AGE: 30
OCCUPATION: Basketball star
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 0
PRO: After leading the Lakers to the NBA finals — a feat that earned him his first MVP award — Bryant took home a gold medal in Beijing. And he's bounced back (at least financially) from his 2003 sexual-assault case, earning an estimated $16 million in endorsement deals in 2008.
CON: Sometimes he just needs to pass the ball.