Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the youngest of three children and the only son of former Philadelphia 76ers player and former Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe "Jellybean" Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. He is also the maternal nephew of John "Chubby" Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan, which they saw on a restaurant menu. When Bryant was six, his father left the NBA and moved his family to Italy to begin playing professional basketball. Bryant became accustomed to his new lifestyle and learned to speak Italian and Spanish fluently. During summers, Bryant would come back to the United States to play in a basketball summer league. He started playing basketball when he was 3 years old, and at an early age he learned to play soccer; his favorite team was AC Milan. He has said the if he had stayed in Italy, he would have tried to become a professional soccer player; Bryant is a big fan of former FC Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard and their former player Ronaldinho. Upon Joe Bryant's retirement from playing basketball in 1991, the Bryant family moved back to the United States.
Bryant earned national recognition during a spectacular high school career at Lower Merion High School located in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion. His father coached him his sophomore year of high school. At Adidas ABCD camp, Bryant earned the 1995 senior MVP award, while playing alongside future NBA teammate Lamar Odom. While in high school, then 76ers coach John Lucas invited Bryant to work out and scrimmage with the team, when he played one on one with Jerry Stackhouse. In his senior year of high school, Bryant led the Aces 
to their first state championship in 53 years. During the run, he average 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals, and 3.8 blocked shots in leading the Aces to a 31-3 record. He ended his career as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all time leading scorer 2,883 points, surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons. Bryant received several awards for his performance his senior year including being named Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade Men's National Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American, and a USA Today All-USA first team players. Bryant's varsity coach, Greg Downer, commented that Bryant was "a complete player who dominates". In 1996, Bryant took R&B singer Brandy Norwood to his senior prom, however, the 17 year old Bryant made the decision to go directly into the NBA. Bryant's news was met with a lot of publicity at a time when prep to pro NBA players was not very common. Bryant has stated that he decided to go to college after high school, he would have attended Duke University.
to their first state championship in 53 years. During the run, he average 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals, and 3.8 blocked shots in leading the Aces to a 31-3 record. He ended his career as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all time leading scorer 2,883 points, surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons. Bryant received several awards for his performance his senior year including being named Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade Men's National Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American, and a USA Today All-USA first team players. Bryant's varsity coach, Greg Downer, commented that Bryant was "a complete player who dominates". In 1996, Bryant took R&B singer Brandy Norwood to his senior prom, however, the 17 year old Bryant made the decision to go directly into the NBA. Bryant's news was met with a lot of publicity at a time when prep to pro NBA players was not very common. Bryant has stated that he decided to go to college after high school, he would have attended Duke University.
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