科比是前NBA球員喬·布萊恩特的兒子。高中就讀位於賓夕法尼亞州的勞爾梅裏恩高中，在那裏科比被公認為美國頂尖的高中籃球員。高中畢業後，他宣佈參加1996年NBA選秀，被夏洛特黃蜂以第13順位選中；接着黃蜂將他交易到湖人。新秀賽季，科比贏得1997年扣籃大賽而受到球迷的喜愛，並在第二個賽季入選NBA全明星賽。2000年至2002年，儘管科比與隊友沙奎爾·奧尼爾之間發生分歧，兩人仍帶領湖人連續三屆奪冠。2003年，科比被一名19歲的旅館服務生指控性侵，因此嚮科比提出訴訟，但在該女子拒絶出庭作證後，撤銷了對科比的訴訟。

在湖人輸掉2004年NBA總决賽之後，奧尼爾被球隊交易，而科比成為球隊的基石。2005–06和2006–07賽季，科比兩度成為聯盟得分王。2006年，他創下職業生涯最高的81分，在聯盟歷史上單場得分位居第二，僅次於1962年威爾特·張伯倫的100分。2009年和2010年，科比帶領球隊連續奪得兩座冠軍，並兩次均獲得總决賽最有價值球員。科比仍然是聯盟頂尖球員之一，直到2013年他的阿基裏斯腱斷裂。儘管健康復原，但在接下來的兩個賽季，他分別因膝蓋和肩膀傷患而賽季報銷。由於身體狀態下滑，科比在2015-16賽季退役。

科比在34歲時，成為聯盟歷史上最年輕的30,000分先生。2010年2月1日，科比超越傑裏·韋斯特成為湖人隊史得分王。科比也是聯盟歷史上第一位至少出戰20個賽季的後衛。他共入選18次全明星賽是有史以來第二多，同時也創下連續首發場數的記錄。科比的四次全明星賽最有價值球員與鮑勃·佩蒂特並列聯盟史上最多。2000年代中期，科比為自己的綽號取為“黑曼巴”（Black Mamba），並被大衆廣泛采用。2008年和2012年夏季奧運會，科比以美國國傢隊成員身份獲得兩枚金牌。2018年，科比編劇及旁白配音的動畫短片《親愛的籃球》獲得奧斯卡最佳動畫短片奬。

2020年1月26日，科比搭乘私人直升機從橘郡飛往洛杉磯的途中，和他的二女兒吉安娜、大學棒球教練約翰·阿爾托貝利等共九人，於卡拉巴薩斯郊外山坡墜機遇難而逝世，享年41歲。NBA為了紀念科比，將全明星賽最有價值球員奬更名。

Kobe Bean Bryant (/ˈkoʊbiː/ KOH-bee; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Bryant won five NBA championships, and was an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), and a two-time NBA Finals MVP. Bryant also led the NBA in scoring twice, and ranks fourth on the league's all-time regular season scoring and all-time postseason scoring lists.

Born in Philadelphia and partly raised in Italy, Bryant was recognized as the top high-school basketball player in the U.S. while at Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania. The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, he declared for the 1996 NBA draft after graduation, and was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick; the Hornets then traded him to the Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, and he was named an All-Star by his second season. Despite a feud with teammate Shaquille O'Neal, the pair led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault, with criminal charges eventually being dropped after the accuser refused to testify, with a lawsuit later settled out of court. Bryant denied the assault charge, but admitted to a sexual encounter and issued a public apology.

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 during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points; the second most points scored in a single game in league history, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962. Bryant led the team to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, and was named NBA Finals MVP on both occasions. He continued to be among the top players in the league through 2013, when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon at age 34. He subsequently suffered season-ending injuries to his knee and shoulder, respectively, in the following two seasons. Citing physical decline, Bryant retired after the 2015–16 season.

Bryant is the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. He was also the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons. His 18 All-Star designations are the second most all time, while it is the record for most consecutive appearances as a starter. Bryant's four All-Star Game MVP Awards are tied with Bob Pettit for the most in NBA history. He gave himself the nickname "Black Mamba" in the mid-2000s, and the epithet became widely adopted by the general public. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team. In 2018, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his 2017 film Dear Basketball.

Bryant died at age 41, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others, due to blunt force trauma sustained from a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. A number of tributes and memorials were subsequently issued, including renaming the All-Star Game MVP Award in his honor.