SPORTS
The Life of Kobe Bryant
BIRTH
Kobe Bean Bryant was the son of Pamela Bryant and former NBA
player, Joe Bryant. He was born August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Pamela and Joe Bryant saw Kobe beef on a restaurant menu
and decided it was a perfect name for their son. Kobe Bryant has two sisters,
Sharia Bryant and Shaya Bryant. He was the youngest and the only boy in
his family. As a child, Kobe and his family moved very often. They lived in
Rieti in Italy, Reggio Calabria, Reggio Emilia, and Pistoia. Kobe adjusted
quite well to his new life and became fluent in Italian.
BASKETBALL CAREER
Kobe began playing basketball at the age of three. As a child, the
Lakers were his favorite team. Kobe’s grandfather would mail NBA games
for him to watch and learn from. Kobe would return to the United States to
play basketball during the summer. Kobe attended and played basketball at
Lower Merion High School. While in high school, Kobe Bryant was
recognized as the top high-school basketball player in the entire country.
After graduating from high school in 1996, he decided to enter the NBA
draft. The NBA Team, Charlotte Hornets, selected him with the 13th overall
pick. Kobe was then traded by the Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe
Bryant quickly rose to fame as a Laker. In his second season, Kobe was
Figure 1: Photo by Olivier Collet on Unsplash named an All-Star. Kobe, alongside NBA Player, Shaquille O’Neal, led the
Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships (2000-2002).
STATISTICS
Kobe Bryant is listed as 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 212 pounds. NBA Commissioner, Adam
Silver, described Kobe as “one of the greatest players in the history of our game.” The New York Times wrote
that he had “one of the most decorated careers in the history of the sport.” Kobe averaged 25 points, 4.7 assists,
1.4 steals, and 5.2 rebounds per game. He was the first NBA player in history to have at least 30,000 career
points and 6,000 career assists. He was one of only four players with 25,000 points, 6,000 assists, and 6,000
rebounds. In 2006, Kobe scored 81 points against Toronto, which was the second highest in NBA history. He
scored at least 50 points over 20 times in his career. Kobe won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. men’s
basketball team in the 2008 Summer Olympics and another gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He has
often been compared to Michael Jordan. Players including Dirk Nowitzki, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Durant, and
Derrick Rose called Kobe “their generation’s version of Jordan.”
FAMILY
In 1999, at the age of 21, Kobe met his wife, Vanessa Laine. While Kobe was working on his debut
musical album, Vanessa was working as a background dancer. They were engaged six months after meeting.
The couple married in 2001. Their first child, Natalia, was born in 2003. Gianna, their second child, was born in
May 2006. Vanessa gave birth to their third daughter, Bianka in 2016 and their fourth daughter, Capri Kobe,
was born in 2019.
DEATH
On January 26,2020, Kobe, his daughter Gianna, and six family friends boarded a S-76 helicopter. Due
to rain and fog, the helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain in Calabasas. There were no survivors.
A. Comprehension Check: Write your answer in the box
1. How did Kobe Bryant get 2. What did Kobe Bryant’s 3. What team drafted Kobe?
his name? Cite text grandfather send him? Cite Cite text evidence.
evidence. text evidence.
b. What team did they trade
him to? Cite text evidence.
4. How tall is Kobe listed as? 5. How did Kobe meet his 6. List three of Kobe Bryant’s
Cite text evidence. wife? Cite text evidence. accomplishments.
b. List the name of their
children.
B. SUMMARIZE
In your own words, summarize the life of Kobe. Include information from each section (Birth, Basketball
Career, Statistics, Family, and Death). Summary must be 300 words minimum.
C. INFORMATIONAL ONE-PAGER
Materials needed:
Copy Paper
Pencil
Markers, Crayons, Colored Pencils
On the front of your paper, you must include:
Draw two symbols that represents Kobe Bryant’s life
A quote from the text and an explanation as to why you chose this quote
A drawing of Kobe and his family with their names
Write down all of Kobe’s statistics, must be included anywhere on the paper (does not need to be next to
each other)
D. PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY
You will write a one-page biography. You must include four sections (Birth, Education, Career, and
Family). The Birth and Education sections should contain real facts about your life. The Career and Family
section should be based on your current and future goals. What career do you want to have? Do you want to
be President of the United States? Do you want to be a Mechanic or a YouTube star? Do you want to get
married? How do you think you will meet your spouse? How many children do think you will have? Get
creative!
E. Quick Standards Review
1. What point of view is the text written in? How do you know?
2. What text structure did the author use? (Sequence, Chronological, Cause and Effect, Problem and
Solution). Cite text evidence
3. After reading about Kobe’s life, what can you infer about the type of person he was (his character)?
