Bryant was born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into an atmosphere of
basketball. His father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, spent eight seasons in the NBA, mostly with the
Philadelphia 76ers. Bryant's parents set up a pint-size court behind their home when Kobe was just
three so that the boy could mimic his dad. His mother, Pam, was a homemaker, and the family
also included Bryant's two sisters, Shaya and Sharia.
Bryant's father told the Sporting News that the experience helped to shape his son: "Living in
Italy was the key maturity and responsibility. Though Kobe did not know
how to speak Italian, he worked with his sisters after school to swap the words they had learned,
and he became rather fluent within a few months.Few Years Later …show more content…
Authorities dropped the charge in September of 2004, saying the accuser could not
proceed. Bryant and his accuser settled a civil suit in March of 2005 without revealing terms.
Bryant made the All-NBA first team in 2003-04 and the Lakers reached the NBA Finals,
losing four games to one to the Detroit Pistons. The team settled a long-running feud between
Bryant and O'Neal by trading O'Neal to the Miami Heat. Phil Jackson quit as the Lakers coach,
Alvarez3 and wrote in a book during the offseason that Bryant was disruptive to the team. Bryant was all-star in 2005, though the rebuilding Lakers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1994
After the season, team owner Jerry Buss rehired Jackson as head coach, and he and Bryant both
publicly declared they were at peace.
While Bryant did not repeat as the NBA's MVP at season's end, his Lakers again reached
the finals. Los Angeles dominated the Orlando Magic and Bryant had his first NBA title without O'Neal. Bryant was also named the MVP of the NBA finals for the first time. During the off-
season, Bryant had the option to terminate the last two years of his contract and seek a
basketball. His father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, spent eight seasons in the NBA, mostly with the
Philadelphia 76ers. Bryant's parents set up a pint-size court behind their home when Kobe was just
three so that the boy could mimic his dad. His mother, Pam, was a homemaker, and the family
also included Bryant's two sisters, Shaya and Sharia.
Bryant's father told the Sporting News that the experience helped to shape his son: "Living in
Italy was the key maturity and responsibility. Though Kobe did not know
how to speak Italian, he worked with his sisters after school to swap the words they had learned,
and he became rather fluent within a few months.Few Years Later …show more content…
Authorities dropped the charge in September of 2004, saying the accuser could not
proceed. Bryant and his accuser settled a civil suit in March of 2005 without revealing terms.
Bryant made the All-NBA first team in 2003-04 and the Lakers reached the NBA Finals,
losing four games to one to the Detroit Pistons. The team settled a long-running feud between
Bryant and O'Neal by trading O'Neal to the Miami Heat. Phil Jackson quit as the Lakers coach,
Alvarez3 and wrote in a book during the offseason that Bryant was disruptive to the team. Bryant was all-star in 2005, though the rebuilding Lakers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1994
After the season, team owner Jerry Buss rehired Jackson as head coach, and he and Bryant both
publicly declared they were at peace.
While Bryant did not repeat as the NBA's MVP at season's end, his Lakers again reached
the finals. Los Angeles dominated the Orlando Magic and Bryant had his first NBA title without O'Neal. Bryant was also named the MVP of the NBA finals for the first time. During the off-
season, Bryant had the option to terminate the last two years of his contract and seek a