Kobe Bryant
Childhood
Kobe Bryant was born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Joe Bryant also played in the NBA. Joe "Jelly Bean" Bryant played for the Philadelphia 76ers. After Joe ended his NBA career in 1984, he moved his family to Italy so he can play in a basketball league there. Along his two older sisters, Shaya and Sharia, Kobe began to love playing sports. He was good at basketball and soccer.
High School Career
In 1991, Kobe and his family moved back to Philadelphia. He attended Lower Merion High School. Kobe ended up making the basketball team. He lead the team to the state championship four years in a row. In his senior year, Kobe Bryant had his eye on going to the NBA. So his father called up his old team and Kobe gotten to work out with the 76ers. Also in his senior year, Kobe was named a McDonald's All-American, Gatorade Player of the Year, and Naismith Player of the Year. Bryant had very good grades and SAT scores. Instead of going to college, he went into the NBA. He was the 27th to jump from high school into the NBA.
NBA Career
In 1991, Kobe Bryant was drafted to Charlotte Hornets and then soon went to the Los Angeles Lakers. During Bryant's second season as a shooting guard, he was voted to be a starter for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game. At 19, Kobe made history by being the youngest player in the All-Star Game. Bryant later led the Lakers to winning three consecutive NBA championships. A few seasons later, Bryant won another NBA Championship with the Lakers in 2009. In 2014, Kobe beat Michael Jordan's all-time scoring record of 32,292 points. Bryant now is ranked third on the list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1st) and Karl Malone (2nd).
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/29/us/kobe-bryant-fast-facts/
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/13/sports/la-sp-kobe-timeline-20130414
http://www.biography.com/people/kobe-bryant-10683945#synopsis
http://www.lakersnation.com/kobe-bryant/
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/12029632/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-passes-michael-jordan-nba-scoring-list
http://espn.go.com/nba/history/leaders
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/13/sports/la-sp-kobe-timeline-20130414
http://www.biography.com/people/kobe-bryant-10683945#synopsis
http://www.lakersnation.com/kobe-bryant/
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/12029632/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-passes-michael-jordan-nba-scoring-list
http://espn.go.com/nba/history/leaders