Kobe Bryant

(http://www.europaplus.tv/2011/03/kobe-bryant-where-will-the-lakers-finish-in-the-playoff-picture/)

Kobe Bryant was born on August 23rd, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Joe and Pamela Bryant.

Kobe learned the basics of basketball in Italy. When he was little, he chose to concentrate only on basketball. When he had his growth spurt at around 11 years old, he dreamt of going straight to the NBA from high school. He continued to improve his skills from age 11 to age 13. When he knew he could play anyone, his dad, a former NBA player himself, would play harder against him. By the time he was 14 he was beating his dad one-on-one, and he knew that basketball was the sport for him.

His high school team was a huge change for him. When the team went from last to first to state champion during his fours years with them. Kobe was in school with a young girl whose dad was a coach for the 76ers. Later, he got a chance to perform in front of him, which led to him working out with the team (He still works with the same coach today).

Kobe did as he dreamed and went straight from high school to the pros in 1996. He was transferred from The Charlotte Hornets to The LA Lakers, and was a significant contributor as the Lakers won 56 games in the 1996-1997 season. He scored double figures 25 times and also grabbed the spotlight at the All-Star Weekend by winning the Nestle Crunch Slam Dunk award. He led all players with an event-record of 31 points in the Schick Rookie Classic. In 1997 Kobe was the youngest ever player to start an NBA game. In 1998 he was voted a starter for the All-Star Game making him at 19 the youngest All-Star in NBA history. In 1998-1999 he started all 50 games for the LA Lakers (which no-one else did) and averaged 19.9 ppg which put him second on the team.

The 2000 - 2001 season indicated more successes as the Lakers finished with a 56-26 record. "Kobe reached a new career high with an average of 28.5 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists per game."

This consistency continued into the 2001 - 2002 season with Bryant named as MVP of the 2002 All-Star game. The Lakers did better the year before, finishing up at 58-24 and Kobe averaged 25 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Partnered with O'Neal, the two led the Lakers to their third title with a victory against the New Jersey Nets.

This didnt happen again in the 2002 - 2003 season. Even though Kobe had his best season yet, with an average of 30 points per game, the Lakers failed to make it past the playoffs. They lost to the San Antonio Spurs.

Nothing had stopped him from having some major business deals over the years, including giant organizations such as McDonald's, Adidas, Coca-Cola and Nike.

I admire Kobe Bryant fir many reasons. The main reason i admire Kobe is because he set a goal and achieved it.Other reasons i admire him are, he is good at what he does, he always keeps his head up, and he always backs up what he says. He is also just a really good player.