The entire world stopped with the news of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, who met a tragic fate in a helicopter crash on the 26th of January 2020. The public expressed their grief and poured out their emotions with the sudden loss of a basketball legend.
Today, Kobe Bryant was now a huge part of basketball history and became an inspiration to many. So let us pay tribute and commemorate Kobe Bryant with some facts you probably never heard before he became an NBA icon.
Kobe's parents named him after a food in Japan. This happened when his parents were eating in a Japanese steakhouse, and they saw a special beef on the menu. The meat had a tender texture and was famous for its quality flavor.
A type of Wagyu beef or also known as "Kobe" somehow became a synonym for 'excellence.' And the parents knew that it was a perfect name for their child. A few decades later, who would have thought that their child would also be one of the excellent players from the entire basketball history.
Kobe's middle name appears to be different from his official documents.
His parents chose his middle name as "Bean" that derived from his father's nickname "Jelly Bean." However, it wasn't officially written from any of his records.
Kobe came from a long basketball history before he grew into an NBA legend. Besides his father being a basketball player, Kobe himself started playing at the age of three. One of his past times was to watch basketball games from tapes that his grandfather mailed to him.
So when he entered high school, Kobe made sure he would join their basketball varsity. His talent in basketball immediately showed that he grabbed attention to the masses.
He was only 13 years old when he made impressive records from basketball championships in high school. The media noticed his exceptional skills, and Kobe became a headliner in no time.
But because of his achievements, he had to make a choice that would impact his entire life.
Although with high grades and almost perfect exam scores that might lead him to a prestigious college, Kobe decided to become a full-time basketball player. He skipped college and drafted to NBA, where he became a member of Los Angeles Lakers.
Kobe was the first NBA player that was scouted directly from high school.
Since Kobe already established his name during his teenage years, he was able to make a lot of connections, including big names in the entertainment industry. Kobe made their high school prom night memorable by bringing a celebrity as his prom date.
People who attended couldn't forget when a white limousine parked in front of the Bellevue Hotel. And when Kobe stepped out of the car, everyone gasped!
The crowd turned their heads, and the cameras pointed to the direction of the darkened limousine. The teenage basketball star walked side by side with a famous R&B platinum singer Brandy. She was wearing an expensive Moschino Gown that brought glamour to the night.
Kobe admitted that Brandy was his celebrity crush, but when he told his friends about bringing her to the prom, no one believed him. Not until this very night.
Basketball wasn't just Kobe's one and only interest. Because back when he was still in high school, Kobe was part of a lyrical rap group called CHEIZAW.
His band signed with Sony Entertainment and set to release their debut album with the title "Vision in 2000". However, things didn't turn out as they expected it to be.
Sony Entertainment tried to separate Kobe with his group and make him a solo artist. They wanted him to halt from making lyrical rap music and mold into a pop genre artist instead.
But Kobe didn't agree with their sudden decision and rebelled against the entertainment. This resulted from their album getting canceled and Sony dropping their contract.
Italy was a huge part of Kobe's childhood. Because when he was six-years-old, his family moved to different places in Italy. They first stayed in the southern province of Reggio Calabria, then moved to Pistoria, and lastly to Reggio Emilia.
Kobe tried to fit in with the Italian kids and studied their language instantly. Being fluent Italian helped him a lot because he was able to interact with his teammates back in his school.
Growing up in Italy, Kobe was also a massive fan of soccer. Knowing how much fire and dedication the NBA superstar had, Kobe could have been a professional soccer player while he was still in Italy.
However, his focus shifted into basketball after he watched the NBA Showtime that sparked his real interest.
Kobe and his wife were married for 19 years. But did you know that they got married at a very young age? Kobe was only 21 years old when he met his wife, Vanessa Laine, who was still in her senior high school.
Then she became the woman who was always on Kobe's side from the rise of his basketball career. Two years later, the couple decided to tie their knot and had an intimate wedding. However, their love wasn't exactly a perfect fairytale because they had to go through so many conflicts...
Their wedding had only 12 guests because Kobe's parents and siblings didn't attend the ceremony. Besides Vanessa's parents, who were really strict with their daughter, Kobe's family never approved their marriage.
Mainly because he was too young, and Vanessa's nationality was not African-American.
Therefore, their wedding happened without any prenuptial agreement. According to Vanessa's sister, "She (Vanessa) just came home one day and said something to the effect that Kobe didn't want a prenup — that he loved her too much." There was indeed a large rift between Kobe and his father after the wedding.
But then his father still respected Kobe's life and affirmed, "It's his life, we've got nothing to do with it," the father added, "We've done our job."
The NBA superstar didn't just win in the basketball courts, but also in the field of filmmaking. In 2017, Kobe wrote a short animated film titled "Dear Basketball," which was based on his retirement letter.
The short film gained recognition from film festivals, including the Academy Awards.
Kobe made another history by being the first athlete who won Oscars. His short film was awarded as the Best Animated Short Film from the 90th Academy Awards, followed by winning the Best Animated Short Subject from Annie Award and Outstanding Post-Produced Graphic Design from Sports Emmy Award.
"I feel better than winning the championship, to be honest with you. I swear I do," Kobe said from one of his acceptance speeches.
Kobe's life was not just about glitz and glamour as fame comes down with a price.
Just like when Kobe got involved in a huge scandal in 2003 where he was charged with sexually assaulting a hotel employee...
The scandal led Kobe's reputation tarnished, and his contracts from giant companies terminated. Some of his fans turned their backs, and the sales of his famous basketball merchandise dropped.
To cope up with his sudden downfall, Kobe created himself an alter-ego.
After watching a Quentin Tarantino Film titled Kill Bill, the phrase "Black Mamba" was used as a term for going into a deadly mission. Kobe thought that Black Mamba had a nice ring and decided to give himself the nickname.
However, it had a deeper meaning for the NBA superstar.
Black Mamba was also a type of venomous snake. And for Kobe, Black Mamba meant for possessing the speed, accuracy, competitiveness, and agility of the snake.
Therefore, he called himself Black Mamba whenever he was playing on the court. This helped Kobe's well-being from splitting his professional and personal lives.
After Kobe's retirement, he admitted that he hadn't been in too many Lakers Games. Because the NBA superstar made a promise to himself that he'd shift his focus to his family now. "It's not that I don't want to go [to Lakers games], but I'd rather be giving B.B. a shower and sing Barney songs to her.
I played for 20 years and I missed those moments before. For me to make the trip up to Staples Center, that means I'm missing an opportunity to spend another night with my kids when I know how fast it goes. … I want to make sure the days that I'm away from them are days that I absolutely have to be. I'd rather be with them than doing anything else," Kobe explained.