Name	Yao Ming
Height ft	7 |height_in 6
Weight lb	310
Number	11
Position	Center
Birth date	September 12, 1980
Birth place	Shanghai, China
Nationality	Chinese
Draft round	1
Draft pick	1
Draft team	Houston Rockets
Draft year	2002
Years1	1997–2002 |team1 Shanghai Sharks (China)
Years2	– |team2 Houston Rockets
Career start	1997
Career end	2011
Highlights	8× NBA All-Star (–, ) 2× All-NBA Second Team (, ) 3× All-NBA Third Team (, , ) NBA All-Rookie First Team () 2002 FIBA World Championship All-Tournament Team 3× FIBA Asian Championship MVP (2001, 2003, 2005)
Stat1label	Points
Stat1value	9,247 (19.0 ppg)
Stat2label	Assists
Stat2value	769 (1.6 apg)
Stat3label	Rebounds
Stat3value	4,494 (9.2 rpg)
Letter	m
Bbr	mingya01 }}

}}

Title	Yao Ming
S	姚明
T	姚明
Showflag	st
P	Yáo Míng
Mi
showflag	jyp }}

Yao Ming (born September 12, 1980) is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As of the 2010–11 NBA season, he was the tallest player in the NBA, at .

Yao, who was born in Shanghai, started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), winning a championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, Yao was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. Yao was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. He reached the NBA Playoffs four times, and the Rockets won a first-round series in the 2009 postseason, their first playoff series victory since 1997. However, Yao missed 250 regular-season games due to foot and ankle injuries in his final six seasons.

He is one of China's best-known athletes, with sponsorships with several major companies. His rookie year in the NBA was the subject of a documentary film, ''The Year of the Yao'', and he co-wrote, along with NBA analyst Ric Bucher, an autobiography titled ''Yao: A Life in Two Worlds''.

Career in China

Early life and CBA career

Yao is the only child of 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Yao Zhiyuan and 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m) Fang Fengdi, both of whom were former professional basketball players. At , Yao weighed more than twice as much as the average Chinese newborn, and grew to be 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) by age ten. At that age, he was examined by sports doctors, who predicted he would grow to 7 feet 3 inches (2.20 m). He began playing basketball at age nine, and went to a junior sports school at the same age.

Yao first tried out for the Shanghai Sharks junior team of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) when he was 13 years old, and practiced for 10 hours a day to make the team. After playing with the junior team for four years, Yao joined the senior team of the Sharks at age 17, and averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds a game in his rookie season. However, his next season was cut short when he broke his foot for the second time in his career, which Yao said decreased his jumping ability by four to six inches (10 to 15 cm). The Sharks made the finals of the CBA in Yao’s third season and again the next year, but lost both times to the Bayi Rockets. When Wang Zhizhi left the Bayi Rockets to become the first NBA player from China the following year, the Sharks finally won their first CBA championship. During the playoffs in his final year with Shanghai, Yao averaged 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 76.6% from the field, and made all 21 of his shots during one game in the finals.

Entering the NBA Draft

Yao was pressured to enter the NBA Draft in 1999 by Li Yaomin, the deputy general manager of the Shanghai Sharks. Li also influenced Yao to sign a contract for Evergreen Sports Inc. to serve as his agent. The agreement entitled Evergreen to 33% of Yao's earnings, but the contract was later determined to be invalid.

When Yao decided to enter the 2002 NBA Draft, a group of advisers was formed that came to be known as “Team Yao”. The team consisted of Yao’s negotiator, Erik Zhang; his NBA agent, Bill Duffy; his Chinese agent, Lu Hao; University of Chicago economics professor John Huizinga; and the vice president for marketing at BDA Sports Management, Bill Sanders. Yao was widely predicted to be picked number one overall. However, some teams were concerned about Yao's NBA eligibility due to uncertainty over whether the CBA would let Yao play in the United States.

Shortly after Wang Zhizhi refused to return to China to play for the national team and was subsequently banned from playing for China, the CBA stipulated that Yao would have to return to play for the national team. They also said they would not let him go to the United States unless the Houston Rockets would take him first overall. After assurances from Team Yao that the Rockets would draft Yao with their number one pick, the CBA gave permission on the morning of the draft for Yao to play in the U.S. When the Rockets selected Yao with the first pick of the draft, he became the first international player ever to be selected first overall without having previously played U.S. college basketball.

NBA career

Initial years (2002–2005)

Yao did not participate in the Rockets' pre-season training camp, instead playing for China in the 2002 FIBA World Championships. Before the season, several commentators, including Bill Simmons and Dick Vitale, predicted that Yao would fail in the NBA, and Charles Barkley said he would "kiss [Kenny Smith's] ass" if Yao scored more than 19 points in one of his rookie-season games. Yao played his first NBA game against the Indiana Pacers, scoring no points and grabbing two rebounds, and scored his first NBA basket against the Denver Nuggets. In his first seven games, he averaged only 14 minutes and 4 points, but on November 17, he scored 20 points on a perfect 9-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line against the Lakers. Barkley made good on his bet by kissing the buttock of a donkey purchased by Smith for the occasion (Smith's "ass").

In Yao's first game in Miami on December 16, 2002, the Heat passed out 8,000 fortune cookies, an Asian stereotype. Yao was not angry with the promotion because he was not familiar with American stereotypes of Chinese. In an earlier interview in 2000, Yao said he had never seen a fortune cookie in China. He guessed it must have been an American invention.

Before Yao’s first meeting with Shaquille O'Neal on January 17, 2003, O'Neal said, "Tell Yao Ming, Ching chong-yang-wah-ah-soh", prompting accusations of racism. O'Neal denied that his comments were racist, and said he was only joking. Yao also said he believed O'Neal was joking, but he said a lot of Asians would not see the humor. In the game, Yao scored six points and blocked O'Neal twice in the opening minutes, and made a game-sealing dunk with 10 seconds left in overtime. Yao finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 blocks; O'Neal recorded 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 0 blocks.

The NBA began offering All-Star ballots in three languages—English, Spanish and Chinese—for fan voting of the starters for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game. Yao was voted to start for the West over O'Neal, who was coming off three consecutive NBA Finals MVP Awards. Yao received nearly a quarter million more votes than O'Neal, and he became the first rookie to start in the All-Star Game since Grant Hill in 1995.

Yao finished his rookie season averaging 13.5 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game, and was second in the NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting to Amar'e Stoudemire, and a unanimous pick for the NBA All-Rookie First Team selection. He was also voted the ''Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year, and won the Laureus Newcomer of the Year award.

Before the start of Yao's sophomore season, Rockets' head coach Rudy Tomjanovich resigned due to health issues, and long-time New York Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy was brought in. After Van Gundy began focusing the offense on Yao, Yao averaged career highs in points and rebounds for the season, and had a career-high 41 points and 7 assists in a triple-overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks in February 2004. He was also voted to be the starting center for the Western Conference in the 2004 NBA All-Star Game for the second straight year. Yao finished the season averaging 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds a game. The Rockets made the playoffs for the first time in Yao's career, claiming the seventh seed in the Western Conference. In the first round, however, the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated Houston in five games. Yao averaged 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in his first playoff series.

In the summer of 2004, the Rockets acquired Tracy McGrady from the Orlando Magic in a seven-player trade that also sent Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley to Orlando. Although Yao said that Francis and Mobley had "helped [him] in every way [his] first two seasons", he added, "I'm excited about playing with Tracy McGrady. He can do some amazing things." After the trade, it was predicted that the Rockets would be title contenders. Both McGrady and Yao were voted to start in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game, and Yao broke the record previously held by Michael Jordan for most All-Star votes, with 2,558,278 total votes. The Rockets won 51 games and finished fifth in the West, and made the playoffs for the second consecutive year, where they faced the Dallas Mavericks. The Rockets won the first two games in Dallas, and Yao made 13 of 14 shots in the second game, the best shooting performance in the playoffs in Rockets history. However the Rockets lost four of their last five games and lost Game 7 by 40 points, the largest Game 7 deficit in NBA history. Yao's final averages for the series were 21.4 points on 65% shooting and 7.7 rebounds.

Injury-plagued seasons (2005–2011)

After missing only two games out of 246 in his first three years of NBA play, Yao endured an extended period on the inactive list in his fourth season after developing osteomyelitis in the big toe on his left foot, and surgery was performed on the toe on December 18, 2005. Despite missing 21 games while recovering, Yao again had the most fan votes to start the 2006 NBA All-Star Game.

thumb|left|In his [[2006–07 NBA season|fifth season, Yao averaged a career-high 25 points per game.]]In 25 games after the All-Star break, Yao averaged 25.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 53.7% from the field and 87.8% at the free-throw line. His final averages in 57 games were 22.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. It was the first time that he ended the season with a so-called "20/10" average. However, Tracy McGrady played only 47 games in the season, missing time because of back spasms. Yao and McGrady played only 31 games together, and the Rockets did not make the playoffs, winning only 34 games. With only four games left in the season, Yao suffered another injury in a game against the Utah Jazz on April 10, 2006, which left him with a broken bone in his left foot. The injury required six months of rest.

Early into his fifth season, Yao was injured again, this time breaking his right knee on December 23, 2006, while attempting to block a shot. Up to that point he had been averaging 26.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, and had been mentioned as an NBA MVP candidate. Yao was unable to play in what would have been his fifth All-Star game; he was medically cleared to play on March 4, 2007, after missing 34 games.

Despite Yao's absence, the Rockets made the playoffs with the home court advantage against the Utah Jazz in the first round. The Rockets won the first two games, but then lost four of five games and were eliminated in Game 7 at home; Yao scored 29 points—15 in the fourth quarter. Although he averaged 25.1 points and 10.3 rebounds for the series, Yao said afterwards "I didn't do my job". At the end of the season, Yao was selected to the All-NBA Second Team for the first time in his career, after being selected to the All-NBA Third Team twice.

On May 18, 2007, only weeks after the Rockets were eliminated from the playoffs, Jeff Van Gundy was dismissed as head coach. Three days later, the Rockets signed former Sacramento Kings coach Rick Adelman, who was thought to focus more on offense than the defensive-minded Van Gundy.

On November 9, 2007, Yao played against fellow Chinese NBA and Milwaukee Bucks player Yi Jianlian for the first time. The game, which the Rockets won 104–88, was broadcast on 19 networks in China, and was watched by over 200 million people in China alone, making it one of the most-watched NBA games in history. In the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, Yao was once again voted to start at center for the Western Conference. Before the All-Star weekend, the Rockets had won eight straight games, and after the break, they took their win streak to 12 games. On February 26, 2008, however, it was reported that Yao would miss the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot. He missed the 2008 NBA Playoffs, but he did not miss the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing, China in August. After Yao's injury, the Rockets stretched their winning streak to 22 games, the second-longest in NBA history. Yao underwent a successful operation on March 3, which placed screws in his foot to strengthen the bone, and recovery time was estimated at four months. Yao's final averages in 55 games were 22.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks a game.

The next season, Yao played 77 games, his first full season since the 2004–05 season, and averaged 19.7 points and 9.9 rebounds, while shooting 54.8% from the field, and a career-high 86.6% from the free throw line. Despite McGrady suffering a season-ending injury in February, the Rockets finished with 53 wins and the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Facing the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, Yao finished with 24 points on 9 of 9 shooting in the first game, and the Rockets won 108–81, in Portland. The Rockets won all their games in Houston, and advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997, and the first time in Yao's career.

The Rockets faced the Lakers in the second round, and Yao scored 28 points, with 8 points in the final four minutes, to lead the Rockets to a 100–92 win in Los Angeles. However, the Rockets lost their next two games, and Yao was diagnosed with a sprained ankle after Game 3. A follow-up test revealed a hairline fracture in his left foot, and he was ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs. In reaction, Yao said the injury, which did not require surgery, was "better than last year". However, follow-up analysis has indicated that the injury could be career threatening. The Yao-less Rockets went on to win Game 4 against the Lakers to even the series 2–2. The Rockets eventually lost the series in seven games.

In July 2009, Yao discussed the injury with his doctors, and the Rockets applied for a disabled player exception, an exception to the NBA Salary Cap which grants the injured player's team money to sign a free agent. The Rockets were granted the exception, and used approximately $5.7 million on free agent Trevor Ariza. After weeks of consulting, it was decided that Yao would undergo surgery in order to repair the broken bone in his left foot. He did not play the entire 2009–10 season.

For the 2010–11 season, the Rockets said they would limit Yao to 24 minutes a game, with no plan to play him on back-to-back nights. Their goal was to keep Yao healthy in the long term. On December 16, 2010, it was announced that Yao had developed a stress fracture in his left ankle, related to an older injury, and would miss the rest of the season. In January 2011, he was voted as the Western Conference starting center for the 2011 All-Star Game for the eighth time in nine seasons. Injured All-Stars are usually required to attend the All-Star functions and to be introduced at the game, but Yao was not in Los Angeles because of his rehabilitation schedule after his surgery. Yao's contract with the Rockets expired at the end of the season, and he became a free agent.

Retirement

On July 20, 2011, Yao announced his retirement from basketball in a press conference in Shanghai. He cited injuries to his foot and ankle, including the third fracture to his left foot sustained near the end of 2010. His retirement sparked over 1.2 million comments on the Chinese social-networking site Sina Weibo. Reacting to Yao's retirement, NBA commissioner David Stern said Yao was a "bridge between Chinese and American fans" and that he had "a wonderful mixture of talent, dedication, humanitarian aspirations and a sense of humor." Shaquille O'Neal said Yao "was very agile. He could play inside, he could play outside, and if he didn't have those injuries he could've been up there in the top five centers to ever play the game."

Yao was nominated by a member of the Chinese media for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor to the game. He would have been eligible for induction as early as 2012, but Yao felt it was too soon and requested that the Hall of Fame delay consideration of the nomination. The Hall said it was Yao's decision when the process would be restarted.

International career

2000 and 2004 Olympics

Yao first played for China in the Summer Olympics at the 2000 Olympics Basketball Tournament, and he was dubbed, together with teammates Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer, "The Walking Great Wall". During the 2004 Athens Olympics, Yao carried the Chinese flag during the opening ceremony, which he said was a “long dream come true”. He then vowed to abstain from shaving his beard for half a year unless the Chinese national basketball team made it into the quarter-finals of the 2004 Olympics Basketball Tournament. After Yao scored 39 points in a win against New Zealand, China lost 58–83, 57–82, and 52–89 against Spain, Argentina and Italy respectively. In the final group game, however, a 67–66 win over the reigning 2002 FIBA World Champions Serbia and Montenegro moved them into the quarterfinals. Yao scored 27 points and had 13 rebounds, and he hit two free throws with 28 seconds left that proved to be the winning margin. He averaged 20.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting 55.9% from the field.

Asian Championships

Yao led the Chinese national team to 3 consecutive FIBA Asian Championship gold medals, winning the 2001 FIBA Asian Championship, the 2003 FIBA Asian Championship, and the 2005 FIBA Asian Championship. He was also named the MVP of all three tournaments.

2006 World Championships

Yao’s injury at the end of the 2005–06 NBA season required a full six months of rest, threatening his participation in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. However, he recovered before the start of the tournament, and in the last game of the preliminary round, he had 36 points and 10 rebounds in a win against Slovenia to lead China into the Round of 16. In the first knockout round, however, China was defeated by eventual finalist Greece. Yao's final averages were 25.3 points, the most in the tournament, and 9.0 rebounds a game, which was fourth overall.

2008 Olympics

After having surgery to repair his fractured foot, Yao said that if he could not play in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, "It would be the biggest loss in my career to right now". However, he returned to play with the Chinese national team on July 17, 2008. On August 6, Yao carried the Olympic Flame into Tiananmen Square, as part of the Olympic torch relay. He also carried the Chinese flag and led his country's delegation during the opening ceremony. Yao scored the first basket of the game, a three-pointer, in China's opening game against the eventual gold medal-winning United States.

"I was just really happy to make that shot," Yao said after the Americans’ 101–70 victory. “It was the first score in our Olympic campaign here at home and I’ll always remember it. It represents that we can keep our heads up in the face of really tough odds."

Following an overtime defeat to Spain, Yao scored 30 points in a win over Angola, and 25 points in a three-point win against Germany, which clinched China's place in the quarterfinals. However, China lost to Lithuania in the quarterfinals by 26 points, eliminating them from the tournament. Yao's 19 points a game were the second-highest in the Olympics, and his averages of 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game were third overall.

