Kobe Bryant

One of basketball's biggest talents, Kobe Bryant rose to fame as a guard for the Los Angeles Lakers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Together with teammate and center Shaquille O'Neal, Bryant led the Lakers to three consecutive National Basketball Association (NBA) championships. One of the NBA's youngest players, the six foot six, 220-pound Bryant caused a stir by skipping college and turning pro just out of high school at age 18. By 1998 he made history as basketball's youngest All-Star player. Bryant, however, had to face sexual assault allegations relating to a 2003 encounter with a woman in Vail, Colorado. Charges were dropped and a civil suit was settled, but controversy continued to engulf the star as his...