Playing the game ran in the family, and Kobe felt a connection with the sport in a country far away from where he would step into the international spotlight. But in Italy, Kobe began to set himself apart from his peers. Following his father’s footsteps, Kobe would later win MVP honors in the NBA, along with many other recognitions. Joe Bryant’s career in Italy moved from Rieti, in the middle of the country, to Pistoia, and then Reggio Calabria, in the south, where he won Player of the Year Award twice. At the age of six, Kobe knew basketball was going to be instrumental in his life, just like his father. Like most of Europe, Italy was more focused on soccer, but Kobe became enthralled with basketball. When Kobe’s father retired from the NBA and moved to Italy to begin a new playing career in 1984, Kobe embraced the Italian culture and his love for basketball continued to flourish. Kobe, the son of Joe Bryant, a former NBA player himself, began playing basketball at a young age. Kobe’s career speaks for itself-on and off the basketball court-but he never lost track of his roots, his fans, his humbling beginnings, and the lessons he learned along the way, which he graciously instilled to his fans throughout his lifetime. Kobe became more than a local phenomenon-he embraced the national stage at an early age in high school, becoming a fan favorite in the NBA, and Hollywood royalty among the Hollywood elites, not to mention Kobe was an international star the likes of which very few Americans have ever seen. On August 23, 1978, Kobe Bryant, a Philadelphia legend, was born.
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