Career statistics

CBA statistics

!Year	!Team	!GP	!RPG	!APG	!FG%	!FT%	!PPG
		21	8.3	1.3	.615	.485	10.0
	Shanghai	12	12.9	1.7	.585	.699	20.9
	Shanghai	33	14.5	1.7	.585	.683	21.2
	Shanghai	22	19.4	2.2	.679	.799	27.1
	Shanghai	24	19.0	1.9	.721	.759	32.4
		122	15.4	1.8	.651	.723	23.4

NBA statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left"| 2002–03 | align="left"| Houston | 82||72||29.0||.498||.500||.811||8.2||1.7||.4||1.8||13.5 |- | align="left"| 2003–04 | align="left"| Houston | 82||82||32.8||.522||.000||.809||9.0||1.5||.3||1.9||17.5 |- | align="left"| 2004–05 | align="left"| Houston | 80||80||30.6||.552||.000||.783||8.4||.8||.4||2.0||18.3 |- | align="left"| 2005–06 | align="left"| Houston | 57||57||34.2||.519||.000||.853||10.2||1.5||.5||1.6||22.3 |- | align="left"| 2006–07 | align="left"| Houston | 48||48||33.8||.516||.000||.862||9.4||2.0||.3||2.0||25.0 |- | align="left"| 2007–08 | align="left"| Houston | 55||55||37.2||.507||.000||.850||10.8||2.3||.4||2.0||22.0 |- | align="left"| 2008–09 | align="left"| Houston | 77||77||33.6||.548||1.000||.866||9.9||1.8||.4||2.0||19.7 |- | align="left"| 2010–11 | align="left"| Houston | 5||5||18.2||.486||.000||.938||5.4||.8||.0||1.6||10.2 |- | align="left"| Career | align="left"| | 486||476||32.5||.524||.200||.833||9.2||1.6||.4||1.9||19.0 |- | align="left"| All-Star | align="left"| | 5||5||18.2||.529||.000||.667||4.2||1.6||.2||.2||8.0

Playoffs

|- | align="left"| 2003–04 | align="left"| Houston | 5||5||37.0||.456||.000||.765||7.4||1.8||.4||1.4||15.0 |- | align="left"| 2004–05 | align="left"| Houston | 7||7||31.4||.655||.000||.727||7.7||.7||.3||2.7||21.4 |- | align="left"| 2006–07 | align="left"| Houston | 7||7||37.1||.440||.000||.880||10.3||.9||.1||.7||25.1 |- | align="left"| 2008–09 | align="left"| Houston | 9||9||35.9||.545||.000||.902||10.9||1.0||.4||1.1||17.1 |- | align="left"| Career | align="left"| | 28||28||35.3||.519||.000||.833||9.3||1.0||.3||1.5||19.8

Awards and achievements

8× NBA All-Star: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011

5× All-NBA Team:

:* Second Team: 2007, 2009 :* Third Team: 2004, 2006, 2008

NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2003

NBA Rookie All-Star Game: 2004

Gold medal winner with Team China at the 2001, 2003, 2005 FIBA Asian Championship

MVP of the 2001, 2003, 2005 FIBA Asian Championship

All-Tournament Team, FIBA World Championship: 2002

Chinese Basketball Association Champion: 2001–02

Rebounding leader in CBA in 2001–02

2003 ''Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year

2003 ''Laureus Newcomer of the Year''

Off the court

Personal life

Yao is married to Ye Li, a women's basketball player for China. He met her when he was 17 years old. Ye was not fond of Yao at first, but finally accepted him after he gave her the team pins he had collected during the 2000 Summer Olympics. She is the only woman he has ever dated. Their relationship became public when they appeared together during the 2004 Olympics closing ceremony. On August 6, 2007, Yao married Ye in a ceremony attended by close friends and family and closed to the media.

In 2004, Yao co-wrote an autobiography with ESPN sportswriter Ric Bucher, entitled ''Yao: A Life in Two Worlds''. In the same year, he was also the subject of a documentary film, ''The Year of the Yao'', which focuses on his NBA rookie year. The film is narrated by his friend and former interpreter, Colin Pine, who stayed with Yao during Yao's rookie year, and interpreted for him for three years. In 2005, former ''Newsweek'' writer Brook Larmer published a book entitled ''Operation Yao Ming'', in which he said that Yao's parents were convinced to marry each other so that they would produce a dominant athlete, and that during Yao's childhood, he was given special treatment to help him become a great basketball player. In 2009, Yao provided the voice for a character of a Chinese animated film ''The Magic Aster'', released on June 19.

On May 21, 2010, the couple's first child—a daughter named Yao Qinlei, whose English name is Amy—was born in Houston.

Yao enrolled in the Antai College of Economics & Management of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2011. He is taking a tailored degree program with mostly one-on-one lectures to avoid being a distraction on campus.

Public life

Yao is one of China's most recognizable athletes, along with Liu Xiang. As of 2009, he had led Forbes' Chinese celebrities list in income and popularity for six straight years, earning US$51 million (CN¥357 million) in 2008. A major part of his income comes from his sponsorship deals, as he is under contract with several major companies to endorse their products. He was signed by Nike until the end of his rookie season. When Nike decided not to renew his contract, he signed with Reebok. He also had a deal with Pepsi, and he successfully sued Coca-Cola in 2003 when they used his image on their bottles while promoting the national team. However, he has since signed with Coca-Cola for the 2008 Olympics. His other deals include partnerships with Visa, Apple, Garmin, and McDonald’s.

Yao has also participated in many charity events during his career, including the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program. In the NBA's offseason in 2003, Yao hosted a telethon, which raised 300,000 U.S. dollars to help stop the spread of SARS. In September 2007, he held an auction that raised 965,000 U.S. dollars (6.75 million yuan), and competed in a charity basketball match to raise money for underprivileged children in China. He was joined by fellow NBA stars Steve Nash, Carmelo Anthony, and Baron Davis, and movie star Jackie Chan. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Yao donated $2 million to relief work, and created a foundation to help rebuild schools destroyed in the earthquake.

On July 16, 2009, Yao bought his former club team, the Shanghai Sharks, which were on the verge of not being able to play the next season of the Chinese Basketball Association due to financial troubles.

See also

List of tallest players in National Basketball Association history

References

External links

NBA.com Official Yao Ming player profile

Club Yao – Official Yao Ming fan club

The Yao Ming Foundation official website

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Centers (basketball) Category:Chinese Basketball Association players Category:Chinese expatriate basketball people in the United States Category:Houston Rockets draft picks Category:Houston Rockets players Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners Category:Olympic basketball players of China Category:People from Shanghai Category:Shanghai Sharks players Category:Shanghai Jiao Tong University alumni Category:Article Feedback 5

ar:ياو مينغ bcl:Yao Ming ca:Yao Ming cs:Jao Ming da:Yao Ming de:Yao Ming et:Yao Ming es:Yao Ming fa:یائو مینگ fr:Yao Ming ko:야오밍 hy:Յաո Մինգ hr:Yao Ming id:Yao Ming it:Yao Ming he:יאו מינג lv:Jao Mins lb:Yao Ming lt:Yao Ming hu:Jao Ming ms:Yao Ming nl:Yao Ming ja:姚明 no:Yao Ming pl:Yao Ming pt:Yao Ming ru:Яо Мин simple:Yao Ming sr:Јао Минг fi:Yao Ming sv:Yao Ming ta:யாவ் மிங் th:เหยา หมิง tr:Yao Ming vi:Diêu Minh zh:姚明

name	Kobe Bryant
width	233px
position	Shooting guard
height ft	6
height in	6
weight lb	205
team	Los Angeles Lakers
number	24
birth date	August 23, 1978
birth place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
nationality	American
high school	Lower Merion HS, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
draft year	1996
draft round	1
draft pick	13
draft team	Charlotte Hornets
career start	1996
years1	–present
team1	Los Angeles Lakers
highlights	5× NBA Champion (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010) 2× NBA Finals MVP (2009–2010) NBA Most Valuable Player () 13× NBA All-Star (1998, 2000–2011) 2× NBA scoring champion (–) 9× All-NBA First Team (–, –) 2× All-NBA Second Team (–) 2× All-NBA Third Team (, ) 9× All-Defensive First Team (, –, –) 2× All-Defensive Second Team (–) NBA All-Rookie Second Team () 4× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011) NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1997) Naismith Prep Player of the Year (1996)
medaltemplates	}}

Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country. He decided to declare his eligibility for the NBA Draft upon graduation, and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.

Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. A heated feud between the duo and a loss in the 2004 NBA Finals was followed by O'Neal's trade from the Lakers after the 2003–04 season. In 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault after having sex with a hotel employee in Colorado. In September 2004, prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser refused to testify, and Bryant had to rebuild his image while becoming the cornerstone of the Lakers franchise. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, setting numerous scoring records in the process. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single game in NBA history, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point performance in 1962. In the 2007–08 season, he was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bryant led the Lakers to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010 and was named NBA Finals MVP on both occasions.

, Bryant ranks third and sixth on the league's all-time post-season scoring and all-time regular season scoring lists, respectively. He is also the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. Since his second year in the league, Bryant has started in every NBA All-Star Game that has been held with thirteen All-Star appearances, winning the All-Star MVP Award four times (2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011). Bryant is tied for the most All Star MVP Awards in NBA History. He is a thirteen-time member of the All-NBA team and eleven-time All-Defensive team, and is the youngest player ever to receive defensive honors. At the 2008 Olympics, he won a gold medal as a member of the USA national team. In 2009, Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the NBA player of the 2000s decade.

Early years

Childhood and youth

Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the youngest of three children and the only son of former Philadelphia 76ers player and former Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe "Jellybean" Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. He is also the maternal nephew of John "Chubby" Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu. Bryant was raised Roman Catholic. When Bryant was six, his father left the NBA and moved his family to Italy to continue playing professional basketball. Bryant became accustomed to his new lifestyle and learned to speak Italian and Spanish fluently. During summers, Bryant would come back to the United States to play in a basketball summer league. He started playing basketball when he was 3 years old, and his favorite team growing up was the Lakers. Bryant's grandfather would mail him videos of NBA games, which Bryant would study. At an early age he also learned to play soccer; his favorite team is AC Milan. He has said that if he had stayed in Italy, he would have tried to become a professional soccer player; Bryant is a big fan of former FC Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard and their former player Ronaldinho. Upon Joe Bryant's retirement from playing basketball in 1991, the Bryant family moved back to the United States.

High school

Bryant earned national recognition during a spectacular high school career at Lower Merion High School located in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion. As a freshman, he played for the varsity basketball team. His father coached him his second year of high school. Although during his first year the team was mediocre, the following three years the Aces compiled a 77–13 record, with Bryant playing all five positions. 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, 4.0 steals, and 3.8 blocked shots in leading the Aces to a 31–3 record. He ended his career as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all-time leading scorer at 2,883 points, surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons. Bryant received several awards for his performance his senior year including being named Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade Men's National Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American, and a ''USA Today'' All-USA First Team player. Bryant's varsity coach, Greg Downer, commented that Bryant was "a complete player who dominates". In 1996, Bryant took R&B; singer Brandy Norwood to her senior prom, though the two were, and remain, just friends. His SAT score of 1080 would have ensured his basketball scholarship to various top-tier colleges. 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. Bryant's news was met with a lot of publicity at a time when prep-to-pro NBA players were not very common (Kevin Garnett being the only exception in 20 years). Bryant has stated that had he decided to go to college after high school, he would have attended Duke University.

NBA career

1996 NBA Draft

The first guard to ever be taken out of high school, Bryant was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996. According to Arn Tellem, Bryant's agent at the time, Bryant playing for the Charlotte Hornets was "an impossibility". However, Bill Branch, the Hornets' head scout at the time, said that the Hornets agreed to trade their draft selection to the Lakers before picking Bryant. The teams agreed to the trade the day before the draft and the Lakers did not tell the Hornets who to select until five minutes before the pick was made. Branch said that prior to the trade agreement, the Hornets never even considered drafting Bryant. Prior to the draft, Bryant had worked out in Los Angeles, in which he scrimmaged against former Lakers players Larry Drew and Michael Cooper, and according to then-Laker manager Jerry West "marched over these people". On July 1, 1996, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac, to the Hornets in exchange for Bryant's draft rights. Since he was still 17 at the time of the draft, his parents had to cosign his contract with the Lakers until he was able to sign his own when he turned 18 before the season began.

First three seasons (1996–99)

During his rookie season, Bryant mostly came off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. At the time he became the youngest player ever to play in an NBA game (a record since broken by Jermaine O'Neal and Andrew Bynum), and also became the youngest NBA starter ever. Initially, Bryant played limited minutes, but as the season continued, he began to see some more playing time. By the end of the season, he averaged 15.5 minutes a game. During the All-Star weekend, Bryant was the winner of the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, becoming the youngest player to be named the slam dunk champion at the age of 18. Bryant's performance throughout the year earned him a spot on the NBA All Rookie second team with fellow bench teammate Travis Knight. His final minutes of the season ended in disaster when he shot 4 air balls at crucial times in the game. He first missed a jumper to win the game in the 4th quarter and 3 three-pointers in overtime (2 of which would have tied the game in the final minute). With that the Utah Jazz ended the playoffs for the Lakers in the second round. Shaquille O'Neal commented years later that "[Bryant] was the only guy who had the guts at the time to take shots like that."

In Bryant's second season, he received more playing time and began to show more of his abilities as a talented young guard. As a result Bryant's point averages more than doubled from 7.6 to 15.4 points per game. Bryant would see an increase in minutes when the Lakers "played small", which would feature Bryant playing small forward along side the guards he'd usually back up. Bryant was the runner-up for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award, and through fan voting, he also became the youngest NBA All-Star starter in NBA history. He was joined by fellow teammates Shaquille O'Neal, Nick Van Exel, and Eddie Jones, making it the first time since 1983 that four players on the same team were selected to play in the same All-Star Game. Bryant's 15.4 points per game was the highest of any non-starter in the season.

The 1998–99 season marked Bryant's emergence as a premiere guard in the league. With starting guards Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones traded, Bryant started every game for the lockout-shortened 50 game season. During the season, Bryant signed a 6-year contract extension worth $70 million. This kept him with the Lakers until the end of the 2003–04 season. Even at an early stage of his career sportswriters were comparing his skills to that of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. The playoff results, however, were no better, as the Lakers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semi-finals.

Three-peat (1999–2002)

Bryant's fortunes would soon change when Phil Jackson became coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999. After years of steady improvement, Bryant became one of the premier shooting guards in the league, earning appearances in the league's All-NBA, All-Star, and All-Defensive teams. The Los Angeles Lakers became true championship contenders under Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, who formed a legendary center-guard combination. Jackson utilized the triangle offense he used to win six championships with the Chicago Bulls, which would help both Bryant and O'Neal rise to the elite class of the NBA. The three resulting championships won consecutively in 2000, 2001, and 2002 further proved such a fact.

Bryant started the 1999–2000 season sidelined for six weeks due to an injury to his hand in a preseason game against the Washington Wizards. With Bryant back and playing over 38 minutes a game, he saw an increase in all statistical categories in the 1999–2000 season. This included leading the team in assists per game and steals per game. The duo of O'Neal and Bryant backed with a strong bench led to the Lakers winning 67 games, tied for fifth-most in NBA history. This followed with O'Neal winning the MVP and Bryant being named to the All-NBA Team Second Team and All-NBA Defensive Team for the first time in his career (the youngest player ever to receive defensive honors). While playing second fiddle to O'Neal in the playoffs, Bryant had some clutch performances including a 25 point, 11 rebound, 7 assist, 4 block game in game 7 of the Western Conference finals against the Portland Trail Blazers. He also threw an alley-oop pass to O'Neal to clinch the game and the series. In the 2000 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Bryant injured his ankle in the second quarter of game 2 and missed the rest of the game and game 3. In game 4, Bryant scored 22 points in the second half, and led the team to an overtime victory as O'Neal fouled out of the game. Bryant scored the winning shot to put the Lakers ahead 120–118. With a game 6 victory, the Lakers won their first championship since 1988.

Statistically, the 2000–01 season saw Bryant perform similarly to the previous year except Bryant was averaging 6 more points a game (28.5). It was also the year when disagreements between Bryant and O'Neal began to surface. Once again he led the team in assists with 5 per game. The Lakers however, only won 56 games, an 11 game drop off from last year. The Lakers would respond by going 15–1 in the playoffs. They easily swept the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, and San Antonio Spurs, before losing their first game against the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime. They would go on to win the next 4 games and bring their second championship to Los Angeles in as many seasons. During the playoffs Bryant played heavy minutes which brought his stats up to 29.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. In the playoffs teammate O'Neal declared Bryant the best player in the league. Bryant ended up making the All NBA Second team and All NBA Defensive Team for the second year in a row. In addition, he was also voted to start in the NBA All-Star Game for the 3rd year in a row (no game in 1999).

In the 2001–02 season, Bryant played 80 games for the first time in his career. He continued his all-round play by averaging 25.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. He also had a career high 46.9% shooting and once again led his team in assists. While making the All-Star team and All-NBA Defensive team again, he was also promoted to the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career. The Lakers won 58 games that year and finished second place in the Pacific Division behind in-state rival Sacramento Kings. Bryant was suspended one game after he punched Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers after the Lakers' March 1, 2002 victory over the Pacers.

