Kobe Bryant Research Paper

¨I´ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting a game winning shot.¨ This quote by Kobe Bryant shows his passion for the game and what he is willing to do to win games. It shows his determination and his humbleness for his teammates. Bryant is one of the greatest basketball players of all time because of his dedication to the game in his childhood and high school, his hard work in his career during the NBA, and the awards that he received. Kobe Bryant was greatly influenced to play basketball by his parents. Bryant was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was named after a stake his parents saw on a menu of a restaurant (¨Kobe Bryant¨ Contemporary Black Biography). He was the youngest of three children to Joe and Pam Bryant. Bryant's dad, Joe Bryant, was a professional basketball player in the NBA. He was a good power forward and played for eight years (¨Kobe Bryant¨ Sports Stars).

Bryant showed a lot of interest in basketball as a young kid. His parents said that he

He would watch how they would play, and their techniques. His favorite team was the Lakers, and he especially liked the way that Magic Johnson played. After he was done watching he would go out to the basketball court and practice what he had just watched. This is a type of learning called ¨shadow basketball¨ (MARKHAM, REED B.). Bryant had coaches in Italy and played for teams at a young age. In Italy they taught the kids the fundamentals first. Bryant had said, "I started playing basketball over there [in Italy], which was great, because I learned fundamentals first. I think most kids who grow up here in America learn all the fancy dribbling. In Italy, they teach you true fundamentals and leave out all the nonsense.” He had also learned a lot of other skills from his dad when he was