Written by: Victor, Reporter in ISFM
Childhood
Kobe Bryant was born in 1978 Philadelphia and for the first six years of his life he lived in Philadelphia and other cities. He moved a lot because his father, Joe Bryant or “Jellybean”, played for the Philadelphia 76ers. When Kobe Bryant was six years old, his family moved to Italy because his father had retired from the NBA and joined an Italian league. Seven years later he returned to Philadelphia to attend Lower Merion High School.
Middle and High School Basketball
Around the age of twelve Kobe Bryant started basketball training in Italy. His grandfather sent him videos of NBA games for Kobe Bryant to study. He also studied European techniques and styles. After that he went to high school in Philadelphia. In high school he beat a scoring record by scoring 2,883 points, he surpassed the Pennsylvania scoring record held by Wilt Chamberlain. In 1996 he led the Lower Merion Aces to a 31-3 record, he made the team win their first state championship in over fifty years. He earned multiple trophies and beat multiple records in his high school basketball career.
NBA Career
In 1996 right after high school, Kobe was recruited in the NBA. He was recruited by the Charlotte Hornets but he never really played an actual basketball game with them because of a prearranged trade. He was then sent to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers. He chose number *24 as his basketball jersey number. Kobe’s position was shooting guard. He was 6 feet 6 inches. Kobe Bryant started playing in the NBA when he was only 18 years old, which was a very young age to join the NBA at that time. For 20 seasons Kobe Bryant was playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, in these 20 seasons they beat a record of 836 wins and 510 losses.
Family
In 2001 Kobe Bryant married Vanessa Bryant. Two years later on January 19 ,2003 Vanessa and Kobe gave birth to their first child named Natalia. On May 1 ,2006 they gave birth to another child named Gianna. It was a very happy family.
Kobe’s tragic death
Sadly, Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash with his daughter, Gianna Bryant, and seven other people on January 26, 2020. His and his daughter’s funeral was held on February 7 in 2020. He was 41 years old and Gianna was 13 years old. Even though he is deceased he is still considered a basketball legend.
Written by: Victor, Reporter in ISFM
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*Kobe Bryant with Lakers jersey
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