The road to the Finals would prove a lot tougher than the record run the Lakers had the previous year. While the Lakers swept the Trail Blazers and defeated the Spurs 4–1, the Lakers did not have home court advantage against the Sacramento Kings. The series would stretch to 7 games, the first time this happened to the Lakers since the Western Conference Finals in the 2000 NBA Playoffs. However, the Lakers were able to beat their division rivals and make their third consecutive NBA Finals appearance. In the 2002 Finals, Bryant averaged 26.8 points, 51.4% shooting, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists per game, which included scoring a quarter of the teams points. At age 23, Bryant became the youngest player to win three championships. Bryant's play was notable and praised for his performance in the 4th quarter of games, specifically the last 2 rounds of the playoffs. This cemented Bryant's reputation as a clutch player.

Coming up short (2002–04)

In the 2002–03 season, Bryant averaged 30 points per game and embarked on a historic run, posting 40 or more points in nine consecutive games while averaging 40.6 in the entire month of February. In addition, he averaged 6.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, all career highs up to that point. Bryant was once again voted on to both the All-NBA and All-Defensive 1st teams, and came in third place in voting for the MVP award. After finishing 50–32 in the regular season, the Lakers foundered in the playoffs and lost in the Western Conference semi-finals to the eventual NBA champions San Antonio Spurs in six games.

In the following 2003–04 season, the Lakers were able to acquire NBA All-Stars Karl Malone, and Gary Payton to make another push at the NBA Championship. Before the season began, Bryant was arrested for sexual assault. This caused Bryant to miss some games due to court appearances or attend court earlier in the day and travel to play games later in same 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. At the end of the fourth quarter, Bryant made a three-pointer as time ran out to tie the game and send it into over time. The game eventually went to a second over time and Bryant made another three pointer as time expired to lift the Lakers past the Trail Blazers 105–104.

With a starting lineup of four future Hall of Famers, O'Neal, Malone, Payton, and Bryant, the Lakers were able to reach the NBA Finals. In the Finals, they were defeated in five games by the Detroit Pistons, who won their first championship since 1990. In that series, Bryant averaged 22.6 points per game and 4.4 assists. He shot a mere 35.1% from the field. Phil Jackson's contract as coach was not renewed, and Rudy Tomjanovich took over. Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and Brian Grant. The following day, Bryant declined an offer to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers and re-signed with the Lakers on a seven-year contract.

Playoffs disappointments (2004–07)

Bryant was closely scrutinized and criticized during the 2004–05 season with his reputation badly damaged from all that had happened over the previous year. A particularly damaging salvo came when Phil Jackson wrote ''The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul''. The book detailed the events of the Lakers' tumultuous 2003–04 season and has a number of criticisms of Bryant. In the book Jackson called Bryant "uncoachable". Midway through the season, Rudy Tomjanovich suddenly resigned as Lakers coach, citing the recurrence of health problems and exhaustion. Without Tomjanovich, stewardship of the remainder of the Lakers' season fell to career assistant coach Frank Hamblen. Despite the fact that Bryant was the league's second leading scorer at 27.6 points per game, the Lakers floundered and missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. The year signified a drop in Bryant's overall status in the NBA, as he did not make the NBA All-Defensive Team and was also demoted to the All-NBA Third Team. During the season, Bryant also engaged in public feuds with Ray Allen and Karl Malone.

The 2005–06 NBA season would mark a crossroads in Bryant's basketball career. Despite past differences with Bryant, Phil Jackson returned to coach the Lakers. Bryant endorsed the move, and by all appearances, the two men worked together well the second time around, leading the Lakers back into the playoffs. Bryant's individual scoring accomplishments posted resulted in the finest statistical season of his career. On December 20, 2005, Bryant scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks. Entering the fourth quarter, Bryant had outscored the entire Mavericks team 62–61, the only time a player has done this through three quarters since the advent of the 24-second shot clock. When the Lakers faced the Miami Heat on January 16, 2006, Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal made headlines by engaging in handshakes and hugs before the game, signifying a change in the feud that had festered between the two players. A month later, at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, the two were seen laughing together.

On January 22, 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points in a victory against the Toronto Raptors. In addition to breaking the previous franchise record of 71 set by Elgin Baylor, Bryant's 81-point game was the second highest point total in NBA history, surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962. In that same month, Bryant also became the first player since 1964 to score 45 points or more in four consecutive games, joining Chamberlain and Baylor as the only players ever to do so. For the month of January, Bryant averaged 43.4 points per game, the eighth highest single month scoring average in NBA history and highest for any player other than Chamberlain. By the end of the 2005–06 season, Bryant set Lakers single-season franchise records for most 40-point games (27) and most points scored (2,832). He won the league's scoring title for the first time, posting a scoring average of (35.4). Bryant finished in fourth place in the voting for the 2006 NBA Most Valuable Player Award, but received 22 first place votes—second only to winner Steve Nash. The Los Angeles Lakers posted a 45–37 record, an eleven-game improvement over the previous season, and the entire squad seemed to be clicking.

Later in the season, it was reported that Bryant would change his jersey number from 8 to 24 at the start of the 2006–07 NBA season. Bryant's first high school number was 24 before he switched to 33. After the Lakers' season ended, Bryant said on TNT that he wanted 24 as a rookie, but it was unavailable, as was 33, retired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant wore 143 at the Adidas ABCD camp, and chose 8 by adding those numbers. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers played well enough to reach a 3–1 series lead over the Phoenix Suns, culminating with Bryant's OT-forcing and game-winning shots in Game 4. They came within six seconds of eliminating the second-seeded Suns in Game 6, however, they lost that game 126 to 118 in overtime. Despite Bryant's 27.9 points per game in the series, the Lakers broke down, and ultimately fell to the Suns in seven games. Bryant received criticism for only taking three shots in the second half of the 90–121 loss to Phoenix in Game 7. In the 2006 off-season, Bryant had knee surgery, preventing him from participating in the 2006 FIBA World Championship tournament.

During the 2006–07 season, Bryant was selected to his 9th All-Star Game appearance, and on February 18, he logged 31 points, 6 assists, and 6 steals, earning his second career All-Star Game MVP trophy. Over the course of the season, Bryant became involved in a number of on court incidents. On January 28 while attempting to draw contact on a potential game winning jumpshot, he flailed his arm striking San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginóbili in the face with his elbow. Following a league review, Bryant was suspended for the subsequent game at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks. The basis given for the suspension was that Bryant had performed an "unnatural motion" in swinging his arm backwards. Later, on March 6, he seemed to repeat the motion, this time striking Minnesota Timberwolves guard Marko Jarić. On March 7, the NBA handed Bryant his second one-game suspension. In his first game back on March 9, he elbowed Kyle Korver in the face which was retroactively re-classified as a Type 1 flagrant foul.

On March 16, Bryant scored a season-high 65 points in a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers, which helped end the Lakers 7-game losing streak. This was the second best scoring performance of his 11-year career. The following game, Bryant recorded 50 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves, after which he scored 60 points in a road win against the Memphis Grizzlies—becoming the second Laker to score three straight 50-plus point games, a feat not seen since Michael Jordan last did it in 1987. The only other Laker to do so was Elgin Baylor, who also scored 50+ in three consecutive contests in December 1962. In the following day, in a game against the New Orleans Hornets, Bryant scored 50 points, making him the second player in NBA history to have 4 straight 50 point games behind Wilt Chamberlain, who is the all-time leader with seven consecutive 50 point games twice. Bryant finished the year with a total of ten 50-plus point games, becoming the only player beside Wilt Chamberlain in 1961–62 and 1962–63 to do so in one season. He also won his second straight scoring title that season. Throughout the 2006–07 season, Bryant's jersey became the top selling NBA jersey in the United States and China. A number of journalists have attributed the improved sales to Bryant's new number, as well as his continuing All-Star performance on the court. In the 2007 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers were once again eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns, 4–1.

MVP year (2007–08)

On May 27, 2007, ESPN reported that Bryant stated that he wanted to be traded if Jerry West did not return to the team with full authority. 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. However, three days later, on Stephen A. Smith's radio program, Bryant expressed anger over a Lakers "insider" who claimed that Bryant was responsible for Shaquille O'Neal's departure from the team, and publicly stated, "I want to be traded." Three hours after making that statement, Bryant stated in another interview that after having a conversation with head coach Phil Jackson, he has reconsidered his decision and backed off his trade request. Bryant would later be shown on an infamous amateur video saying that center Andrew Bynum should have been traded for All-Star Jason Kidd.

On December 23, 2007, Bryant became the youngest player (29 years, 122 days) to reach 20,000 points, in a game against the New York Knicks, in Madison Square Garden. Despite an injury to his shooting hand's small finger, described as "a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament, an avulsion fracture, and a volar plate injury at the MCP joint" that occurred in a game on February 5, 2008, Bryant played all 82 games of the regular season instead of opting for surgery. Regarding his injury, he stated, "I would prefer to delay any surgical procedure until after our Lakers season, and this summer's Olympic Games. But, this is an injury that and the Lakers' medical staff will just have to continue to monitor on a day-to-day basis." In early September 2008, Bryant decided not to have surgery to repair the injury.

Leading his team to a West best 57–25 record, they swept the Nuggets in the first round and on May 6, 2008, Bryant was officially announced as the NBA Most Valuable Player award, his first for his career. He said, "It's been a long ride. I'm very proud to represent this organization, to represent this city." Jerry West, who was responsible for bringing Bryant to the Lakers, was on hand at the press conference to observe Bryant receive his MVP trophy from NBA commissioner David Stern. He stated, "Kobe deserved it. He's had just another great season. Doesn't surprise me one bit." In addition to winning his MVP award, Bryant was the only unanimous selection to the All-NBA team on May 8, 2008 for the third straight season and sixth time in his career. He would then headline the NBA All-Defensive First Team with Kevin Garnett, receiving 52 points overall including 24 first-place nods, earning his eighth selection.

The Lakers concluded the 2007–08 regular season with a 57–25 record, finishing first in the Western Conference and setting up themselves for a first-round contest against the Nuggets. In Game 1, Bryant, who said he made himself a decoy through most of the game, scored 18 of his 32 points in the final 8 minutes to keep Los Angeles safely ahead. That made Denver the first 50-win team to be swept out of the first round of the playoffs since the Memphis Grizzlies fell in four to the San Antonio Spurs in 2004. In the first game of the next round against the Jazz, Bryant scored 38 points as the Lakers beat the Jazz in Game 1. The Lakers won the next game as well, but dropped Games 3 and 4, even with Bryant putting up 33.5 points per game. The Lakers then won the next two games to win the semifinals in 6. This set up a Western Conference Finals berth against the San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers defeated the Spurs in 5 games, sending themselves to the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. This marked the fifth time in Bryant's career and the first time without Shaquille O'Neal to go to the NBA Finals. The Lakers then lost to the Boston Celtics in 6 games.

Repeat (2008–10)

In the 2008–09 season, the Lakers opened the campaign by winning their first seven games. Bryant led the team to tie the franchise record for most wins to start the season going 17–2, and by the middle of December they compiled a 21–3 record. He was selected to his eleventh consecutive All-Star Game as a starter, and was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for December and January in addition to being named Western Conference Player of the week three times. In a game against the Knicks on February 2, 2009, Bryant scored 61 points, setting a record for the most points scored at Madison Square Garden. During the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, Bryant who tallied 27 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals was awarded All-Star Game co-MVP with former teammate Shaquille O'Neal. The Lakers finished the regular season with the best record in the west with a 65–17 record. Bryant was runner-up in the MVP voting behind LeBron James, and was selected to the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team for the seventh time in his career.

In the playoffs, the Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz in five games and the Houston Rockets in seven games in the opening two rounds. After finishing off the Denver Nuggets in the Conference Finals in six games, the Lakers earned their second straight trip to the NBA Finals where they defeated the Orlando Magic in five games. Bryant was awarded his first NBA Finals MVP trophy upon winning his fourth championship, achieving series averages: 32.4 points, 7.4 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks. He became the first player since Jerry West in the 1969 NBA Finals to average at least 32.4 points and 7.4 assists for a finals series and the first since Michael Jordan to average 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for a title-winning team in the finals.

During the 2009–10 season, Bryant made six game-winning shots including a buzzer-beating, one-legged three point shot against the Miami Heat on December 4, 2009. Bryant considered the shot one of the luckiest he has made. A week later, Bryant suffered an avulsion fracture in his right index finger in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite the injury, Bryant elected to continue playing with it, rather than take any time off to rest the injury. Five days after his finger injury, he made another game winning shot, after missing on an opportunity in regulation, this time against the Milwaukee Bucks in an overtime game. Bryant also became the youngest player (31 years, 151 days) to reach 25,000 points during the season, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain. He continued his dominant clutch plays making yet another game winning three-pointer against the Sacramento Kings, and what would be the game-winning field goal against the Boston Celtics. The following day, he surpassed Jerry West to become the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. After being sidelined for five games from an ankle injury, Bryant made his return and made another clutch three-pointer to give the Lakers a one point lead with four seconds remaining against the Memphis Grizzlies. Two weeks later, he made his sixth game-winning shot of the season against the Toronto Raptors.

On April 2, 2010, Bryant signed a three-year contract extension worth $87 million. Bryant finished the regular season missing four of the final five games, due to injuries to his knee and finger. Bryant suffered multiple injuries throughout the season and as a result, missed nine games. The Lakers began the playoffs as the number one seed in the Western Conference against the Oklahoma City Thunder, eventually defeating them in six games. The Lakers swept the Utah Jazz in the second round and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they faced Phoenix Suns. In Game 2, Bryant finished the game with 13 assists, setting a new playoff career high; it was the most assists by a Laker in the playoffs since Magic Johnson had 13 in 1996. The Lakers went on to win the series in six games capturing the Western Conference Championship and advancing to the NBA Finals for a third straight season. In a rematch against the 2008 Champion Boston Celtics, Bryant, despite shooting 6 for 24 from the field, led the Lakers back from a thirteen-point third quarter deficit in Game 7 to win the championship; he scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, and finished the game with 15 rebounds. Bryant won his fifth championship and earned his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award. This marked the first time the Lakers won a Game 7 against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Bryant said that this was the most satisfying of all of his five championships.

2010–11 season

The Lakers started the 2010–11 season by winning their first eight games. In his ninth game of the season, playing against the Denver Nuggets, Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 26,000 career points. Bryant also recorded his first triple double since January 21, 2009. On January 30 against the Celtics, he become the youngest player to score 27,000 points. On February 1, 2011, Bryant became one of seven players with at least 25,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists. In Boston on February 10, Bryant scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half as the Lakers rallied from an early 15-point deficit for a 92–86 win over the Celtics. It was the Lakers' first victory of the season against one of the league's top four teams, as they entered the game 0–5 in previous matchups and had been outscored by an average of 11 points. Bryant, selected to his 13th straight All-Star game after becoming the leading vote-getter, had 37 points, 14 rebounds, and three steals in the 2011 All-Star Game and won his fourth All-Star MVP, tying Hall of Famer Bob Pettit for the most All-Star MVP awards. During the season, Bryant moved from 12th to 6th place on the NBA all-time career scoring list, passing John Havlicek, Dominique Wilkins, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, and Moses Malone. Bryant finished the season averaging less than 20 shots a game, his fewest since the 2003–04 season.

On April 13, 2011, the NBA fined Bryant $100,000 for directing a gay slur at referee Bennie Adams in frustration in the previous day's game. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation praised the NBA's decision to fine Bryant, and the Human Rights Campaign said that Bryant's language was a "disgrace" and "distasteful". Bryant stated that he was open to discussing the matter with gay rights groups and wanted to appeal his fine. He later apologized for the use of the word. Bryant and other Lakers appeared in a Lakers public service announcement denouncing Bryant's behavior. The team's quest for another three-peat was ended when they were swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs. The Mavericks would go on to win the 2011 NBA Finals.

International career

Kobe Bryant declined to play in the 2000 Olympics due to getting married in the off-season. He also decided not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. Bryant was originally selected for the FIBA Americas Championship 2003 but withdrew due to surgeries and was replaced by Vince Carter. In the following summer, he had to withdraw from the Olympic team because of his legal case. Along with LeBron James, he was one of the first two players to publicly named to the 2006–2008 U.S. preliminary roster in 2006 by Jerry Colangelo. However, he was once again sidelined after knee surgery and didn't participate in the 2006 FIBA World Championship.

Bryant's senior international career with the United States national team finally began in 2007. He was a member of the 2007 USA Men's Senior National Team and USA FIBA Americas Championship Team that finished 10–0, won gold and qualified the United States men for the 2008 Olympics. He started in all 10 of the USA's FIBA Americas Championship games. He finished third on the team for made and attempted free throws, ranked fourth for made field goals, made 3-pointers. Among all FIBA Americas Championship competitors, Bryant is ranked 15th in scoring, 14th in assists, and eighth in steals. Bryant scored double-digits in eight of the 10 games played. Bryant also made the game winning jumper above the foul line with seconds left in the game. He currently averages a .530 shooting percentage, with 16.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.

