Athletes - Kobe Bryant

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	Athletes - Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the son of former Philadelphia 76ers player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant. Although some have criticized him as selfish on the court, Bryant's combination of talent, skill, dedication, and work ethic have been instrumental in establishing his status as one of the premier athletes in the NBA. With his growing list of individual accomplishments, the 27-year old Bryant is expected by many to eventually rank among the greatest players in NBA history.

Early life

Kobe Bryant was born the only son of Joe and Pam Bryant. At the age of 6 he, his two sisters, and his parents moved to Italy, where his father began playing professional basketball. While living there, he gradually became accustomed to the lifestyle and subsequently learned to speak Italian fluently. In 1994, the Bryants moved back to the United States. After a spectacular high school career in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion, at Lower Merion High School, Bryant achieved national recognition as a prodigal basketball talent. While his SAT score of 1080 would have ensured his basketball scholarship to various top-tier colleges, Bryant eventually scrapped his original plans of continuing on to college by making the leap from high school directly to the NBA, a bold but controversial decision made by the then 17-year-old, the first guard ever to bypass college basketball. (Previous high schoolers who had turned professional had been frontcourt players, who often have a somewhat easier learning curve in the pro game.)

Bryant was originally selected 13th by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 NBA Draft, but they traded him on July 11, 1996 to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Vlade Divac. Though young and somewhat introverted, Bryant's talent made an impression on his teammates on the practice court. Despite his natural talent, Bryant often had trouble relating to teammates away from the basketball court, and he struggled to make friends early in his career.

Marriage

It was during this time that the 20-year-old Bryant first met 16-year-old Vanessa Laine on the set of a music video where Laine was working as a background dancer. The two began dating and were engaged six months later. They married on April 18, 2001 in Dana Point, California, while Laine was still a senior at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. Bryant's parents initially were staunchly opposed to the marriage for a number of reasons, with the couple's young age being one of their primary concerns. This disagreement resulted in an estragement period of over two years, during which Kobe did not have any contact with his parents.

Kobe and Vanessa's first daughter Natalia Diamante Bryant was born on January 19, 2003. Soon after Natalia's birth, Kobe reconciled his differences with his parents, and the family was once again on good terms. After Vanessa suffered a miscarriage due to an ectopic pregnancy in the spring of 2005, the Bryants announced that they are expecting their second child, another daughter, in May 2006.

Early NBA career

1996 Draft

Bryant's career trajectory as an NBA player out of high school has been nothing short of exceptional. Even before he was chosen as the 13th pick overall by the Hornets in 1996, Bryant had made a lasting impression on then-Lakers general manager Jerry West, who immediately foresaw the potential in Bryant's basketball talent during pre-draft workouts. After overseeing the arrival of Shaquille O'Neal to Los Angeles, West continued his quest to return the Lakers to championship status by trading center Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the 18-year old Bryant.

Championship years

Bryant was primarily labeled a work-in-progress by then-Laker coach Del Harris during his first two seasons with the Lakers, in which he played mostly off the bench under guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. However, Bryant's fortunes would soon change when Phil Jackson became coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. After years of steady improvement, Bryant had become one of the premier shooting guards in the league, a notion that was indicated by his annual presence in the league's All-NBA, All-Star, and All-Defensive teams. The Los Angeles Lakers became perennial championship contenders under Bryant and former teammate Shaquille O'Neal, who teamed up to form one of the deadliest center-guard combinations in NBA history. Their success gave the Lakers three consecutive NBA championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. The 2003 season saw the end of the Lakers's run as a mini-dynasty, but also became the definitive season for Kobe Bryant. A superstar at only 24 years of age, Bryant averaged over 30 points per game and embarked on a historic scoring run, posting 40 or more points per game for nine consecutive games while averaging 40.6 in the entire month of February. After finishing a respectable 50-32 in the regular season, however, the Lakers floundered in the playoffs and lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the San Antonio Spurs in six games. Los Angeles was thereby denied a fourth consecutive NBA championship.

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