This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (December 2009)

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2010)

O'Neill

Ancestral house	Cenél nEógain / Uí Néill
Titles	High Kings of Ireland Kings of Tara Kings of Ulster Kings of Ailech Kings of Tyrone Sept titles: Ó Néill Mór O'Neill of Clanaboy O'Neill of the Fews International titles: Dux Hibernicorum Prince of Ulster Prince of Tyrone Prince of Clanaboy Prince of the Fews Earl of Tyrone Count of Tyrone Marquis del Norte[1] Viscount O'Neill Baron Dungannon
Founder	Niall Glúndub
Final sovereign	Aodh Mór Ó Néill
Current head	By sept Chief
Founding	10th (5th) century

The O'Neill dynasty is a group of families that have held prominent positions and titles throughout European history. The O'Neills take their name from Niall Glúndub, an early 10th century High King of Ireland from the Cenél nEógain. Confusion then arises because the Cenél nEógain, descendants of Eógan mac Néill, were a branch of the Uí Néill dynasty who took their name from Niall of the Nine Hostages, a legendary 5th century King of Tara. The Uí Néill were in turn a branch of the Connachta, descendants of the legendary Conn of the Hundred Battles, son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, son of Tuathal Techtmar.

Origins[link]

The sons of Niall of the Nine Hostages, seven in all, were Conall Gulban, ancestor of the Cenél Conaill dynasty, Éndae, progenitor of the Cenél nÉndai, Eógan mac Néill, ancestor of the Cenél nEógain dynasty, Conall Cremthainne, ancestor of both the Clann Cholmáin and Síl nÁedo Sláine dynasties, Coirpre, ancestor of the Cenél Coirpri, Lóegaire, progenitor of the Cenél Lóegaire, and Fiachu, progenitor the Cenél Fiachach.

Together these dynasties are known to historians as the Uí Néill. They are then divided into the Northern Uí Néill, comprising the first three mentioned above, and the Southern Uí Néill, comprising the remainder. The Northern Uí Néill established themselves in western Ulster with their capital at Ailech which centers around what is today known as Innishowen in County Donegal. The Kings of Ailech were the Northern Uí Néill overkings, who for several centuries rotated as Kings of Tara with the Southern Uí Néill overkings. For most of that period the Tara kingship was rotated exclusively between the dominant Southern Uí Néill Clann Cholmáin and the Northern Uí Néill Cenél nEógain. The system finally broke down in the 10th century.

The O'Neill dynasty is a continuation of the Northern Uí Néill Cenél nEógain dynasty, descendants of the 5th century Eógan mac Néill, through the 10th century Niall Glúndub.

A son of Niall Glúndub was Muirchertach mac Néill, father of Domnall ua Néill, who was the first king to be named High King of Ireland in his obituary. Through Domnall's grandson Flaithbertach Ua Néill descend the Kings of Tír Eógain, or Tyrone, and the O'Neill dynasty. Most closely related to the O'Neills are the Mac Lochlainns, also of the Cenél nEógain, who in addition to providing two High Kings, Domnall Ua Lochlainn and Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, also contested the kingship of Tyrone with the O'Neills until the mid-13th century.

In the 12th century, the O'Neill's began to push east and south against their cousins, the MacLoughlins. After more than a century of warfare between the two clans, the O'Neills defeated the MacLoughlins and went on to dominate central Ulster. Over time the greater O'Neill sphere of influence self divided into three major O'Neill lordships. Later, both the chief rivals and allies of the O'Neills in Ulster were the O'Donnell dynasty of Tyrconnell, a continuation of the Northern Uí Néill Cenél Conaill.

O'Neills of Tyrone[link]

Once the MacLaughlins were defeated, the O'Neills spread out and slowly dominated the other client clans across Ulster and south to the other Irish kingdoms. They used the disruption of the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169 to their benefit and were able to consolidate their hold on the northern half of Ireland. Though there was conflict between the Normans and the O'Neills, both had enough turmoil within their own lands to prevent any long-term warfare. Except for the short lived Norman Earldom of Ulster which was patiently dealt with by the O'Neills until the Earldom was detached from Ireland and made a part of the Crown holdings within a few generations, no Normans held land within the greater province for another 300 years.

Irish leaders at that time are often characterized as being uncivilized rulers of barbarians. However, the dominant Gaelic and Anglo-Irish leaders were much more in tune with their contemporary peers of the Middle Ages with regards to education, international trade, and diplomacy. The Kings of Tyrone began to blunt the combative relationship of the English by intermarrying with the most powerful Normans permanently established in Ireland as well as the powerful Scottish clans along the western islands. Specifically the O'Neills of Tyrone had strong family relationships with the FitzGerald dynasty, both the Earls of Kildare and Earls of Desmond, the Earl of Pembroke via de Clare's marriage to the Irish house of Diarmuid, King of Leinster, and the MacDonnells, Bissetts, MacLeans, and Campbells. In 1171, King Henry II came to Ireland to take back the authority of the newly established Norman lords in Ireland. At that time, he met with and received the pledge of feilty from the leading Irish kings. They were happy to establish their relationship directly from their own kingdoms to London, as opposed as through a Norman viceroy in Ireland. During the Middle Ages, the O'Neills of Tyrone were active politically and militarily throughout Ireland and occasionally sending its nobility afield to fight within Ireland and in campaigns in Europe. From 1312 to 1318, the O'Neill kings were staunch supporters of King Robert, The Bruce, and his brother Edward Bruce in their struggle for Scottish independence. The Irish sent troops and supported Edward in his attempt to become King of Ireland in 1315. However relations between the English and Irish monarchs was not always unfriendly. In 1394 King Richard II deemed King Niall Mor "Le Grand O'Neill" upon a friendly hosting of the two kings. King Edward III of England called Tyrone "the Great O'Neill" and invited him to join a campaign against the Scots in the 15th century, and another O'Neill Prince accompanied the English King on a crusade to the Holy Land. In 1493, King Henry VII referred to Henry O'Neill, King of Tyrone, as "the Chief of the Irish Kings" and gave him a gift of livery from the future King.^[2]

Their independent stature within Ulster began to change with the ascent of King Henry VIII in 1509. Soon after he took the throne, Henry decided to exert his direct grasp on Ireland via an old Papal Bull that granted the English King the Lordship of Ireland. This was spurred on by the failed rebellion of the Fitzgeralds, circa 1537, known as the Silken Thomas Affair. The O'Neills supported their Geraldine cousins in that rebellion and had to maneuver politically to keep the English from toppling their hold on power in Ulster when the rebellion failed. King Henry decided he could not have other Kings within his realm and began a policy to reduce the leadership of Ireland to the same rank and structure as the English nobility. Thus in the policy called Surrender and regrant Irish monarchs surrendered their titles and independent lands to King Henry, and in return he created them Earls of the Kingdom of Ireland and granted them their own lands back. The last King of Tyrone and first original earldom was one such grant by Henry VIII in 1542 to Conn Bacach O'Neill, on the creation of the Kingdom of Ireland. The submission of Conn O'Neill led to a fifty year civil war within Ulster that eventually led to downfall of O'Neill power in 1607 with the departure of the 3rd Earl for Rome and permanent exile.

Shane an Diomas (1530–1567), the eldest surviving, legitimate son of Conn Bacach O'Neill, was styled as the Prince of Tyrone, the Prince of Ulster, and 'dux Hibernicorum' (Prince of Ireland) by his European peers. He did not share the moderate relationship with the English that his father had cultivated. During his reign, he was almost always at war with the Lord Lieutenant in Dublin. An act of the English Parliament in 1562 gave Shane O'Neill the English title of "Lord O'Neill" until his claim for his father's estate was settled. The writ for Shane to be named the 2nd Earl of Tyrone was written, but held up on Dublin. Shane went into rebellion and was killed before he could be invested and in 1569, the retrospective attainer of Shane O'Neill banned the use of the title of "The O'Neill Mor".