As a part of his international expansion, he is also featured in a Chinese reality TV show, called the ''Kobe Mentu'' show, which documents Chinese basketball players on different teams going through drills, preparing to play each other while Bryant gives advice and words of encouragement to the players while they practice.

On June 23, 2008, he was named to the USA Men's Senior National Team for the 2008 Summer Olympics. This was his first time going to the Olympics. Bryant scored 20 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, along with six assists, as Team USA defeated Spain 118–107 in the gold medal game of the 2008 Summer Olympics on August 24, 2008, for its first gold medal in a worldwide international competition since the 2000 Olympics. He averaged 15.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting .462 from the field in eight Olympic contests.

Bryant has committed to playing for the national team at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Player profile

Bryant is a shooting guard who is capable of playing the small forward position. He is considered one of the most complete players in the NBA, has been selected to every All-NBA Team since 1999, and has been featured in the last twelve NBA All-Star games. Sports writers and sports casters have frequently compared Bryant to Michael Jordan, a comparison Bryant dislikes. In 2007, an ESPN poll of sportswriters voted him as the second best shooting guard in NBA history behind Jordan.

He is a prolific scorer, averaging 25.3 points per game for his career, along with 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.5 steals (as of the end of the 2010–2011 regular season). He is known for his ability to create shots for himself and is a standout three-point shooter, sharing the single-game NBA record for three pointers made with twelve. Bryant is often cited as one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA, though his 45.4% career field goal average is considered moderate. He utilizes his wide array of moves and shots to elude defenders and score from virtually anywhere on the floor. Some of Bryant's best moves are his turnaround jump shot, and his ability to post up his defenders and score with a fadeaway jumpshot. Chris Ballard, a ''Sports Illustrated'' NBA writer, describes a "jab step-and-pause" as a move Bryant uses where he jabs his non-pivot foot forward to let the defender relax and instead of bringing the jab foot back, he pushes off it and drive around his opponent to get to the basket.

Aside from his scoring ability, he has established himself as a standout defender, having made the All-Defensive first or second team eleven of the last twelve seasons. Bryant has also been noted being one of the premier clutch performers in the NBA. For nine consecutive seasons, Bryant has been selected by an NBA GM survey as the player they most want taking the shot with the game on the line. Both Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the NBA player of the 2000s decade.

NBA career statistics

	Led the league

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 71 || 6 || 15.5 || .417 || .375 || .819 || 1.9 || 1.3 || .7 || .3 || 7.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 79 || 1 || 26.0 || .428 || .341 || .794 || 3.1 || 2.5 || .9 || .5 || 15.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 50 || 50 || 37.9 || .465 || .267 || .839 || 5.3 || 3.8 || 1.4 || 1.0 || 19.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 66 || 62 || 38.2 || .468 || .319 || .821 || 6.3 || 4.9 || 1.6 || .9 || 22.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 68 || 68 || 40.9 || .464 || .305 || .853 || 5.9 || 5.0 || 1.7 || .6 || 28.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 80 || 80 || 38.3 || .469 || .250 || .829 || 5.5 || 5.5 || 1.5 || .4 || 25.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82 || 82 || 41.5 || .451 || .383 || .843 || 6.9 || 5.9 || 2.2 || .8 || 30.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 65 || 64 || 37.6 || .438 || .327 || .852 || 5.5 || 5.1 || 1.7 || .4 || 24.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 66 || 66 || 40.7 || .433 || .339 || .816 || 5.9 || 6.0 || 1.3 || .8 || 27.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 80 || 80 || 41.0 || .450 || .347 || .850 || 5.3 || 4.5 || 1.8 || .4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 35.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 77 || 77 || 40.8 || .463 || .344 || .868 || 5.7 || 5.4 || 1.4 || .5 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 31.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82 || 82 || 38.9 || .459 || .361 || .840 || 6.3 || 5.4 || 1.8 || .5 || 28.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82 || 82 || 36.1 || .467 || .351 || .856 || 5.2 || 4.9 || 1.5 || .4 || 26.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 73 || 73 || 38.8 || .456 || .329 || .811 || 5.4 || 5.0 || 1.6 || .3 || 27.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 82 || 82 || 33.9 || .451 || .323 || .828 || 5.1 || 4.7 || 1.2 || .1 || 25.3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 1103 || 955 || 36.4 || .454 || .339 || .837 || 5.3 || 4.7 || 1.5 || .6 || 25.3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"| All-Star | style="text-align:left;"| | 12 || 12 || 27.3 || .507 || .345 || .808 || 5.3 || 4.5 || 2.8 || .3 || 20.3

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 1997 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 9 || 0 || 14.8 || .382 || .261 || .867 || 1.2 || 1.2 || .3 || .2 || 8.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1998 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 11 || 0 || 20.0 || .408 || .214 || .689 || 1.9 || 1.5 || .3 || .7 || 8.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 1999 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 8 || 8 || 39.4 || .430 || .348 || .800 || 6.9 || 4.6 || 1.9 || 1.2 || 19.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2000 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 22 || 22 || 39.0 || .442 || .344 || .754 || 4.5 || 4.4 || 1.5 || 1.5 || 21.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2001 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 16 || 16 || 43.4 || .469 || .324 || .821 || 7.3 || 6.1 || 1.6 || .8 || 29.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2002 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 19 || 19 || 43.8 || .434 || .379 || .759 || 5.8 || 4.6 || 1.4 || .9 || 26.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2003 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 12 || 12 || 44.3 || .432 || .403 || .827 || 5.1 || 5.2 || 1.2 || .1 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 32.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2004 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 22 || 22 || 44.2 || .413 || .247 || .813 || 4.7 || 5.5 || 1.9 || .3 || 24.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2006 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 7 || 7 || 44.9 || .497 || .400 || .771 || 6.3 || 5.1 || 1.1 || .4 || 27.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2007 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 5 || 5 || 43.0 || .462 || .357 || .919 || 5.2 || 4.4 || 1.0 || .4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 32.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2008 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 21 || 21 || 41.1 || .479 || .302 || .809 || 5.7 || 5.6 || 1.7 || .4 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 30.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 23 || 23 || 40.8 || .457 || .349 || .883 || 5.3 || 5.5 || 1.7 || .9 || 30.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2010 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 23 || 23 || 40.1 || .458 || .374 || .842 || 6.0 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .7 || 29.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2011 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Lakers | 10 || 10 || 35.4 || .446 || .293 || .820 || 3.4 || 3.3 || 1.6 || .3 || 22.8 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:left;"| Career | style="text-align:left;"| | 208 || 188 || 39.3 || .448 || .335 || .815 || 5.1 || 4.8 || 1.4 || .7 || 25.4

Accomplishments and records

Bryant led the NBA in scoring during the and seasons. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second-highest number of points scored in a game in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point performance. Bryant was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in the 2007–08 season and led his team to the 2008 NBA Finals as the first seed in the Western Conference. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. men's basketball team, occasionally referred to as "The Redeem Team". He led the Lakers to two more championships in 2009 and 2010, winning the Finals MVP award on both occasions.

Bryant has been selected to 13 All-NBA Team (nine times to the All-NBA First Team) and 11 All-Defensive Team (nine times to the All-Defensive First Team). He was selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game on 13 occasions, winning All-Star MVP Awards in 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011 (he shared the 2009 award with Shaquille O'Neal). He also won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1997. As of May 2011, he has had 5 sixty-point games, 24 fifty-point games, and 107 forty-point games.

Off the court

Personal life

In November 1999, 21-year-old Bryant met 17-year-old Vanessa Laine while she was working as a background dancer on the Tha Eastsidaz music video "G'd Up". Bryant was in the building working on his debut musical album, which was never released. The two began dating and became engaged just six months later in May 2000, while Laine was still a senior at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. To avoid media scrutiny, she finished high school through independent study. According to Vanessa's cousin Laila Laine, there was no prenuptial agreement. Vanessa said Bryant "''loved her too much for one''".

They married on April 18, 2001, at St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. Neither Bryant's parents, his two sisters, longtime advisor and agent Arn Tellem, nor Bryant's Laker teammates attended. Bryant's parents were opposed to the marriage for a number of reasons. Reportedly Bryant's parents had problems with him marrying so young, especially to a woman who was not African-American. This disagreement resulted in an estrangement period of over two years, which ended when Bryant had his first daughter.

In January 2002, Bryant bought a Mediterranean-style house for $4 million, located in a cul-de-sac in Newport Coast, Newport Beach. The Bryants' first child, a daughter named Natalia Diamante Bryant, was born on January 19, 2003. The birth of Natalia influenced Bryant to reconcile his differences with his parents. Vanessa Bryant suffered a miscarriage due to an ectopic pregnancy in the spring of 2005. Their second daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, was born on May 1, 2006. Gianna was born six minutes ahead of former teammate Shaquille O'Neal's daughter Me'arah Sanaa, who was born in Florida. In an early 2007 interview, it was revealed that Bryant still speaks Italian fluently. Bryant assigned himself the nickname of "Black Mamba", citing a desire for his basketball skills to mimic the snake of that name's ability to "strike with 99% accuracy at maximum speed, in rapid succession."

Sexual assault allegation

In the summer of 2003, the sheriff's office of Eagle, Colorado arrested Bryant in connection with an investigation of a sexual assault complaint filed by 19-year old hotel employee Katelyn Faber. Bryant had checked into The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Eagle County in advance of undergoing knee surgery nearby. Faber accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room the night before Bryant was to have the procedure. Bryant admitted an adulterous sexual encounter with his accuser, but denied her sexual assault allegation.

The accusation tarnished Bryant's reputation, as the public's perception of Bryant plummeted, and his endorsement contracts with McDonald's and Nutella were terminated. Sales for Bryant's replica jersey fell significantly from their previous highs. However, in September 2004, the assault case was dropped by prosecutors after Faber refused to testify in the trial. Afterward, Bryant agreed to apologize to Faber for the incident, including his public mea culpa: "Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter." Faber filed a separate civil lawsuit against Bryant, which the two sides ultimately settled with the specific terms of the settlement being undisclosed to the public.

Endorsements

Before starting the 1996–97 NBA season, Bryant signed a 6-year contract with Adidas worth approximately $48 million. His first signature shoe was the Equipment KB 8. Bryant's other earlier endorsements included deals with The Coca-Cola Company to endorse their Sprite soft drink, appearing in advertisements for McDonald's, promoting Spalding's new NBA Infusion Ball, Upper Deck, Italian chocolate company Ferrero SpA's brand Nutella, Russell Corporation, and appearing on his own series of video games by Nintendo. Many companies like McDonald's and Ferrero SpA terminated his contracts when rape allegations against him became public. A notable exception was Nike, Inc., who had signed him to a 5-year, $40–45 million contract just before the incident. However, they refused to use his image or market a new shoe of his for the year, but eventually did start promoting Bryant once his image recovered 2 years later. He has since resumed endorsement deals with The Coca-Cola Company, through their subsidiary Energy Brands to promote their Vitamin Water brand of drinks. Bryant was also the cover athlete for NBA '07: Featuring the Life Vol. 2 and appeared in commercials for the video games Guitar Hero World Tour (with Tony Hawk, Michael Phelps, and Alex Rodriguez) in 2008 and Call of Duty: Black Ops (alongside Jimmy Kimmel) in 2010.

In a 2008 video promoting Nike's Hyperdunk shoes, Bryant appears to jump over a speeding Aston Martin. The stunt was considered to be fake, and the Los Angeles Times said a real stunt would probably be a violation of Bryant's Lakers contract. After promoting Nike's Hyperdunk shoes, Bryant came out with the fourth edition of his signature line by Nike, the Zoom Kobe IV. In 2010 Nike launched another shoe, Nike Zoom Kobe V. In 2009, Bryant signed a deal with Nubeo to market the "Black Mamba collection", a line of sports/luxury watches that range from $25,000 to $285,000. On February 9, 2009, Bryant was featured on the cover of ESPN The Magazine. However, it was not for anything basketball related, rather it was about Bryant being a big fan of FC Barcelona. CNN estimated Bryant's endorsement deals in 2007 to be worth $16 million a year. In 2010, Bryant was ranked third behind Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan in ''Forbes'' list of the world's highest-paid athletes with $48 million.

On December 13, 2010, Bryant signed a two-year endorsement deal with Turkey's national airline, Turkish Airlines. The deal involved Bryant being in a promotional film to be aired in over 80 countries in addition to him being used in digital, print and billboard advertising.

Bryant has appeared as the cover athlete for the following video games: Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside NBA Courtside 2: Featuring Kobe Bryant NBA Courtside 2002 NBA 3 On 3 Featuring Kobe Bryant NBA '07: Featuring the Life Vol. 2 NBA '09: The Inside

NBA 2K10

Music

In 2011, Bryant was featured in Taiwanese singer Jay Chou's single, "The Heaven and Earth Challenge" (天地一鬥, pronounced "Tian Di Yi Dou"). The proceeds for downloads of both the single and ringtones were donated to impoverished schools for basketball facilities and equipment. The music video of the single also features Bryant. The song was also used by Sprite in its 2011 marketing campaign in China.

Philanthropy

Bryant is the official ambassador for After-School All-Stars (ASAS), an American non-profit organization that provides comprehensive after-school programs to children in 13 US cities. Bryant also started the Kobe Bryant China Fund which partnered with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation, a charity backed by the Chinese government. The Kobe Bryant China Fund raises money within China earmarked for education and health programs. On November 4, 2010, Bryant appeared alongside Zach Braff at the Call of Duty: Black Ops launch event at the Santa Monica Airport, where they presented a $1 million check to the Call of Duty Endowment, an Activision-founded nonprofit organization that helps veterans transition to civilian careers after their military service has ended.

See also

Kobe Bryant (song)

Kobe Bryant – Shaquille O'Neal feud

Kobe Doin' Work

List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise

List of 40-plus point games by Kobe Bryant

List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played

List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff 3-point scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association players with 50 or more points in a playoff game

List of NBA players with most championships

List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game

List of National Basketball Association season scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association top individual scoring season averages

References

External links

Official Site

NBA.com – The Ultimate Kobe Page

Kobe Bryant Video on ESPN Video Archive

Kobe Bryant Video on FoxSports Video Archive

Category:1978 births Category:African American basketball players Category:American basketball players Category:American expatriates in Italy Category:Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players from Pennsylvania Category:Charlotte Hornets draft picks Category:Gatorade National Basketball Player of the Year Category:Living people Category:Los Angeles Lakers players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:National Basketball Association high school draftees Category:NBA Slam Dunk Contest champions Category:NBA Finals MVP Award winners Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Newport Beach, California Category:Sportspeople from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Shooting guards Category:United States men's national basketball team members Category:Olympic medalists in basketball

ar:كوبي براينت bn:কোবি ব্রায়ান্ট zh-min-nan:Kobe Bryant bs:Kobe Bryant bg:Коби Брайънт ca:Kobe Bryant cs:Kobe Bryant da:Kobe Bryant de:Kobe Bryant et:Kobe Bryant el:Κόμπι Μπράιαντ es:Kobe Bryant eu:Kobe Bryant fa:کوبی برایانت fr:Kobe Bryant gl:Kobe Bryant ko:코비 브라이언트 hy:Կոբի Բրայանտ hi:कोबी ब्रायंट hr:Kobe Bryant id:Kobe Bryant is:Kobe Bryant it:Kobe Bryant he:קובי בראיינט jv:Kobe Bryant kn:ಕೋಬ್ ಬ್ರ್ಯಾಂಟ್ lv:Kobe Braients lt:Kobe Bryant hu:Kobe Bryant mk:Коби Брајант mr:कोबे ब्रायंट mn:Коби Брайант nl:Kobe Bryant ja:コービー・ブライアント no:Kobe Bryant pl:Kobe Bryant pt:Kobe Bryant ro:Kobe Bryant ru:Брайант, Коби simple:Kobe Bryant sk:Kobe Bryant sl:Kobe Bryant sr:Коби Брајант sh:Kobe Bryant fi:Kobe Bryant sv:Kobe Bryant tl:Kobe Bryant ta:கோபி பிரயன்ட் te:కోబీ బ్రయన్ th:โคบี ไบรอันต์ tr:Kobe Bryant uk:Кобі Браянт vec:Kobe Bryant vi:Kobe Bryant war:Kobe Bryant zh-yue:高比拜仁 zh:科比·布莱恩特

name	Jackie Chan
tradchinesename
simpchinesename
pinyinchinesename	Chéng Lóng
jyutpingchinesename	Sing4 Lung4
birth name	Chan Kong-sang Chén Gǎngshēng Can4 Gong2 Sang1
ancestry	Linzi, Shandong, China
origin	Hong Kong
birth date	April 07, 1954
birth place	Victoria Peak, Hong Kong
fighting styles	Wing Chun, Hapkido, Drunken Fist, Tiger.
othername	(Fong Si-lung) (Yuen Lou) (Big Brother)
occupation	Actor, martial artist, director, producer, screenwriter, action choreographer, singer, stunt director, stunt performer
genre	Cantopop, Mandopop, Hong Kong English pop, J-pop
yearsactive	1962–present
spouse	Lin Feng-jiao (1982–present)
children	Jaycee Chan (born 1982)
parents	Charles and Lee-Lee Chan
influences	Bruce LeeBuster KeatonHarold LloydJim Carrey
hongkongfilmwards	Best Film1989 ''Rouge''Best Action Choreography1996 ''Rumble in the Bronx''1999 ''Who Am I?'' Professional Spirit Award2004
goldenhorseawards	Best Actor1992 ''Police Story 3''1993 ''Crime Story''
goldenroosterawards	Best Actor2005 ''New Police Story''
mtvasiaawards	Inspiration Award2002
awards	MTV Movie Awards2002 Best Fight (''Rush Hour 2'')1999 Best Fight (''Rush Hour'')1995 Lifetime Achievement AwardShanghai International Film Festival2005 Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Cinema }}

Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE (born Chan Kong-sang, }}; 7 April 1954) is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts. Jackie Chan has been acting since the 1960s and has appeared in over 100 films.

