Kobe Bryant, the son of former NBA player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant,jumped 
directly from high school to the pros in 1996 and enjoyed an impressive ro
okie season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also won the Nestle Crunch Slam
 Dunk and was the leading scorer in the Schick Rookie Game during the NBA All
-Star Weekend. 

Kobe's parents named him after a type of steak (kobe) seen on a restaurant menu
 prior to his birth. Bryant is fluent in Italian and enjoys reading and playing
 video games. He has two older sisters, Sharia and Shaya. 

Bryant was the all-time leading scorer in Southeastern Pennsylvania history with
 2,883 points, breaking the marks of NBA legend and Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain
 (2,359 points) and former St. Joseph's player Carlin Warley (2,441 points). Bryant
 led his high school team to a 77-13 record in last three seasons and was a four-year
 starter. 

His father, Joe, played eight NBA seasons for the Philadelphia 76ers, 

San Diego Clippersand Houston Rockets, and is a former assistant coach at La Salle. 
As a senior at Lower Merion High School, Bryant was selected by USA Today and Parade
 Magazineas the National High School Player of the Year. He was also named Naismith 
Player of the Year, Gatorade Circle of Champions High School Player of the Year and 
to the McDonald's All-America Team. Bryant averaged 30.8 ppg, 12 rpg, 6.5 apg, four
 spg and 3.8 bpg. He led Lower Merion to Class AAAA state title with a 31-3 record.


 Bryant scored a career-high 50 points vs. Marple Newtow and scored 34 points to go 
along with 15 rebounds, six assists and nine blocks to lead Lower Merion to District
I Class AAA title over Chester. He scored 117 points and was named Most Outstanding Player
 in Prestigious Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. 

The Lakers wanted Bryant but were drafting late, so they swung a deal with the Charlotte 
Hornets whereby Charlotte selected him with the 13th overall pick in the first round of 
the 1996 NBA Draft, then dealt him to Los Angeles in exchange for center Vlade Divac.Despite
 his youth and lack of college experience, Bryant was a signficant contributor as the Lakers
 won 56 games in 1996-97.

 He scored in double figures 25 times, including a streak of seven within 10 games late in the
 season. He also grabbed the spotlight at the All-Star Weekend by winning the Nestle Crunch
 Slam Dunk and leading all players with an event-record 31 points in the Schick Rookie Classic. 

1996-1997 NOTES

Playing at shooting guard, point guard and small forward, Bryant appeared in 71 games as a
 rookie, including six starts, and averaged 7.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15.5
 minutes. He averaged 11.3 ppg in the last 13 games of the seaon and 12.4 ppg in the 26 games 
in which he played 20+ minutes. He was chosen to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.Bryant scored
a career-high 24 points, shooting 9-for-11 from the field, in a 109-85 win at Golden State on
 April 8. The 24 points were the most by a Laker reserve all season. He scored in double figures
 25 times and four times had 20+ points. He ranked third on the team in free throw percentage at 
.819, fourth in three-pointers with 51 and fifth in three-point percentage at .375. 

He became the youngest player to ever start an NBA game on January 28 at Dallas, when he was
 18 years, five months, five days. He's the second-youngest player in NBA history, behind
 Portland's Jermaine O'Neal.Bryant was one of the stars of the All-Star Weekend. He led all
 scorers in the Schick Rookie Game with an event-record 31 points, then came back to become
 the first Laker ever to win the Nestle Crunch Slam Dunk later that night, posting a score 
of 49 out of a possible 50 in the final round. 

Bryant appeared in all nine of the Lakers' playoff games in a reserve role, ranking fifth on
 the club in scoring at 8.2 ppg. He scored 22 points in Game 3 of the First Round against 
Portland and 19 in Game 3 of the Conference Semifinals against Utah.