Kobe Bryant
...A hoops junkie who prophesied his own stardom in toddlerhood, Kobe is the reason fans stopped raising an eyebrow when high-school stars skipped college and went directly to the pros. The first teenage guard to successfully translate his skills to the NBA, he pocketed three championship rings by his 24th birthday and continued to evolve into one of the best all-around players in the history of the game. As Kobe enters phase two of his career, his legacy as a leader is the only chapter that remains unwritten. This is his story
GROWING UP
Kobe Bryant was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Click here for today's sports birthdays.) His parents, Joe and Pam, already had two girls, Sharia and Shaya. Kobe was their third and final child. Life in the Bryant family was not your normal everyday existence. Joe, a playground hoops legend from Philly's John Bartram High School, was in the midst of a scattershot pro basketball career that took him to three different countries.
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"Jellybean Joe," a 6-9 forward with the skills of a point guard, never really found his place in the NBA. After three stellar years at La Salle University, he was drafted in 1975 by Golden State. When the Warriors refused his contract demands, he was dealt to Philadelphia. From there, Joe bounced from one team to another, appearing in a total of 606 games for the 76ers, San Diego Clippers and Houston Rockets and averaging 8.7 points along the way. He also played professionally in Europe. Some say Joe Bryant refused to go with the flow. Others insist he was a man ahead of his time.
Pam was by Joe's side for every stop of his career. He had had...
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