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Kobe Bryant is a basketball superstar who has played for the Los Angeles Lakers since 1996, when at the age of eighteen he became the youngest player in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bypassing college, Bryant moved straight from high school to the NBA, a feat accomplished by only twenty-seven other players since the league was founded in 1946. During his professional career Bryant has won nearly every honor associated with the sport of basketball, including being consistently named an all-star, being chosen the league's most valuable player, and helping the Lakers to win three NBA championships.

Lived in Italy during Childhood

The youngest of three children born to Joe and Pam Bryant, Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia in 1978. The Lakers press guide said his parents named him after a type of steak they saw on a restaurant menu shortly before he was born. Bryant's father was in the midst of a sixteen-year professional basketball career that took the family from Philadelphia, to San Diego, Houston, and then to Italy. When not traveling with his team, Joe played sports with his children, teaching them his moves. Kobe proved to be a particularly apt student, and he adored his father. Said Bryant in the New York Times, "Other kids don't have a father. I don't have anything in common with them. My father's my best friend. Those kids say I lead a Beaver Cleaver life. I don't care." Kobe was five years old when his father left the NBA and moved the family to Pistoia, Italy. There the elder Bryant competed eight more years in the Italian Professional Basketball League. Since no one in the Bryant family could speak Italian at first, the bonds between them grew even closer as they struggled with learning another language. "We didn't have anybody to depend on but our family. We had to stick together," Bryant remembered in the Riverside, California, Press-Enterprise. Bryant got along well with his sisters Sharia and Shaya, and—when time allowed—he played hoops with his father. He also played soccer, a favorite sport in Italy.

When Joe Bryant's professional career ended in 1991, the family returned to the United States and settled in a comfortable home on the Main Line, the most prestigious of Philadelphia's suburban areas. Thirteen- year-old Kobe surprised his fellow students at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore; they marveled at the young black man who could speak Italian fluently but who was relatively unaware of the hip urban attitudes popular among teens. In a Los Angeles Times profile, Bryant recalled that time: "It was kind of strange because, being away, I didn't know a lot of the slang that kids used. Kids would come up to me and say whatever, and I'd just nod."

Basketball helped bridge the gap between Bryant and his classmates at Lower Merion High. Tall and skilled, Bryant quickly became a starter for the varsity team and just as quickly began to make a name for himself in greater Philadelphia. His high school coach, Gregg Downer, encouraged him to aim for a professional career. "When I first met [Bryant], at age thirteen, and I saw him play, after five minutes I said, ‘This kid is going to be a pro,’" Downer told the Los Angeles Times. "Never was there one moment I doubted that. That it would happen so quickly, I may have doubted that. But I knew if he progressed so quickly and continued to make good decisions, he would someday get there."

Bryant concluded his high school career as the all-time leading scorer in the history of Southeastern Pennsylvania basketball. His 2,883 points far surpassed the 2,359 points of Hall-of-Famer Wilt Chamberlain. As a junior, he was named Pennsylvania's high school player of the year. In Bryant's senior year he led the Lower Merion Aces to a season record of 31-3 and the Class-AAAA state championship. He averaged 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4 steals, and 3.8 blocked shots per game. Accolades poured in from both local and national sources. USA Today named him National High School Player of the Year, and he also won the Naismith Player of the Year citation. Downer told the Los Angeles Times, "I know the high school market very well and I've watched it for close to twenty years, and to think there could be another player come into my hands and be this good, that's an abstract concept. [Kobe's] blessed with a lot of natural ability and great genes, but the work ethic is his and it's very strong. Kobe has the skills and the maturity and everything you could want."

Bypassed College for the Pros

Not surprisingly, Bryant was offered scholarships to almost every major college and university in the country. Not only was he a brilliant basketball player, he was also a good student, scoring an above-average 1,100 on his Scholastic Aptitude Test. Bryant and his parents remained coy about his future, however. They realized that they faced a momentous decision: whether to bypass college completely and go straight into the NBA draft. Bryant, meanwhile, catapulted to national prominence when the media learned that he would be escorting the pop star Brandy to his high school prom in downtown Philadelphia.

Just before prom time, Bryant called a news conference to declare his decision to make himself available for the 1996 NBA draft in June. Philadelphia sports fans who had expected Bryant to enroll at one of the local colleges greeted the announcement with jeers. The criticism escalated when Joe Bryant quit his job as an assistant coach at La Salle University to manage his son's career. Answering all his detractors in the New York Times, Joe Bryant stated, "Would Kobe be more accepted going to the NBA if he'd been a dummy? Do you have to be poor, with five kids, living on welfare?" He concluded, "Kobe should have had the key to the city. Instead they tried to crucify him. No one saw how special he is."

At a Glance …

Born August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, PA; son of Joe (a professional basketball player and coach) and Pam Bryant; married Vanessa Laine, 2001; children: Natalia Diamante, Gianna Maria-Onore. Education: Graduate of Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA.

Career: Professional basketball player, Los Angeles Lakers, 1996—.

