1. In the NBA, Bryant once won the MVP title – Best player of the season, in 2008. The Lakers legend also won an Oscar once, in the category of best animated short film in 2018. The film is based on on the poem “Dear Basketball” that Kobe composed in 2015. To date, Kobe Bryant is still the only former sports athlete to own an Oscar gold statue.

Image of Bryant in the Oscar-winning animated film.

2. Kobe Bryant won Finals MVP twice – the title for the best player in the NBA finals series, in 2009 and 2010. This is also the number of Olympic gold medals Bryant won with the US team, in 2008 and 2012. Year In 2017, the Lakers retired the two jersey numbers that Bryant once wore, 8 and 24.

4. Bryant won All-Star MVP four times in 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011. In the NBA, he shares this record with Bob Pettit.

5. Bryant won the NBA championship five times with the Lakers, in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010.

9. Bryant is one of four players who were selected nine times for the best defensive team of the season, alongside Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett and Gary Payton.

Bryant is one of America’s most admired athletes. Photo: LA Times.

11. Bryant made the NBA’s team of the season 11 times, equal to Karl Malone. LeBron James holds the record, with 12 times.

15. Bryant appeared in the All-Star starting lineup 15 times, the second most after LeBron James (16 times). Bryant’s total number of All-Star appearances is 18.

16. Bryant played 16 times on Christmas Day in the NBA, the most in history. 

20. Bryant spent his entire 20-year career with the LA Lakers. Only Dirk Nowitzki, who spent 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, had a longer career with one club than Kobe.

25. Kobe Bryant had 25 games scoring 50 points or more. Only Wilt Chamberlain (118) and Michael Jordan (31) surpass Bryant in this parameter. 

60. Bryant scored 60 points in his farewell game against the Utah Jazz in 2016. It was the seventh time the Lakers legend scored 60 points or more in an NBA game. The first time Bryant did this was in 2009.

81. When the LA Lakers defeated the Toronto Raptors 122-104 on January 22, 2006, Bryant scored 81 points, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the team’s points. Wilt Chamberlain, with 100 points in 1962, holds the record for most points in a game.

The Lakers retired two jersey numbers 8 and 24 in 2017 to honor Bryant’s contributions to the club. Photo: Reuters.

5,640. Bryant scored 5,640 points in NBA playoff series, the fourth most in history, behind LeBron James (6,911), Michael Jordan (5,987) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5,762).

33,643. In more than 20 years of career, Bryant scored 33,643 points in main seasons in the NBA. The 41-year-old legend ranked fourth on the list of top scorers at the tournament, behind Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), and LeBron James (33,655).

48,637. This is Bryant’s number of minutes played in the NBA, the eighth most in history.