48 Facts About The Youngest Player To Reach 30,000 Career Points - Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant is the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points. He is also the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. Here're 45 facts about him:

• Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
  
• He was born in August 23, 1978 and is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• Bryant's father, Joe Bryant, was also an NBA player.
• His maternal uncle, John "Chubby" Cox, was also an American professional basketball player.
• He's been named after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which Bryant's parents saw on a restaurant menu.
• When Bryant was six, his father left the NBA and moved his family to Rieti in Italy to continue playing professional basketball.
• Bryant can also speak fluent Italian and Spanish.
• He started playing basketball when he was 3 years old.
  
• Lakers was his favorite team when he was growing up.
• When he was young, he also learned to play football and he loved AC Milan.
• He entered the NBA directly from high school.
• He's played for the Lakers his entire career.
• Bryant is 6 feet, 6 inches tall (1.98 m) and primarily plays as a guard.
• He's won five NBA championships.
• Bryant is a 17-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team.
• Bryant has also led the league in scoring twice.
  
• Bryant ranks third on both the league's all-time regular season scoring and all-time postseason scoring lists.
• In his school, Bryant was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country.
• He declared his eligibility for the NBA draft upon graduation.
• He was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets.
• In 1995, at Adidas ABCD camp, Bryant earned the senior MVP award.
• He was then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
• By winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite.
• In his senior year, he was named Naismith High School Player of the Year.
  
• Other than that, he has also been named Gatorade Men's National Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American, and a USA Today All-USA First Team player.
• In high school, Bryant was also a member of rap group called CHEIZAW. The group was also signed by Sony Entertainment.
• Bryant had been accused of sexual assault after having sex with a hotel employee in Edwards, Colorado.
• The case was later dropped in September 2004 after his accuser refused to testify.
• According to reports, a civil suit was later settled out of court.
• From 2000 to 2002, Bryant along with Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive championships.
  
• Shaquille O'Neal was later traded to Miami Heat and Bryant became the cornerstone of the franchise.
• During to 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons, Bryant led and settled with numerous scoring records in the process.
• In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. It was the second most points scored in a single game in NBA history.
• In 2008, he was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP).
• Bryant is the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points.
• He's also the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history.
  
• Bryant has been selected to start every All-Star Game since his second year.
• He has won the All-Star MVP Award four times - 2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011. The number makes him for the most All Star MVP Star MVP Awards winner in NBA history.
• In 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, Bryant won gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team.
• Bryant was named NBA player of the 2000s (Sporting News and TNT).
• Bryant was the member of the Lakers teams that won three consecutive NBA Championships from 2000 to 2002.
• Bryant married African-American Vanessa Laine, but the wedding was not attended by Bryant's family.
  
• Bryant has appeared in endorsements for companies like Adidas, Sprite, MacDonald's, Upper Deck, Nutella and Russell Corporation.
• He has also appeared in his own series video games by Nintendo.
• In 2009, rapper Lil Wayne titled a song "Kobe Bryant," and in following year, rapper Sho Baraka released a song called "Kobe Bryant On'em", which was featured in his album Lions and Liars.
  
• Bryant is also the official ambassador for After-School All-Stars (ASAS), an American non-profit organization that provides comprehensive after-school programs to children in 13 US cities.
• Kobe also started the Kobe Bryant China Fund which partnered with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation, a charity backed by the Chinese government.
• Bryant has also established Kobe Inc whose headquarters are in Newport Beach, California.

Official Website of Kobe Bryant