The following day, he surpassed Jerry West to become the all-time main scorer in Lakers franchise historical past. After being sidelined for five video games from an ankle damage, Bryant made his return and made another clutch three-pointer to provide the Lakers a one-point lead with 4 seconds remaining against the Memphis Grizzlies. Two weeks later, he made his sixth game-winning shot of the season in opposition to the Toronto Raptors. After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, O'Neal was traded and Bryant became the cornerstone of the Lakers. He led the NBA in scoring in the course of the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In 2006, he scored a career-high 81 factors; the second most factors scored in a single game in league historical past, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point recreation in 1962.

On December 23, 2007, Bryant became the youngest participant to achieve 20,000 points, in a recreation against the New York Knicks, in Madison Square Garden. In the following 2003–04 season, the Lakers had been in a position to acquire NBA All-Stars Karl Malone, and Gary Payton to make one other push at the NBA Championship. Before the season started, Bryant was arrested for sexual assault. This brought on Bryant to miss some games due to court appearances or attend courtroom earlier within the day and travel to play games later in similar day. Bryant made two buzzer beaters to win the sport and the Pacific Division title. At the end of the fourth quarter, Bryant made a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to send it into extra time.

The NBA agreed; Bryant was the 13th pick in the draft in 1996 despite never playing a single school game. On March 16, Bryant scored a season-high 65 factors in a house sport in opposition to the Portland Trail Blazers, which helped end the Lakers 7-game losing streak. This was the second-best scoring performance of his 11-year career.

Bryant made two buzzer-beaters to win the game and the Pacific Division title. At the tip of the fourth quarter, Bryant made a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to send it into extra time. The game ultimately went to a second additional time, during which Bryant made another three-pointer as time expired to carry the Lakers past the Blazers, 105–104. As a end result, Bryant's level averages more than doubled, from 7.6 to fifteen.4 factors per game.

On Thursday, it was announced the long-lasting Los Angeles Laker and Hall of Famer would be featured on two different versions of the NBA2K24 cowl. Bryant’s cowl resume extends past “2K.” He was the star of “Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside,” which debuted in 1998 for the Nintendo sixty four. In 2018, Bryant grew to become the first African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and the first former professional athlete to be nominated and to win an Academy Award in any class for his filmDear Basketball.

“I think Kobe was more like a gymnast, you know, when he played, and Mike was extra like […] you know a ballet dance because you know what more typically than not he plays on his toes. When he does everything it’s always like boom increase of a sudden one-two punch,” Rodman added. Bryant had famously travelled by helicopters for years. He routinely flew from Newport Beach, California to Los Angeles Stapes Center in his Sikorsky S-76 chopper when he performed for the L.A.

By the top of the 2005–06 season, Bryant set Lakers single-season franchise information for most 40-point games and most points scored . He received the league's scoring title for the first time by averaging 35.4 factors per game, changing into just the fifth participant in league historical past to average no less than 35 in a season. Bryant completed in fourth place within the voting for the 2006 NBA Most Valuable Player Award but acquired 22 first place votes—second solely to winner Steve Nash. Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 until 2016, profitable 5 NBA Championships and the 2008 Most Valuable Player award while making the All-Star group in 18 of his 20 seasons. By his mid-career, Bryant had established himself as one of many greatest gamers in NBA historical past, known for his clutch taking pictures, capable defending, work ethic, and longevity. He was accused of sexual assault in 2003, a cost which he settled out of court—the episode price him some of his most lucrative sponsorship offers, but he retained his status as one of the wealthiest and most beloved American athletes.

On January 10, 2012, Bryant scored forty eight points in opposition to the Suns, essentially the most ever by a player in his 16th season. "Not unhealthy for the seventh-best player within the league," mentioned Bryant, referring to a preseason ESPN ranking of the NBA's high players. He went on to attain 40, forty two, and 42 in his subsequent three games. It was the sixth time in his career he scored forty or more factors in four straight video games, a feat exceeded solely by Wilt Chamberlain . At the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, Bryant scored 27 points to cross Michael Jordan as the profession scoring chief in the All-Star Game.