On August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a baby boy was born to professional basketball player Joe 'Jellybean' Bryant and his wife Pam. They named him Kobe, after a fancy beef they had seen on a restaurant menu. Joe played pro ball in Italy when Kobe was a kid, so Kobe grew up speaking Italian, watching European soccer, and shooting hoops on chilly outdoor courts. He moved back to America for high school and was already a basketball legend by age 17.
In 1996, Kobe became one of the first players ever to skip college and jump straight from high school to the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers traded for him on draft night, and the rest is history. Over 20 seasons, all with the same team, Kobe won 5 NBA championships, was named MVP, and made the All-Star team 18 times. He scored a jaw-dropping 81 points in a single game in 2006, second-most in NBA history. By the time he retired in 2016, he had piled up over 33,000 career points.
Off the court, Kobe spoke five languages, won an Oscar for an animated short film called Dear Basketball, and started a foundation to help young athletes, especially girls. He called his fierce never-quit attitude 'Mamba Mentality,' and it inspired millions of kids to work harder. Kobe died in 2020 in a helicopter accident with his daughter Gianna, far too young, but every August 23 fans light up gyms and playgrounds in his memory, lacing up sneakers in honor of the kid from Philly who became a global icon.
