What Year Did Kobe Bryant Enter The Nba?

Kobe Bryant entered the NBA in 1996 and quickly became one of the league’s most popular players. He won five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and was named an All-Star 18 times.

1996 NBA Draft

The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th draft in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, 18-year-old Kobe Bryant was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick.

Draft night

The 1996 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 1996 at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was the 50th Draft in the NBA. In this draft, 18-year-old Kobe Bryant from Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania was selected with the 13th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets and then immediately traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Aftermath

The 1996 NBA draft was one of the most hyped up and time consuming drafts in NBA history. It featured two future perennial All-Stars and possibly the most controversial player in recent memory. The players selected in the 1996 NBA draft have now been in the league for over a decade and their careers have been full of accomplishments and failures.

rookie season

Kobe Bean Bryant was born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents are former professional basketball players. When Kobe was just six years old, his family moved to Italy, where his father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, played for the Italian professional basketball team, Rieti Basket. Kobe became fluent in Italian and developed a love for the game of basketball. In 1991, the family moved back to the United States and settled in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. Kobe Bryant entered the NBA straight out of high school.

Pre-season

Kobe Bryant entered the NBA straight out of high school in 1996, as the Charlotte Hornets selected him with the 13th overall pick in the first round of the NBA draft. After one season with the Hornets, in which he averaged just over 15 minutes per game, Charlotte traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers. It was during his time with the Lakers that Kobe Bryant would become one of the NBA’s greatest players. He played for the Lakers for 20 seasons, winning five NBA championships along the way.

Regular season

Kobe Bean Bryant (/ˈkoʊbi/ KOH-bee; born August 23, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played his entire 20-season career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships with the Lakers. Bryant is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team. He led the NBA in scoring during two seasons and ranks third on both the league’s all-time regular season scoring and all-time postseason scoring lists. He holds the NBA record for the most seasons playing with one franchise for an entire career. At 34 years and 104 days of age, Bryant became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points. He is also the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. Kobe had a long list of accomplishments, he was drafted into the NBA in 1996 by Charlotte Hornets then later traded to Los Angeles Lakes. In his first game as a Laker he led them to victory against Minnesota Timberwolves shooting 8 for 8 from three point line setting a rookie record. From there he went on to have one of greatest rookie seasons in history averaging 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 15 points per game Throughout his whole 20 season Kobe averaged 25 points per game making him 3rd on the scoring list

Playoffs

Kobe entered the playoffs in his rookie season. He was the youngest player ever to play in an NBA game at the time.

Post-NBA career

Kobe Bryant entered the NBA in 1996 and played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team. He was the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2008 and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. After retiring from the NBA in 2016, Bryant became an investor and studio analyst for Turner Broadcasting System’s NBA TV.

Retirement

Kobe Bryant retired from the NBA on April 13, 2016, after 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. He announced his retirement in a poem titled “Dear Basketball” published on The Players’ Tribune website. In the poem, Bryant wrote: “This season is all I have left to give. My heart can take the pounding. My mind can handle the grind but my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.”

Bryant became the Lakers’ all-time leading scorer on February 1, 2010, when he passed Jerry West. He finished his career with 33,643 points, which ranks third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928).

Business ventures

In addition to his Kobe Inc. investments, Bryant was also a ambassador for Panini and Turkish Airlines. He was also a spokesman for Nike, with whom he signed a “lifetime” contract in 2003. In May 2016, he launched his own body care line, Art of Sport.

During his playing career, Bryant was considered one of the most marketable athletes in the world. In 2013, Forbes ranked him as the second highest-paid retired athlete—behind only Michael Jordan—earning an annual income of $55 million from endorsements and memorabilia sales; by 2016, he had risen to fourth highest with an annual income of $26 million. In China, he was one of the most popular athletes, with an approval rating of 92% according to a poll conducted by Sapio Research in February 2016; over a quarter of those surveyed said they considered him a role model. A 2015 survey conducted by The Harris Poll found that 2% of Americans named Bryant as their favorite athlete—the same percentage who named Jordan—trailing only Peyton Manning (3%).