The 2009 TIME 100 Finalists

Cast your votes for the leaders, artists, entrepreneurs and thinkers who deserve a spot on this year's TIME 100. — By Brian Raftery

Kobe Bryant

Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
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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.

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