Chan has received stars on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As a cultural icon, Chan has been referenced in various pop songs, cartoons, and video games. An operatically trained vocalist, Chan is also a Cantopop and Mandopop star, having released a number of albums and sung many of the theme songs for the films in which he has starred.

Early life

Chan was born on 7 April 1954, in Hong Kong, China, as Chan Kong-sang, to Charles and Lee-Lee Chan, refugees from the Chinese Civil War. He was nicknamed ''Paopao'' (, literally meaning "Cannonball") because the high-energy child was always rolling around. Since his parents worked for the French Consul to Hong Kong, Chan spent his formative years within the grounds of the consul's residence in the Victoria Peak district.

Chan attended the Nah-Hwa Primary School on Hong Kong Island, where he failed his first year, after which his parents withdrew him from the school. In 1960, his father immigrated to Canberra, Australia, to work as the head cook for the American embassy, and Chan was sent to the China Drama Academy, a Peking Opera School run by Master Yu Jim-yuen. Chan trained rigorously for the next decade, excelling in martial arts and acrobatics. He eventually became part of the Seven Little Fortunes, a performance group made up of the school's best students, gaining the stage name Yuen Lo in homage to his master. Chan became close friends with fellow group members Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, the three of them later to be known as the ''Three Brothers'' or ''Three Dragons''.

At the age of 8, he appeared with some of his fellow "Little Fortunes," in the film ''Big and Little Wong Tin Bar'' (1962), with Li Li Hua playing his mother. Chan appeared with Li again the following year, in ''The Love Eterne'' (1963) and had a small role in King Hu's 1966 film, ''Come Drink with Me''. In 1971, after an appearance as an extra in another Kong Fu film, ''A Touch of Zen'', Chan began his adult career in the film industry, initially signing to Chu Mu's Great Earth Film Company. At the age of 17, he worked as a stuntman in the Bruce Lee films ''Fist of Fury'' and ''Enter the Dragon'' under the stage name Chan Yuen Lung (). He received his first starring role later that year, in ''Little Tiger of Canton'', which had a limited release in Hong Kong in 1973. Due to the commercial failures in his early ventures into films and trouble finding stunt work, in 1975 Chan starred in a comedic adult film, ''All in the Family'', which features Jackie Chan's first and possibly only nude sex scene filmed to date. It is also the only film he has made to date that did not feature a single fight scene or stunt sequence.

Chan joined his parents in Canberra in 1976, where he briefly attended Dickson College and worked as a construction worker. A fellow builder named Jack took Chan under his wing, earning Chan the nickname of "Little Jack" which was later shortened to "Jackie" and the name Jackie Chan stuck with him ever since. In addition, in the late 90s, Chan changed his Chinese name to Fong Si-lung (), since his father's original surname was Fong.

Film career

Early exploits: 1976–1979

In 1976, Jackie Chan received a telegram from Willie Chan, a film producer in the Hong Kong film industry who had been impressed with Jackie's stuntwork. Willie Chan offered him an acting role in a film directed by Lo Wei. Lo had seen Chan's performance in the John Woo film ''Hand of Death'' (1976) and planned to model him after Bruce Lee with the film ''New Fist of Fury''. His stage name was changed to Sing Lung (, also transcribed as Cheng Long, literally "become the dragon") to emphasise his similarity to Bruce Lee, whose stage name was Lei Siu-lung (, meaning "Little Dragon"). The film was unsuccessful because Chan was not accustomed to Lee's martial arts style. Despite the film's failure, Lo Wei continued producing films with similar themes, resulting in little improvement at the box office.

Chan's first major breakthrough was the 1978 film ''Snake in the Eagle's Shadow'', shot while he was loaned to Seasonal Film Corporation under a two-picture deal. Under director Yuen Woo-ping, Chan was allowed complete freedom over his stunt work. The film established the comedic kung fu genre, and proved to be a breath of fresh air for the Hong Kong audience. Chan then starred in ''Drunken Master'', which finally propelled him to mainstream success.

Upon Chan's return to Lo Wei's studio, Lo tried to replicate the comedic approach of ''Drunken Master'', producing ''Half a Loaf of Kung Fu'' and ''Spiritual Kung Fu''. He also gave Chan the opportunity to co-direct ''The Fearless Hyena'' with Kenneth Tsang. When Willie Chan left the company, he advised Jackie to decide for himself whether or not to stay with Lo Wei. During the shooting of ''Fearless Hyena Part II'', Chan broke his contract and joined Golden Harvest, prompting Lo to blackmail Chan with triads, blaming Willie for his star's departure. The dispute was resolved with the help of fellow actor and director Jimmy Wang Yu, allowing Chan to stay with Golden Harvest.

Success of the action comedy genre: 1980–1987

Willie Chan had become Jackie's personal manager and firm friend, and has remained so for over 30 years. He was instrumental in launching Chan's international career, beginning with his first forays into the American film industry in the 1980s. His first Hollywood film was ''Battle Creek Brawl'' in 1980. Chan then played a minor role in the 1981 film ''The Cannonball Run,'' which grossed US$100 million worldwide. Despite being largely ignored by audiences in favour of established American actors like Burt Reynolds, Chan was impressed by the outtakes shown at the closing credits, inspiring him to include the same device in his future films.

After the commercial failure of ''The Protector'' in 1985, Chan temporarily abandoned his attempts to break into the US market, returning his focus to Hong Kong films.

Back in Hong Kong, Chan's films began to reach a larger audience in East Asia, with early successes in the lucrative Japanese market including ''The Young Master'' (1980) and ''Dragon Lord'' (1982). ''The Young Master'' went on to beat previous box office records set by Bruce Lee and established Chan as Hong Kong cinema's top star. With ''Dragon Lord'', he began experimenting with elaborate stunt action sequences, including a pyramid fight scene that holds the record for the most takes for a single scene with 2900 takes, and the final fight scene where he performs various stunts, including one where he does a back flip off a loft and falls to the lower ground.

Chan produced a number of action comedy films with his opera school friends Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. The three co-starred together for the first time in 1983 in ''Project A,'' which introduced a dangerous stunt-driven style of martial arts that won it the Best Action Design Award at the third annual Hong Kong Film Awards. Over the following two years, the "Three Brothers" appeared in ''Wheels on Meals'' and the original ''Lucky Stars'' trilogy. In 1985, Chan made the first ''Police Story'' film, a US-influenced action comedy in which Chan performed a number of dangerous stunts. It was named the "Best Film" at the 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards. In 1987, Chan played "Asian Hawk," an Indiana Jones-esque character, in the film ''Armour of God.'' The film was Chan's biggest domestic box office success up to that point, grossing over HK $35 million.

Acclaimed sequels and Hollywood breakthrough: 1988–1998

In 1988 Chan starred alongside Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao for the last time to date, in the film ''Dragons Forever''. Hung co-directed with Corey Yuen, and the villain in the film was played by Yuen Wah, both of whom were fellow graduates of the China Drama Academy.

In the late 1980s and early 90s, Chan starred in a number of successful sequels beginning with ''Police Story 2'', which won the award for Best Action Choreography at the 1989 Hong Kong Film Awards. This was followed by ''Armour of God II: Operation Condor'', and ''Police Story 3: Super Cop'', for which Chan won the Best Actor Award at the 1993 Golden Horse Film Festival. In 1994, Chan reprised his role as Wong Fei-hung in ''Drunken Master II'', which was listed in ''Time Magazine's'' All-Time 100 Movies. Another sequel, ''Police Story 4: First Strike'', brought more awards and domestic box office success for Chan, but did not fare as well in foreign markets. Jackie Chan rekindled his Hollywood ambitions in the 1990s, but refused early offers to play villains in Hollywood films to avoid being typecast in future roles. For example, Sylvester Stallone offered him the role of Simon Phoenix, a criminal in the futuristic film ''Demolition Man''. Chan declined and the role was taken by Wesley Snipes.

Chan finally succeeded in establishing a foothold in the North American market in 1995 with a worldwide release of ''Rumble in the Bronx'', attaining a cult following in the United States that was rare for Hong Kong movie stars. The success of ''Rumble in the Bronx'' led to a 1996 release of ''Police Story 3: Super Cop'' in the United States under the title ''Supercop'', which grossed a total of US $16,270,600. Jackie's first huge blockbuster success came when he co-starred with Chris Tucker in the 1998 buddy cop action comedy ''Rush Hour'', grossing US$130 million in the United States alone. This film made a star of Jackie Chan, in Hollywood. As a publicity stunt, Jackie also wrote his autobiography in collaboration with Jeff Yang entitled ''I Am Jackie Chan''.

Fame in Hollywood and Dramatization: 1999–2007

In 1998, Chan released his final film for Golden Harvest, ''Who Am I?'' After leaving Golden Harvest in 1999, he produced and starred alongside Shu Qi in ''Gorgeous'' a romantic comedy that focused on personal relationships and featured only a few martial arts sequences. Chan then helped create a PlayStation game in 2000 called ''Jackie Chan Stuntmaster'', to which he lent his voice and performed the motion capture. He continued his Hollywood success in 2000 when he teamed up with Owen Wilson in the Western action comedy ''Shanghai Noon'' which was also a box office success and spawned the sequel ''Shanghai Knights'' (2003). He reunited with Chris Tucker for ''Rush Hour 2'' (2001) which was an even bigger success than the original and experimented with special effects with ''The Tuxedo'' (2002) and ''The Medallion'' (2003). Despite the success of these films Chan became frustrated with Hollywood over the limited range of roles and lack of control over the film-making process. In response to Golden Harvest's withdrawal from the film industry in 2003, Chan started his own film production company, JCE Movies Limited (Jackie Chan Emperor Movies Limited) in association with Emperor Multimedia Group (EMG). His films have since featured an increasing number of dramatic scenes while continuing to succeed at the box office; examples include ''New Police Story'' (2004), ''The Myth'' (2005) and the hit film ''Rob-B-Hood'' (2006).

Chan's next release was the third installment in the ''Rush Hour'' series: ''Rush Hour 3'' in August 2007. It grossed US$255 million. However, it was a disappointment in Hong Kong, grossing only HK$3.5 million during its opening weekend.

New experiments and change in style: 2008–present

As Chan had stated years before, there would be a point in his life in which he would have to be modernized and use special effects, and try new different things than martial arts flicks. This began in 2007, with the filming of ''The Forbidden Kingdom'' (released in 2008), Chan's first onscreen collaboration with fellow Chinese actor Jet Li, which was completed on 24 August 2007 and the film was released in April 2008. The film featured heavy use of effects and wires. Chan voiced the character Master Monkey in the DreamWorks Animation film, ''Kung Fu Panda'', released in June 2008, appearing with stars Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie. In addition, he has assisted Anthony Szeto in an advisory capacity for the writer-director's film ''Wushu'', released on 1 May 2008. The film stars Sammo Hung and Wang Wenjie as father and son.

In November 2007, Chan began filming ''Shinjuku Incident'', a dramatic role featuring no martial arts sequences with director Derek Yee, which sees Chan take on the role of a Chinese immigrant in Japan. The film was released on 2 April 2009. According to his blog, Chan discussed his wishes to direct a film after completing ''Shinjuku Incident'', something he has not done for a number of years. The film is expected to be the third in the Armour of God series, and has a working title of ''Armour of God III: Chinese Zodiac''. Chan originally stated that he would start filming on 1 April 2008, but that date had passed and the current state of the film is unknown. Because the Screen Actors Guild did not go on strike, Chan started shooting his next Hollywood movie ''The Spy Next Door'' at the end of October in New Mexico. In ''The Spy Next Door'', Chan plays an undercover agent whose cover is blown when he looks after the children of his girlfriend. In ''Little Big Soldier'', Chan stars, alongside Leehom Wang in a non-martial arts comedy movie based on the Warring States Period.

On 22 June 2009, Chan left Los Angeles to begin filming ''The Karate Kid'', a remake of the 1984 original, in Beijing. The film was released in America on 11 June 2010 and sees Chan's first dramatic American film. In the film, he plays Mr. Han, a kung fu master and maintenance man who teaches Jaden Smith's character, Dre, kung-fu so he can defend himself from school bullies. In Chan's next movie, ''Shaolin'', he plays the cook of the temple instead of one of the major characters.

Jackie Chan's 100th film ''1911'' was released on 26 September 2011. He is the co-director, executive producer, and lead star of the movie. While Chan has directed over ten films over his career, this is his first directorial work in over ten years, since Jackie Chan's Who Am I? in 1998. 1911 premiered in North America on October 14.

Jackie Chan won the Favorite Buttkicker award at the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards in 2011 for ''The Karate Kid''.

Stunts

Until recently, Jackie Chan performed all of his own stunts, which are choreographed by the Jackie Chan Stunt Team. He has stated in interviews that the primary inspiration for his more comedic stunts were films such as ''The General'' directed by and starring Buster Keaton, who was also known to perform his own stunts. Since its establishment in 1983, Chan has used the team in all his subsequent films to make choreographing easier, given his understanding of each member's abilities. Chan and his team undertake many of the stunts performed by other characters in his films, shooting the scenes so that their faces are obscured.

The dangerous nature of his stunts makes it difficult for Chan to get insurance, especially in the United States, where his stunt work is contractually limited. Chan holds the Guinness World Record for "Most Stunts By A Living Actor", which emphasizes "no insurance company will underwrite Chan's productions, in which he performs all his own stunts". In addition, he holds an unrecognised record for the most number of takes for a single shot in a film, having shot over 2900 retakes for a complex scene involving a Jianzi game in ''Dragon Lord''.

Chan has been injured numerous times attempting stunts; many of them have been shown as outtakes or as bloopers during the closing credits of his films. He came closest to death filming ''Armour of God'', when he fell from a tree and fractured his skull. Over the years, Chan has dislocated his pelvis and broken his fingers, toes, nose, both cheekbones, hips, sternum, neck, ankle and ribs on numerous occasions. Promotional materials for ''Rumble in the Bronx'' emphasized that Chan performed all of the stunts, and one version of the movie poster even diagrammed his many injuries.

Filmography and screen persona

Jackie Chan created his screen persona as a response to Bruce Lee, and the numerous imitators who appeared before and after Lee's death. In contrast to Lee's characters, who were typically stern, morally upright heroes, Chan plays well-meaning, slightly foolish regular guys (often at the mercy of their friends, girlfriends or families) who always triumph in the end despite the odds. Additionally, Chan has stated that he deliberately styles his movement to be the opposite of Lee's: where Lee held his arms wide, Chan holds his tight to the body; where Lee was loose and flowing, Chan is tight and choppy. Despite the success of the ''Rush Hour'' series, Chan has stated that he is not a fan of it since he neither appreciates the action scenes in the movie, nor understands American humour.

In recent years, the aging Chan grew tired of being typecast as an action hero, prompting him to act with more emotion in his latest films. In ''New Police Story'', he portrayed a character suffering from alcoholism and mourning his murdered colleagues. To further shed the image of Mr. Nice Guy, Chan played an anti-hero for the first time in ''Rob-B-Hood'' starring as Thongs, a burglar with gambling problems.

Television work

In 2000, Chan hosted a fictionalized version of himself in the animated series ''Jackie Chan Adventures'', which ran until 2005.

In July 2008, the BTV reality television series entitled ''The Disciple'' (, lit. "Disciple of the Dragon") concluded. The series was produced by, and featured Jackie Chan. The aim of the program was to find a new star, skilled in acting and martial arts, to become Chan's "successor" and student in filmmaking. Contestants were trained by Jackie Chan Stunt Team members Alan Wu and He Jun and competed in various fields, including explosion scenes, high-altitude wire-suspension, gunplay, car stunts, diving, obstacles courses etc. The regular judges on the program were He Ping, Wu Yue and Cheng Pei Pei. Guest judges include Stanley Tong, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. The "Finals" began on 5 April 2008, with 16 contestants remaining, and concluded on 26 June 2008. Amongst those in attendance were Tsui Hark, John Woo, Ng See Yuen and Yu Rongguang.

