1. Kobe Bryant

Sport: Basketball
Bonafides From 2002-2012: 3x NBA Champion, 2008 NBA MVP, 2x Finals MVP, 10x All-Star, 9x All-NBA first team
The Black Mamba. No athlete of the Complex Decade has seen more success and controversy than Kobe Bryant. First there was the completion of the three-peat in 2002 with Shaq by his side, but only a year later, there was the sexual assault case in Eagle County, Colo. Though the charges were dropped Kobe's on-court life seemed to go into turmoil as well. Shaq dipped for Miami in 2004 and by 2007, Kobe was asking for a trade. Throughout this period Bryant remained the beast that fans and haters have always known him for with feats like going off for 81 points in a game in 2006 and an MVP award in 2008. Kobe solidified his spot as one of the all-time greats and No. 1 on this list by leading the Lake Show to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. Three titles, an MVP award, sexual assault charge, and tons of hate? Yeah, it was a complex decade for dude.