He went to high school in the suburbs of Philadelphia, but he grew up in Italy. His father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, played within the NBA for several years before moving the family to Italy so he may play within the Italian basketball league. Kobe Bryant was recognized for his impressive work ethic and devotion to basketball, but he also discovered time to get pleasure from life and pursue ventures off of the court docket in his retirement.

He was the youngest participant to achieve 30,000 profession factors within the NBA. Hence the jersey—his No. 33 from Lower Merion High—she wore to a sport in July 2022. But she additionally knew, “You gotta be careful,” when carrying one of Kobe’s jerseys to the workplace, especially when that office is a basketball court docket.

These included being named Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade Men's National Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American, a first-team Parade All-American and a USA Today All-USA First Team participant. Bryant's varsity coach, Greg Downer, commented that he was "a whole participant who dominates" and praised his work ethic, even because the staff's prime participant. In 1996, Bryant took R&B singer Brandy to her Hollywood High senior prom. Ultimately, the 17-year-old Bryant decided to go immediately into the NBA, turning into only the sixth player in NBA history to take action. Bryant's information was met with lots of publicity at a time when prep-to-pro NBA players were not very common . His basketball skills and SAT rating of 1080 would have ensured admission to any faculty he selected, however he didn't formally go to any campuses.

While taking part in second fiddle to O'Neal within the playoffs, Bryant had some clutch performances including a 25-point, eleven rebound, 7 help, 4 block game in sport 7 of the Western Conference finals in opposition to the Portland Trail Blazers. He also threw an alley-oop pass to O'Neal to clinch the sport and the collection. In the 2000 NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Bryant injured his ankle within the second quarter of Game 2 after touchdown on the Pacers' Jalen Rose's foot. Rose later admitted he positioned his foot beneath Bryant intentionally. Bryant didn't return to the game, and he additionally missed Game 3 as a result of harm.

But when Barkley tore his ACL within the 2020 season—just a number of weeks earlier than Prescott suffered his damaged ankle—Barkley went all in on the doctrine of Kobe. He archived each post on his Instagram timeline aside from the one he dedicated to Bryant when he died. I know that they are hell-bent about having a championship caliber staff next season, as am I. I even have “like minds.” You know, I’ve been fortunate to play in Los Angeles, the place there are a lot of people like me.

Both have been named for Bryant, who – for now – is the one player named Kobe to make it to the NBA. LAS VEGAS — There’s Kobe, sporting the uniform of a staff from Los Angeles. Natalia Bryant, the eldest daughter of the late Kobe Bryant, has filed a restraining order against a man who has allegedly been stalking and harassing her since 2020, stating, "I don't really feel secure."

Bryant acknowledged he was a more focused defender when he had a challenging defensive task as opposed to when he played off the ball towards weaker players. His defense disrupted opponents and freed Nash from unfavorable matchups. After starting the season 1–4, coach Brown was fired. On December 18, in a 101–100 win over the Charlotte Bobcats, Bryant scored 30+ points in his seventh consecutive game, the longest streak by an NBA player after turning 34 years old; it was the fourth-longest such streak in his career.

However, it was not for something basketball associated, rather it was about Bryant being a big fan of FC Barcelona. CNN estimated Bryant's endorsement deals in 2007 to be value $16 million a yr. In 2010, Bryant was ranked third behind Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan in Forbes‍ '​ listing of the world's highest-paid athletes with $48 million. He mentioned his religion and a priest helped him by way of difficult times, such as the period following his accusation of rape. A Catholic cantor said she was inspired by Bryant's faith, and the respect that he showed her. Bryant and his family have been regular attendees at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach.