Kobe Bean Bryant was born August 23, 1978 Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He(1978-08-23) is an American All-Star shooting guard who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. Bryant made instant headlines when he decided to go directly into the NBA upon graduation. After years of steady improvement, and when Phil Jackson became coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999, Bryant and then-teammate Shaquille O’Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002 by forming an outstanding center-guard combination.