The Legend of Kobe Bryant: Basketball's Modern Superstar
1 THE LEGEND BEGINS Kobe Bean Bryant was born on August 23 1978 in Philadelphia His parents Joe and Pam Bryant already had two daughters when they welcomed their only son into the family Joe was an accomplished basketball player so it wasn’t a shock to anyone when Kobe started playing the game himself when he was just three years old Naturally his favorite team was the Lakers When Kobe was six the family picked up and moved to Italy so that Joe could continue to play basketball professionally Kobe’s friend and teammate Davide Giudici told NBC News When he moved to Reggio Emilia and started playing on my team it was immediately clear he was from another planet a cut above us all When he often told us that one day he would become a professional NBA player we would make fun of him But he worked hard for it even back then At the end of our training the rest of us would just go watch TV or do other things Kobe instead would go home and keep training with the basket his father put up for him in his garden
2 WHAT’S IN A NAME Kobe Bean Bryant not exactly an ordinary name is it Then again there wasn’t anything ordinary about the man who is in fourth place on the NBA’s all-time career scoring list Kobe’s parents Joe and Pam Bryant also had two girls Sharia and Shaya So how did they settle on naming their only son Kobe Bean According to NBA com the Bryants chose Kobe after seeing Kobe beef listed on a restaurant menu prior to his birth His middle name is derived from his father’s nickname Jellybean In high school Joe’s teammates marveled at his sweet and various moves he recalls hearing It must be jelly because jam don’t shake like that a quote from a Glenn Miller song Joe was indeed a great player and was selected in the first round of the NBA draft in 1975 Seems he may have passed down more than a name to his son