Awards: National High School Player of the Year, USA Today, 1996; Naismith Player of the Year, 1996; Gatorade Circle of Champions High School Player of the Year, 1996; McDonald's All-American, 1996; NBA Rookie All-Star, 1997; NBA All-Star, 1998, 2000-08; NBA All-Star game Most Valuable Player, 2002, 2007; All-NBA First Team, 2002-08; All-NBA Defensive First Team, 2002-08; NBA scoring champion, 2006, 2007; NBA Most Valuable Player, 2008; Gold Medal with U.S. Olympic men's basketball team, 2008.

Addresses: Home—Pacific Palisades, CA. Office—Los Angeles Lakers, Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90015.

No one, that is, except the Charlotte Hornets, who chose Bryant as the thirteenth pick in the first round of the 1996 NBA draft. No one but Adidas, who swooped in to sign the young star to a product endorsement contract. No one but Brandy, who praised her prom date as a terrific guy and invited him to guest-star on her television show, Moesha. And no one but the Los Angeles Lakers, who traded veteran center Vlade Divac to obtain the untested rookie. A month shy of his eighteenth birthday, Bryant signed a three-year, $3.5 million contract with the Lakers and moved into a mansion in Pacific Palisades, California. If anyone could be said to be "on top of the world," it was Bryant.

Saw Limited Action as a Rookie

Poised for greatness, Bryant took the Southern California Summer Pro League by storm. He appeared in four games—drawing huge, overflow crowds—and netted twenty-seven points in one game and thirty-six in another. Then, just before training camp was due to start in September, he broke his wrist playing pickup ball and could not practice for five weeks. This setback effectively undercut his first chance to learn the NBA style of play. To make matters worse, he took a body shot from an opponent in Philadelphia during an exhibition game in October of 1996 and missed not only the rest of the preseason but also the season opener in November.

The injuries gave Bryant a huge disadvantage during the regular season. Lakers coach Del Harris explained in the Press-Enterprise that "You've got to figure that not only did [Bryant] skip college, he also skipped training camp. Given that, the fact that he was able to compete at this level by January [1997] is incredible—especially with a team that's been in first or second place all year, rather than a team that might say, ‘Well, we're not going anywhere anyway, so let's play the young guys.’"

Harris saw Bryant as a novice who needed more training in the pro game and restricted his playing time accordingly. Bryant averaged 15.5 minutes of playing time, 7.6 points, 1.3 assists, and 1.9 rebounds per game in 71 regular season appearances. Naturally the former high school star felt frustrated by the limited play. "One of the hardest things this year was not knowing whether you're going to play or how many minutes you're going to play," Bryant acknowledged in an Associated Press report. "But at the same time that kind of helps you, because you just have to be ready every night."

Bryant's chance to shine as a rookie came during the All-Star break, when he scored thirty-one points in the Rookie All-Star Game and aced the slam-dunk title with a dramatic shot that began between his legs. That moment of fame was some compensation for his slow start as a professional, and it served to reinforce his coaches' conviction that he would make an impact within a year or two.

Adjusted to NBA Lifestyle

Debate, meanwhile, still raged over whether Bryant had taken a wrong turn when he decided to skip college. As Theresa Smith observed in the Orange County Register, "It's still too early…. If he hadn't turned pro, he'd be learning strategy and refining skills in frequent practice sessions, and starring for a Top 25 team two days a week. Instead, his practice time is limited by a rigorous game and travel schedule and his game time is limited by Harris, who has the incongruous task of developing young talent and winning at the same time." The New York Times quoted Harris as expressing similar frustrations: "I don't want to be remembered … [as] the guy who wouldn't let Kobe Bryant play." He also observed, "I have to do it. I can't give him special treatment just because he's eighteen. He elected to come into a man's world and he'll have to play by a man's rules."

That "man's world" presented many challenges for a person of Bryant's age. Not yet old enough to order an alcoholic beverage legally and enormously wary of the multitude of other temptations beckoning NBA players, he generally kept to himself both at home and on the road. His parents often traveled with him, and they lived in his Pacific Palisades home.

In addition to his multimillion-dollar contract, Bryant had product endorsement deals for such companies as Adidas, Nintendo, Spalding, and Sprite. "I like getting out there for promotional appearances and having a good time and meeting people," he said in the Los Angeles Times. "I like to see the end product, and I take pride in it." At the same time, he added, "I understand basketball is what got me here and on top of that, I love to do it so much that it will always be my focal point."

Evolved into an Pro Star

By age twenty-one, Bryant was well on his way to becoming an elite player in the NBA. Rather than squander his money on the high life, Bryant became the co-owner of an Italian basketball team, Olimpia Milano. He also released a hip-hop album, K.O.B.E. Larry Brown, then coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, told Sports Illustrated, "Kobe's a model of what a young player should aspire to be. Year by year he has learned and made his game more solid, and now he's not just a highlight-film guy but an accomplished NBA player."

Along with the NBA's Most Valuable Player, Shaquille O'Neal, in 2000 Bryant helped the Lakers win their first championship in twelve years. The media frequently mentioned tension between O'Neal and Bryant. According to Los Angeles Magazine, "Shaq had never become an adult, while Kobe had never been a child."

