Did you know "KOBE" ?

Kobe Bryant is an American retired shooting guard who played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for his entire 20-year career. Bryant is the only son of former Philadelphia 76ers player and former Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe Bryant.Selected 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA draft, Bryant was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac a month later.

NBA Championships Details:                                                 

1999-00 with Los Angeles Lakers

                                                                                  

2000-01 with Los Angeles Lakers

2001-02 with Los Angeles Lakers

2008-09 with Los Angeles Lakers

2009-10 with Los Angeles Lakers

All-Star Game:

18 times (played 15 times) - 4 MVP
1998,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016

 Awards and Honors by Type:

Season MVP - Once 
2007-08

Finals MVP - Twice 
2008-09, 2009-10

Scoring Leader - Twice 
2005-06, 2006-07

All-NBA First Team - 11 times 
2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13

All-NBA Second Team - Twice 
1999-00, 2000-01

All-NBA Third Team - Twice 
1998-99, 2004-05

All-Defensive First Team - 9 times 
1999-00, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11

All-Defensive Second Team - 3 times 
2000-01, 2001-02, 2011-12

All-Rookie Second Team 
1996-97

Awards and Honors by Year:

1996-97

All-Rookie Second Team

1998-99

All-NBA Third Team

1999-00

All-NBA Second Team
All-Defensive First Team

2000-01

All-NBA Second Team
All-Defensive Second Team

2001-02

All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive Second Team

2002-03

All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive First Team

2003-04

All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive First Team

2004-05

All-NBA Third Team

2005-06

Scoring Leader
All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive First Team

2006-07

Scoring Leader
All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive First Team

2007-08

All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive First Team
Season MVP

2008-09

All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive First Team
Finals MVP

2009-10

All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive First Team
Finals MVP

2010-11

All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive First Team

2011-12

All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive Second Team

2012-13

All-NBA First Team

What Happens to Your Body When You Don't Exercise?

Medical professionals and fitness experts advocate exercise as a way to maintain and build health. You reverse the benefits of exercise when you stop working out, and you never build up fitness and endurance if you never exercise at all. Starting a workout regimen is harder after a long period of inactivity, but you'll see immediate benefits to your body.

• Weight and Blood Pressure

Some of the primary benefits of exercise include maintaining a healthy weight and regulating blood pressure. When you do not move, from either choice or due to injury, you burn fewer calories each day. An excess of just 500 calories per day translates into a weight gain of 1 pound per week or 4 pounds per month. When you gain weight, you have an increased risk for high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Being overweight makes exercise harder because you stress your joints more when you run or jog.

• Bones and Strength

Sitting around or lying around all day makes you weak. Unless you continuously use the major muscle groups in your body, they do not strengthen. If you are older, you lose the battle against muscle atrophy or wasting with every year that passes. Bones also lose density with age, and lack of weight-bearing exercise plays a role in osteoporosis, or brittle bones. Your body responds to the demands you put on it, and if you do not exercise, your muscles and bones weaken with time.

• Exercise for Endurance

Just walking up a flight of stairs can make you short of breath if you are out of shape. Lack of exercise can lead to a lack of energy and endurance. The listlessness you feel further dissuades you from engaging in physical activity, and the vicious circle continues. Breaking a long period of inactivity is not easy, particularly if you are overweight or have a medical condition. Starting slow with just a few minutes of walking daily gets you moving safely.

• Mental Health

Lack of exercise can lead to a diminished sense of well-being. Your body loses muscle tone and strength and your self-esteem can suffer as a result. Weight gain might lead to social isolation and bad eating habits. Vigorous aerobic exercise such as swimming or running stimulates your body to release endorphins. Endorphins are natural painkillers that help elevate your mood. Resuming physical activity benefits your mental health as well as your physical health.

What Happens When You Don't Eat Healthfully?

When you don't give your body the proper nutrients, it's unable to function at its best. An unhealthy diet not only deprives you of the nutrients required for energy and vitality, it also introduces unhealthy substances such as trans fat, as well as high levels of saturated fat and sugar. The combination of the two can contribute to obesity, chronic diseases and compromised mental health.

• Increase in Obesity

An unhealthy diet is a major risk factor for becoming overweight or obese. Unhealthy diets are often energy-dense, which means they are much higher in calories than nutrient-dense diets that include fruits, vegetables and other fiber-rich foods. When you consume more calories than you burn, the extra calories are stored as body fat. Obesity is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.

• Higher Risk of Chronic Diseases

Diets high in unhealthy substances significantly increase the risk for many chronic diseases. Trans fat, for example, is an artificial saturated fat present in many fried foods, baked goods and packaged junk food. This dangerous fat can increase bad cholesterol while simultaneously decreasing good cholesterol, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This artery-clogging effect is strongly linked to heart disease. According to the CDC, trans fats alone are responsible for between 10,000 and 20,000 heart attacks per year in the U.S. According to a 2002 statement published by the American Heart Association in the journal "Circulation," diets high in sugar are also strongly connected to heart disease, diabetes and nutritional deficiency.

• Accelerated Aging

When your diet is filled with unhealthy foods, it leaves less room for the nutritious foods that provide the vitamins and minerals your body requires. Without these nutrients, your risk for nutritional deficiencies increases. A 2005 paper published in "Molecular Aspects of Medicine" noted that vitamin and mineral deficiencies are a contributing factor to DNA damage and accelerated aging. The authors contend that an optimum intake of nutrients could "tune up metabolism and give a marked increase in health."

• Mental Health Decline

An unhealthy diet can also negatively affect mental health, as noted by a study published in 2013 in the journal "Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology." According to the article, there is an association between unhealthy diets and mental health problems, including depression, in adolescents.

• Reduce Your Risk by Eating Healthfully

According to a 2009 World Health Organization report, 80 percent of all cases of premature heart disease and Type 2 diabetes and 40 percent of all cancers can be prevented by simple lifestyle choices that include following a healthy diet, engaging in sufficient physical activity, and avoiding tobacco products. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, you can create a healthy diet simply by consuming wholesome foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, nuts and seeds, and by eliminating processed foods, such as refined carbohydrates, prepackaged and fast foods, baked goods and any other foods high in sodium, trans fat, saturated fat or sugar.