The basis given for the suspension was that Bryant had carried out an "unnatural motion" in swinging his arm backward. Bryant at the free-throw line, 2005In the first recreation of the 2002–03 season, Bryant recorded 27 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in an 87–82 loss to the visiting Spurs. On November 1, Bryant recorded a triple-double of 33 factors, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in a 108–93 win over the LA Clippers. He also set an NBA record for three-pointers in a recreation on January 7, 2003, when he made 12 against the Seattle SuperSonics. Bryant averaged 30 factors per recreation and embarked on a historic run, posting forty or more factors in 9 consecutive games whereas averaging forty.6 in the entire month of February. In addition, he averaged 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and a pair of.2 steals per game, all career-highs to that time.

Despite previous variations with Bryant, Jackson returned to educate the Lakers. In the next season, the Lakers were in a position to acquire NBA All-Stars Karl Malone and Gary Payton to make another push at the NBA championship. Bryant was arrested for sexual assault before the season began. This caused Bryant to miss some games because of courtroom appearances or attend courtroom earlier within the day and journey to play video games in a while the identical day. In the final game of the regular season, the Lakers played the Portland Trail Blazers. Bryant made two buzzer-beaters to win the game and the Pacific Division title.

Kobe Bryant walks off the courtroom along with his wife, Vanessa, and daughter Natalia after scoring a career-high 81 factors in a Lakers win over the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center on Jan. 22, 2006. Despite Jason Kidd’s hand in his face, Kobe Bryant places up the winning shot in the Lakers’ victory over the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals at Staples Arena. Kobe Bryant drives past Chris Webber in Game four of the primary spherical of the 2000 Western Conference playoffs at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation praised the NBA's decision to fine Bryant, and the Human Rights Campaign stated that Bryant's language was a "shame" and "distasteful". Bryant said that he was open to discussing the matter with homosexual rights groups and needed to enchantment his fine. Bryant and other Lakers appeared in a Lakers public service announcement denouncing his conduct. The staff's quest for another three-peat was ended once they had been swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs. The Mavericks would go on to win the 2011 NBA Finals. On May 27, 2007, ESPN reported that Bryant said that he wanted to be traded if Jerry West did not return to the group with full authority.

Bryant acquired experimental platelet-rich plasma remedy called Orthokine in Germany to treat the pain on his left knee and ankle, and Mike Brown replaced the retired Phil Jackson as coach of the Lakers within the offseason. Bryant started the season playing with an injured wrist. On January 10, 2012, Bryant scored 48 points against the Suns, the most ever by a player in his sixteenth season.

The 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee was additionally an 18-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA honoree, a 12-time All-Defensive honoree, a four-time All-Star Game MVP, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, and a two-time scoring champion and one-time MVP. He completed his career with 33,643 factors, which ranks fourth in NBA historical past. Bryant's association with the NBA 2K online game collection dates again to his first look on the duvet of NBA 2K10. Since then, he has been featured a number of instances, including as the particular edition athlete cowl for NBA 2K17.

The Lakers had been knocked out of the playoffs by Durant and Oklahoma City within the second round of the playoffs, losing in 5 games in what would be Bryant's ultimate playoff look. The street to the Finals would prove so much harder than the report run the Lakers had enjoyed the previous year. While the Lakers swept the Blazers and defeated the Spurs 4–1 within the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Lakers did not have home-court advantage in opposition to the Sacramento Kings. The collection would stretch to seven games, the primary time this had occurred to the Lakers because the 2000 Western Conference Finals.

Bryant later confirmed his desire for West's return to the franchise, but denied stating that he would want to be traded if that does not occur. Bryant would later be proven on an notorious novice video saying that heart Andrew Bynum should have been traded for All-Star Jason Kidd. Brown has never been inside copyright Arena, the building that the Clippers and the Lakers call home. It’s the arena – then called Staples Center – where Bryant played the majority of his 20 seasons with the Lakers, scored his career-best 81 points towards Toronto in 2006 and referred to as house for 5 championship runs and 18 All-Star campaigns.