Kobe Bryant came from Philadelphia and was raised in Italy. Starting at 17, though, he belonged to Los Angeles.
Bryant came to the NBA straight out of high school, a quiet kid of 17 whose parents had to co-sign his contract until he was able to sign his own when he turned 18. He was so young the Lakers training staff needed permission from his mother to treat him with medication.
It wasn’t until O’Neal was traded away in 2004 that Bryant took over as the Lakers’ cornerstone, and Johnson endorsed him as a worthy successor. Bryant became his era’s Jordan to his fellow players, while segueing into a beloved icon, embraced across his adopted city. Those stumbles only served to humanize Bryant among his fans. If they could have relationship and family problems, so could he.
“He was so intense about business,” Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin said. “He would ask 50 different questions in a day about how could he win in business.”
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