The Legend of Kobe Bryant: Basketball's Modern Superstar
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
I create my own path It was straight and narrow I looked at it this way you were either in my way or out of it
