Kobe Bryant

Sport: Basketball

Nation: United States of America

DOB: August 23, 1978

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

Career Highlights: This will surely be the final Olympics for Bryant, who turns 34 shortly after the London Games and is the only U.S. player born before 1982. His Team USA career began five years ago, and he has yet to lose. Bryant was the third-leading American scorer in both the 2008 Olympics and the 2007 world championships, averaging a combined 15.2 points as those teams went 18-0. In Beijing four years ago, though, Bryant had 21 more field-goal attempts than any other U.S. player while his 53 3-point attempts were easily a team high and he made just 17. The aging superstar relies more on outside shooting at this point after spending much of his career as arguably the world's best penetrator and finisher. However, Bryant's 30.3 percent 3-point shooting this season for the Lakers was his worst mark in a decade. Still, he averaged 27.9 points to finish a close second to London teammate Kevin Durant in the NBA scoring race, a title Bryant has won twice. The 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player is the league's fifth-leading scorer all-time and the top scorer in the history of the All-Star game. He’s won a record-tying four MVPs at that event, further showing how much he loves the spotlight on the biggest of stages. Bryant also has a pair of NBA finals MVP awards, claiming those in 2009 and '10 during the most recent of his five championship runs. For all his flash and offensive prowess, Bryant is as good as anyone at the defensive end. He’s been named to nine All-Defensive first teams along with being an All-NBA first-team selection 10 times. Bryant tied an NBA record by being selected a starter to a 14th consecutive All-Star game this season and remains arguably the league's best all-around player, finishing right around his career averages with 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.

Olympic History: 2008