Kobe B. Bryant

Kobe Bryant gets ready to make a free throw. (by galapagar)

My hero is Kobe Bryant. His full name is Kobe Bean Bryant. He was born on August 23, 1978 and plays as a shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe Bryant lives in Newport Coast, California and believe it or not has a salary of about $23,000,000 per year. He was nominated MVP (most valuable player) in the season of 2007-08 and led his team to the 2008 NBA Finals. He weighs 205 pounds and stands 6ft 6in tall.

Bryant (second from left) looks on while Memphis (by galapagar)

I picked Kobe Bryant as my hero because I really enjoy basketball and he has inspired me with his basketball skills. He has won many championships and so many awards. Some would be, Naismith Prep Player of the Year, NBA Slam Dunk Champion, and NBA Scoring Champion. He even played in the summer Olympics of Beijing in 2008 and brought back a gold metal. Kobe Bryant also has great sportsmanship and supports his teammates during games. He lets me know, that even if I am a girl I can still be a great basketball player because if he can do it, so can I.

Bryant dunks against Golden State Warriors in Oct (by galapagar)

Kobe's career all started in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was born. He went to high school at Lower Merion High School, Pennsylvania and was lucky enough to get into the NBA at the age of 17! This made him the youngest player in the NBA (until Andrew Bynum broke his record). He was the 13th draft pick of the Charlotte Hornets in 1996 but was traded to the Lakers. From then, he started his life with the Lakers and slowly gained respect. Now he is well known as one of the greatest players in the NBA.