17 year old Kobe Bryant was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996. He had made an impression on then Lakers GM Jerry West who had a way of knowing future potential when he seen it. West saw something in Kobe. He traded his starting center Vlade Divac to Charlotte for this young kid named Bryant. Thank god he did because Kobe would later be part of a Laker team that had Shaq O'neal on it and probably the best coach of all time Phil Jackson. This threesome lead the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002. As of 2007 Kobe holds many Laker records and still has many years to go. Besides that here is a list of some of his rewards and achievements.
MVP Awards: 2008
- 3-time NBA Champion: 2000, 2001, 2002
- 2-time Scoring Champion: 2006, 2007
- 10-time NBA All-Star: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
-
- Has started in each of his appearances
- 10 consecutive appearances (No All-Star game in 1999 due to league-wide lock-out)
- 2-time NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2002, 2007
- 10-time All-NBA Selection:
-
- First Team: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
- Second Team: 2000, 2001
- Third Team: 1999, 2005
- First Team: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
- 8-time All-Defensive Selection:
-
- First Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
- Second Team: 2001, 2002
- First Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
- NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 1997
- NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Champion: 1997
- NBA regular season leader in:
-
- points: 2003 (2,461), 2006 (2,832, 7th in NBA history), 2007 (2,430), 2008 (2,323)
- points per game: 2006 (35.4, 9th in NBA history), 2007 (31.6)
- field goals attempted: 2006 (2,173), 2007 (1,757)
- field goals made: 2003 (868), 2006 (978), 2007 (813)
- free throws attempted: 2007 (768)
- free throws made: 2006 (696), 2007 (667)
- points: 2003 (2,461), 2006 (2,832, 7th in NBA history), 2007 (2,430), 2008 (2,323)
- 2nd most points in a Game: 81 (January 22, 2006 vs. the Toronto Raptors)
