Koby Bryant’s Early Years

Joe and Pam Bryant were blessed with two girls and along came Kobe who was their third and last child. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 23, 1978, Kobe was the son of Joe Bryant who was from John Bartmam High School and known as the playground hoops legend. Joe’s pro career took him to three other countries Joe never found his place in the NBA, but that never stopped him from playing for many different teams during his career.

Kobe was raised around basketball, so it was no wonder that he would soon learn to play hoops as well. Kobe started playing hoops when they lived on the West Coast. T the age of three, Kobe was telling everyone he was going to play in the NBA and be the star. Joe’s career took them to Houston in 1982, after which Kobe really started developing a serious interest in the NBA. Kobe soon announced that his favorite team was the Lakers and Magic Johnson was his favorite player.

Joe’s career then took the family to Italy, where the family stuck together more because they did not speak the language or know anybody. They would go to school and come home to practice Italian words until all three kids were fluent in Italian within a few months. Kobe was always with his dad for practices and it was rare for Kobe to miss a game. The family seemed to flourish in Italy were Joe was becoming very popular.

For a short time, Kobe was pulled away from basketball when the Italians wanted him for soccer. Although he was a soccer player, Kobe still followed the NBA. Kobe and his father were sent tapes from grandparents to watch so they could keep up on the games played. Kobe started to gain a better understanding about the game and the court. Every summer the family would return to Philly when Joe was not playing in Italy.

At the age of ten, Kobe started competing with other hoop players his age and older in the Sonny Hill League in Philadelphia. His coaches were Pam’s brother and his father, Joe. After a tour in Europe that ended in 1992, Joe and Pam decided to move the family back to the states and Joe retired from basketball. At this time, Kobe was ready for high school and his sisters were ready for college.

Kobe continued to play the Sonny Hill League and in 1992 was one of the top players. This led Kobe to try out and make the team for the high school varsity team, the Aces. He continued to play, but the next spring, he would meet Eddie Jones, who was the starting guard for the Owls, at the Temple University gym when he went to pick up games. Kobe found it hard to adjust to living in the United States, especially in the schools. That would change when he became a junior and started to fit in with his classmates.

In his junior year, Kobe was six foot-five inches and decided that his future was in basketball. He started practicing as a guard since he believed his future was in the backcourt. Although Kobe was a B student and did very well on his college SAT scores, he made a decision to skip college and move onto the pros. Many college recruiters such as Michigan, North Carolina and Duke were trying to recruit Kobe. However, after Kevin Garnett when straight to the pros, Kobe decided that was what he wanted to do.

Joe decided to hook Kobe up with members of the 76ers that summer and Kobe was a success. Scouts were impressed with Kobe and it would not be long after that, that Kobe would make his choice, he was going to skip college and join the pros.

Jumping ahead, Kobe when through many obstacles and even recorded a hip-hop CD that was never released, but did meet and marry his wife Vanessa Laine in 2001. She was a dancer in another video being recorded when Kobe was recording his CD. Kobe’s family did not attend the wedding because they felt he was too young for marriage.

His career kept flourishing and he is now a well-known and recognized player with Los Angeles. He has become a valuable player and has succeeded in becoming a valuable player where his father had not. When Shaquille O’Neal left Los Angeles, it was a true test of Kobe’s abilities. He has, however helped his teammates stay on top of the game.