Kobe Bryant biography

Kobe Bean Bryant (August 23, 1978) former basketball player of the NBA. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. His father, Joe Bryant, was a professional player of the basketball team called Philadelphia 76ers, and his mother Pamela Cox Bryant. Kobe Bryant’s father left the NBA and moved with his family to Italy, where he continued playing for the Italian league. Little Bryant quickly adapted to the new lifestyle and learned to speak Italian and Spanish fluently. It was said that he would be a soccer player because that was the sport, he practiced the most in his childhood, even his favorite teams were, and still are AC Milan and FC Barcelona. His idols are Frank Rijkaard and Ronaldinho.

In 1991 the family returned to the United States, attended the Lower Merion Institute of Ardmore, and joined the Aces, a basketball team. At the beginning the team had a mediocre performance, they only achieved 4 wins from out of 20 games. But then the effectiveness of the team began to improve, he played in other teams of the Institute where he held several positions. He became the highest scorer in the history of the institute with 2,883 points, surpassing other talented players such as Wilt Chamberlain and Carlin Warley. Thanks to this, USA Today and Parade Magazine gave him the award for Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award and was included in the McDonald’s All-America Team.

The averages were excellent: 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4 steals and 3.8 blocks per game, achieved the state title Class AAAA with a record of 31-3. In addition, before Marple Newtown, he made his best game. Actually, the figure of Bryant was very vainglorious, his father was very surprised by his talent. After finishing high school, decided to apply to the NBA draft and did not intend to enter college. Although this decision to go directly to the NBA was advised by John Lucas, coach of the 76ers of San Diego, where his father played.

He passed, then, directly from the institute to the NBA, he tried out successfully in several teams, including Los Angeles Lakers, the Charlotte Hornets in this team was chosen number 13 of the first round of the Draft, usually, the new players go to the second round. Even so, his father advised him to play for the North Carolina team. At seventeen, Kobe signed a $ 3.5 million contract per season. His debut was in the NBA against Minnesota. Although during the season he had some injuries that prevented the player from showing his full potential at the end of the season, in the Rockies All-Star game, he enjoyed a moment of glory.

In his second season, his performance was really good, so much so that he began to be compared to the legendary Michael Jordan, with whom he had the privilege of playing a game without the O’Neal contest. During the match, Kobe scored 33 points and Jordan 36. Even so, Kobe does not feel very comfortable when they call him Michael Jordan II. Although he was for a long time under the shadow of Shaquille O’Neal with whom he had friction off the track, his statistics in the Los Angeles Lakers were magnificent. In 2005 O’Neal signed for the Miami Heat. Before his departure, the Lakers had been NBA champions in three consecutive seasons (2000, 2001 and 2002). In 2000, Kobe did not participate in the Olympic Games because he was celebrating his wedding with Vanessa Lane, with whom he has two daughters: Natalia Diamante (2003) and Gianna Maria-Onore (2006).

In his career, he has managed to be the youngest player in history to reach 10,000 points in 193 days. In sum, he has overcome the barrier of 50 points in nine games. He was the first player after 41 years to achieve 45 points in four consecutive games. This masterful action was achieved in the 2005-2006 season. In the All-Star of 2002, he was chosen as the most valuable player among all the figures of the NBA. Starting in 2003 he became the first player to get 12 triples, and two years later, in a match against Dallas Mavericks, he scored 62 points in three quarters.

On January 22, 2006, while playing against Toronto Raptors, he got the second best scoring record in history, with 81 points. At that time the opportunity to lead a team every time became more tangible. In the 2007 season, he came to the Pau Gasol Lakers. They quickly managed to be an explosive couple, they were perfectly cohesive and lethal effectiveness, thanks to this union Los Angeles Lakers reached the final of the NBA. Despite losing it to the Boston Celtics. From that moment the Lakers were firm candidates to champions of the best league of the world; a title craved by the basketball player.

Not only has he given to talk about his good performance on the track but also because he was formally accused of sexual assault. Bryant acknowledged that he had committed adultery with a twenty-year-old girl, and she refused to testify against the player. Soon after, the judge in charge of the case, Terry Ruckriegle, dropped the charges. Despite this incident, he had to apologize to the public and his wife, who accepted his apology. Kobe has been able to invest his money, since 1999, he owns the Italian basketball team Adecco Milano, and his father is the president.

One of his passions is rap music, so much so that he recorded an album, entitled Vision. Also, in the concentrations when you have free time write letters and poems. But his great ambition is to be a leader of the Los Angeles Lakers. The fame and popularity of this athlete have won him several sponsors including Adidas, which receives about 5 million dollars a year. In 2012 he was part of the 35 best McDonald’s All-American.

On January 26, 2020 Kobe Bryant dies in helicopter crash.