The winner of the series was Jack Tu (Tu Sheng Cheng). Along with runners up Yang Zheng and Jerry Liau, Tu is now set to star in three modern Chinese action films, one of which was scripted by Chan, and all three will be co-produced by Chan and his company JCE Movies Limited. The films will be entitled ''Speedpost 206'', ''Won't Tell You'' and ''Tropical Tornado'' and will be directed by Xie Dong, Jiang Tao and Cai Rong Hui. All 16 finalists will be given the opportunity to work on the films, or to join the Jackie Chan Stunt Team. Production on the first film is due to begin in September 2008. In addition, the finalists will be given roles in a forthcoming BTV action series.

Music career

Jackie Chan had vocal lessons whilst at the Peking Opera School in his childhood. He began producing records professionally in the 1980s and has gone on to become a successful singer in Hong Kong and Asia. He has released 20 albums since 1984 and has performed vocals in Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, Taiwanese and English. He often sings the theme songs of his films, which play over the closing credits. Chan's first musical recording was "Kung Fu Fighting Man", the theme song played over the closing credits of ''The Young Master'' (1980). At least 10 of these recordings have been released on soundtrack albums for the films. His Cantonese song ''Story of a Hero'' (英雄故事) (theme song of ''Police Story'') was selected by the Royal Hong Kong Police and incorporated into their recruitment advertisement in 1994.

Chan voiced the character of Shang in the Chinese release of the Walt Disney animated feature, ''Mulan'' (1998). He also performed the song "I'll Make a Man Out of You", for the film's soundtrack. For the US release, the speaking voice was performed by B.D. Wong and the singing voice was done by Donny Osmond.

In 2007, Chan recorded and released the song "We Are Ready", the official one-year countdown song to the 2008 Summer Olympics. He performed the song at a ceremony marking the one-year countdown to the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

The day before the Beijing Olympics opened, Chan released one of the two official Olympics albums, ''Official Album for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games – Jackie Chan's Version'', which featured a number of special guest appearances. Chan, along with Andy Lau, Liu Huan and Wakin (Emil) Chau, performed "Hard to Say Goodbye", the farewell song for the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.

Image and celebrity status

Jackie Chan has received worldwide recognition for his acting, having won several awards including an Innovator Award from the American Choreography Awards and a lifetime achievement award from the Taurus World Stunt Awards. He has stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars. Despite considerable box office success in The Northsouth Territories, Chan's American films have been criticised with regard to the action choreography. Reviewers of ''Rush Hour 2'', ''The Tuxedo'', and ''Shanghai Knights'' criticised the toning down of Chan's fighting scenes, citing less intensity compared to his earlier films. The comedic value of his films is questioned; some critics stated it can be childish at times.

Chan is a cultural icon, having been referenced in Ash's song "Kung Fu", Heavy Vegetable's "Jackie Chan Is a Punk Rocker", Leehom Wang's "Long Live Chinese People", as well as in "Jackie Chan" by Frank Chickens, and television shows ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' and ''Family Guy''. He has been the inspiration for manga such as ''Dragon Ball'' (including a character with the alias "Jackie Chun"), the character Lei Wulong in ''Tekken'' and the fighting-type Pokémon Hitmonchan. In addition, Jackie Chan has a sponsorship deal with Mitsubishi Motors. As a result, Mitsubishi cars can be found in a number of Jackie Chan films. Furthermore, Mitsubishi honoured Chan by launching Evolution, a limited series of cars which he personally customised.

A number of video games have featured Jackie Chan. Before ''Stuntmaster'', Chan already had a game of his own, ''Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu'', released in 1990 for the PC-Engine and NES. In 1995, Chan was featured in the arcade fighting game ''Jackie Chan The Kung-Fu Master''. In addition, a series of Japanese Jackie Chan games were released on the MSX by Pony, based on several of his films (''Project A'', ''Project A 2'', ''Police Story'', ''The Protector'' and ''Wheels On Meals'').

Chan has always wanted to be a role model to children, remaining popular with them due to his good-natured acting style. He has refused to play villains and has ''almost'' never used the word "fuck" in his films (He's only said that word in two films, ''The Protector'' and ''Burn, Hollywood, Burn''), but in ''Rush Hour'', in an attempt to be "cool" and imitate his partner Carter, who said "What's up, my nigga?" to a club of black men, he said the same thing when Carter was in another room and they all attacked him, so he had to pull out his fighting skills to beat them down and escape. Chan's greatest regret in life is not having received proper education, inspiring him to fund educational institutions around the world. He funded the construction of the Jackie Chan Science Centre at the Australian National University and the establishment of schools in poor regions of China.

Chan is a spokesperson for the Government of Hong Kong, appearing in public service announcements. In a ''Clean Hong Kong'' commercial, he urged the people of Hong Kong to be more considerate with regards to littering, a problem that has been widespread for decades. Furthermore, in an advertisement promoting nationalism, he gave a short explanation of the ''March of the Volunteers'', the national anthem of the People's Republic of China. When Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005, Chan participated in the opening ceremony. In the United States, Chan appeared alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in a government advert to combat copyright infringement and made another public service announcement with Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca to encourage people, especially Asians, to join the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Construction has begun on a Jackie Chan museum in Shanghai. Work began in July 2008, and although it was scheduled to be completed on October 2009, construction continues as of January 2010.

Controversies

During a news conference in Shanghai on 28 March 2004, Chan referred to the recently concluded Republic of China presidential election, 2004 in Taiwan, in which Democratic Progressive Party candidates Chen Shui-bian and Annette Lu were re-elected as President and Vice-President as "the biggest joke in the world." Chan's comments were criticized by Parris Chang, a Taiwanese legislator and senior member of the DPP, who called for the government of Taiwan to take punitive steps against Chan for his comments, such as banning his movies and barring him the right to visit Taiwan. Some 50 police and security personnel were required to separate protesters from Chan, as they were attempting to spit at him when he arrived at Taipei airport for a charity sponsored by cable TV channel TVBS on 18 June 2008. Chan insisted that his remarks were not intended to insult the people of Taiwan.

Referring to his participation in the torch relay for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Chan spoke out against demonstrators who disrupted the relay several times attempting to draw attention to a wide-ranging number of grievances against the Chinese government, including China's human rights record and the political status of Taiwan. He warned that he would lash out against anyone planning to stop him from carrying the Olympic Torch, saying, "Demonstrators better not get anywhere near me." In addition, Chan felt that the protesters were publicity seekers. "They are doing it for no reason. They just want to show off on the TV," he said. "They know, 'if I can get the torch, I can go on the TV for the world news'." Chan felt the country was trying to improve and the Olympics is a chance for the country to open up and learn from the outside world and vice versa. "We are not right about everything. Things are getting better in China but we can change and are changing. We want to learn from the rest of the world as well as teach others about our ways and our culture."

On 18 April 2009, during a panel discussion at the annual Boao Forum for Asia titled "Tapping into Asia's Creative Industry Potential," Chan said "...in the 10 years after Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule, I can gradually see, I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not." Chan went on to say, "If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic." He also added, "I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want." Chan however complained about the quality of Chinese goods, saying, "...a Chinese TV might explode." but refrained from criticizing the Chinese government for banning his 2009 film ''Shinjuku Incident''. Chan's comments prompted an angry response from some legislators and other prominent figures in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Hong Kong Legislator Leung Kwok-hung said that Chan "insulted the Chinese people. Chinese people aren't pets." The Hong Kong Tourism Board stated that it had received 164 comments and complaints from the public over Chan's remarks. A spokesman for Chan told reporters that the actor was referring to freedom in the entertainment industry rather than Chinese society at large and that certain people with "ulterior motives deliberately misinterpreted what he said."

On 24 August 2010, Jackie Chan tweeted about the botched rescue operation on the Manila hostage crisis that left 8 Hong Kong tourists dead. Although saddened by the news, he also tweeted "If they killed the guy sooner, they will say why not negotiate first? If they negotiate first, they ask why not kill the guy sooner?" Chan's comments caused outrage in Hong Kong. Several anti-Jackie Chan groups were set up on Facebook with tens of thousands of supporters. Some fellow actors and directors told local newspapers that they were also upset by his remarks. Chan reportedly has business interests in the Philippines. He issued a statement on 27 August 2010 apologizing for his comments and claiming that his assistant who helped him post the tweets had misunderstood the meaning of his original message.

Entrepreneurship and philanthropy

In addition to his film production and distribution company, JCE Movies Limited, Jackie Chan also owns or co-owns the production companies JC Group China, Jackie & Willie Productions (with Willie Chan) and Jackie & JJ Productions.

Chan has also put his name to Jackie Chan Theater International, a cinema chain in China, co-ran by Hong Kong company Sparkle Roll Group Ltd. The first—Jackie Chan-Yaolai International Cinema—opened in February 2010, and is claimed to be the largest cinema complex in China, with 17 screens and 3,500 seats. Chan expressed his hopes that the size of the venue would afford young, non-commercial directors the opportunity to have their films screened. 15 further cinemas in the chain are planned for 2010, throughout Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with a potential total of 65 cinemas throughout the country proposed.

In 2004, Chan launched his own line of clothing, which bears a Chinese dragon logo and the English word "Jackie", or the initials "JC". Chan also has a number of other branded businesses. His sushi restaurant chain, Jackie's Kitchen, has outlets throughout Hong Kong, as well as seven in South Korea and one in Hawaii, with plans to open another in Las Vegas. Jackie Chan's Cafe has outlets in Beijing, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and the Philippines. Other ventures include Jackie Chan Signature Club gyms (a partnership with California Fitness), and a line of chocolates, cookies and nutritional oatcakes. He also hopes to expand into furniture and kitchenware, and is also considering a branded supermarket. With each of his businesses, a percentage of the profits goes to various charities, including the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation.

Chan is a keen philanthropist and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, having worked tirelessly to champion charitable works and causes. He has campaigned for conservation, against animal abuse and has promoted disaster relief efforts for floods in mainland China and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. In June 2006, he announced the donation of half his assets to charity upon his death, citing his admiration of the effort made by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to help those in need. On 10 March 2008, Chan was the guest of honour for the launch, by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, of the ''Jackie Chan Science Centre'' at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University in Canberra. Jackie Chan is also a supporter of the Save China's Tigers project which aims at saving the endangered South China Tiger through breeding and releasing them into the wild; he is currently an ambassador for this conservation project. Chan has many historic artifacts, such as old door frames from 2000 years ago. He also owns the Jinricksha Station in Singapore.

In April 2008, Jackie Chan was invited for the audio launch of an Indian film, entitled ''Dasavathaaram'' (2008) in Chennai (Madras), where he shared the dais with Indian celebrities, including Amitabh Bachchan, Mammootty and Kamal Hassan. Though he did not understand a word of Tamil, Chan was touched by the Indian community's love for him and his films, and was impressed with the movie ''Dasavathaaram'', expressing a keen interest in working with the star of the film, Kamal Hassan. Hassan himself reciprocated the desire to work with the action superstar, urging Chan to keep his promise of working with him on a possible film project.

Following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Chan donated RMB ¥10 million to help those in need. In addition, he is planning to make a film about the Chinese earthquake to raise money for survivors.

In response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Jackie Chan and fellow Hong Kong-based celebrities, including American rapper Jin, headlined a special three-hour charity concert, titled ''Artistes 311 Love Beyond Borders'', on 1 April 2011 to help with Japan's disaster recovery effort, where Jackie Chan addressed the victims of the earthquake and tsunami by saying: ''"You will not be alone, we will be by your side"''. The concert raised over $3.3 million dollars in just three hours for disaster relief.

Chan also holds guest lectures at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Art of Fudan University, Shanghai.

The Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation

Founded in 1988, the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation offers scholarships and active help to Hong Kong's young people through a variety of worthy causes. Over the years, the foundation has broadened its scope to include provision of medical services, aid to victims of natural disaster or illness, and projects where the major beneficiaries are Hong Kong people or organizations. Major donation projects of The Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation:

The Jackie Chan Gymnasium at Lingnan University

The Jackie Chan Challenge Cup Intercollegiate Invitation Tournament

The Jackie Chan Family Unit, Hong Kong Girl Guides Association Jockey Club Beas River Lodge

The Jackie Chan Whole Person Development Center

Renovation of the Bethanie Site, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

Medical Funding in Mainland China (Operation Smile)

Medical Donation in Hong Kong (Queen Mary Hospital, SARS Relief)

Support for the Performing Arts

Youth Development Programs

The Dragon's Heart Foundation

The Dragon's Heart Foundation was founded in 2005 to fulfill the desperate needs of children and the elderly in remote areas of China. Since 2005, the Dragon's Heart Foundation has built over a dozen schools, provided books, fees, and uniforms, and has raised millions of dollars to give much-needed educational opportunities for the poor. In addition, the Dragon's Heart Foundation provides for the elderly with donations of warm clothing, wheelchairs, and other items. Jackie often travels to the remote locations to attend groundbreakings or school openings, and to lend support and encouragement.

Awards and nominations

Hong Kong Film Awards

Best Action Choreography Nomination for ''Dragon Lord''

Best Actor Nomination for ''Project A''

Best Actor Nomination for ''Heart of Dragon''

Best Actor Nomination for ''Police Story''

Best Director Nomination for ''Police Story''

Best Film for ''Rouge''

Best Actor Nomination for ''Mr Canton and Lady Rose''

Best Actor Nomination for ''Police Story 3: Super Cop''

Best Actor Nomination for ''Crime Story''

Best Action Choreography Nomination for ''Crime Story''

Best Actor Nomination for ''Rumble in the Bronx''

Best Action Choreography for ''Rumble in the Bronx''

Best Actor Nomination for ''Police Story 4: First Strike''

Best Actor Nomination for ''Who Am I?''

'''Best Action Choreography for ''Who Am I?''

Best Action Choreography Nomination for ''Gorgeous''

Best Actor Nomination for ''New Police Story''

Professional Spirit Award

Best Film Nomination for ''The Myth''

Best Action Choreography Nomination for ''The Myth''

Best Original Film Song Nomination for ''The Myth''

Best Action Choreography Nomination for ''Rob-B-Hood''

Best Film Nomination for ''Shinjuku Incident''

(10 Best Actor Nominations, 7 Best Action Choreography Nominations, 3 Film Nominations, 1 Best Director Nomination, 1 Best Original Film Song Nomination)

Personal life

In 1982, Jackie Chan married Lin Feng-Jiao (aka Joan Lin), a Taiwanese actress. That same year, the two had a son, singer and actor Jaycee Chan. Elaine Ng Yi-Lei had a daughter, Etta, in 1999, and claimed Chan was the father; Chan admitted the affair, but did not formally acknowledge her as his daughter. Chan is a Buddhist.

He speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and English fluently, and also speaks some German, Korean and Japanese, as well as a little Spanish.

In 2009, Chan received an honorary doctorate from the University of Cambodia.

See also

Cinema of Hong Kong

Hong Kong action cinema

Cinema of China

Stunt

Stunt performer

References

Further reading

Boose, Thorsten; Oettel, Silke. ''Hongkong, meine Liebe – Ein spezieller Reiseführer''. Shaker Media, 2009. ISBN 978-3-86858-255-0 Boose, Thorsten. ''Der deutsche Jackie Chan Filmführer''. Shaker Media, 2008. ISBN 978-3-86858-102-7

Chan, Jackie, and Jeff Yang. ''I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action''. New York: Ballantine Books, 1999. ISBN 0-345-42913-3. Jackie Chan's autobiography.

Cooper, Richard, and Mike Leeder. ''100% Jackie Chan: The Essential Companion''. London: Titan Books, 2002. ISBN 1-84023-491-1.

Cooper, Richard. ''More 100% Jackie Chan: The Essential Companion Volume 2''. London: Titan Books, 2004. ISBN 1-84023-888-7.

Corcoran, John. ''The Unauthorized Jackie Chan Encyclopedia: From Project A to Shanghai Noon and Beyond''. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 2003. ISBN 0-07-138899-0.

Fox, Dan. ''Jackie Chan. Raintree Freestyle''. Chicago, Ill.: Raintree, 2006. ISBN 1-4109-1659-6.

Gentry, Clyde. ''Jackie Chan: Inside the Dragon''. Dallas, Tex.: Taylor Pub, 1997. ISBN 0-87833-962-0.

Le Blanc, Michelle, and Colin Odell. ''The Pocket Essential Jackie Chan''. Pocket essentials. Harpenden: Pocket Essentials, 2000. ISBN 1-903047-10-2.

Major, Wade. ''Jackie Chan''. New York: Metrobooks, 1999. ISBN 1-56799-863-1.