In addition, the title of "The O'Neill Mor" was not a patrilineal hereditary title, but rather was conferred upon the individual duly elected and inaugurated to rule Tir Eoghain. And today there is no recognized head of the O'Neills of Tyrone. Traditionally they were raised to the position of The O'Neill Mór, but the title does not have to be from a Tyrone sept, as at least two Clannaboy chiefs also served as The O'Neill Mor. However, there are a few families that may, and some do, claim the rights of O'Neill of Tyrone. These claimants are made up of descendants of the last King and first Earl's (Conn O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone) sons: Shane an Diomas (Shane O'Neill), Ferdocha (Mathew) O'Neill, and Phelim Caoch O'Neill. These include O'Neill of Corab, O'Neill of Waterford, McShane-Johnson O’Neills of Killetragh, and O’Neill of Dundalk, as well as the primogeniture of the Marqués de Larraín who still use the titular title of Prince of Tyrone. All descend from one of the last chiefs of the O'Neills of Tyrone.

Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, continued to use his title after he fled to the Continent in the Flight of the Earls, although in the law of the Kingdom of Ireland it was forfeit by act of the Irish Parliament a year later. So did his son Shane O'Neill, whose will left his title to his only, if illegitimate, son Hugo Eugenio O'Neill; he died young, and other Spanish O'Neills continued to use the title through the seventeenth century.^[3]

The barony of Dungannon was created in 1542 as the title designated for the declared heir of the Earldom. Ferdocha or Mathew O'Neill, natural son of Conn Bacach the 1st Earl, was the first to hold the title of Baron Dungannon. The line that descended from Mathew kept the Baron of Dungannon as one of its junior titles at least through the death of Don Eugenio O'Neill, Conde de Tiron in 1695. There were other titles laid out in the will of Don Juan (John/Shane/Sean) O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone in 1660. They indlude: Viscount of Tyrone, Viscount of Montoy, Baron of Strabane, and Lord of the Clannaboy. There is a later account of the O'Neills acquiring the comital title of Clanawley. Although the title of Baron of Dungannon would traditionally still be preserved with the title of Count/Earl of Tyrone, it is not presently used by anyone in the extended O'Neill family.

Another of the more famous O'Neills of Tyrone was Eoghan Rua Ó Néill, anglicized as Owen Roe O'Neill (c. 1590–1649), "Red Owen", was a 17th century soldier and one of the most famous of the O'Neill family of Ulster. Red O'Neill was the son of Art O'Neill, a younger brother of Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone. As a young man, he left Ireland in the Flight of the Earls to escape the English conquest of his native Ulster. He grew up in the Spanish Netherlands and spent 40 years serving in the Irish regiment of the Spanish army. He saw most of his combat in the Eighty Years' War against the Dutch Republic in Flanders, notably at the siege of Arras, where he commanded the Spanish garrison. O'Neill was, like many Gaelic Irish officers in the Spanish service, very hostile to the English Protestant presence in Ireland. Owen returned to Ireland during the Irish Rebellion of 1641 to command the Catholic Army for during the Irish Confederate Wars. He was reportedly poisoned by Cromwell supporters and died in 1649.

The Slight-Arte O'Neills This is another branch of the Tyrone O'Neills which started in the mid 15th century. The name is Gaelic translates to "of the sept of Art". Eoghan Mor O'Neill (Owen the Great), King of Tir Eoghan (Tyrone) 1432 to 1456 had four sons that each started independent lines. His eldest Henry was King of Tyrone from 1455 to 1489 and was the grandfather of Conn Bacach. Aodh, his second son started the line of the Fews. Art, his third son was King of Tyrone 1509–1514. This branch of the family held its lands in western Tyrone and was typically at a distance from those O'Neills centered around the traditional capitol of Dungannon. Art was unable to elevate his son to the kingship, but his grandson was Sir Turlough Luineach Ó Neill, The O'Neill Mor 1567–1593, the Earl of ClanConnell, and de jure King of Tyrone for a rocky period during the 1570s. On his death bed he reliquished his chiefship authorities to his cousin Hugh Mor O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone. That family, after Sir Turlough's death, remained hostile to the Earl and often sided with the English when in conflict with the rest of the Tyrone O'Neills.

O'Neills of Clanaboy[link]

Aodh Buidhe, son of Domhnall Óc Ó Néill, grandson of Aodh Meith O'Neill (Hugh the Fat) , and great-gransdon of Áed in Macáem Tóinlesc (Hugh the Lazy-Arsed Youth), all High Kings of Cínel Eóghain, was the founder of the Ó Néill Cloinne Aodha Buidhe, or Clanaboy O'Neill, line. He had come to an arrangement with the Norman Earls of Ulster which allowed his sons to consolidate O'Neill power within Ulster at the expense of their kinsmen, the O'Donnells. Aodh Buidhe was married Eleanor de Nangle, a kinswoman to his nominal enemy, Walter de Burgh, the Earl of Ulster and Jocelyn de Angulo; Aodh died in 1283. At this time, there was only one O'Neill clan. However, the line he established remained one of the leaders of the overall O'Neill clan, and in 1338 they became independent with a relatively peaceful split of territory within the family. Having helped the Anglo-Normans barons in a rebellion against their fellow Norman lord, the Earl of Ulster, the family was removed from the main chiefship line by treaty and granted a war-torn strip of land in south Antrim. That was the official establishment of the Lordship of Cloinne Aodha Buidhe, or the O'Neills of Clandeboye.

There were incursions by the Normans from the south and the Scots from the east. And though they made small gains, Ulster remained firmly in the control of the O'Neills until 1608. The family fought on both sides of the civil wars that wracked Ireland from 1642–1693. The end result was a significant loss of territory and influence due to political alliances and an influx of new families flowing in from Scotland and England.

In the beginning of the 18th century Féilim Ó Néill (in English Felix O'Neill), The O'Neill Clannaboy was dispossessed of all his estate through the confiscation applied via the Penal Laws, which led him to emigrate to France. He was a Cavalry Officer who took part in many battles with the vaunted Irish Brigade of the French Army. He fought aside with the French against the British, the Austrians, and the Dutch (during the War of the Spanish Succession), in the celebrated Battle of Malplaquet (settlement located in the former Province of Flanders, in Belgium, present-day France), and where he died on 11 September 1709.[1][2]

His son was Conn (Constantine) O'Neill, an officer who spent his life in exile in France and married to Cecilia O'Hanlon. Their eldest son, João O'Neill (in Irish Shane O'Neill, in English John O'Neill), who was born in County Tyrone, Richhill Village, Parish of Kilmore, Ireland and died in Lisbon, Santos o Velho, on 21 January 1788. He left France with his brothers and established their noble line permanently under in the Kingdom of Portugal. He was the titular head of the Clanaboy O'Neill dynasty, whose family have been in Portugal since the 18th century. The current head of the Clanaboy O'Neill dynasty is a direct descendant of João and a Portuguese nobleman named Hugo Ricciardi O'Neill, the son of Jorge Maria O'Neill, whose family has been remarkable in the modern history of Portugal. He is officially recognized by the offices of arms throughout Europe as titular Prince and Count of Clanaboy, but he uses the title and style of The O'Neill of Clanaboy. The name Clanaboy (or Clandeboye) is a curruption of the Gaelic family name of 'Clann Aoidh Bhuí' or the 'Family of Fair Hugh' 'fair' being a reference to hair colour, most likely. The O'Neills of Bellaghy are of this line. Count O'Nelley of the Austro-Hungarian Army (circa 1750) is of this line, as are the O'Neills of the Feeva. The traditional title of the head of this family branch is The O'Neill Buidhe or The O'Neill of Clannabuidhe. The O'Neill of Clanaboy is the only O'Neill prince recognized as one of the hereditary Chiefs of the Name of Ireland. They are a dominant family to this day in Counties Antrim, Louth, and eastern Armagh.

O'Neills of the Fews[link]

The O'Neill of the Fews dynasty, is presently led by a Spanish nobleman, Don Carlos O'Neill, 12th Marquess of la Granja^{[disambiguation needed ]}. He is also stylized as the Prince of the Fews. "The Fews" is an area in County Armagh and was a sub-territory under the O'Neills of Tyrone. They are related to the O'Neill of Tyrone through King Eoghan Mor, circa 1432–1436. The king's younger son Aodh (Hugh) pushed in the territory known as the Fews and conquered its various independent lordships. Aodh then established an independent chiefship under his father and then brother.

In the rebellion of 1642, Sir Henry O'Neill, a member of the Fews O'Neills, remained loyal to the English crown, while his sons and brothers played a prominent part in the rising. In spite of his loyalty, the result was the confiscation of his lands, which were divided up among a number of Cromwellian settlers. The chief beneficiary was Thomas Ball whose various grants totaled more than 6,000 acres (24 km²). Sir Henry O'Neill was banished to Connaught, Ireland, where he was awarded an estate in County Mayo, Ireland. Also exiled with Sir Henry was his brother Captain Sean/Shane O'Neill. His son's took the moniker "Mac Shane" or son of Shane. His grandson William anglicized the name MacShane (meaning son of John) and assumed the surname of Johnson from that point forward. He was later promoted to Major General in the American Colonial Army and fought the French at Niagara, New York in French-Indian War. For his significant victory he was granted a Baronetcy and made Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet of New York in 1753. The present day holder of that estate is the Sir Colpoys Johnson, 8th Baronet of New York.

In 1755, the 99-year lease on the Mayo landgrant of Sir Henry, that of Meelick, Carrowrory and Carrowconnell expired. It was held by his grandson Henry O'Neill (Enrique O'Neill). Henry O'Neill and his wife Hanna née O'Kelly, the daughter of counselor John O'Kelly of Keenagh, Co. Roscommon, moved with their family to Spain around 1758. As a result of his departure, James Knox of Moyne from Killala, Co. Mayo took legal steps against O’Neill to confiscate his lands. Cromwell had a policy of eliminating by legal means any native Irish gentry.

Henry and Hanna O'Neill became the parents of Arthur O'Neill of Tyrone in 1736. He was born in Dublin, Ireland. As an adult he served in the Spanish colonial service and was known by the name Don Arturo O'Neill de Tyrone, eventually gaining the title of the 1st Marques Del Norte and Governor of the Yucatan on 3 October 1792. Don Arturo was named Governor of West Florida and appointed to the Supreme Council of War of Spain (replacing Governor Miguel de Uztaraiz). His brother Lieutenant-Colonel. Niall 'Nicolas' O'Neill y O'Kelly was b. 1734 and died at Zaragoza in Spain. Their son Don Tulio O'Neill y O'Kelly married Catherine O'Keffe y Whalen and became the parents of Arturo O'Neill y O'Keffe and Tulio O'Neill y O'Keffe. Don Tulio O'Neill O'Kelly and his brother Don Enrique O'Neill O'Kelly were granted linceses by the Spanish crown to create sugar plantations on the island of Puerto Rico in 1784 and became the first of the O'Neill's of the Fews to settle in Puerto Rico.

Don Tulio was born in St. Croix, Danish West Indies in 1784 he became a General and won many distinctions during the Peninsular War fighting the French Army. He married Manuela de Castilla the daughter of a Spanish noble family. They became parents of Don Juan Antonio Luis O'Neill born in 1812 who married Dona Luisa de Salamanca. He latter inherited his mother's titles in 1847: the Marques de la Granja, the Marques de Caltojar, the Count of Benajiar and the Marques de Valdeosera. He died in 1877. From then on the family is known as the O'Neill of the Fews of Seville.

Don Arturo O'Neill y O'Keffe was born in 1783 on St. Croix, Danish West Indies. He became Lieutenant Colonel on 17 August 1828. in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. A Knight of the Royal Order of King Carlos III of Spain and 2nd Marques del Norte. He died in Sept 7, 1832 and is buried in the Roman Catholic Church of Frederiksted, Saint Croix (Santa Cruz), Danish West Indies. He was married to Joanna Chabert Heyliger on 19 April 1802 in St. Croix.

The present Prince of the Fews is descended from Don Tulio O'Neill and presently lives in Spain with his family. The O'Neill family council recognizes him as the hereditary chief of the Fews O'Neills.

The MacShane O'Neills[link]

The sept of MacShane is a closely related branch of the Tyrone O'Neills. When Shane an Diomas O'Neill, Prince of Tyrone and chief of all the O'Neill clans, was killed in 1567, he had an estimated ten male children from his various wives and mistresses. As a group they were very young. During Shane's lifetime, he made claim to the patrimony of these children and thus they were raised in the courts of their various maternal grandfathers and aunts upon his death. These houses included the Gaelic noble families of O'Donnell, Maguire, O'Quinn, MacDonald, and MacLean. Sixteen years later in 1583 a confederation of the brothers met at the court of their uncle, the Chief of the MacLean clan in the Scottish isles. They were given an army of more than 2000 Scots to return to Ulster to attempt to retake their father's estate and title. When they invaded the brothers took the English and the O'Neill chiefs by surprise and created a large sphere of control in eastern Ulster, allied with the MacDonald's of Antrim. In an attempt to characterize them, the English began to refer to the group of brothers as "the Mac-Shanes" which in Gaelic meant "the sons of Shane O'Neill". For seven years they battled Sir Turlough O'Neill, the recognized O'Neill Mor at the time, and the rising Baron Dungannon and eventually Earl of Tyrone, Hugh Rua O'Neill. The brothers were dealt a blow in 1590 when the Earl of Tyrone captured and hung three of the men. The earl succeeded in capturing and imprisoning another three over the remainder of the decade until there were only two possibly three of the brothers and nephews hiding out in the Glenconkeyne forest in eastern Tyrone. Two sons of Con MacShane O'Neill, Hugh and Ever, became warriors within the O'Neill clan living there. That family had saved them as babies when their father had been killed nearby and had since been referred to as the Clan Shanes. In 1593, the Earl of Tyrone had the Clan Shane's chief killed and the family turned to Hugh MacShane as their new leader. Hugh was elected as their chief, and that O'Neill branch has since forth taken on the "MacShane" surname as an honorific for their loyalty to Shane O'Neill and to his battling sons. Hugh McShane O'Neill reigned as Chief until 1622 and his sons and grandsons served as the respective chieftains of the family and were active in the wars and politics of Ulster, Ireland, and Spain for the next two centuries.

Some of Shane's surviving son's were given land after the flight of the earls, that had previously belonged to Hugh O'Neill. Henry was given Land in Orior, Con was given the estate of Clabbye, and Brian was given land in Clinawly, Fermanagh. Brian's son Edmond was granted control of Lisdawericke, Megin, Cnoghan, Tollohiny Dirrilghta, Knockmcgallcrum & Gortnesillagh. Henry's son Cormocke was given land. This would spread the clan throughout the province.

When the family had been attainted as Irish Jacobites in the 1690s, the heir, Owen McShane, completely dropped any association with the O'Neill name in an attempt to hold his father's small estate. The penal laws and the influx of Scottish and English settlers into Ulster made it increasingly difficult for the Gaelic Irish to hold position and land within Irish society, and thus the name MacShane was eventually shortened to McShane and then again during the 18th and early 19th centuries, the surname was translated from the Gaelic "Mac Shane" which is the Ulster dialect spelling of "son of John" to the English "son of John" or Johnson, like their famous relation, Sir William Johnson did in 1720. Johnson, and to a lesser extent Johnston, was commonly used in counties Tyrone, LondonDerry, and Armagh until roughly the 1920s. Over the 20th century, many of the Irish branches returned to the Gaelic spelling. This family is still active and viable in Ulster, America, and Australia. The family leadership today is directly descended from Hugh MacShane and is closely involved in the greater O'Neill clan activities and their present head takes part in the Association of O'Neill Clans and is on the O'Neill family council.

