By the Numbers
Height: 6 feet, 6 inches tall
Weight: 220 pounds
Position: Guard
NBA Championship Rings: Three
Most Points Scored: 56, against Memphis, Jan. 14, 2002
Most Three-Pointers: 12, against Seattle, Jan. 7, 2003
Most Free Throws: 23, against Cleveland, Jan. 30, 2001
Possible Sentences: Four years to life in prison; 20 years to life on probation; fine of up to $750,000

Selected Non-Basketball TV Appearances
Moesha (while dating Brandy)
Arli$$
Sister, Sister
In the House
Bette
The Proud Family

International Intrigue
• His parents named him for a popular type of beef from Kobe, Japan.

• Bryant speaks fluent Italian, which he learned when his family lived in Italy for eight years while his father played in the Italian professional basketball league.

Lower Merion High School
• Bryant was a member of a rap group called Chi Sah. They called him "Eight-Man Kobe-One-Kenobie." He even rapped in Italian.

• By his junior year, Bryant averaged 31 points a game.

• USA Today and Parade magazine both named Bryant the national high school player of the year.

• In May 1996, Bryant went to his high school prom with singing star Brandy.

Endorsements
• When Bryant announced that he would go pro after high school, Adidas signed him to a $10 million contract.

• Coca-Cola signed Bryant to a multimillion-dollar contract to endorse Sprite.

• In February 2001, McDonald's signed Bryant to a $10 million endorsement deal.

• In June 2001, Nike signed Bryant to a $40 million endorsement deal.

On the Court
• When the Charlotte Hornets picked Bryant 13th overall in the first round of the draft, he became the youngest player ever drafted into the NBA. He eventually signed with the Los Angeles Lakers for three years and $3.5 million.

• Bryant missed most of the Lakers' training camp, because he was sidelined for five weeks with a broken wrist. He injured it playing a pickup game. In his first home exhibition game, he strained a hip flexor and missed the season opener.

• When he played his first NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he was 18 years, two months and 11 days old.

• Lakers teammate Shaquille O'Neal nicknamed Bryant "Showboat" because of his self-centered performances on the court.

• In his first year, Bryant set a new scoring record with 31 points during the rookie All-Star Game. He also won the slam-dunk competition.

Lady-Killer
• In November 1999, Bryant met Vanessa Laine, a 17-year-old Latina model. Six months later he proposed.

• When Bryant married 18-year-old Laine in April 2001, his family did not attend. His parents reportedly had problems with him marrying so young, especially to a woman who wasn't black (Laine is half Mexican and half Irish).

In the Court
• In July 2003, the sheriff of Eagle County, Colorado, arrested Bryant on suspicion of felony sexual assault after an encounter with a woman at a hotel. She said she was raped; he said the sex was consensual.

• Shortly after his arrest, Bryant bought his wife a $4 million diamond "apology" ring.

• His trial is tentatively scheduled to begin some time in mid-2004.