Kobe Bean Bryant is an american basketball player who played for the Los Angeles Lakers.A five-time champion of the NBA and two-time Olympic champion.

  He was born on August 23,1978 in Philadelphia, in the family of NBA basketball player Joe Bryant.When he was six, his family moved to Italy,where his father played basketball professionally.So Kobe learned to speak Italian and Spanish.In 1991, his family returned to the USA and Kobe began playing for the Lower Merion High School team. Although he received excellent grades, guaranteeing his admission to any ellite college, Kobe decided to join the NBA directly in 1996. Since 2001 he has been married to Vanessa Lane with whom he has 4 children.

  At the age of 17 in the NBA ( the record for the youngest player), Kobe went through a difficult first three years with few chances to perform and limited playing minutes.With the arrival of Phil Jackson as a coach in 1999, Kobe became a key figure in the team along with Shaquille O’Neal.Three consecutive championship titles followed and after the departure of Shaquille, Kobe became the undisputed leader of the ‘Lakers’. He won The Most Valuable Player(MVP) award in the regular season in 2008.

  He also won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in which he spoke about his passion for basketball.

  Bryant has global appeal and in June 2009 he established the Kobe Bryant China Fund to raise money for education ,sports and culture programs for children from both China and the US.More than $6.15 million has been raised for those efforts. 

  I chose this man because even after his death, he continues to be an inspiration to million of people around the world. A few months ago I was stuck in a hole and I didn’t know what to do. I had lost myself. And just then I found out about his movie called ‘Dear Basketball’ , and he seemed to open my eyes to what I should do. That the only way is to believe in yourself and never give up on your dreams. And I will always be grateful that he showed me the light in the tunnel.