The Caribbean O'Neills[link]

There were many O'Neills that eventually moved into the Caribbean especially from the lines of the Counts of Tyrone of Hugh MacFerdorcha Aodh Mór mac Feardorcha Ó Néill. The close connection to the Spanish government after the final fall of the O'Neills in 1690 provided the opportunity for new territory. The English controlled the island of St. Croix in the Caribbean until 1650. In that year the Spanish sent a fleet of five ships and 1,200 men to St. Croix from Puerto Rico and slaughtered every man, woman and child. After a brief period the Spanish were replaced by the Knights of Malta under a French noble Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy. The Knights later sold the island to the French who sold it on to the Danes. Family documents^{[citation needed]} that the O’Neill's had elements land on the Islands and were associated with the families of Rocco, Eammon, Constatino or Conn Eoghan, Edmundo, and Gill. These were men who served in the Irish regiments of Spain, Ultonia and Hibernia regiments for the Crown of Spain. Often they allied with the French to eliminate the English from these Islands. Recent findings show that other O'Neill's settled in Puerto Rico in the 18th century. The earliest record show that of a man named Don Juan O'Neill arrived in Puerto Rico in the 1710s, based on documents from the Spanish Royal Courts. There were two O'Neill officers serving in the Spanish Army forces of Bernardo de Galvez as he fought the English in Florida and Alabama during the American Revolution.

Most O'Neill families of Puerto Rico have for many generations resided in the districts of Hato Nuevo, Mamey, and Sonadora of the city of Guaynabo located on the northern coast of the island of Puerto Rico. Other O'Neill families have settled in the cities of Río Piedras and Caguas. Many other O'Neill families that immigrated from Barbados settled on the Island of Vieques. The O'Neill's have produced a few mayors in their respected cities.

The O'Neills of Martinique settled in the early 1700s; in the next century, they claimed to be Count of Tyrone and lineally descended from Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. This claim (which rested on a single-sentence document in their own possession) is now regarded as unproven.^[4] The main stem of this family is now extinct in the male line; collateral descendants may exist.

The O'Neills today[link]

Today the ancient O'Neills still flourish in Ireland, Europe, and the New World. There are the three ancient O'Neill dynasties or principalities, each of which are still represented by direct descendants of the once independent kings. The original titles passed under the elective derbfine system of Irish Brehon law. Incumbents were then granted further titles that are inherited under primogeniture by various Roman Catholic kingdoms in Europe and today are titled O'Neills in Ireland, Spain, France, Scotland, Portugal, England, Australia, and the Americas. The family still maintains a loose confederation of its sept princes that is centered in Ireland and meets annually. The group met in 2010 outside Paris, France to announce a new, global clan organization that has as its major goal the construction of an O'Neill museum to be built in Ulster as a central repository for all the family artifacts spread across the world. Also planned is a library at that museum that will open historical writings that have been in private hands out of Ireland for centuries.

Coats of Arms[link]

It is a common misconception that there is one coat of arms associated to everyone of a common surname, when, in fact, a coat of arms is property passed through direct lineage.^[5] This means that there are numerous families of O'Neill under various spellings that are related, but because they are not the direct descendants of an O'Neill that owned an armorial device do not have rights or claims to any arms themselves.

The coat of arms of the O'Neills of Ulster, which held the title of High Kings of Ireland, were white with a red left hand cut off below the wrist, and it is because of this prominence that the red hand (though a right hand is used today, rather than the left used by the high kings) has also become a symbol of Ireland, Ulster, Tyrone and other places associated with the ruling family of O'Neills. The red hand by itself has become a symbol of the O'Neill name, such that when other O'Neill family branches were granted or assumed a heraldic achievement, this red hand was often incorporated into the new coat of arms in some way.^[6]

The red hand is explained by several slightly differing legends, but which tend to have a common theme that begins with a promise of land to the first man that is able to sail or swim across the sea and touch the shores of Ireland. Many contenders arrive, including a man named O'Neill, who begins to fall behind the other. Using his cunning, O'Neill cuts off his left hand and throws it onto the beach before the other challengers are able to reach shore, thus technically becoming the first of them to touch land and wins all of Ireland as his prize. However, the legends seem to originate in the 17th century, several many centuries after the red hand was already borne by the O'Neill families.^[7]

Anrothan kindred[link]

Finally, there are five Scottish clans who have traditionally claimed descent from Ánrothán Ua Néill, Lord of Badenoch, younger son of Áed Athlaman Ua Néill, King of Ailech (died 1033, and ancestor of the O'Neill dynasty), son of Flaithbertach Ua Néill, King of Ailech (died 1036). After campaigning in Scotland, Ánrothán settled first in either Badenoch or Argyll, marrying the daughter of a king in the region. These families are the Clan Sweeney (who eventually reemigrated to Ireland), Clan Maclachlan (who match the MacSweeney pedigree), Clan Lamont (possibly alternative pedigree), Clan MacEwen of Otter (defunct, but related to the Maclachlans), and finally Clan MacNeil (the latest to appear). Their pedigrees can be found in the works of Duald Mac Firbis, Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, and Scottish compilations.

See also[link]

• Owen Roe O'Neill
• Chiefs of the Name#List of Ireland's Chiefs as at Abandonment, 2003
• Battle of St. George's Caye
• List of Colonial Governors of Florida
• Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet
• O'Neill Hall

Places

• County Tyrone
• Tullyhogue Fort
• Dungannon

Related

• Irish nobility
• Chiefs of the Name
• MacShane, McShane, Johnson an O'Neill branch

References and sources[link]

Notes

Sources

External links[link]

• Geoghegan Link page to historical researched information
• About the name O'Neil
• Northern Uí Néill

Seán Ó Néill, anglicised Shane O'Neill (c. 1530 – 2 June 1567), nicknamed 'Seán an díomais', was an Irish king of the O'Neill dynasty of Ulster in the mid 16th century. Shane O'Neill's career was marked by his ambition to be The Ó Néill Mór - Sovereign of the dominant Ó Néill Mór family of Tyrone... and thus head overking or Rí ruirech of the entire province. This brought him into conflict with competing branches of the O'Neill family and with the English government in Ireland, who recognised a rival claim. Shane's support was considered worth gaining by the English even during the lifetime of his father Conn O'Neill, 1st Earl of Tyrone (died 1559). But rejecting overtures from Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, the lord deputy from 1556, Shane refused to help the English against the Scottish settlers on the coast of Antrim, allying himself instead with the MacDonnells, the most powerful of these immigrants.

Feuding within the O'Neill Lordship[link]

The English, since the late 1530s, had been expanding their control over Ireland, this century long effort is known as the Tudor conquest of Ireland. To incorporate the native Irish Lordships, they granted English titles to Irish Lords - thus making Conn Bacach O'Neill, Shane's father, the first Earl of Tyrone. However, whereas in Gaelic custom, the successor to a chiefship was elected from his kinsmen, the English insisted on succession by the first born son or primogeniture. This created a conflict between Shane, who wanted to be Chief and the Earl's elder but illegitimate son, Matthew or Fear Dorcha O'Neill (the Earl's eldest son Phelim Caoch O'Neill was killed on a raid in 1542).

Shane's mother Lady Alice Fitzgerald, Tyrone's first wife, was the daughter of Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, and his stepmother was the daughter of Hugh Boy O'Neill of Clanaboy. She died shortly afterwards and Shane was fostered by the Donnelly family, who raised him until his early teenage years. Conn O'Neill's illegitimate son Matthew was chosen to be raised at the English court and declared heir to Conn over Shane. On his father's death, Matthew would become Baron of Dungannon. However, he was murdered by Shane before their father died, and the title thus passed to Brian, Matthew's son, who was then also murdered by Shane. In 1562, the title passed to Matthew's youngest son Hugh O'Neill who had been taken to safety in the Pale by Sir Henry Sidney in 1559, stayed at the English court and was protected there while Shane established his supremacy in Ulster.