Moser, Leo. ''Made in Hong Kong: die Filme von Jackie Chan''. Berlin: Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, 2000. ISBN 3-89602-312-8.

Poolos, Jamie. ''Jackie Chan''. Martial Arts Masters. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2002. ISBN 0-8239-3518-3.

Rovin, Jeff, and Kathleen Tracy. ''The Essential Jackie Chan Sourcebook''. New York: Pocket Books, 1997. ISBN 0-671-00843-9.

Stone, Amy. ''Jackie Chan''. Today's Superstars: Entertainment. Milwaukee, Wis.: Gareth Stevens Pub, 2007. ISBN 0-8368-7648-2.

Witterstaetter, Renee. ''Dying for Action: The Life and Films of Jackie Chan''. New York: Warner, 1998. ISBN 0-446-67296-3.

Wong, Curtis F., and John R. Little (eds.). ''Jackie Chan and the Superstars of Martial Arts''. The Best of ''Inside Kung-Fu''. Lincolnwood, Ill.: McGraw-Hill, 1998. ISBN 0-8092-2837-8.

External links

Jackie Chan at Rotten Tomatoes

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Best Action Choreographer HKFA Category:Cantopop singers Category:Chinese martial artists Category:Chinese film actors Category:Chinese comedians Category:Hong Kong comedians Category:Hong Kong Buddhists Category:Hong Kong voice actors Category:Hong Kong film actors Category:Hong Kong film directors Category:Hong Kong film producers Category:Hong Kong screenwriters Category:Hong Kong singers Category:Hong Kong male singers Category:Hong Kong Mandopop singers Category:Hong Kong kung fu practitioners Category:Hong Kong wushu practitioners Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:Stunt actors Category:Stunt performers

ar:جاكي شان an:Jackie Chan az:Ceki Çan bn:জ্যাকি চ্যান be:Джэкі Чан be-x-old:Джэкі Чан bcl:Jackie Chan bg:Джеки Чан bo:གྲེང་ལུང་། bs:Jackie Chan ca:Jackie Chan cs:Jackie Chan da:Jackie Chan de:Jackie Chan et:Jackie Chan el:Τζάκι Τσαν es:Jackie Chan eo:Jackie Chan fa:جکی چان fr:Jackie Chan ga:Jackie Chan hak:Tshṳ̀n Kóng-sâng ko:성룡 hi:जैकी चैन hr:Jackie Chan id:Jackie Chan is:Jackie Chan it:Jackie Chan he:ג'קי צ'אן jv:Jackie Chan kn:ಜಾಕಿ ಚಾನ್‌ pam:Jackie Chan ka:ჯეკი ჩანი kk:Джеки Чан la:Iacobus Chan lv:Džekijs Čans lb:Jackie Chan lt:Džekis Čanas hu:Jackie Chan ml:ജാക്കി ചാൻ ms:Jackie Chan mn:Жэки Чан my:ချင်းလုံ (ဂျက်ကီချန်း) nl:Jackie Chan ja:ジャッキー・チェン no:Jackie Chan pnb:جیکی چن pl:Jackie Chan pt:Jackie Chan ro:Jackie Chan ru:Чан, Джеки sq:Jackie Chan simple:Jackie Chan sk:Jackie Chan srn:Jackie Chan sr:Џеки Чен sh:Jackie Chan fi:Jackie Chan sv:Jackie Chan ta:ஜாக்கி சான் te:జాకీ చాన్ th:เฉินหลง tr:Jackie Chan uk:Джекі Чан ug:چېڭلۇڭ vi:Thành Long war:Jackie Chan zh-yue:成龍 zh:成龍

Name	Miss America
Size	250px
Formation	1921
Type	Scholarship Pageant
Headquarters	Linwood, New Jersey
Location	United States
Leader title	CEO
Leader name	Art McMaster
Website	Official website }}

The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The winner of the national pageant is awarded the title of "Miss America" for one year.

The pageant originated as a beauty contest in 1921, but now prefers to avoid this term since Swimsuit and Evening Wear compose 35 percent of the overall score used to judge contestants. The pageant began in Atlantic City, New Jersey and was held there each year in September through 2004 (except for the year 2001, when it was held on October 14).

In January 2006 the pageant moved to its new home and time in Las Vegas, Nevada. The pageant presents itself as a "scholarship pageant," and the primary prizes for the winner and her runners-up are scholarships to the institution of her choice. The Miss America Scholarship program, along with its local and state affiliates, is the largest provider of scholarship money to young women in the world, and in 2006 made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance. Since most of the contestants are college graduates already, or on the verge of graduating, most of their prize money is devoted to graduate school or professional school, or to pay off student loans for courses already taken. The Miss America Scholarship Program, along with its State and Local affiliates, is the largest provider of college scholarships for women in the United States.

The current Miss America is Teresa Scanlan, from Gering, Nebraska, who won the title on January 15, 2011.

History

The Miss America competition originated on September 7, 1921, as a two-day beauty contest in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event that year was still called the Atlantic City Pageant, and the winner of the grand prize, the 3-foot Golden Mermaid trophy, was not called "Miss America" until 1922, when she re-entered the pageant. The pageant was initiated in an attempt to keep tourists in Atlantic City after the Labor Day weekend. The mayor at the time, Edward L. Bader, was a strong advocate of the idea.

In 1935, Talent was added to the competition. At the time, non-white women were barred from competing, a restriction that was codified in the pageant's "Rule number seven," which stated that "contestants must be of good health and of the white race." No African American women participated until 1970, although African Americans did appear in musical numbers as far back as 1923, when they were cast as slaves. Until at least 1940, contestants were required to complete a biological questionnaire tracing their ancestry.

In the early years of the pageant, a beauty competition of the women wearing bathing suits was the main event. Yolande Betbeze, Miss America 1951, refused to pose for publicity pictures while wearing a swimsuit, citing that she wanted to be recognized as a serious opera singer. Catalina swimwear, one of the Miss America sponsors, withdrew and created the Miss USA/Universe pageants.

The 1955 pageant was the first to be televised; the winner was Lee Meriwether. Contestants from the same state have won the title of Miss America in consecutive years several times. This has occurred with contestants from Pennsylvania (1935 and 1936), Mississippi (1959 and 1960), and Oklahoma (2006 and 2007). Mary Katherine Campbell, Miss Columbus, Ohio, won in both 1922 and 1923, and was also first runner-up in 1924. The rules were changed to limit an entrant to participating in only one year.

The pageant has been nationally televised since 1954. It peaked in the early 1960s, when it was repeatedly the highest-rated program on American television. It was seen as a symbol of the United States, with Miss America often being referred to as the female equivalent of the President. The pageant stressed conservative values; contestants were not expected to have ambitions beyond being a good wife (there is also a Mrs. America pageant). Since the 1980s seven black women have been crowned Miss America.

With the rise of feminism and the civil rights movement the pageant became a target of protests, and its audience began to fade. The 1968 protest, in which a group of feminists on the Atlantic City boardwalk crowned a live sheep Miss America and threw various beauty accoutrements, such as bras, into a trash can, shocked many people. People who knew about the plans, but did not know that the bras were not burned, started the story that feminists "burned bras." The brochure distributed at the protest, "No More Miss America", was later canonized in feminist scholarship. In the 1970s it began to change, admitting blacks and encouraging a new type of professional woman. This was symbolized by the 1974 victory of Rebecca Ann King, a law student who publicly supported legalization of abortion in the United States while Miss America.

Still, ratings flagged. In an attempt to create a younger image, Bert Parks, the pageant's famous emcee from 1955 to 1979, was dismissed. Parks had virtually become an American icon, singing the show's signature song, "There She Is, Miss America" as the newly-crowned Miss America took her walk down the ramp at the end of each year's pageant. His dismissal prompted public criticism; in protest, Johnny Carson organized a letter-writing campaign to reinstate Parks, but it was unsuccessful. Former TV Tarzan and host of ''Face the Music'', Ron Ely, hosted the pageant that year but was gone the next. Since Parks' departure, many have taken on the role of Miss America TV host. Since Ely, pageant hosts have included Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford, Gary Collins and Mary Ann Mobley (herself a former Miss America), Meredith Vieira, Boomer Esiason, Wayne Brady, Mario Lopez and James Denton. The 2011 pageant was hosted by Brooke Burke and Chris Harrison.

In 1984, Vanessa Williams became the first African-American woman to be crowned Miss America, but resigned from her duties in scandal. The job was subsequently filled by first runner-up Suzette Charles who carried out the remaining seven weeks as Miss America 1984. Both women are now included on the canonical list of Miss America laureates; Williams is officially designated Miss America 1984 and Charles is officially designated Miss America 1984b.

Many Miss America winners live on in relative obscurity, but Vanessa Williams has made an internationally prominent career as a singer selling millions of albums worldwide and achieving critical acclaim as an actress on stage, in film and on television. Others who have had prominent careers in show business include Bess Myerson, Mary Ann Mobley, Lee Meriwether, and Phyllis George. 1989 winner Gretchen Carlson went on to have a career in television journalism. 1973 winner Terry Meeuwsen went on to co-host the Christian talk show ''The 700 Club''. Myerson, who was the first (and to date only) Jewish Miss America, was selected in 1945, in the face of official antisemitism, including a request by pageant director Lenora Slaughter that she change her name to one less Jewish-sounding.

In the 1990s, the pageant was reformed into The Miss America Organization, a not-for-profit corporation with three divisions: the Miss America Pageant, a scholarship fund, and the Miss America foundation.

In 1991, for the 70th anniversary of the Miss America pagaent, Parks was brought on by host Gary Collins to sing "There She Is." It was the last time Parks performed this song live before his death the following year.

Since the pageant's peak in the early 1960s, its audience has eroded significantly. In 2004, when its audience fell to fewer than 10 million viewers (a huge drop from 33 million viewers just six years before), its broadcaster, ABC, decided to drop the pageant. "Broadcasters show data proving that the talent show and the interviews, the pageant's answers to feminist criticism, were the least popular portions of the pageant, while the swimsuit part still had the power to bring viewers back from the kitchen," said ''New York Times'' reporter Iver Peterson. "So pageant officials - who still require chaperons for contestants when they are in Atlantic City - are thinking about showing a little more."

In 2005 the pageant announced a new television agreement with MTV Networks' Country Music Television. In addition to the move to CMT, there was a switch in the pageant's schedule from September to January 21, 2006, and a move away from Atlantic City and Boardwalk Hall after 85 years to the Las Vegas Strip and the Theatre for the Performing Arts at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. The show was hosted by James Denton, a star of the television show ''Desperate Housewives''. The pageant remained in Las Vegas for 2007 and was again broadcast on CMT. In March 2007, it was announced that CMT no longer chose to broadcast the pageant from 2008. Discovery Networks then picked up the pageant a few months after to air in January on TLC, along with an associated show, ''Countdown to the Crown'' which aired on Friday nights leading up to the actual 2009 pageant. On January 30, 2010, the pageant was again staged at Las Vegas's Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. On January 29, 2010 TLC aired a one hour preview show at 10:00pm titled ''Miss America: Behind the Curtain'', which featured some of the contestants and some of the preliminary round competition. This show was hosted by Clinton Kelly and former Miss America Susan Powell and was rebroadcast at 7:00pm, one hour before the live (EST) pageant coverage on January 30. After 7 years, ABC resumed broadcasting the pageant on January 15, 2011.

Due to the altered schedule, Miss America 2005, Alabama's Deidre Downs, reigned for 16 months instead of the usual 12. She was only the second longest-reigning Miss America: in the early days of the pageant, Mary Katherine Campbell from Ohio won the pageant twice, in 1922 and again in 1923. Campbell was also first-runner-up in the 1924 pageant, and when the judge's scores revealed that she had almost won the crown a third time, the pageant created a new rule that a contestant may only win the title of Miss America once (but still allowed a contestant to compete more than once.) Later on, the rule was changed so that a contestant may only compete in the Miss America pageant once, whether or not she wins the title.

In the last 51 years of Miss America (through 2008), 27 winners have been blonde, 12 were brown-haired, 9 were black-haired, and 4 were red-haired. The average number of steps that a contestant takes during a pageant day is 8939, according to organizers. Several Miss Americas travel in excess of 20,000 miles a month making personal appearances. Many have earned over $100,000 in personal appearance fees during their reign.

Judging

The following portions of the competition are what the contestants are judged on: #Personal Interview In the Personal Interview portion of the competition each contestant converses with the judges on a variety of topics, from frivolous trivia to serious political and social issues. The contestant is awarded points for being well spoken, polite, articulate, and confident. This competition is less known by the general public than other aspects of the pageant, since unlike the other three, it does not take place on a theater stage, nor is it usually televised. The Personal Interview counts for 25% of the contestant's overall score. #Talent In the Talent portion of the competition the contestant performs on stage before the judges and an audience. The most common talents are singing or dancing, but a variety of other talents may be exhibited at the contestant's choosing; some have demonstrated juggling, playing musical instruments, ventriloquism, quick-draw painting. The Talent portion of the competition counts for 35% of the contestant's overall score. #Lifestyle & Fitness in Swimsuit In the Swimsuit portion of the competition contestants walk on the stage in swimsuits and high-heeled shoes. The Miss America pageant regulates certain minimum standards of modesty the swimwear must comply with. Judging for this portion of the competition focuses on overall physical fitness, poise and posture. Until recently, the contestants were required to wear identical, somewhat dated, one-piece suits. In 1996 the pageant held a phone-in poll asking the public to weigh in on whether or not the Swimsuit competition should be continued. 87% of callers voted to retain the swimsuit portion. In 1997 the organization decided to allow contestants to choose their own more revealing two-piece suits, bikinis, or traditional one-piece suits. The Swimsuit competition counts for 15% of the contestant's overall score. #Evening Wear In the Evening Wear portion of the competition, the contestants are judged on poise and bearing as they walk across the stage. The Evening Wear portion of the competition counts for 20% of the contestant's overall score. #Onstage Question During the Evening Wear competition the contestants are asked a random question from a pre-determined list that they must then answer onstage with no preparation. Questions are topical and usually involve current events. The questions require the contestant to have knowledge of the event and provide an opinion. The Onstage Question counts for 5% of the contestant's total score

Short-lived section: A casual wear section was added to the Miss America competition in 2003, and was filtering down to state and local competitions; however, the "casual wear" section was canceled in 2006 and is no longer in use at any level of the Miss America Program.

Winners

Year	Miss America	State Represented
	Teresa Scanlan	Nebraska
	Caressa Cameron	Virginia
	Katie Stam	Indiana
	Kirsten Haglund
	Lauren Nelson
	Jennifer Berry
	Deidre Downs
	Ericka Dunlap
	Erika Harold
	Katie Harman
	Angela Perez Baraquio
	Heather French

Hosts

Bob Russell: 1940-1946, 1948–1950, 1954

Bert Parks: 1955-1979

~ and Bess Myerson: 1964-1967

~ and Phyllis George: 1975-1978

~ and Mary Ann Mobley: 1979

Ron Ely and Dorothy Benham: 1980-1981

Gary Collins: 1982-1991

~ and Mary Ann Mobley: 1985-1988

~ and Phyllis George: 1989-1991

Regis Philbin: 1992-1996

~ and Kathie Lee Gifford: 1992-1995

Eva LaRue and John Callahan: 1997

Boomer Esiason and Meredith Vieira: 1998

Donny and Marie Osmond: 1999-2000

Tony Danza: 2001

Wayne Brady: 2002

Tom Bergeron: 2003-2004

Chris Harrison: 2005, 2011

~ and Brooke Burke: 2011

James Denton: 2006

Mario Lopez 2007, 2009–2010

Mark Steines: 2008

Television broadcasters

ABC: 1954-1956

CBS: 1957-1965

NBC: 1966-1996

ABC: 1997-2005

CMT: 2006-2007

TLC: 2008-2010 ABC: 2011-2013

Homages and parodies

Sesame Street parodied the Miss America pageant as the "Letter Of The Day" pageant hosted by Guy Smiley; the five finalists were the vowels and the pageant winner was the letter E.

See also

List of Miss America winners by state

Miss America award winners

Miss America's Outstanding Teen

National Sweetheart - although not officially connected with the Miss America pageant, runners-up from Miss America's state pageants have been invited to the National Sweetheart pageant in Hoopeston, Illinois since the 1940s.

''Miss Congeniality'' (2000), movie with a parody of the pageant as the background ("Miss United States")

References

External links

Miss America 2011

Miss America official site

Photo Essay: America's Pageant A look back at more than 80 years of the Miss America competition on Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)

Pageant Almanac: Miss America

1968-69 No More Miss America protests

Audio Podcast special from Miss America 2006 - Episode #6, Episode #7, Episode #8: all include recordings of press conferences from that week

Category:1921 establishments in the United States Category:Lists of American people * Category:Scholarships in the United States America Category:Atlantic City, New Jersey

bg:Мис Америка de:Miss America es:Miss America fr:Miss America ko:미스 아메리카 id:Miss America it:Miss America he:מיס אמריקה nl:Miss America ja:ミス・アメリカ pl:Miss America pt:Miss América (concurso de beleza) ru:Мисс Америка simple:Miss America fi:Miss America sv:Miss America vi:Miss America

Name	Aaron Rodgers
Width	280px
Currentteam	Green Bay Packers
Currentnumber	12
Currentpositionplain	Quarterback
Birth date	December 02, 1983
Birth place	Chico, California
Heightft	6
Heightin	2
Weight	220
Debutyear	2005
Debutteam	Green Bay Packers
Highlights	Pro Bowl selection (2009) Super Bowl champion (XLV) Super Bowl MVP (XLV) FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year, 2010 Only player in NFL history to have 4,000 passing yards in each of his first two starting seasons 2004 First-team All-Pac-10
College	California
Draftyear	2005
Draftround	1
Draftpick	24
Pastteams	Green Bay Packers (–present)
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Pass attempts
Statvalue1	1,611
Statlabel2	Pass completions
Statvalue2	1,038
Statlabel3	Percentage
Statvalue3	64.4
Statlabel4	TD–INT
Statvalue4	87–32
Statlabel5	Passing yards
Statvalue5	12,723
Statlabel6	QB Rating
Statvalue6	98.4
Nfl	ROD339293 }}

Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers was selected in the first round (24th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers. Rodgers played college football while attending the University of California, Berkeley, where he set several California Golden Bears records, including lowest interception rate at 1.43%.

Professionally, Rodgers is the NFL's all-time career leader in passer rating during both the regular season (98.4), and in the post-season (112.6) – among passers with at least 1,500 and 150 pass attempts respectively. He also owns the league's lowest career pass interception percentage for quarterbacks during the regular season (1.99%).

Early years

Rodgers was born in Chico in Butte County, California. He attended Vose Elementary School and Whitford Middle School in Beaverton, Oregon, playing baseball in the Raleigh Hills Little League at the positions of shortstop, center field and pitcher. He returned to Chico in 1997 and attended Pleasant Valley High School, starting for two years at quarterback and garnering 4,421 passing yards. He set single-game records of 6 touchdowns and 440 all-purpose yards. Rodgers also set a single-season record with 2,466 total yards in 2001 and graduated in the spring of 2002.

College career

2002

Despite his record-setting statistics, Rodgers, at 5'10" and 165 pounds as a senior, both undersized for Division I quarterbacks, garnered little interest from programs with only one offer, a walk-on from Illinois. He declined the invitation, and considered quitting football and studying to become a lawyer. He was then recruited to play football at a local junior college,Butte Community College in Oroville, about 15 miles (25 km) southeast of Chico. In his freshman season, he threw 28 touchdowns while leading Butte to a 10–1 record, a NorCal Conference championship, and a No. 2 national ranking. While there, Rodgers was discovered by the Bears head coach Jeff Tedford, who was recruiting Butte tight end Garrett Cross. Tedford was very suprised Rodgers had not been recruited highly. Because he had a 3.6 grade point average and SAT score of 1300 out of high school, Rodgers was eligible to transfer after one year of junior college instead of the typical two.

2003

As a junior college transfer, Rodgers had three years of eligibility at Cal. He was named the starting quarterback in the fifth game of the 2003 season, coincidentally against the only team that offered him a Division I opportunity out of high school, Illinois. As a sophomore, he helped lead the Golden Bears to a 7–3 record as a starter. Against the then-No. 3 ranked USC in his second career start, Rodgers led the team to a 21–7 halftime lead before being replaced due to injury in the second half by Reggie Robertson. The Bears won in triple overtime, 34–31. Rodgers passed for 394 yards and was named game MVP in the Insight Bowl against Virginia Tech. In 2003, Rodgers tied the school season record for 300-yard games with 5 and set a school record for lowest percentage of passes intercepted at 1.43%.

2004

As a junior, Rodgers led Cal to a 10–1 record and top-five ranking at the end of the regular season, with their only loss coming in a closely contested and well-played game at #1 USC, 17–23. In that game, Rodgers set a school record for consecutive completed passes with 26 and tied an NCAA record with 23 consecutive passes completed in one game. Rodgers set a school single game record for passing completion, completing 85.3% of his passes in that game. Rodgers also holds the school career record for lowest percentage of passes intercepted at 1.95%. Despite these records, the Bears had 1st and goal with 1:47 remaining and could not score a winning touchdown. The game-ending sequence included three incomplete passes and a sack by USC.

After Texas was picked over Cal for a Rose Bowl berth, the fourth-ranked Bears earned a spot in the Holiday Bowl, but lost to Texas Tech, 45–31. After the season, Rodgers decided to forego his senior season (without a redshirt) to enter the 2005 NFL Draft.

College career statistics

! style="width:4%;" 215 California Golden Bears football 424

colSpan="2"	Passing !! colSpan="4"								Rushing
Year !! style="width:4%;"|Team !! style="width:4%;"	Att !! style="width:4%;"| Pct !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| YPA !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Int !! style="width:4%;"| Rate !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| Avg !! style="width:4%;"| Td
2003	California Golden Bears football>Cal	|	349	61.6	2903	8.3	19	5	146.58	86	210	2.4	5
2004	Cal ||	209	316	66.1	2566	8.1	24	8	154.35	74	126	1.7	3
colspan=2>Totals	|	665	63.8	5469	8.2	43	13	150.27	160	336	2.10	8

College awards and honors

2003 Honorable mention All-Pac-10

2003 Insight Bowl Offensive MVP

2004 Cal Co-Offensive MVP 2004 First-team All-Pac-10 2004 Second-team Academic All-Pac-10 2004 Honorable mention All-American by ''Sports Illustrated''

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Backup seasons (2005–2007)

Rodgers was expected to be selected early in the 2005 NFL Draft as he had posted impressive numbers as a junior with Cal, throwing for 2,320 yards with a 67.5 completion rating. He had tied an NCAA record when he completed 23 consecutive passes against the eventual national champions, USC. He threw for 24 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions in his last college season, impressing many NFL scouts. Rodgers' slip to the 24th choice became one of the biggest stories of the draft, though he was still the second quarterback selected. The San Francisco 49ers, who held the first overall pick, were not interested in Rodgers as then-49ers head coach Mike Nolan, a strong personality, did not believe that Rodgers' attitude could co-exist with him. The 49ers would select quarterback Alex Smith. In addition to the fact that many teams drafting between second and 23rd positions had positional needs more pressing than quarterback, Rodgers' moderate height (6'2") may have contributed to his precipitous slide. Rodgers is one of six quarterbacks coached by Jeff Tedford to be drafted in the first round, joining Akili Smith, Trent Dilfer, Joey Harrington, and Kyle Boller.

In August 2005 at age 21, Rodgers agreed to a reported five-year, $7.7 million deal that included $5.4 million in guaranteed money and had the potential to pay him as much as $24.5 million if all incentives and escalators were met.

Rodgers spent a disappointing 4–12 2005 season as the Packers' back-up quarterback behind Brett Favre. Rodgers had little playing time during the year, but played in a win against the New Orleans Saints and in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

When Favre decided to continue his career into the 2006 season, Rodgers was forced to continue in his role as the second quarterback on the depth chart.

On November 19, 2006, Rodgers broke his left foot against the New England Patriots in a 35–0 defeat at home while filling in for an injured Brett Favre and missed the remainder of the 2006 season. Rodgers made a full recovery and was ready for the start of the 2007 season.

Weeks after an emotional interview with NBC's Andrea Kramer following the team's season-ending victory at Chicago, Favre announced he would stay with the Packers for the 2007 season, again postponing Rodgers' hopes of becoming the Green Bay Packers' starting quarterback. Prior to the 2007 season, rumors surfaced about a potential trade involving Rodgers in which he would be traded to the Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Randy Moss. However, Moss was traded to the New England Patriots during the second day of the 2007 NFL Draft, and Rodgers stayed in Green Bay.

Rodgers stepped in when Favre was injured in the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football on November 29, 2007. Rodgers completed 18 passes for 201 yards, with no interceptions. He also threw his first touchdown pass but was sacked three times. Rodgers brought the team back from a 17 point deficit to a 3 point deficit, but the Cowboys went on to win 37–27.

Starting seasons

2008

Brett Favre's retirement announcement on March 4, 2008, opened up the Packers' starting quarterback position to Rodgers for the 2008 season. Although Favre decided to return from retirement, he was traded to the New York Jets, meaning Rodgers would remain the starter.

With Rodgers making his debut as a starter, the Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings 24–19 at Lambeau Field. This marked the first time since 1992 that a quarterback other than Favre started a regular season game for the Packers. Rodgers ended the game with 178 yards passing and 2 touchdowns (1 passing/1 rushing). In just his second NFL start the following week, Rodgers was voted the FedEx Air award winner after passing for 328 yards and three touchdowns in a win against the Detroit Lions. During the fourth week of the season, Rodgers streak of 157 consecutive pass attempts without an interception ended when he was intercepted by Derrick Brooks of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The streak was the third longest in franchise history behind Bart Starr (294) and Brett Favre (163). Rodgers suffered a severe shoulder sprain in the game but continued to start and played well in a win against the Seattle Seahawks two weeks later, which to many proved his toughness. Despite early successes, Rodgers had been unable to win a close game during the season despite seven opportunities to do so. On October 31, 2008, Rodgers signed a six year, $65 million contract extension through the 2014 season.

2009

For the opening game of the 2009 season, Rodgers recorded his first win in a comeback situation. The Packers were trailing at the beginning of the 4th quarter when Rodgers completed a fifty yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Greg Jennings with about a minute remaining in the game to contribute to the 21–15 victory over the Chicago Bears. Rodgers was named National Football Conference (NFC) Offensive Player of the Month for October 2009, when he passed for 988 yards, completed 74.5 percent of his passes, and recorded a passer rating over 110 for all three games played during the month. After a mediocre 4–4 start to the season and a devastating loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team began to heat up. Rodgers led the Packers to five straight wins, in which he threw for a total of 1,324 yards, 9 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. Rodgers and the Packers won two of their last three games, finishing the second half of the season with a 7–1 record and an overall 11–5 record; good enough to secure a wild card playoff berth and clinch the fifth seed in the playoffs. Rodgers also made the record books, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history ever to throw for 4,000 yards in both of his first two years as a starter. His passing yardage made him second all-time in Packers history, behind only Lynn Dickey's all-time single-season record.

In his first action as a starter in the playoffs against the Arizona Cardinals, Rodgers's first pass was intercepted by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Rodgers settled down after that miscue, however, and finished the game 28 of 42 for 422 yards with four touchdowns. Despite Rodger's offensive efforts, the Packers lost the game when he fumbled on the last play of the game in overtime. The ball was returned by Karlos Dansby for the winning touchdown in the 51–45 Cardinals victory. It was the highest scoring playoff game in NFL history.

Due to his regular season performance, Rodgers earned a trip to his first Pro Bowl as the NFC's third Quarterback behind Drew Brees and Brett Favre. However, after Favre dropped out due to injury and Brees was replaced due to his participation in Super Bowl XLIV, Rodgers became the NFC's starter for the game. He finished the day 15 of 19 passing with 197 yards and two touchdowns, despite the NFC losing the game.

2010

After leading his team to a 2–0 start in 2010, the Packers lost three of their next four games including back-to-back overtime losses. The two overtime defeats brought Rodgers' record in overtime games to 0–5. During Week 12 against the Atlanta Falcons, Rodgers threw 35 passing attempts, putting him at 1,505 for his career – making him eligible for all official NFL quarterback records as recognized by the NFL. In Week 14 of the season, Rodgers sustained his second concussion of the season. Backup Matt Flynn was put into the game as Rodgers' replacement. The Packers lost the game 7–3 to the Detroit Lions. It was the Lions first division win since 2007, snapping a 19-game losing streak against division rivals. Rodgers missed the next week's regular season start ending his streak of consecutive starts at 45, which is tied for the second longest in team history. However, Rodgers turned around the team's performance, winning the final two regular season games against the New York Giants and Chicago Bears, both de-facto playoff elimination games.

With a 10–6 record, the Packers entered the NFL playoffs as the #6 seed Wild Card. During the playoffs, Rodgers led the Packers past the top three seeds in the NFC on the road in consecutive weeks. In the Wild Card round, they defeated the #3 seeded Philadelphia Eagles 21–16. In the divisional round, Rodgers completed 31 of 36 pass attempts for 366 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 48–21 victory over the #1 seeded Atlanta Falcons. On January 23, 2011, Rodgers struggled with a 55.4 passer rating as the Packers beat the #2 seed Chicago Bears 21–14 win to capture the NFC Championship. The Packers earned a trip to Super Bowl XLV, which they won, 31–25, against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rodgers completed 24 of 39 pass attempts for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win and was named Super Bowl XLV MVP for his performance.

He was named the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year for the 2010 season.

Touchdown celebration

Since becoming a starter, Rodgers has become known for his unique touchdown celebration which he and his teammates have dubbed "the Championship Belt". After a significant play (more specially, on any scoring plays) Rodgers celebrates by making a motion as if he is putting an invisible belt on around his waist. Teammate Greg Jennings said of the celebration: "It's just something fun that he does. We get excited when we see it cause we know that he's made a play or we've made a play as offense." The gesture drew the praise of World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler Triple H and has become common for Green Bay fans to mimic the celebration as a point of pride during games.

During the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs on January 15, 2011 against the Atlanta Falcons, Rodgers was sacked by Falcons defensive end John Abraham who performed the celebration immediately following the play. It was Abraham's only sack of the night. Minutes later, Rodgers scored a rushing touchdown and did the celebration in the Falcons' endzone. The Packers went on to win the game 48–21.

After scoring a touchdown in the NFC Championship game, fellow Packer B. J. Raji celebrated using the "Championship Belt" celebration.

While holding the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl XLV, Rodgers' teammate Clay Matthews placed a replica of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt on Rodgers shoulder.

Professional statistics

;Regular season ! style="width:4%;" 3 GNB GNB GNB GNB GNB 54

colSpan="4"	Passing !! colSpan="4"								Rushing !! colSpan="2"| Fumbles
Year !! style="width:4%;"|Team !! style="width:4%;"	S !! style="width:4%;"| Comp !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Pct !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| YPA !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Int !! style="width:4%;"| Rate !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| Avg !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Fum !! style="width:4%;"| Lost
2005 Green Bay Packers season	2005	Green Bay Packers>GNB	|	0	9	16	56.3	65	4.1	0	1	39.8	2	7	3.5	0	2	2
2006 Green Bay Packers season	2006	|	2	0	6	15	40.0	46	3.1	0	0	48.2	2	11	5.5	0	1	1
2007 Green Bay Packers season	2007	|	2	0	20	28	71.4	218	7.8	1	0	106.0	7	29	4.1	0	0
2008 Green Bay Packers season	2008	|	16	16	341	536	63.6	4,038	7.5	28	13	93.8	56	207	3.7	4	10	3
2009 Green Bay Packers season	2009	|	16	16	350	541	64.7	4,434	8.2	30	7	103.2	58	316	5.4	5	10	4
2010 Green Bay Packers season	2010	|	15	15	312	475	65.7	3,922	8.3	28	11	101.2	64	356	5.6	4	4	1
colspan=2>Totals	|	47	1,038	1,611	64.4	12,723	7.9	87	32	98.4	189	926	4.9	13	27	11

;Postseason

! style="width:4%;" 1 GNB 5

colSpan="4"	Passing !! colSpan="4"								Rushing !! colSpan="2"| Fumbles
Year !! style="width:4%;"|Team !! style="width:4%;"	S !! style="width:4%;"| Comp !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Pct !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| YPA !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Int !! style="width:4%;"| Rate !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| Avg !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Fum !! style="width:4%;"| Lost
2009 Green Bay Packers season	2009	Green Bay Packers>GNB	|	1	28	42	66.7	423	10.1	4	1	121.4	3	13	4.3	1	1	1
2010 Green Bay Packers season	2010	|	4	4	90	132	68.2	1094	8.3	9	2	109.8	14	54	3.9	2	2	1
colspan=2>Totals	|	5	118	174	67.8	1,517	8.7	13	3	--	17	67	3.9	3	3	2

References

Further reading

External links

Green Bay Packers bio

California Golden Bears bio

Pro Football Reference.com

Category:American football quarterbacks Category:Green Bay Packers players Category:California Golden Bears football players Category:Players of American football from California Category:People from Chico, California Category:Super Bowl MVPs Category:1983 births Category:Living people

da:Aaron Rodgers de:Aaron Rodgers es:Aaron Rodgers fr:Aaron Rodgers it:Aaron Rodgers la:Aaron Rodgers lv:Ārons Rodžerss hu:Aaron Rodgers ja:アーロン・ロジャース pl:Aaron Rodgers pt:Aaron Rodgers simple:Aaron Rodgers fi:Aaron Rodgers