When is Kobe Bryant’s birthday?

It’s been three years since the renowned basketball player Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. Being a favorite NBA player of his time, his untimely death came as a shock to everyone and is referred to as one of the most shocking demises in modern sports history. Bryant is still remembered for his astronomical achievements in the field of basketball and his commitment to winning.

The basketball Hall-of-Famer won 5 NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in his 20-year career but besides his phenomenally successful sports career, lots of accolades were showered on Bryant post-retirement.

That is, he won the Academy Award in 2018 for his short film Dear Basketball. In the same year on Oct. 23, his book The Mamba Mentality: How I Play was released, which is filled with photographs from his days as a player and is a retrospective reflection on his career.

Commemorating his death, fans are revisiting his overall contribution to the Lakers and basketball as a whole. Given his two-decade-long career, Bryant fans are also curious to know how old he would have been now and numerous exciting endeavors he could have engaged in had he been alive.

Bryant was born on Aug. 23, 1978, so he would have been 44 years old today. He started playing basketball at the age of three, earned national recognition for his tremendous potential when he was in high school, and ultimately became one of the greatest basketball players ever to grace the court.

His NBA career took off almost immediately after being drafted in 1996, as he guided the Los Angeles Lakers back to prominence and stamped his mark as a basketball icon. Some of his notable achievements as a player include being named an NBA All-Star an incredible 18 times, named NBA MVP in 2008, twice awarded NBA Finals MVP (2009, 2010), and winning two Olympic gold medals with the Men’s USA basketball team (2008, 2012).

Unfortunately, his life was cut short on Jan. 26, 2020, when he, his daughter Gia, and seven other travelers met their end in a fatal helicopter crash. He was 41 at the time, which is still shocking and tragic to basketball fans all over the world.

Today he is admired and remembered as one of the greatest and unprecedented players of his generation. Bryant is survived by his three daughters, Bianca, Natalia, Capri, and his wife Vanessa Bryant.