Kobe Bean Bryant was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents, Joe and Pam, already had two girls, Sharia and Shaya. Kobe was their third and final child. Kobe grew up eating, sleeping and breathing basketball. A year after his son was born; Joe was traded to San Diego. The Bryant’s loved being in sunny Southern California. Their neighbors were friendly, and rain rarely forced the kids inside. Kobe developed an intense love of hoops on the West Coast. By his third birthday, he was already telling people he would be an NBA star.

When he was growing up his favorite team was always the Lakers, because his favorite player was Magic Johnson. Growing up he was a fan of the NBA and basketball itself. By the time high school came around he was one of the Sonny Hill League’s top players during the summer of 1992. He then entered Lower Merion High School and made the varsity basketball team for the Aces. The following spring he began going to the gym at Temple University looking for pick-up games. Among those who befriended him was Eddie Jones, one of the Owls’ starting guards.

Kobe was unstoppable during the 1994-95 season. As a junior he averaged 31.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists and was named Pennsylvania Player of the Year. Kobe also unveiled his devastating cross-over dribble during the campaign. He learned the move from God Shammgod, a teammate on his summer AAU squad. As a senior, Kobe’s sparkling play put Lower Merion on the high-school basketball map. The Aces posted a 32-3 record and captured their first state title in 42 years. The school’s name was in the newspapers constantly, college coaches filled the stands for every game to get a look at Kobe, and coach Downer received invitations to several prestigious tournaments. Kobe finished the year with a scoring average of 30.8 points, pushing his four-year points total to 2,883, which shattered the Pennsylvania schoolboy record set four decades earlier by Wilt Chamberlain.

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