The legend of Kobe Bryant continues to shine in the hearts of millions of basketball fans. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar, who would have celebrated his 43rd birthday on Monday, has trended on social media, as many still fondly remember one of the sport's brightest stars.

Bryant was one of the greatest and most beloved NBA players of all time as he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant, who spent his entire career with the Lakers, earned $323,312,307 over 20 seasons, according to figures compiled by Spotrac.

He entered the NBA in 1996 and played three seasons on a rookie contract, which averaged over $1.1 million a season.

In 1999, Bryant signed a maximum deal: a six-year contract extension, worth about $71 million. Bryant would follow that contract up in 2004 with a seven-year contract worth more than $136.4 million.

Another big contract would follow, as the Lakers inked Bryant to a three-year contract extension worth nearly $90 million. Bryant's final NBA contract was a two-year, $48.5 million extension that he signed in November 2013.

Bryant also reportedly made $350 million in endorsement deals. He had a number of deals with companies such as Nike, Sprite, McDonald’s, Turkish Airlines Lenovo, Hublot, Panini, Alibaba, Sina.com, and Mercedes Benz.

The big-money deals made sense given Bryant's excellence on the court. He was a 5-time NBA champion, a 2-time finals MVP, a 4-time NBA All-Star game MVP, and an 18-time NBA All-Star. Bryant also led the league in scoring in 2006 and 2007 and won his only league MVP award in 2008.

Bryant was an 11-time NBA First Team, a 9-time NBA all-defensive first team, and had both his numbers 8 and 24 retired by the Lakers.

Bryant totaled 33,643 career points, averaging 25 points a game, with 7,047 rebounds, 6,306 assists, 640 blocks, and 1,944 steals.

He was the centerpiece in one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history in which he and his teammate Shaquille O’Neal helped the Lakers become the fourth and most recent NBA team to win the NBA championship in three consecutive seasons. In the final game of his career, Bryant scored 60 points against the Utah Jazz on April 13, 2016.

As a philanthropist, Bryant worked with a number of organizations such as Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, After School All-Stars, Make A Wish Foundation, Stand Up To Cancer, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

NBA