His ability to make troublesome pictures has also drawn criticism of his shot selection. Throughout his profession, Bryant was disparaged for being a selfish, high-volume shooter; he missed extra field objective attempts in his career than some other player in NBA historical past. Bryant taking a shot in 1999Bryant's fortunes improved when Phil Jackson took over as coach of the Lakers in 1999. The Lakers became championship contenders behind the center-guard combination of Bryant and O'Neal.

A Catholic cantor said she was impressed by Bryant's faith, and the respect that he confirmed her. Bryant and his household have been common attendees at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach. Bryant and Gianna received the Eucharist collectively just hours earlier than he died in a helicopter crash.

On November 30, 2014, in a 129–122 overtime victory against the Toronto Raptors, Bryant recorded his twentieth profession triple-double with 31 factors, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. At age 36, he became the oldest NBA participant to ever obtain 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a game. On December 14, Bryant became the NBA's third all-time main scorer, passing Jordan in a 100–94 win towards Minnesota.

They came within six seconds of eliminating the second-seeded Suns in Game 6, however, they misplaced that recreation 126–118 in overtime. Despite Bryant's 27.9 points per sport in the series, the Lakers broke down and ultimately fell to the Suns in seven video games. After scoring 50 points on 20 of 35 shooting within the Game 6 loss, Bryant was criticized for only taking three photographs in the second half of the 121–90 Game 7 loss to Phoenix. Bryant obtained a quantity of awards for his outstanding efficiency throughout his senior yr at Lower Merion.

Shortly afterward, Bryant was a half of the memorial service to honor friend and music celebrity Michael Jackson. The following yr, the Lakers received their second straight title by defeating the Celtics. The traditional card-collecting mode is again and loaded with endless hours of customizable fun. Draw from the past and present using today’s All-Stars and all-time legends to type a squad able to dominating single participant and multiplayer modes. MyTEAM contains a assortment of progressive enhancements, together with an all-new salary cap mode, while maintaining its signature competitive feel. Channel your inner-Mamba Mentality as you recreate Kobe’s most dominant and captivating performances during his rise to global superstardom.

In the airline's latest business, the duo competes to win the attention of a young boy. In 2013, Forbes listed Bryant the fifth highest paid sports star on the earth behind Floyd Mayweather, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Lionel Messi. According to Forbes, Bryant's $680 million in profession earnings was essentially the most ever by a staff athlete throughout their taking part in career. Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, received the Eucharist collectively simply hours earlier than they died. Before the 1996 NBA draft, Bryant had worked out in Los Angeles, where he scrimmaged towards former Lakers players Larry Drew and Michael Cooper and, based on then-Laker common manager Jerry West, "marched over these individuals".

On April 13, 2011, the NBA fined Bryant $100,000 for steering a gay slur at referee Bennie Adams in frustration in the earlier day's game. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation praised the NBA's choice to fine Bryant, and the Human Rights Campaign stated that Bryant's language was a "shame" and "distasteful". Bryant said that he was open to discussing the matter with homosexual rights groups and needed to appeal his nice. Bryant and different Lakers appeared in a Lakers public service announcement denouncing his conduct. The staff's quest for another three-peat was ended after they were swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the second spherical of the playoffs.

We had been in a battle with him, and we have been making an attempt to be one of the best player in the world, similar to he was. I grew up with Jordan, Jordan is my favourite participant of all time. But once I got within the sport, Kobe Bryant was that bar for all of us and make no mistake about it we have been making an attempt to make him proud. We never probably spoke it, mentioned it to the media, or mentioned it to him, but deep down inside, that’s what we were attempting to do. And I suppose he knew, as a end result of the way that we competed versus one another.