He was a standout basketball player and earned several awards including the Naismith High School Player of the Year. The newest edition of the NBA 2K video game series was introduced lately and this year, it is going to be graced by the late, great Kobe Bryant on the quilt. Why LeBron James Is Worth $100 Million to the Lakers, Win or LoseIf all James did was win basketball video games, that may be more than enough. January 26, 2023, is the third anniversary of the demise of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and 7 others who perished in a helicopter crash in California. NBA Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant was introduced Thursday as the duvet athlete for NBA 2K24.

Thank you for playing the game the way in which it was meant to be played. Thank you for teaching us to imagine in ourselves even when no one else does. The explanation for the crash continues to be unknown, as the helicopter was not outfitted with a black box. The Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, and the FBI have launched investigations into the crash. On January 28, Bryant's identity was formally confirmed using fingerprints. The following day, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner acknowledged that the official explanation for death for him and the eight others on the helicopter was blunt drive trauma.

This marked the fifth time in Bryant's profession and the first time without Shaquille O'Neal to go to the NBA Finals. The Lakers then lost to the Boston Celtics in 6 games. On December 23, 2007, Bryant turned the youngest participant to achieve 20,000 points, in a sport in opposition to the New York Knicks, in Madison Square Garden. In the next 2003–04 season, the Lakers have been in a position to acquire NBA All-Stars Karl Malone, and Gary Payton to make one other push on the NBA Championship. Before the season started, Bryant was arrested for sexual assault.

In his senior 12 months of highschool, Bryant led the Aces to their first state championship in 53 years. During the run, he averaged 30.eight points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4 steals, and 3.eight blocked pictures in leading the Aces to a 31–3 record. Bryant ended his high-school career as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all-time leading scorer at 2,883 points, surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons.

On April thirteen, 2011, the NBA fined Bryant $100,000 for guiding a gay slur at referee Bennie Adams in frustration in yesterday's recreation. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation praised the NBA's decision to fantastic Bryant, and the Human Rights Campaign mentioned that Bryant's language was a "disgrace" and "distasteful". Bryant acknowledged that he was open to discussing the matter with homosexual rights groups and wished to attraction his fine. Bryant and different Lakers appeared in a Lakers public service announcement denouncing his habits. The team's quest for one more three-peat was ended once they have been swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the second spherical of the playoffs.

Kobe Bufkin hugs family and friends after being chosen fifteenth general by the Atlanta Hawks during the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 22, 2023, in New York. "It's by no means affected me too much in phrases of playing ball," stated Bufkin, who was born in 2003. Brown is in Summer League with the Los Angeles Clippers.

In 2018, Bryant earned an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Dear Basketball. On January 26, 2020, he was in a helicopter crash that killed Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gigi and seven others. As of June 2012, Bryant ranks third and fifth on the league's all-time post-season scoring and all-time regular season scoring lists, respectively. He can be the all-time main scorer in Lakers franchise history. Since his second 12 months within the league, Bryant has been selected to start each NBA All-Star Game that has been held within the final fourteen years.

Bryant scored forty five points as the Lakers beat the Spurs, , on their way to a sweep of the sequence. Given that they are each first-rounders, Bufkin and Brown look like locks to be within the NBA when the brand new season opens this fall. Bufkin was drafted No. 15 overall out of Michigan by the Hawks — and also has a brother named for an NBA player in Isaiah Thomas. Brown was chosen No. 30 general out of Missouri by the Clippers. The 2003 sexual assault charge against him—the case was dropped in criminal court docket after the alleged sufferer declined to testify, and a civil case was settled out of court—clouds his legacy.