科比是前NBA球员乔·布莱恩特的儿子。高中就读位于宾夕法尼亚州的劳尔梅里恩高中，在那里科比被公认为美国顶尖的高中篮球员。高中毕业后，他宣布参加1996年NBA选秀，被夏洛特黄蜂以第13顺位选中；接着黄蜂将他交易到湖人。新秀赛季，科比赢得1997年扣篮大赛而受到球迷的喜爱，并在第二个赛季入选NBA全明星赛。2000年至2002年，尽管科比与队友沙奎尔·奥尼尔之间发生分歧，两人仍带领湖人连续三届夺冠。2003年，科比被一名19岁的旅馆服务生指控性侵，因此向科比提出诉讼，但在该女子拒绝出庭作证后，撤销了对科比的诉讼。

在湖人输掉2004年NBA总决赛之后，奥尼尔被球队交易，而科比成为球队的基石。2005–06和2006–07赛季，科比两度成为联盟得分王。2006年，他创下职业生涯最高的81分，在联盟历史上单场得分位居第二，仅次于1962年威尔特·张伯伦的100分。2009年和2010年，科比带领球队连续夺得两座冠军，并两次均获得总决赛最有价值球员。科比仍然是联盟顶尖球员之一，直到2013年他的阿基里斯腱断裂。尽管健康复原，但在接下来的两个赛季，他分别因膝盖和肩膀伤患而赛季报销。由于身体状态下滑，科比在2015-16赛季退役。

科比在34岁时，成为联盟历史上最年轻的30,000分先生。2010年2月1日，科比超越杰里·韦斯特成为湖人队史得分王。科比也是联盟历史上第一位至少出战20个赛季的后卫。他共入选18次全明星赛是有史以来第二多，同时也创下连续首发场数的记录。科比的四次全明星赛最有价值球员与鲍勃·佩蒂特并列联盟史上最多。2000年代中期，科比为自己的绰号取为“黑曼巴”（Black Mamba），并被大众广泛采用。2008年和2012年夏季奥运会，科比以美国国家队成员身份获得两枚金牌。2018年，科比编剧及旁白配音的动画短片《亲爱的篮球》获得奥斯卡最佳动画短片奖。

2020年1月26日，科比搭乘私人直升机从橘郡飞往洛杉矶的途中，和他的二女儿吉安娜、大学棒球教练约翰·阿尔托贝利等共九人，于卡拉巴萨斯郊外山坡坠机遇难而逝世，享年41岁。NBA为了纪念科比，将全明星赛最有价值球员奖更名。

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.