The Lakers repeated as champions in 2001 and 2002. In 2003 Bryant was accused of sexual assault in Eagle County, Colorado. Prosecutors dropped the charge in September of 2004, saying the accuser, a nineteen-year-old hotel employee, could not move forward with the case. She did, however, file a civil suit against Bryant. They settled the suit early in 2005, under terms that remained concealed. Bryant often took shuttle flights between the trial in Colorado and Lakers games. He still made the All-NBA first team. The Lakers reached the NBA Finals in 2004, losing four games to one to the Detroit Pistons. After the season, the team settled the simmering feud between Bryant and O'Neal by trading O'Neal to the Miami Heat and signing Bryant to a seven-year, $136 million contract extension. Coach Phil Jackson left the Lakers after the season, and during the 2004 offseason he wrote a book in which he said Bryant's trial and attitude in general wore down the team.

Bryant was again an All-Star in 2005, but the Lakers missed the playoffs for only the second time in twenty-nine years. After the season, team owner Jerry Buss rehired Jackson as head coach, and he and Bryant both publicly said they were at peace.

Early in 2006 Bryant scored 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors, the second-highest total ever scored in an NBA game. He was again named as a Western Conference starter for the NBA All-Star game, and ended the 2005-06 season as the NBA scoring champion, with an average 35.4 points per game. In July of 2006 he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, missing the Lakers' preseason exhibition games and the first two regular season games. With his knee progressing slowly, Bryant was back in the lineup by early November.

Bryant changed his jersey number from 8 to 24 for the 2006-07 season. He also won his second All-Star game MVP award, scoring 31 points as the West defeated the East, 153-132. After the season, during which the Lakers lost in the first round of the playoffs, Bryant alternately asked for a trade, then recanted. In one day, Bryant first told ESPN Radio: "I would like to be traded. And as tough as it is to say that, as tough as it is to come to that conclusion, there's no other alternative." However, later the same day he said on another broadcast: "I don't want to go anyplace else. I don't want to. I want to be a Laker. I want to be here for the rest of my career."

Competed in the 2008 Olympics

Bryant, who played on a five-stop tour of Asia before the start of the 2007-08 season, returned to the Lakers. Midway through the season, he was named a starter for the Western Conference All-Star team. He was to compete in his tenth All-Star game. Bryant went on to complete perhaps his finest NBA season yet, leading the Lakers to the NBA Finals, where they were defeated by the Boston Celtics. In May of 2008 he was named the league's Most Valuable Player for the season. He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Team for the third consecutive year, and sixth time overall. The following month, Bryant was named to the U.S. men's basketball team that would compete in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. The squad, dubbed the "Redeem Team" in reference to the U.S. men's futility in several previous international tournaments, included most of the NBA's biggest stars, including LaBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, and just about every other perennial all-star.

In Beijing, Bryant was the most luminous of the American basketball stars. Chinese fans worshipped him as they did no other player, other than perhaps their compatriot Yao Ming. Off the court, Bryant was at his best, behaving as a gentleman in the press and drawing the praise of NBA officials for his conduct. On the court, Bryant adapted to the needs of the team, taking on the role of defensive stopper, assigned to guard the top scorer on each opposing team. The strategy worked remarkably well. With so many other capable scorers on the U.S. team, Bryant was able to focus on shutting down the opposing offense. Of course, Bryant did not entirely leave his offensive skills at the hotel. In the gold medal final against defending basketball world champions Spain, Bryant scored twenty points and took control of the game in the decisive fourth quarter.

Throughout his career Bryant has been saddled with inevitable comparisons to the great Michael Jordan. Regardless of whether those comparisons have been fair, they are now largely irrelevant. Bryant is without question one of the small handful of greatest players of his era, and perhaps even of all time.

SourcesPeriodicals

Associated Press, November 10, 1996; April 29, 1997.

Esquire, June 5, 2008.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, August 21, 2008.

Jet, April 24, 2000; July 10, 2000.

Los Angeles Magazine, June 2001, p. 58.

Los Angeles Times, October 15, 1996, p. C1; August 25, 2008.

New York Times Magazine, January 19, 1997, p. 23; January 1999, p. 66.

Orange County Register, January 5, 1997, p. C10.

Philadelphia Inquirer, November 3, 1996, pp. C1, C6; August 14, 2008.

Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA), October 29, 1996, p. C1; February 8, 1997, p. C1.

San Diego Union Tribune, October 22, 1996, p. D2.

Sports Illustrated, April 24, 2000 p. 38; June 25, 2001, p. 42.

USA Today, August 21, 2008, p. 1A.

Online

"Bryant Asks for Trade, then Backtracks Slightly," ESPN, May 31, 2007, ?id=2886927 (accessed November 13, 2008).

Jackson, Phil, "Balancing Act," SI.com, October 12, 2004, (accessed November 14, 2008).

"Kobe Bryant Wins Most Valuable Player Award," NBA.com, (accessed November 13, 2008).

Other

CBC News, November 3, 2006.

—Mark Kram, Christine Miner Minderovic, and Bob Jacobson