Back in America, he was a fish-out-of-water scrub with poor fashion sense and Osgood-Schlatter disease, which shot excruciating pain through his knees. In Italy, he was an unstoppable basketball force, driving in for layups with no worry. "I'm out there looking like the Cable Guy," he later recalled. So Kobe, thinking this was the norm, brought the style (or lack thereof ) to Philly. In Italy, the kids wore volleyball kneepads in games. He was indeed - which led staffers to pay extra attention to the boy with the oddball name and the written swagger. "Are you being serious?" the counselor asked.īryant nodded. But it was a clumsy fit for Kobe, the African American kid with the European air and the slightest hint of an Italian accent. The only arrow in the other players' quill was something they repeatedly told Kobe - "Sei bravo qui, ma non sarai molto in America!" ("You're good here, but you won't be much in America").Įach summer, with the conclusion of Joe's seasons, the Bryants returned to Philadelphia. He wasn't hated so much as he was disdained. Not unlike a good number of children with famous parents and a shiny silver spoon, Kobe was known to be arrogant, curt, dismissive of other children. Peers would scream, "Kobe, passa la palla!" ("Kobe, pass the ball!"), and he would respond simply, "No" ("No"). He was always the best player, and the least-liked player - so superior to his teammates that he rarely looked their way. The predictability."Īs Kobe grew, Joe and Pam signed him up to play on Italian youth basketball teams. The tap, tap, tap of when a ball bounces on the hardwood. "I loved the feel of in my hands," he once recalled. As his Italian peers were watching Mio Mao and Quaq Quao, Kobe was absorbing the VHS tapes sent to him by his grandfather - the ones showing Magic and Bird and a young Chicago Bulls star named Michael Jordan. So when the Bryants installed a hoop at the end of the driveway, it was unusual behavior. Basketball existed as a thing in Italy, but not a big thing. You could play the game by yourself and envision certain situations." Kobe spoke fluent Italian, enrolled in ballet classes, excelled in organized soccer, developed a taste for bruschetta and panzanella. It was the fact that you could dribble the ball around everywhere. "I just found basketball to be the most fun. "FROM DAY ONE I was dribbling," Kobe Bryant once said, in the nostalgic manner of a man appreciative of from where he once rose. Or, put differently, Kobe Bryant desperately wanted to be a superstar. What he boasted - far more than Dad - was drive. His father, an eight-year NBA veteran nicknamed Jellybean, was playing out his career overseas, and his young son inherited the old man's athleticism and instincts. A young Kobe Bryantīefore Kobe Bryant was THE Kobe Bryant - five-time NBA champion, 18-time All-Star - he was a young boy growing up in Italy, the third of Joe and Pam Bryant's three children. And then I saw this.Editor's note: The following story contains excerpts from Jeff Pearlman's new book, "Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty," published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Then I realized I was wearing a Clippers t-shirt. I thought “does Kobe think he knows me? Why is he staring me down?” I passed & he went back to laughing w/ his kids. Just Shocking … #RIP Brother #KobeBryant /sKWyvthFhx The stories he wanted to tellĢ018 Oscar winner animation short film | dear basketball I admired this short so much and was truly looking forward to what he had in store for the medium. My heart hurts learning the news along with the world of Kobe. I always remember his visit to the studio and how giddy and thrilled to be there he was.□□□ I can only echo Clay’s thoughts about Kobe and his love and deep knowledge of animation. Turning his Wizenard sports-world book into films was his next dream. Extremely focused, energetic, imaginative and engaged. He had big plans, loved animation and storytelling. I met with him a couple times in 2017 about his animation projects. Today we mourn the tragic loss of giant in sports and a person so full of life. My heart aches on this tragic morning, for his family and for the lives he’s touched and inspired. i9c4QHXKlsīut there was only one of him for a reason. I’m not a sports fan, but I do know that Kobe was incredibly nice to me, and was like a kid in a candy store at the Oscars when his film won. Gutted to hear about Kobe’s helicopter crash. Got the opportunity to meet and work with Kobe and have some great conversations. A post shared by Khary Randolph on at 12:46pm PSTĭevastating news.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |