Kobe Bryant Research Paper
One of NBA’s Greatest Starters
Saying Kobe Bryant sucks at basketball, is like saying Napoleon Dynamite isn’t funny. He is, and Kobe for sure doesn’t! In May of 2008 he got his “Most Valuable Player Award” for the first time ever in his career. (Naik, par. 5) He has won many awards in his career, and helped the Lakers win the playoffs 3 years in a row. By the ending of 2007, he was the youngest player to reach 20,000 points in his career. He’s a hard working basketball player who deserves all the praise he gets. Kobe had an easy early life, with his dad being an NBA player himself. Except his dad wasn’t exactly a star. “Jellybean Joe” was one of the players no one wanted. He was drafted to the Warriors, but they didn’t like his contract demands, so he was traded to Houston. After a year with Houston, the Bryant family packed their bags for Europe, where Joe signed a contract with a team in Reti, Italy. It only took a couple of months for Kobe and his two sisters, Shaya and Sharia, to learn the Italian language. (Stewart, par. 7) Joe was the reason Kobe developed the love for basketball. In Italy, Kobe would go to practices with his father, and would hardly ever miss a game of his. He would often entertain fans during halftime by shooting some baskets. When the Joe decided to move back to the US, Kobe was just starting High School. It took him to his junior year to really get the hang of things and get used to living in America again. When they moved back to America, Kobe was one of the best players on his summer league at Sonny Hill. When he started high school, he made the varsity basketball team. (Stewart, par. 16) His junior year, he averaged 31 points and 10 rebounds and 5 assists. He was named the Pennsylvania Player of the Year award. (par. 19) When Kevin Garnett went pro right out of high school, Kobe knew he wanted to go pro straight out of high school. So he knew he needed to step his game up to be good enough to. His dad scheduled that he practice
Saying Kobe Bryant sucks at basketball, is like saying Napoleon Dynamite isn’t funny. He is, and Kobe for sure doesn’t! In May of 2008 he got his “Most Valuable Player Award” for the first time ever in his career. (Naik, par. 5) He has won many awards in his career, and helped the Lakers win the playoffs 3 years in a row. By the ending of 2007, he was the youngest player to reach 20,000 points in his career. He’s a hard working basketball player who deserves all the praise he gets. Kobe had an easy early life, with his dad being an NBA player himself. Except his dad wasn’t exactly a star. “Jellybean Joe” was one of the players no one wanted. He was drafted to the Warriors, but they didn’t like his contract demands, so he was traded to Houston. After a year with Houston, the Bryant family packed their bags for Europe, where Joe signed a contract with a team in Reti, Italy. It only took a couple of months for Kobe and his two sisters, Shaya and Sharia, to learn the Italian language. (Stewart, par. 7) Joe was the reason Kobe developed the love for basketball. In Italy, Kobe would go to practices with his father, and would hardly ever miss a game of his. He would often entertain fans during halftime by shooting some baskets. When the Joe decided to move back to the US, Kobe was just starting High School. It took him to his junior year to really get the hang of things and get used to living in America again. When they moved back to America, Kobe was one of the best players on his summer league at Sonny Hill. When he started high school, he made the varsity basketball team. (Stewart, par. 16) His junior year, he averaged 31 points and 10 rebounds and 5 assists. He was named the Pennsylvania Player of the Year award. (par. 19) When Kevin Garnett went pro right out of high school, Kobe knew he wanted to go pro straight out of high school. So he knew he needed to step his game up to be good enough to. His dad scheduled that he practice
Cited: “Kobe Bryant” Notable Sports Figures. Ed. Dana. R. Barnes. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Gale Biography in Context. Web. 11. Mar. 2011. <http://ic.galegroup.com> Abhijit, Naik. “Biography of Kobe Bryant” Buzzle.com. N.p. n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2011 <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/biography-of-kobe-bryant.html>. Stewart, Mark. “Kobe Bryant Biography.” Jockbio.com. Black Book Partners LLC, n.d. Web. March 21, 2011. <http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Bryant_bio.html>. Stern, David “NEWS: Kobe Bryant Fined $100,000 by NBA” Nba.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC, n.d. Web. April 13, 2011. <http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/110413kobebryantfined.html>.