Kobe Bryant's career timeline in photos
After the "Black Mamba" officially announced his 20th NBA season will be his last, it's as good a time as ever to take a look back at the legendary shooting guard's career in photos.
July 11, 1996: Unveiled by the Lakers
After expressing his unwillingness to suit up for the Charlotte Hornets, who drafted him 13th overall in 1996, Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry West shipped center Vlade Divac to Charlotte for Kobe Bryant, who was unveiled to the L.A. media 10 days later.
June 19, 2000: The first championship
A 21-year-old Bryant averaged 15.6 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.6 rebounds in the 2000 NBA Finals, including a 26-point, 10-rebound performance in the deciding Game 6 against the Indiana Pacers, to win his first NBA title.
January 15, 2001: Triple-double No. 1
Fighting his way out of Shaquille O'Neal's (massive) shadow in 2000, Bryant made a legitimate case for his own stardom with the first of 21 triple-doubles in his career, racking up 26 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds in a 113-112 win against the Vancouver Grizzlies.
June 15, 2001: Winning a second consecutive title
Kobe and Shaq asserted themselves as the NBA's most dominant duo again, downing Allen Iverson and his Philadelphia 76ers in the Finals. Bryant finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds in Game 5 to put the series to rest.
June 12, 2002: Three-peat
The 2002-03 Lakers became only the fifth team in NBA history to win three consecutive championships when they steamrolled the New Jersey Nets, sweeping them in four games behind Bryant's 26.8 points per game.
January 22, 2006: 81
No Bryant-career retrospective is complete without mentioning the night he single-handedly took down the Toronto Raptors with an 81-point show, the most points in one game after Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 in 1962.
March 16-23, 2007: Four straight games with 50+ points
Bryant couldn't be stopped when he put up four straight games of at least 50 points against the Portland Trailblazers (65), Minnesota Timberwolves (50), Memphis Grizzlies (60), and New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (50) in March 2007.
August 24, 2008: The 'Redeem Team'
After a dismal bronze medal in 2004, Team USA invited Bryant to the Olympic squad for the first time in 2008 where he captained the "Redeem Team" to Gold, defeating Spain 118-107 in the final.
June 14, 2009: Championship No. 4, the first sans Shaq
Critics who said he couldn't do it without O'Neal were silenced when Bryant led the Lakers over the Orlando Magic in five games, scoring at least 30 points in all but one game in the 2009 Finals.
June 17, 2010: Five
In what looks to be his final conquest of an NBA title, Bryant averaged 28.6 points and eight rebounds per game in the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, claiming his fifth Larry O'Brien Trophy.
August 12, 2012: Doubling up on Olympic Gold
Bryant was one of five players from the 2008 Olympic squad to return in 2012, where they scored a record 156 points against Nigeria before defeating Spain once again in the gold-medal game, 100-78.
April 12, 2013: The beginning of the fall
In a move he had made "a million times," Bryant tore his Achilles tendon in a freak injury against the Golden State Warriors, ruling him out for the rest of the season. He recovered in time for the following season, but never returned to his dominant ways.
November 29, 2015: Full circle
Just after facing the team he defeated for his first NBA championship in the Pacers, Bryant addressed reporters after announcing earlier in the day that 2015-16 would be his final season.
