Position:
Guard | Born: 08/23/78 | Height: 6'7" | Weight: 210lbs | Highschool:
Lower Merion (PA)
BACKGROUND
Kobe Bryant, the son of former NBA player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, jumped directly from high school to the
pros in 1996 and enjoyed an impressive rookie season with the Los Angeles
Lakers. He also won the Nestle Crunch Slam Dunk and was the leading scorer
in the Schick Rookie Game during the NBA All-Star Weekend. Bryant was the
all-time leading scorer in Southeastern Pennsylvania history with 2,883
points, breaking the marks of NBA legend and Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain
(2,359 points) and former St. Joseph's player Carlin Warley (2,441 points).
Bryant led his high school team to a 77-13 record in last three seasons
and was a four-year starter. His father, Joe, played eight NBA seasons
for the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers and Houston Rockets, and
is a former assistant coach at La Salle. As a senior at Lower Merion High
School, Bryant was selected by USA Today and Parade Magazine as the National
High School Player of the Year. He was also named Naismith Player of the
Year, Gatorade Circle of Champions High School Player of the Year and to
the McDonald's All-America Team. Bryant averaged 30.8 ppg, 12 rpg, 6.5
apg, four spg and 3.8 bpg. He led Lower Merion to Class AAAA state title
with a 31-3 record. Bryant scored a career-high 50 points vs. Marple Newtow
and scored 34 points to go along with 15 rebounds, six assists and nine
blocks to lead Lower Merion to District I Class AAA title over Chester.
He scored 117 points and was named Most Outstanding Player in Prestigious
Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Lakers wanted Bryant but were
drafting late, so they swung a deal with the Charlotte Hornets whereby
Charlotte selected him with the 13th overall pick in the first round of
the 1996 NBA Draft, then dealt him to Los Angeles in exchange for center
Vlade Divac. Despite his youth and lack of college experience, Bryant was
a signficant contributor as the Lakers won 56 games in 1996-97. He scored
in double figures 25 times, including a streak of seven within 10 games
late in the season. He also grabbed the spotlight at the All-Star Weekend
by winning the Nestle Crunch Slam Dunk and leading all players with an
event-record 31 points in the Schick Rookie Classic.
1996-97 NOTES
Playing at shooting guard, point guard
and small forward, Bryant appeared in 71 games as a rookie, including six
starts, and averaged 7.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15.5 minutes.
He averaged 11.3 ppg in the last 13 games of the seaon and 12.4 ppg in
the 26 games in which he played 20+ minutes. He was chosen to the NBA All-Rookie
Second Team. Bryant scored a career-high 24 points, shooting 9-for-11 from
the field, in a 109-85 win at Golden State on April 8. The 24 points were
the most by a Laker reserve all season. He scored in double figures 25
times and four times had 20+ points. He ranked third on the team in free
throw percentage at .819, fourth in three-pointers with 51 and fifth in
three-point percentage at .375. He became the youngest player to ever start
an NBA game on January 28 at Dallas, when he was 18 years, five months,
five days. He's the second-youngest player in NBA history, behind Portland's
Jermaine O'Neal. Bryant was one of the stars of the All-Star Weekend. He
led all scorers in the Schick Rookie Game with an event-record 31 points,
then came back to become the first Laker ever to win the Nestle Crunch
Slam Dunk later that night, posting a score of 49 out of a possible 50
in the final round. Bryant appeared in all nine of the Lakers' playoff
games in a reserve role, ranking fifth on the club in scoring at 8.2 ppg.
He scored 22 points in Game 3 of the First Round against Portland and 19
in Game 3 of the Conference Semifinals against Utah.
His parents named him after a
type of steak (kobe) seen on a restaurant menu prior to his birth. Is fluent
in Italian. Enjoys reading and playing video games. Has two older sisters,
Sharia and Shaya.
His favorite
movie is Star Wars, he likes Karate movies and introduced Tracy McGrady
to karate movies, Now McGrady is a karate-movie junkie!! Kobe likes reading,
swimming and video games. Some of his favorite foods are Macaroni and cheese,
swordfish, sweet potatoes, vanila malts, Apple pie. his favorite cartoon
charcter: "road runner; because he cant be caught." His favorite
actor is Will Smith, Magazine is Vibe, sports magazine is Slam, tv show
is Moesha, baseball team is the Mariners, rap song is If I Ruled The World
by NAS and Lauren Hill, group is Boyz II Men.
..There are the
earrings. He doesn't wear any. "I don't want holes in my ears,"
he says. "Nothing against anybody else, but it's not for me."
Then there are the tattoos. He doesn't have any. "What for?"
he says.
Kobe went to
the High School Prom with superstar singer/actress Brandy. She was at
the All Star Weekend to see him with the Dunk Contest and play in the Rookie
game.. she and her brother (Ray-J)were cheering him on the whole time.
Now they claim to be just freinds...
"I'm still
a mama's boy, I'll want some home-cooked meals....."
The way he got
his #8 from that his birthday is in the 8th month and in the ABCD camp
he was mvp so he took the numbers #143 and added them up and he took #8
He has his own
shoe the KB-8 from Adidas. why is he with Adidas?"For the simple fact
that adidas is upcoming, on the rise. I wanted to be a part of that. It's
easy to just go the brand that's already at the top, join in and blend
in, but that's something I didn't want to do."
He's going to
school "I have started taking courses at the University of California
at Los Angeles. I dont know what I will major in yet. Right now, my favorite
subject is criminal law."
Who's his favorite
basketball player? "I like 'em all, to tell you the truth. Magic,
Michael, Penny."
Other sports
stars he admires: "I like Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys. He plays
with a lot of desire. He works hard and he's a great person. I also admire
all-time hom-run champ Hank Aaron, who played for the Atlanda Braves"
Kobe does'nt
go out after games and party and stuff.. nope. he jus chills. "I go
home with my mother, my father, or my sisters. We have a nice little dinner
together. Then I go to sleep." His Dad says, "As I said to one
reporter, I said, 'Hey, all these guys are going to the clubs. Kobe will
be back at the hotel reading a book or playing Nintendo.' Maybe he'll have
a couple of guys stay with him. Basketball will speak for itself. But it's
no doubt about it that he has the personality and there's something about
him that's going to attract a lot of people in a positive manner. That's
what the NBA needs today."
QUOTES
"There's
a lot of fake people out there(in LA), wherever you go. You just have to
love your family, have your friends and that's basically it."
"I like
to create things for my teammates. I love to pass the ball, but when it
comes down to crunch time, I click it on. There's no doubt I want the ball."
About Draft Day
"It was pretty difficult, because I had my mother there squeezing
my thigh and my sister there squeezing my hands, and my father there winking
at me all teary-eyed. It was very hard, and I am glad it is over with."
Dell Harris "No
one ever questioned his one-on-one skills, or even his team skills. But
he didn't have college as a transition, to (advance) from where he could
dominate everybody he played and do virtually what he wanted without paying
a price. There's almost no embarrassment factor for him against high school
kids; he could make a mistake come out all right, because he's so good.
He would have gotten into some situations in college where he would have
gotten stopped and had to adjust. The good news is that he's consciously
working at it, and he's making good progress."
"I'm not
afraid to fail. When I'm 40, if I sit back and I say, 'Man, I went to the
NBA, I gave it my all and I failed,' it happens. But I couldn't accept
not going to the NBA and giving my all. I can't accept that."
