The following day, Bryant declined a proposal to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers and re-signed with the Lakers on a seven-year contract. The announcement drew a robust response, significantly from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. "With 17 NBA All-Star alternatives, an NBA MVP, 5 NBA championships with the Lakers, two Olympic gold medals and a relentless work ethic, Kobe Bryant is among the greatest gamers in the historical past of our game," Silver stated in an announcement. "Whether competing in the finals or hoisting leap pictures after midnight in an empty gym, Kobe has an unconditional love for the game."

Keep reading to preorder the sport and guarantee you've a replica by the point it’s launched. Four editions of the sport have been made for consoles including PS5, PS4, Xbox consoles, Nintendo Switch and PC. You can collect or choose between the Black Mamba model or Kobe Bryant version of the sport, which can function previous and current-gen variations of the sport.

A number of journalists have attributed the improved sales to Bryant's new number, in addition to his continuing All-Star efficiency on the court. In the 2007 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers have been once once more eradicated in the first spherical by the Phoenix Suns, 4–1. The 2005–06 NBA season would mark a crossroads in Bryant's basketball career. Despite previous variations with Bryant, Phil Jackson returned to coach the Lakers.

Bryant was picked 13th overall in the same draft, whereas Iverson was selected first overall by Kobe's hometown Sixers. Not that he was jealous of AI, but Bryant was a player who never needed anybody to get the higher of him. As his final season drew to a close, fans merely wished a last likelihood to see him.

Bryant and Vanessa were married in Dana Point in 2001. Neither his parents nor his sisters nor any of his teammates attended. Bryant would later acknowledge the engagement and marriage led to a two-year estrangement from his father. Juggling two emerging superstars, each with egos, coach Phil Jackson made O’Neal his first precedence, forcing Bryant into something of a supporting role that didn't sit properly with the younger guard. Fans collect near a makeshift memorial for Kobe Bryant outdoors Staples Center after studying of the Lakers legend’s death Sunday.

He then retired from the league and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. As it stands now, Durant is thirteenth all-time in NBA scoring at 26,892 points at 34 years old and has led the NBA in scoring on four totally different occasions. He’s additionally the youngest scoring champion ever after his spectacular 2009–10 marketing campaign when he led all scorers at simply 21 years old. Kobe Bryant wrote a 2017 piece for The Players Tribune entitled "Obsession is Natural".

In 2011, Bryant was featured in Taiwanese singer Jay Chou's single "The Heaven and Earth Challenge" (天地一鬥, pronounced "Tian Di Yi Dou"). Not to be confused with the American football player Coby Bryant.

In the final game of the regular season, in opposition to Sacramento, he selected not to go for a possible third NBA scoring title, having wanted 38 factors to surpass Kevin Durant. The Lakers have been knocked out of the playoffs by Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder in the second spherical of the playoffs, dropping in five video games. During the 2009–10 season, Bryant made six game-winning photographs including a buzzer-beating, one-legged 3-pointer against the Miami Heat on December four, 2009. Bryant thought-about the shot one of the luckiest he has made.