Having eliminated his rivals, Shane had himself elected The O'Neill. While in English law this was an illegal usurpation, according to Gaelic Irish custom, Shane had just as good a claim to be The O'Neill as any of his rivals.

Relationship with the English[link]

Although Shane had allied himself with the Scottish MacDonnell clan, who had settled in Antrim, against the English, Queen Elizabeth I, on succeeding to the English throne in 1558, inclined to come to terms with Shane, who after his father's death functioned as de facto chief of the formidable O'Neill clan. She accordingly agreed to recognise his claims to the chiefship, thus throwing over Brian O'Neill, son of the murdered Matthew, baron of Dungannon, if Shane would submit to her authority and that of her deputy. O'Neill, however, refused to put himself in the power of Sussex without a guarantee for his safety; and his claims in other respects were so exacting, that Elizabeth consented to measures being taken to subdue him and to restore Brian.

An attempt to increase the enmity of the O'Donnells against him was frustrated by Shane's seizure of Calvagh O'Donnell in a monastery some time after O'Neill's invasion of Tír Chonaill became an embarrassing rout of O'Neills forces. Elizabeth, whose prudence and parsimony were averse to so formidable an undertaking as the complete subjugation of the powerful Irish chief, desired peace with him at almost any price; especially when the devastation of his territory by Sussex brought him no nearer to submission, after Shane's dramatic destruction of much of Sussex's withdrawing army at the Battle of the Red Sagums, 18 July 1561. Sussex, indignant at Shane's request for his half-sister Lady Frances Radclyffe's hand in marriage, and his demand for the withdrawal of the now isolated English garrison from Armagh, received no support from the Queen, who sent the earl of Kildare to arrange terms with O'Neill. The latter, making some trifling concessions, consented to present himself before Elizabeth.

Accompanied by the Irish Earls of Ormonde and Kildare, he reached London on 4 January 1562. William Camden describes the wonder which O'Neill's wild gallowglasses occasioned in the English capital, with their heads bare, their long hair falling over their shoulders and clipped short in front above the eyes, and clothed in rough yellow shirts. Elizabeth was less concerned with the respective claims of Brian and Shane, the one resting on an English patent and the other on the Gaelic custom, than with the question of policy involved in supporting or rejecting the demands of her proud suppliant. Characteristically, she temporised; but finding that O'Neill was in danger of becoming a tool in the hands of Spanish intriguers, she permitted him to return to Ireland, "recognising" him as "The O'Neill" and of Tyrone (meaningless, as she had no authority to do so, and it was already done); though a reservation was made of the rights of Hugh O'Neill, who had meantime succeeded his brother Brian as baron of Dungannon, Brian having been murdered in April 1562 by his kinsman Turlough Luineach O'Neill. At that time he was even designated the 2nd Earl of Tyrone, but the grant was never delivered, as Shane turned back to hostilities.

War in Ulster[link]

There were at this time three powerful contemporary members of the O'Neill family in Ireland - Shane, Sir Turlough and Brian, 1st Baron of Dungannon. Turlough had been elected Tánaiste or tanist (second and successor) when his cousin Shane was inaugurated as The O'Neill, and he schemed to supplant him in the higher dignity during Shane's absence in London. The feud did not long survive Shane's return to Ireland, where he quickly re-established his authority, and in spite of Sussex renewed his warfare against the O'Donnells and the MacDonnells to force them to recognise O'Neill supremacy in Ulster. Elizabeth at last authorised Sussex to take the field against Shane, but two separate expeditions failed to accomplish anything except some depredation in O'Neill's country.

Sussex had tried in 1561 to procure Shane's assassination via poison wine, and Shane now laid the whole blame for his lawless conduct on the lord deputy's repeated alleged attempts on his life. Force having ignominiously failed, Elizabeth consented to treat, and hostilities ceased on terms that gave O'Neill practically all his demands.

O'Neill now turned his hand against the MacDonnells, claiming that he was serving the Queen of England in harrying the Scots. He fought an indecisive battle with Sorley Boy MacDonnell near Coleraine in 1564, and the following year marched from Antrim through the mountains by Clogh to the neighbourhood of Ballycastle, where he routed the MacDonnells at the Battle of Glentasie and took Sorley Boy prisoner.

This victory greatly strengthened Shane O'Neill's position, and Sir Henry Sidney, who became lord deputy in 1565, declared to the earl of Leicester that Lucifer himself was not more puffed up with pride and ambition than O'Neill. Preparations were made in earnest for his subjugation. O'Neill ravaged the Pale, failed in an attempt on Dundalk, made a truce with the MacDonnells, and sought help from the Earl of Desmond. The English, on the other hand, invaded Donegal and restored O'Donnell.

Wives[link]

As was the custom of the day, marriages were normally arranged for political alliances. If the alliance fell apart, then the husband could send the wife back to her father in a political type divorce. Such was the case in more than one of Shane's marriages. His first wife was Catherine, the daughter of James MacDonald (McDonnell in Irish), Earl of the Isles. He divorced her, and treated his second wife, Mary, a daughter of Calvagh O'Donnell, with cruelty in revenge for her brother's hostility. She soon died when Shane captured and imprisoned her father who was his enemy. Calvagh was married to Catherine [Julian?] MacLean Campbell, the dowager Countess of Argyle and daughter of Hector Mor MacLean of Clan MacLean and the Scottish island of Duart and former wife of Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll. Shane kept Calvagh, whom he hated for defeating him in battle and eventually kidnapped, imprisoned at Dungannon for years. In that time, he took Calvagh's wife as a mistress. Upon Calvagh's negotiated release, Catherine decided to stay with the much younger Shane. Her father came to Ireland and blessed the marriage between the two in 1563. During his time in London, he asked Queen Elizabeth to find him a "proper English wife". Toward the end of his life, as Shane was trying to negotiate a settlement, he agreed to send Catherine MacLean back to her father and marry the widow of James MacDonald, who was also the base sister of the Earl of Argyle. He did not end the marriage with Countess MacLean, as she was with him at his death in Antrim. Catherine and her children fled into the nearby forest of Glenconkeyne and were protected by the O'Neill clan therein. She eventually made her way to safety at the Castle of Duart where her brother put the youngest of Shane's children into his care. Catherine MacLean, Countess Campbell, then Lady O'Donnell, then Lady O'Neill eventually married a minister of the Scottish throne and died in Scotland.

The sons of Shane – The Mac Shanes[link]

Shane had at least ten sons by his various wives. All of these ten are considered legitimate, but there may be others of a base origin. Many of them were later fostered in various O'Neill clans after their father's death, and eventually became the rival force to Hugh O'Neill in his climb to power in the 1580-1600 timeframe. His known sons are:

• Shane Og, mother was Catherine MacDonnell. He died in 1581 on a raid, was O'Neill tanist in 1579.
• Henry MacShane O'Neill, His mother was Catherine MacDonnell, he died 1622. Father of Sir Henry O'Neill and Con Boy McHenry. Perhaps the most famous of Shane's sons. Granted a large Estate in Orior County Armagh.
• Con MacShane O'Neill, died in 1630. Mother was either the daughter of Shane og Maguire or Catherine MacLean, sources disagree. He invaded Ulster in 1583 with 3000 Scottish warriors and was named the Tanist of The O'Neill in the 1580s. During the 9 Years War, he fought against his cousin the Earl and was rewarded with a large estate (1,500 acres (6.1 km²)) and the Manor lordship of Clabbye in Fermanagh. He played a part in Ulster politics until his death in 1630/1. His sons continued to serve in Ireland and abroad. Two of his grandsons were made Spanish Counts.
• Turlough, mother was Catherine MacDonnell of the Route. Died 1598.
• Hugh Gaveloch, died in 1590, most popular of the Mac Shanes. Led an army of Scots to invade Ulster to claim O'Neill Mór title. Retired and was captured and hung by his 1st cousin, the Earl of Tyrone.
• Naill, mother thought to have been Catherine O'Donnell.
• Art, mother was Catherine MacLean, died escaping from Dublin Castle with Red Hugh O'Donnell.
• Brian Laighneach, mother was Catherine MacLean, died after 1598.
• Edmond, died fighting against his presumptive cousin Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone.
• Hugh McShane O'Neill, mother was Catherine MacLean, died in 1621. Became Chief of the O'Neill sept inside Glenconkeyne forest and known from that point on as the "MacShanes". (Sources point to the fact that Hugh may have been the son of Conn Mac Shane).
• Cormac, mother was Catherine MacLean, died after 1603. Stayed with brother Hugh MacShane as did his son Cormac Boy.
• Rose married into the MacDonnell clan.

Defeat and death[link]

Failing in an attempt to arrange terms, and also in obtaining the help which he solicited from France, O'Neill was utterly routed by the O'Donnells again at the battle of Farsetmore near Letterkenny; and seeking safety in flight, he threw himself on the mercy of his enemies, the MacDonnells. Attended by a small body of gallowglass, and taking his prisoner Sorley Boy with him, he presented himself among the MacDonnells near Cushendun, on the Antrim coast. Here, on 2 June 1567, whether by premeditated treachery or in a sudden brawl, he was slain by the MacDonnells, and was buried at CrossSkern Church at Ballyterrim above Cushendun. His headless body was possibly later moved to Glenarm Abbey. William Piers, Senechal of Clandeboye and commander of the English garrison at Carrickfergus, travelled to Cushendun to take Shane's head and send it to Dublin Castle as proof of his death.

In his private character Shane O'Neill was perceived by the English as a brutal, uneducated savage. However, Irish history is often written by English historians. Shane was tough, but a brilliant politician and fighter at times. Calvagh himself, when Shane's prisoner, claimed he was subjected to continual torture. Calvagh's wife became his mistress. He married her in 1563 and had several children by her. He frustrated the English to no end with his ability to defeat them in the field and then again at Court. His death was greeted with great pleasure in London.

Shane was succeeded as The O'Neill by his tanist, Turlough Luineach O'Neill who was married to Agnes Campbell a natural daughter of Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll. Shane had many sons, who were known as the "Mac Shanes" - or Irish for the sons of the Shane. Two became tanists to Turlough Luineach in his attempts to neutralise Hugh, Earl of Tyrone. The Bishop of Clogher, Miler Magarth, claimed 'the people[ of Ulster] adhere to the MacShanes whom they consider the true branch of Conn Bacach's line,' but with Hugh's Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, entering into open rebellion in the Nine Years War they were forced to side with the Dublin administration and their local support withered.

Trivia[link]

There is a Gaelic Football Club made in his honour, Shane O'Neill's G.F.C. originally funded by Francis Joseph Bigger. It is situated in the outskirts of Glenarm village in Feystown and has over one hundred members. Shane O'Neill's hurling club was the first official GAA club in Glenarm founded in 1903 using land donated by the Gibson family of the Libbert, Glenarm. Arthur and Dan Gibson went on to represent County Antrim. There is a Gaelic Footbal Club in Camlough, Co. Armagh named after him.

A cairn was raised at his reputed burial place above Cushendun by Francis Joseph Bigger in 1908 and yearly commemorations held in Shane's honour between that date and 1914. The poet Robinson Jeffers visited the site in 1929 and refers to Shane's Cairn in several poems in the sequence "Decent to the Dead," inspired by his pilgrimage to Ireland.

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• Calendar of the State Papers of Ireland, 1509–1573, pg.172,178, 230, 296, 444,
• Calendar of the State Papers of Ireland for King James I, 1615. pg. 77, 41-42.
• Calendar of the State Papers of Scotland, 1547-1603. Vol. I & II pg. 203, 677-678
• Duiche O'Neill, Journal of the O'Neill Country Historical Society. Vol. 11 & 13.
• The Ancient and Royal Family of O'Neill, by Desmond O'Neill
• Conspiracy, by Raymond Gillespie. pg. 18.
• The Great O'Neill, by E. Boyd Barret
• A Military History of Ireland, by Bartlett & Jeffery. pg. 136-138, 143, 145-146
• http://www.irishtimes.com/focus/earls/hughoneill/hugh1.html
• Shane O'Neill, by Ciaran Brady, Dundalk 1996

Kobe Bryant

Bryant greeting some fans in February 2007
No. 24 – Los Angeles Lakers
Shooting guard
Personal information
Born	(1978-08-23) August 23, 1978 (age 33) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
High school	Lower Merion HS, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	1996 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the Charlotte Hornets
Pro career	1996–present
Career history
1996–present	Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
5× NBA Champion (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010) 2× NBA Finals MVP (2009–2010) NBA Most Valuable Player (2008) 14× NBA All-Star (1998, 2000–2012) 2× NBA scoring champion (2006–2007) 10× All-NBA First Team (2002–2004, 2006–2012) 2× All-NBA Second Team (2000–2001) 2× All-NBA Third Team (1999, 2005) 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2000, 2003–2004, 2006–2011) 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2001–2002, 2012) NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1997) 4× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011) NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1997) Naismith Prep Player of the Year (1996)
Stats at NBA.com
Medals Men's basketball Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing National Team FIBA Americas Championship Gold 2007 Las Vegas Team competition

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. Following O'Neal's departure Bryant became the cornerstone of the Los Angeles 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 game in 1962. He was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in 2008. After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bryant led the Lakers to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, earning the NBA Finals MVP Award on both occasions.

As of February 2012^[update], Bryant ranks third and fifth 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 fourteen 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 14-time member of the All-NBA team and an 12-time member of the All-Defensive team; he is also 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 top NBA player of the 2000s decade.

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. A civil suit was later filed and settled out of court.

Early years[link]

Childhood and youth[link]

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.^[1] 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.^[1] Bryant was raised Roman Catholic.^[2] When Bryant was six, his father left the NBA and moved his family to Italy to continue playing professional basketball.^[3] Bryant became accustomed to his new lifestyle and learned to speak Italian and Spanish.^[3][4] During summers, he would come back to the United States to play in a basketball summer league.^[5]

Bryant started playing basketball when he was 3 years old,^[6] and his favorite team growing up was the Lakers.^[7] Bryant's grandfather would mail him videos of NBA games, which Bryant would study.^[7] At an early age he also learned to play soccer; his favorite team is AC Milan.^[8] He has said that if he had stayed in Italy, he would have tried to become a professional soccer player;^[8] Bryant is a big fan of former FC Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard and their former player Ronaldinho.^[9] Upon Joe Bryant's retirement from playing basketball in 1991, the Bryant family moved back to the United States.

High school[link]

Bryant's retired No.33 jersey and banner at the Lower Merion High School gym.

