Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant has positioned himself as one of the greatest basketball players in the game today and arguably one

of the greatest players of all time. It is his natural combination of strength, speed and dynamic athletic

ability that has made his game great. It is his hard work and passion that has made him a global figure.

Long before the championships, all-star appearances and designer Kobe basketball shoes, Bryant was just the

Philadelphia born son of Joe and Pam Bryant. His father, a former professional basketball player himself, moved

the family to Italy when Kobe was six to play professionally. During his time in Italy, Bryant became a soccer

fan and fluent in Italian. In 1991, the Bryant family moved back to the Philadelphia area and Kobe began to excel

in basketball. Earning top honors in sport and in the classroom, Bryant had his pick of colleges, but ultimately

made the decision to go pro straight out of high school.

Bryant was drafted 13th overall in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets (now New Orleans). His rights were

traded a short time later to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Vlade DivacVlade Divac, thus beginning Kobe's era with the

team.

Kobe became a fixture as a starting guard for Los Angeles in the 1998-99 season, his third year in the league. In

that season, Bryant was part of a squad that made it to the Western Conference semi-finals before bowing to San

Antonio. Kobe continued improving on his game, earning credit as an elite player at the shooting-guard position.

For the next three seasons the Lakers took home the NBA Championship (2000, 2001, 2002). Following that run as

the dominant team in the league, the Lakers went through some roster shuffling and lost in the 2003 NBA Finals to

Detroit.

Since then, Kobe has been the face of the franchise and a scoring machine for Los Angeles, setting marks for

points scored in a game and season. Case in point, a 2006 game against the Toronto Raptors in which he scored 81

points, the second most in NBA history. Bryant is also a lock-down defender, having been selected for the All-

Defensive team eight of the last nine seasons. It was this overall game that allowed him to be awarded the 2008

NBA MVP award. Kobe also traveled overseas to help the US win the Olympics in basketball in the summer of 2008.

Bryant's desire and work ethic to be the best has turned great physical ability into that of a global icon.