KOBE BRYANT #8
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KOBE'S BACKGROUND
Kobe Bryant, the son of former NBA player Joe
"Jellybean" Bryant, jumped directly from high school to
the pros in 1996 and enjoyed an impressive rookie
season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also won the
Nestle Crunch Slam Dunk and was the leading scorer
in the Schick Rookie Game during the NBA All-Star
Weekend. Bryant was the all-time leading scorer in
Southeastern Pennsylvania history with 2,883 points,
breaking the marks of NBA legend and Hall of Famer
Wilt Chamberlain (2,359 points) and former St. Joseph's
player Carlin Warley (2,441 points). Bryant led his
high school team to a 77-13 record in last three seasons
and was a four-year starter. His father, Joe, played
eight NBA seasons for the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego
Clippers and Houston Rockets, and is a former
assistant coach at La Salle. As a senior at Lower
Merion High School, Bryant was selected by USA
Today and Parade Magazine as the National High
School Player of the Year. He was also named Naismith
Player of the Year, Gatorade Circle of Champions High
School Player of the Year and to the McDonald's
All-America Team. Bryant averaged 30.8 ppg, 12 rpg,
6.5 apg, four spg and 3.8 bpg. He led Lower Merion to
Class AAAA state title with a 31-3 record. Bryant
scored a career-high 50 points vs. Marple Newtow and
scored 34 points to go along with 15 rebounds, six
assists and nine blocks to lead Lower Merion to
District I Class AAA title over Chester. He scored 117
points and was named Most Outstanding Player in
Prestigious Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The
Lakers wanted Bryant but were drafting late, so they
swung a deal with the Charlotte Hornets whereby
Charlotte selected him with the 13th overall pick in the
first round of the 1996 NBA Draft, then dealt him to
Los Angeles in exchange for center Vlade Divac.
Despite his youth and lack of college experience, Bryant
was a signficant contributor as the Lakers won 56
games in 1996-97. He scored in double figures 25 times,
including a streak of seven within 10 games late in the
season. He also grabbed the spotlight at the All-Star
Weekend by winning the Nestle Crunch Slam Dunk
and leading all players with an event-record 31 points
in the Schick Rookie Classic.
1996-97 NOTES
Playing at shooting guard, point guard and small
forward, Bryant appeared in 71 games as a rookie,
including six starts, and averaged 7.6 points, 1.9
rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15.5 minutes. He averaged
11.3 ppg in the last 13 games of the seaon and 12.4 ppg
in the 26 games in which he played 20+ minutes. He
was chosen to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
Bryant scored a career-high 24 points, shooting
9-for-11 from the field, in a 109-85 win at Golden State
on April 8. The 24 points were the most by a Laker
reserve all season. He scored in double figures 25 times
and four times had 20+ points. He ranked third on the
team in free throw percentage at .819, fourth in
three-pointers with 51 and fifth in three-point
percentage at .375. He became the youngest player to
ever start an NBA game on January 28 at Dallas,
when he was 18 years, five months, five days. He's the
second-youngest player in NBA history, behind
Portland's Jermaine O'Neal. Bryant was one of the
stars of the All-Star Weekend. He led all scorers in the
Schick Rookie Game with an event-record 31 points,
then came back to become the first Laker ever to win
the Nestle Crunch Slam Dunk later that night, posting
a score of 49 out of a possible 50 in the final round.
Bryant appeared in all nine of the Lakers' playoff
games in a reserve role, ranking fifth on the club in
scoring at 8.2 ppg. He scored 22 points in Game 3 of
the First Round against Portland and 19 in Game 3 of
the Conference Semifinals against Utah.
Email: cappawu@hotmail.com
