Título: Kobe Bryant
Seção: National team career
Background: Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships with the Lakers. Bryant is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team.

Conteúdo: Bryant earned national recognition during a spectacular high school career at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, which was located in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion. He played on the varsity basketball team as a freshman. He became the first freshman in decades to start for Lower Merion's varsity team, but the team finished with a 4-20 record. The following three years, the Aces compiled a 77-13 record, with Bryant playing all five positions. During his junior year, he averaged 31.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.2 assists and was named Pennsylvania Player of the Year, attracting attention from college recruiters in the process. Duke, Michigan, North Carolina and Villanova were at the top of his list; however, when Kevin Garnett went in the first round of the 1995 NBA draft, he began considering going directly to the pros.  At Adidas ABCD camp, Bryant earned the 1995 senior MVP award while playing alongside future NBA teammate Lamar Odom. While in high school, then 76ers coach John Lucas invited Bryant to work out and scrimmage with the team, where he played one-on-one with Jerry Stackhouse. In his senior year of high school, Bryant led the Aces to their first state championship in 53 years. During the run, he averaged 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4 steals, and 3.8 blocked shots in leading the Aces to a 31-3 record. Bryant ended his high school career as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all-time leading scorer at 2,883 points, surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain an

user: When did Kobe Bryant first play for the national team?

assistant: Bryant's United States national team career finally began in 2007.

user: How did he do on the team?

assistant: Team that finished 10-0, won gold and qualified the United States men for the 2008 Olympics.

user: How did the US do in the 2008 Olympics?

assistant: Bryant scored 20 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, along with six assists,

user: Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?

assistant: Ultimately, however, the 17-year-old Bryant made the decision to go directly into the NBA, only the sixth player in NBA history to do so.

user: What colleges did Bryant consider playing for?

assistant: Duke, Michigan, North Carolina and Villanova were at the top of his list;

user: What did people say about his decision to go pro?

assistant: Bryant's news was met with a lot of publicity at a time when prep-to-pro NBA players were not very common (Garnett being the only exception in 20 years).

user: How did he perform in his rookie year?

assistant: He averaged 30 points per game and embarked on a historic run,

user: Did he win any awards for his rookie year?

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?

assistant: In 2012, Bryant was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.

user: What have his critics said about him?

assistant: CANNOTANSWER

user: What have his teammates said about him?

assistant: Bryant's varsity coach, Greg Downer, commented that he was "a complete player who dominates" and praised his work ethic, even as the team's top player.