Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant made an amazing shot over Caron Butle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bryant_Fades_Over_Butler.jpg)

Wow! Thirteen years have gone by in my life and I have seen so much inspiration. However, there is that one special person that has inspired me so much. He has inspired me since I was three years of age. That person is Kobe Bryant. Kobe has inspired me to play the game of my dreams. I wake up every morning thinking if I am going to make it through life. Then I think of basketball and what Kobe went through. After that I know I can make it through life.

Ever since I was 3, I have watched Kobe play basketball. He has amazed me so much through my life. His crazy shots, amazing passes, strong dunks are just some of the things that he has done. Kobe has won the NBA MVP in 2007-2008 season. He carried the Lakers through the playoffs the same year which is very hard to do. They reached the Finals as the #1 seed in the Western Conference. However, the Lakers did not succeed in winning the championship. They lost to the Boston Celtics. The next year, The Black Mamba (Kobe's nickname) played like he was the best player on the planet. Even though he did not win the regular season MVP, I think he deserved it. In June 2009, he won his 4th NBA title. That was his 1st championship without Shaq. Kobe won the Finals MVP.

Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 4-time champion was the youngest of three children. He was also the only male child of Joe "Jellybean" Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. When Kobe was 6 years old, he moved to Italy. However, for 7 years during the summer he would come back to the United States to play in basketball summer leagues. When he turned thirteen, Kobe moved back to the United States. He attended Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania. Now he resides in Los Angeles. He also has homes in Newport Beach and Pacific Palisades.

Kobe Bryant was born on August 28, 1978. When Bryant was six, his father left the NBA and moved his family to Italy to play professional basketball. Kobe started playing basketball when he was 3 years old. In 1996, Bryant took R&B singer Brandy Norwood to his senior prom, though the two are just friends. Bryant was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996. On July 1, 1996, West traded his starting center, Vlade Divac, to the Hornets in exchange for Bryant's draft rights. Since he was still 17 at the time of the draft, his parents had to cosign his contract with the Lakers until he was able to sign his own when he turned 18 before the season began. Initially, Bryant played limited minutes, but as the season continued, he began to see some more playing time. By the end of the season, he averaged 15.5 minutes a game. He earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan-favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.

Kobe Bryant has been a good role model to me. He has been a role model on and off the basketball court. He has showed me never to quit because in 2008 his team was embarrassed in the Finals. Then that same summer he told himself that anything short of a championship is a disappointment. He trained extra hard over the summer. Kobe trained with the USA national basketball team. He also trained with his teammates to get better and get to learn how to work as team. That really helped me because I am a captain of our basketball team and he has taught me how to be a leader. Now I am going to lead my team to a city championship because he has taught me so much. He has been also a leader by showing examples and telling kids to stay in school. It is really helping kids because Kobe said that if he went to college he would have went to Duke University. Duke University is a very good school. He said that he wants kids to get better SAT scores than he did. He had a score of 1080. That's why I chose Kobe Bryant as my hero.