Growing up in Italy, Kobe Bryant develops a passion for basketball under his father's influence; at 18, he moves to Los Angeles to join the Lakers, where he marries Vanessa Laine, straining family relationships.

As the end of his basketball career looms, Kobe shifts focus to storytelling, mentoring and fatherhood; in 2020, the world is stunned by a tragic helicopter crash, which claims the lives of Kobe and his daughter, Gianna.

In 2003, Kobe's world is rocked by an allegation of sexual assault against a 19-year old hotel employee, drawing intense media scrutiny; in the aftermath, he channels his emotions into the Black Mamba alter ego.