American rapper Lil Wayne released a song called "Kobe Bryant". Similarly, in 2010, American rapper Sho Baraka launched a track referred to as "Kobe Bryant On'em", which was featured on his album Lions and Liars. In 2012, American rapper Chief Keef released a song paying tribute to Bryant known as "Kobe".

Since his second 12 months within the league, Bryant has been chosen to begin each NBA All-Star Game that has been held in the final fourteen years. He has gained the All-Star MVP Award 4 instances , tying him for the most All Star MVP Awards in NBA historical past. He is a 14-time member of the All-NBA team and an 12-time member of the All-Defensive team; he is also the youngest player ever to obtain defensive honors. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he received gold medals as a member of the USA nationwide staff. In 2009, Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the highest NBA player of the 2000s . Tragedy struck the world of basketball and sport in general on 26 January 2020 when Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in California at the age of 41.

Bryant also had a career-high 46.9% taking pictures and once again led his staff in assists. While making the All-NBA Defensive Team again, Bryant was also named to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career. The Lakers gained fifty eight games that 12 months and finished second in the Pacific Division behind in-state rival Sacramento Kings. Bryant was suspended one recreation after he punched Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers after the Lakers' March 1, 2002 victory over the Pacers. Bryant debuted within the Summer Pro League in Long Beach, California, scoring 25 points in entrance of a standing-room-only crowd. Defenders struggled to get in front of him, and his performance excited West and Lakers coach Del Harris.