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.^[10] 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.^[10] During his junior year, he averaged 31.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists and was named Pennsylvania Player of the Year.^[11] College recruiters from across the country were lined up to recruit him after his breakout year.^[11] Duke, North Carolina, Villanova and Michigan were at the top of his list; however, when Kevin Garnett went in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft, he began considering going directly to the pros.^[11]

At Adidas ABCD camp, Bryant earned the 1995 senior MVP award,^[12] while playing alongside future NBA teammate Lamar Odom.^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15] Bryant ended his high school career as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all-time leading scorer at 2,883 points, surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons.^[16]

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.^[17] Bryant's varsity coach, Greg Downer, commented that Bryant was "a complete player who dominates".^[15] In 1996, Bryant took R&B singer Brandy Norwood to his senior prom,^[18] though the two were, and remain, just friends. 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.^[10] Bryant's news was met with a lot of publicity at a time when prep-to-pro NBA players were not very common (Garnett being the only exception in 20 years).^[10] His SAT score of 1080^[19] would have ensured his basketball scholarship to various top-tier colleges and Bryant has stated that had he decided to go to college after high school, he would have attended Duke University.^[20] In 2012, Bryant was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.^[21]

NBA career[link]

1996 NBA Draft[link]

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.^[22] According to Arn Tellem, Bryant's agent at the time, Bryant playing for the Charlotte Hornets was "an impossibility".^[23] 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.^[24] 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".^[25] On July 1, 1996, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac, to the Hornets in exchange for Bryant's draft rights.^[26] 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.^[27]

First three seasons (1996–99)[link]

During his rookie season, Bryant mostly came off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel.^[28] 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.^[29] 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.^[30] Bryant's performance throughout the year earned him a spot on the NBA All Rookie second team with fellow bench teammate Travis Knight.^[31] His final minutes of the season ended in disaster when he shot 4 air balls at crucial times in the game.^[15] 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."^[32][33]

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.^[34] 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.^[35] Bryant was the runner-up for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award,^[36] and through fan voting, he also became the youngest NBA All-Star starter in NBA history.^[37] He was joined by 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.^[38]

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.^[38] 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.^[27][39][40] The playoff results, however, were no better, as the Lakers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals.^[41]

Three-peat (1999–2002)[link]

Bryant was a member of the Lakers teams that won three consecutive NBA Championships from 2000 to 2002.

Bryant's fortunes would soon change when Phil Jackson became coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999.^[42] After years of steady improvement, Bryant became one of the premier shooting guards in the league, earning appearances in the league's All-NBA,^[43] All-Star, and All-Defensive teams.^[44] 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.^[45]

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.^[46] 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).^[47] 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.^[48] 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 did not return to the game. He also missed Game 3 due to the injury. In Game 4, Bryant scored 22 points in the second half, and led the team to an OT victory as O'Neal fouled out of the game. Bryant scored the winning shot to put the Lakers ahead 120–118.^[49] With a 116–111 Game 6 victory, the Lakers won their first championship since 1988.^[50]

Statistically, the 2000–01 season saw Bryant perform similarly to the previous year, except Bryant averaged 6 more points a game (28.5). It was also the year when disagreements between Bryant and O'Neal began to surface.^[51] 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 OT. 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.^[15][52] 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.^[53][54]

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 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 2000 Western Conference Finals. 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.^[55] At age 23, Bryant became the youngest player to win three championships.^[55] Bryant's play was notable and praised for his performance in the 4th quarter of games, specifically the last 2 rounds of the playoffs.^[55][56] This cemented Bryant's reputation as a clutch player.

Coming up short (2002–04)[link]

Bryant prepares to shoot a free throw in 2005.

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,^[1] 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.^[57]

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.^[58] Before the season began, Bryant was arrested for sexual assault.^[59] 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.^[60] 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 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to tie the game at 87 and send it into OT.^[61] The game eventually went to a second overtime, in which Bryant made another 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Lakers past the Blazers 105–104.^[61]

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.^[62] In the Finals, they were defeated in five games by the Detroit Pistons, who won their first championship since 1990.^[63] In that series, Bryant averaged 22.6 points per game and 4.4 assists. He shot a mere 35.1% from the field.^[64] Phil Jackson's contract as coach was not renewed, and Rudy Tomjanovich took over.^[65] Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, and Brian Grant.^[66] 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.^[67]

Setting records and playoffs disappointments (2004–07)[link]

Bryant dunks against Golden State Warriors in October 2005

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".^[68] Midway through the season, Rudy Tomjanovich suddenly resigned as Lakers coach, citing the recurrence of health problems and exhaustion.^[69] Without Tomjanovich, stewardship of the remainder of the Lakers' season fell to career assistant coach Frank Hamblen.^[70] 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.^[71] During the season, Bryant also engaged in public feuds with Ray Allen and Karl Malone.^[72][73]

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.^[74] 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 outscored the entire Mavericks team 62–61, the only time a player has done this through three quarters since the introduction of the shot clock.^[75] 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 them.^[76] A month later, at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, the two were seen laughing together.^[77]

Bryant scored a career high of 81-points against the Toronto Raptors in Staples Center, second highest single scoring performance in NBA history, surpassed only by Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962.

On January 22, 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points in a victory against the Toronto Raptors.^[78][79] 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.^[80] 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.^[81] For the month of January, Bryant averaged 43.4 points per game,^[82] the eighth highest single month scoring average in NBA history and highest for any player other than Chamberlain.^[83] 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).^[84] He won the league's scoring title for the first time by averaging 35.4 points per game. 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.^[85] 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.^[86]

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.^[87] 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.^[87] 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 126–118 in overtime.^[88] Despite Bryant's 27.9 points per game in the series, the Lakers broke down, and ultimately fell to the Suns in seven games.^[88] Bryant received criticism for only taking three shots in the second half of the 121–90 Game 7 loss to Phoenix.^[89] In the 2006 off-season, Bryant had knee surgery, preventing him from participating in the 2006 FIBA World Championship tournament.^[90]

Bryant scored 50 points or more in four consecutive games and ten total in the 2006–07 season.

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.^[91] 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.^[92] 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.^[93] Later, on March 6, he seemed to repeat the motion, this time striking Minnesota Timberwolves guard Marko Jarić.^[92] On March 7, the NBA handed Bryant his second one-game suspension.^[94] 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.^[92]

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.^[95] The following game, Bryant recorded 50 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves,^[96] 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.^[97] The only other Laker to do so was Elgin Baylor, who also scored 50+ in three consecutive contests in December 1962.^[97] 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.^[98] Bryant finished the year with a total of ten 50-plus point games,^[99] 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.^[100] Throughout the 2006–07 season, Bryant's jersey became the top selling NBA jersey in the United States and China.^[101] 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.^[102][103] In the 2007 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers were once again eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns, 4–1.^[104]

MVP year and trip to the finals (2007–08)[link]

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.^[105] 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.^[106] 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."^[107] 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.^[108] Bryant would later be shown on an infamous amateur video saying that center Andrew Bynum should have been traded for All-Star Jason Kidd.^[109][110]

Bryant's Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in 6 games during the 2008 NBA Finals.

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.^[111] 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 myself [sic] and the Lakers' medical staff will just have to continue to monitor on a day-to-day basis."^[112] In early September 2008, Bryant decided not to have surgery to repair the injury.^[113]

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.^[114] He said, "It's been a long ride. I'm very proud to represent this organization, to represent this city."^[115] 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."^[116] 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.^[117] 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.^[118]

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.^[119] 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.^[120] In the first game of the next round against the Jazz, Bryant scored 38 points as the Lakers beat the Jazz in Game 1.^[121] The Lakers won the next game as well, but dropped Games 3 and 4, even with Bryant putting up 33.5 points per game.^[122] The Lakers then won the next two games to win the semifinals in 6.^[122] 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.^[123] The Lakers then lost to the Boston Celtics in 6 games.^[124]

Back on top (2008–10)[link]

Bryant set a Madison Square Garden record with 61 points

In the 2008–09 season, the Lakers opened the campaign by winning their first seven games.^[125] Bryant led the team to tie the franchise record for most wins to start the season going 17–2,^[126] 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,^[127] 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.^[128] 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.^[129] 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.^[130] 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,^[131] and was selected to the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team for the seventh time in his career.

