Bryant is still the youngest player ever to start an NBA game.
Bryant was just 18 years and 158 days old when he made his first NBA start against the Dallas Mavericks in January of 1997. He scored 12 points as the Lakers won 102-83.
Barely a year after, he became — and remains — the youngest ever player to feature in an All-Star game.
He was just 19 years and 170 days old in 1998 when he played on the West Conference team alongside Shaquille O'Neal, Gary Payton, and Tim Duncan, amongst others. However, he couldn't prevent a 135–114 defeat.
It was a fixture he would go on to dominate over the years, earning a joint record for most MVP awards.
Bryant may have lost his first All-Star game, but would go on to have a further 17 shots at victory throughout his career. During that time, he picked up a joint record four MVP awards, which is matched only by Bob Pettit.
He scored the most points in a single game of the modern NBA era.
Bryant hit an incredible 81 points in a single game against the Toronto Raptors in January of 2006 — 10 more than anyone had ever scored before. The Lakers coach at the time, Phil Jackson, said after according to the NBA's official website: "I've seen some remarkable games, but I've never seen one like that before."
He has also scored more points, more free-throws, and made more turnovers than any other guard in history.
During his career, Bryant hit 33,643 points, made 8,378 free throws, and completed 4,010 turnovers. All three are records for his position.
He's one of only four players to win 15 All-NBA team honours.
The All-NBA Teams are the end of season squads that include the division's best players from over the course of the year, as voted by sportswriters and broadcasters.
Bryant made the cut 15 times. LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Tim Duncan are the only others who have done the same.
He was also one of only four to win nine All-Defensive First Team honors.
Like the All-NBA team, the All-Defensive First Team is the annual squad of the division's best defenders. Bryant was named within it a record-equaling nine times. The others to have achieved that feat are Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, and Kevin Garnett.
He scored the most points ever in a single arena.
No player in NBA history has dominated one court like Bryant. In 20 seasons with the Lakers, he hit 16,161 points at the Staples Center, just under half his career total.
At 37, he became — and still is — the youngest player ever to reach 33,000 points.
Only four players in NBA history have scored 33,000 points, but no one did it faster than Bryant. He was aged 37 years and 138 days when he hit that landmark against the Sacramento Kings in January 2016.
Soon after, he became the oldest player ever to score over 60 points in a single game.
Bryant didn't slow down as he got older. In his final game for the Lakers in 2016, he hit 60 points against the Utah Jazz, in turn becoming the oldest player in the division's history to hit such a score in a single game.
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