SI's 100 Best Kobe Bryant Photos

Kobe Bryant retired as one of the greatest NBA players of all time. In his 20-year NBA career, Kobe was named an All-Star 18 times and is currently third all time on the NBA scoring list. He won five NBA titles, two finals MVPs, one regular season MVP and he was an 11-time All-NBA first team. The leading scorer in Los Angeles Lakers history, Kobe has also led the 2008 and 2012 US Olympic team to gold medals. In his post-playing days, Bryant has become an entertainment mogul. His "Dear Basketball" short feature won an Oscar in March for best Animated Short Film. In celebration of both Bryant’s 40th birthday on Aug. 23, 2018, we present SI's 100 best photos of the "Black Mamba" through the years.

SI's 100 Best Kobe Bryant Photos

Kobe Bryant

March 3, 1997

Kobe Bryant

Oct. 24, 1997

Amanda Bynes, Kobe Bryant and Christy Knowings

Jan. 16, 1998 — All That

Kel Mitchell, Kobe Bryant and Kenan Thompson

Jan. 16, 1998 — All That

Kobe Bryant with his sisters, Shaya and Sharia

Feb. 1, 1998

Kobe Bryant

Feb. 1, 1998

Kobe Bryant

Feb. 1, 1998

Kobe Bryant

Feb. 1, 1998

Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant

Feb. 1, 1998

Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan

Feb. 8, 1998

Kobe Bryant

March 4, 1998

Kobe Bryant and John Stockton

April 19, 1998

Kobe Bryant

May 18, 1998 — Western Conference Finals, Game 2

Kobe Bryant

May 22, 1998 — Western Conference Finals, Game 3

Kobe Bryant and Scottie Pippen

Feb. 5, 1999

Kobe Bryant

Feb. 5, 1999

Kobe Bryant and Hakeem Olajuwon

Feb. 28, 1999

Kobe Bryant

Dec. 3, 1999

Kobe Bryant

Dec. 14, 1999

Kobe Bryant

Dec. 26, 1999

Kobe Bryant

Jan. 17, 2000

Kobe Bryant

Feb. 22, 2000

Kobe Bryant

Feb. 26, 2000

Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson

March 31, 2000

Kobe Bryant

April 12, 2000

Kobe Bryant

April 12, 2000

Kobe Bryant

April 12, 2000

Kobe Bryant

April 12, 2000

Kobe Bryant

April 12, 2000

Kobe Bryant

April 27, 2000 — Western Conference First Round, Game 2

Kobe Bryant

June 4, 2000 — Western Conference Finals, Game 7

Kobe Bryant and Mark Jackson

June 14, 2000 — NBA Finals, Game 4

Kobe Bryant

June 14, 2000 — NBA Finals, Game 4

Kobe Bryant and Dale Davis

June 19, 2000 — NBA Finals, Game 6

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal

June 19, 2000 — NBA Finals, Game 6

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal

June 19, 2000 — NBA Finals, Game 6

Kobe Bryant

Feb. 10, 2001 — NBA All-Star Game

Kobe Bryant and Scottie Pippen

April 22, 2001 — Western Conference First Round, Game 1

Kobe Bryant, Rasheed Wallace, Stacey Augmon and Shaquille O'Neal

April 22, 2001 — Western Conference First Round, Game 1

Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson

April 29, 2001 — Western Conference First Round, Game 3

Kobe Bryant and Doug Christie

May 8, 2001 — Western Conference Semifinals, Game 2

Kobe Bryant and David Robinson

May 19, 2001 — Western Conference Finals, Game 1

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant

June 1, 2001

Kobe Bryant and Dikembe Mutombo

June 13, 2001 — NBA Finals, Game 4

Kobe Bryant and Chris Kaman

Feb. 4, 2002

Kobe Bryant

Feb. 10, 2002 — NBA All-Star Game

Kobe Bryant

Feb. 24, 2002

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant

March 1, 2002

Kobe Bryant and Derek Anderson

April 28, 2002 — Western Conference First Round, Game 1

Kobe Bryant and Bobby Jackson

June 2, 2002 — Western Conference Finals, Game 7

Kobe Bryant and Aaron Williams

June 5, 2002 — NBA Finals, Game 1

Kobe Bryant

June 12, 2002 — NBA Finals, Game 4

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal

June 9, 2002 — NBA Finals, Game 3

Kobe Bryant

Nov. 11, 2002

Kobe Bryant and Yao Ming

Jan. 27, 2003

Chauncey Billups, Derek Fisher, Tayshaun Prince, Kobe Bryant, Devean George, Richard Hamilton, Karl Malone and Rasheed Wallace

June 8, 2004 — NBA Finals, Game 2

Kobe Bryant

Jan. 13, 2005

Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O'Neal

Feb. 20, 2005 — NBA All-Star Game

Kobe Bryant, Chris Kaman, Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley

Nov. 18, 2005

Kobe Bryant and DeSagana Diop

Dec. 20, 2005

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal

Jan. 16, 2006

Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan

March 10, 2006

Kobe Bryant

April 30, 2006 — Western Conference First Round, Game 4

Kobe Bryant

Feb. 11, 2007

Kobe Bryant, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and LeBron James

Jan. 27, 2008

Kobe Bryant

April 23, 2008 — Western Conference First Round, Game 2

Kobe Bryant

May 23, 2008 — Western Conference Finals, Game 2

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James

June 30, 2008

Kobe Bryant

Aug. 20, 2008 — Beijing Olympics

Kobe Bryant, LeBron Jame,s Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony

Aug. 24, 2008 — Beijing Olympics

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant

Feb. 15, 2009 — NBA All-Star Game

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher

May 4, 2009 — Western Conference Semifinals, Game 1

Yao Ming and Kobe Bryant

May 6, 2009 — Western Conference Semifinals, Game 2

Kobe Bryant

May 19, 2009 — Western Conference Finals, Game 1

Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony

May 19, 2009 — Western Conference Finals, Game 1

Kobe Bryant

May 29, 2009 — Western Conference Finals, Game 6

Kobe Bryant and Mickael Pietrus

June 9, 2009 — NBA Finals, Game 3

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol

June 14, 2009 — NBA Finals, Game 5

Kobe Bryant with his father, Joe

June 21, 2009 — Angels-Dodgers game

Kobe Bryant

March 25, 2010

Kobe Bryant

April 27, 2010 — Western Conference First Round, Game 5

Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo

June 10, 2010 — NBA Finals, Game 4

Kobe Bryant and Rajon Rondo

June 15, 2010 — NBA Finals, Game 6

Kobe Bryant

June 17, 2010 — NBA Finals, Game 7

Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan

Feb. 3, 2011

Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen

Feb. 10, 2011

Kobe Bryant

April 26, 2011 — Western Conference First Round, Game 5

Kobe Bryant

March 4, 2012

Kobe Bryant

May 18, 2012 — Western Conference Semifinals, Game 3

Kobe Bryant

Aug. 6, 2012 — London Olympics

Kobe Bryant

Nov. 9, 2012

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James

Feb. 17, 2013 — NBA All-Star Game

Kobe Bryant and Josh Smith

March 3, 2013

Kobe Bryant and Serge Ibaka

March 5, 2013

Kobe Bryant

Oct. 9, 2013

Kobe Bryant

July 18, 2014

Kobe Bryant

July 18, 2014

Kobe Bryant

July 18, 2014

Kobe Bryant

July 18, 2014

D'Angelo Russell and Kobe Bryant

Sept. 30, 2015