Bryant at the championship parade of the 2009 NBA Champions Los Angeles Lakers

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,^[132] achieving series averages: 32.4 points, 7.4 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks.^[133] 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^[134] and the first since Michael Jordan to average 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for a title-winning team in the finals.^[135]

Bryant shoots a left-handed floater over Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic on January 18, 2010

During the 2009–10 season, Bryant made six game-winning shots including a buzzer-beating, one-legged 3-pointer against the Miami Heat on December 4, 2009.^[136] Bryant considered the shot one of the luckiest he has made.^[136] A week later, Bryant suffered an avulsion fracture in his right index finger in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.^[137] Despite the injury, Bryant elected to continue playing with it, rather than take any time off to rest the injury.^[137] 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.^[138] Bryant also became the youngest player (31 years, 151 days) to reach 25,000 points during the season, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain.^[139] He continued his dominant clutch plays making yet another game-winning three-pointer against the Sacramento Kings,^[140] and what would be the game-winning field goal against the Boston Celtics.^[141] The following day, he surpassed Jerry West to become the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history.^[142] 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.^[143] Two weeks later, he made his sixth game-winning shot of the season against the Toronto Raptors.^[144]

On April 2, 2010, Bryant signed a three-year contract extension worth $87 million.^[145] 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,^[146] eventually defeating them in six games.^[147] The Lakers swept the Utah Jazz in the second round^[148] 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.^[149] 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.^[150] 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.^[151] This marked the first time the Lakers won a Game 7 against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.^[152] Bryant said that this was the most satisfying of all of his five championships.^[153]

Chasing the sixth championship (2010–present)[link]

The Lakers started the 2010–11 season by winning their first eight games.^[154] 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.^[155] Bryant also recorded his first triple double since January 21, 2009.^[156] On January 30 against the Celtics, he become the youngest player to score 27,000 points.^[157] On February 1, 2011, Bryant became one of seven players with at least 25,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists.^[158] 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.^[159] 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.^[160] 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.^[161][162] 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.^[163] Bryant finished the season averaging less than 20 shots a game, his fewest since the 2003–04 season.^[164]

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.^{[165][166][167]} 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.^{[168][169][170]} He later apologized for the use of the word.^[171][172] Bryant and other Lakers appeared in a Lakers public service announcement denouncing his behavior.^[173] 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.

Bryant received experimental platelet-rich plasma therapy on his left knee and ankle,^[174] and Mike Brown replaced the retired Phil Jackson as coach of the Lakers in the offseason. Bryant began the season playing with an injured wrist.^[175] On January 10, 2012, Bryant scored 48 points against the Suns, the most ever by a player in his 16th season. "Not bad for the seventh-best player in the league," said Bryant, referring to a preseason ESPN ranking of the NBA's top players.^[176] He went on to score 40, 42, and 42 in his next three games.^[177] It was the sixth time in his career he scored 40 or more points in four straight games, a feat exceeded only by Wilt Chamberlain (19 times).^[178] At the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, Bryant scored 27 points to pass Michael Jordan as the career scoring leader in the All-Star Game.^[179] He also suffered a broken nose and a concussion in the third quarter of the All-Star Game after a hard foul from Dwyane Wade.^[180] In April, Bryant missed seven games with a bruised left shin.^[181] He returned three games before the end of the regular season. In the last game of the regular season, against Sacramento, he chose not to go for a possible third NBA scoring title, having needed 38 points to surpass Kevin Durant. ^[182]

International career[link]

Bryant in a game against China at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Kobe Bryant declined to play in the 2000 Olympics due to getting married in the off-season.^[183] He also decided not to play in the 2002 FIBA World Championship.^[184] Bryant was originally selected for the FIBA Americas Championship 2003 but withdrew due to surgeries and was replaced by Vince Carter.^[185] In the following summer, he had to withdraw from the Olympic team because of his legal case.^[186] 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.^[187] However, he was once again sidelined after knee surgery and didn't participate in the 2006 FIBA World Championship.^[188]

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 14 feet (4.3 m) 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.^[189]

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.^[190]

On June 23, 2008, he was named to the USA Men's Senior National Team for the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[191] 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.^[192] 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.^[193]

Player profile[link]

Bryant shoots over Shane Battier in April 2009.

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,^[194][195] has been selected to every All-NBA Team since 1999, and has been featured in the last fourteen NBA All-Star games.^[1] Sportswriters and sportscasters frequently compare Bryant to Michael Jordan, a comparison Bryant dislikes.^[196] In 2007, an ESPN poll of sportswriters voted him as the second best shooting guard in NBA history behind Jordan.^[195]

He is a prolific scorer, averaging 25.4 points per game for his career, along with 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.5 steals (as of the end of the 2011–2012 regular season).^[197] He is known for his ability to create shots for himself and is a competent three-point shooter at 33.7%. Bryant shares the single-game NBA record for three pointers made with 12.^[198] Bryant is often cited as one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA,^[199] and 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.^[200]

Aside from his scoring ability, he has established himself as a standout defender, having made the All-Defensive first or second team twelve of the last thirteen seasons.^[1] Bryant has also been noted being one of the premier clutch performers in the NBA.^[201] In an annual survey of NBA general managers, Bryant was selected in 2012 for the 10th consecutive season as the player they most wanted taking the shot with the game on the line.^{[202][203][neutrality is disputed]} Both Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the NBA player of the 2000s decade.^[204][205]

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

Accomplishments and records[link]

Bryant led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons.^[1] 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,^[78][211] 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.^[212] 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".^[213] 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 14 All-NBA Teams (10 times to the All-NBA First Team) and 12 All-Defensive Teams (nine times to the All-Defensive First Team). He was selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game on 14 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.^[214] As of May 2011, he has had 5 sixty-point games, 24 fifty-point games, and 107 forty-point games.

Off the court[link]

Personal life[link]

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".^[215] 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,^[215] 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.^[215] According to Vanessa's cousin Laila Laine, there was no prenuptial agreement. Vanessa said Bryant "loved her too much for one".^[216]

They married on April 18, 2001, at St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in Dana Point, California.^[217] 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.^[215] 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.^[218] 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.^[219] On December 16, 2011, Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. Both parties resolved all the issues related to their divorce prior to the filing.^[220] Both Kobe and Vanessa requested joint custody of their daughters, Natalia and Gianna.^[221]

In an early 2007 interview, it was revealed that Bryant still speaks Italian fluently.^[3] 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."^[222]

Sexual assault allegation[link]

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.^[223][224]

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.^[225] 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."^[226][227] 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[link]

Bryant in Hong Kong for his 2009 Nike Asian Tour

Before starting the 1996–97 NBA season, Bryant signed a 6-year contract with Adidas worth approximately $48 million.^[228][229] His first signature shoe was the Equipment KB 8.^[230] 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,^[231] 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.^[232] A notable exception was Nike, Inc., who had signed him to a 5-year, $40–45 million contract just before the incident.^[233][234] 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.^[234] He has since resumed endorsement deals with The Coca-Cola Company, through their subsidiary Energy Brands to promote their Vitamin Water brand of drinks.^[235] 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.^[236]

Derek Fisher (left) and Bryant (center) with Barack Obama (right) on January 25, 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.^[237] 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.^[238] 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.^[239] 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.^[240] CNN estimated Bryant's endorsement deals in 2007 to be worth $16 million a year.^[241] 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.^[242]

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.^{[243][244][245]}

Bryant has appeared as the cover athlete for the following video games:

• Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside^[246]
• NBA Courtside 2: Featuring Kobe Bryant^[247]
• NBA Courtside 2002^[248]
• NBA 3 On 3 Featuring Kobe Bryant^[249]
• NBA '07: Featuring the Life Vol. 2^[250]
• NBA '09: The Inside^[251]
• NBA 2K10

Music[link]

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").^[252] The proceeds for downloads of both the single and ringtones were donated to impoverished schools for basketball facilities and equipment.^[253] The music video of the single also features Bryant.^[254] The song was also used by Sprite in its 2011 marketing campaign in China.^[255]

Philanthropy[link]

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.^[256] Bryant also started the Kobe Bryant China Fund which partnered with the Soong Ching Ling Foundation, a charity backed by the Chinese government.^[257] The Kobe Bryant China Fund raises money within China earmarked for education and health programs.^[257] 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.^[236]

See also[link]

References[link]