Kobe Byrant, who has died in a helicopter crash at the age of 41, is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Here is why:
1
The number of Most Valuable Player awards Bryant won. The accolade is given to the best-performing player in the regular season – Bryant won it in 2007-08.
Also his number of Oscar wins. Bryant won the award for best short animated film in 2016 for Dear Basketball, a five-minute film based on a love letter to the sport he wrote in 2015.
2
The number of NBA Finals MVP awards won by Bryant, in 2008-09 and the following year. It is also the number of Olympic gold medals he won, helping the United States top the podium in 2008 and 2012.
Also the number of shirts the Lakers retired in his honour – eight and 24.
4
All-Star MVP Awards won – in 2001-02, 2006-07, 2008-09 and 2010-11. He is tied with Bob Pettit for the most in NBA history.
5
Bryant won five NBA championships.
9
Just four players in NBA history – Bryant, Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett and Gary Payton – have been selected for the NBA All-defensive first team nine times.
11
He made the All-NBA First Team selection 11 times, second-equal with Karl Malone. LeBron James is the only player to have made it in 12 times.
15
That is how many starts Bryant has made in the NBA’s annual All-Star Game – the second most in history, one behind James, who was selected to make his 16th just two days ago.
16
And 16 is the number of times Bryant has played on Christmas day – again, the most in NBA history.
18
As well as making 15 starts, Bryant was picked for the All-Star Game 18 times in a row. That is the longest streak in NBA history and only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with 19, made the All-Star Game more times.
20
Bryant spent 20 seasons with the Lakers. Only Dirk Nowitzki, who had 21 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, has had a longer one-club career in the NBA.
25
The number of games in which he scored 50 points – only Wilt Chamberlain (118) and Michael Jordan (31) have scored 50-plus points more times.
60
The number of points scored against the Utah Jazz in his final game. It was the seventh time he had scored 60-plus points and the first time he had achieved the feat since 2009.
81
When the Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 122-104 on 22 January 2006, Bryant scored 81 of his side’s points. Only Wilt Chamberlain, with a 100-point game in 1962, has scored more.
5,640
Bryant’s 5,640 points scored in the NBA playoffs is the fourth highest total in NBA history behind James (6,911), Jordan (5,987) and Abdul-Jabbar (5,762).
33,643
Bryant, who made his debut in the 1996-97 season, scored 33,643 regular season points, putting him fourth on the all-time scoring list behind Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928) and LeBron James (33,655), who overtook Bryant while playing for the Lakers on Sunday.
48,637
His 48,637 minutes played is the eighth-highest total in the NBA.
