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ameras have closely followed Kobe Bryant for more than half his life. That's how it goes when you enter the Hollywood scene at age 17, as the first guard to leap from preps to pros, billed as the next in a long line of Lakers greats.

Those cameras were clicking on and off the court throughout Kobe's Lakers-record 1,345 games played. And they will be there in force Wednesday night at Staples Center to document the end of a drama-filled career that helped bring five more banners to the Lakers and saw Kobe score more points than anyone in NBA history except Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.

The photographers who captured many of Kobe's classic moments -- sitting exhausted with Shaquille O'Neal after their first title, taking impossible shots in crowds of defenders, screaming with Lakers fans amid confetti after his final championship -- describe how they got the shots and what made them resonate.

Mostly, they share what they will remember and what they will miss most as a legend exits his stage.

This is Kobe's 20-year NBA story told through the eyes and voices of 12 talented photojournalists who were an intimate part of the journey.





Andrew Bernstein

Feb. 8, 1998 • NBA All-Star Game

May 10, 2010 • Western Conference semifinals

June 16, 2001 • Flight following NBA Finals

Jon SooHoo

July 12, 1996 • Great Western Forum

Fall 1997 • Los Angeles Southwest College

Lori Shepler

May 25, 2001 • Western Conference finals

May 15, 2004 • Western Conference semifinals

Michael Goulding

June 9, 2010 • prepares with Phil Jackson

Jan. 27, 2008 • versus LeBron James

Hans Gutknecht

June 12, 2002 • NBA Finals

April 30, 2006 • Western Conference semifinals

Robert Gauthier

May 19, 2012 • versus Oklahoma City

April 12, 2013 • achilles injury

John McCoy

June 15, 2010 • NBA Finals

June 16, 2010 • NBA Finals

Mark J. Terrill

March 28, 1999 • versus Patrick Ewing

Dec. 25, 2011 • versus Chicago

April 21, 2002 • Western Conference playoffs

Wally Skalij

March 15, 2009 • Pregame at Staples Center

April 23, 2008 • Western Conference playoffs

Nathaniel Butler

June 17, 2010 • NBA Finals

Feb. 9, 2003 • NBA All-Star Game

Noah Graham

Dec. 4, 2009 • buzzer-beater over Dwyane Wade

Nov. 14, 2008 • fights for loose ball with Allen Iverson

Paul Morse