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, winning the Nestle Crunch Slam Dunk and leading all scorers in the Schick Rookie Game during All-Star Weekend. In his second season he was voted a starter for the 1998 All-Star Game, becoming at 19 the youngest All-Star in NBA history. To top it off, he led the West team in scoring with 18 points. In 1998-99, his third season, he averaged nearly 20 points per game and was among the Lakers' leaders in virtually every statistical category, solidifying his status as one of the game's most exciting young stars. Bryant was the all-time leading scorer in Southeastern Pennsylvania schoolboy 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 his 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 significant 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. Bryant blossomed as the Lakers' sixth man in his second pro season, averaging 15.4 ppg, scoring in double figures in 65 of his 79 games and being voted by the fans as a starter in the 1998 All-Star Game, where he led the Western Conference with 18 points. At 19 years, 5 months, he became the youngest All-Star in history, replacing Magic Johnson, who was 20 years, 5 months old when he played in the 1980 game. He was the only Laker to start all 50 games in 1998-99 and averaged 19.9 ppg, second on the team. He led the club in steals and was among the top three in rebounds, assists and blocked shots as well. .
Bryant was the only Laker to start all 50 games and was among the team leaders in nearly every category as he averaged 19.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.44 steals and 1.00 blocks in 37.9 minutes per game. He led the team in steals and minutes, ranked second in scoring and third in assists and blocks. He shot career-highs of .465 from the field and .839 from the free throw line, and was .267 from three-point range. He led the Lakers in scoring 11 times and in assists and steals 18 times apiece. He scored in double figures in 47 games and had 20 points 26 times, including seven games in a row March 19-29. In the second game of that streak, at Orlando on March 21, he scored a season-high 38 points, including 33 in the second half. He posted career-highs of 13 rebounds twice, in consecutive games-at Seattle on February 21 and at Denver on February 22. He also notched career-highs of 10 assists against Dallas on May 3, six steals at Sacramento on April 7 and four blocks against Phoenix on March 3. Bryant recorded point-rebound double-doubles in each of the first five games of the season, during which he averaged 21.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. He added three more point-rebound double-doubles during the season and also had the Lakers' only point-assist double-doubles, getting 17 points and 10 assists against Dallas on May 3. He barely missed his first career triple-double when he posted 26 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists at Denver on February 2. He scored 25 of his game-high 27 points after halftime as the Lakers erased a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit and beat the Golden State Warriors 106-102 in overtime on April 20. In the Lakers' eight playoff games he averaged 19.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.88 steals and 1.25 blocks in 39.4 minutes per game, leading the team in steals and ranking second in each of the other categories. He averaged 18.3 ppg in the First Round series against Houston and 21.3 ppg in the Conference Semifinals sweep at the hands of San Antonio. He hit the game-winning free-throws with 5.3 seconds left in a 101-100 victory over the Rockets in Game 1, and scored a game-high 28 points, with eight rebounds and four assists, in Game 2 against the Spurs.
