Kobe Bryant made his way to Philadelphia at the age of 13 after having grown up in Italy for 7-8 years. His father, Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant, made the move to Italy to play basketball overseas after a career in the NBA on teams like the San Diego Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers.
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Bryant would play at Lower Merion High School and by the time he had reached his senior year, he was a national sensation. Him being selected in the lottery of the loaded 1996 NBA Draft straight out of high school proved that there was something special about him from the get-go.
As Philly celebrated the 6’6 phenom, 5’2 Kevin Hart was trying his best to keep up with the rest of his peers. He always wanted to be a basketball player but due to his height, it never materialized into anything substantial.
Also read: 6ft 10″ Kevin Garnett Once Called Kobe Bryant ‘Grizzly Bear’ Revealing Intriguing Reason Behind It
Kevin Hart on attending the same basketball camp as Kobe Bryant
Kevin Hart went into great detail about the time him and Kobe Bryant happened to attend the same basketball camp together. the camp was an overnight one and was headed by Philadelphia hoops legend, ‘Speedy’ Morris.
Hart would explain how on the 3rd day of camp, Speedy would address the campers and berate them for not trying hard enough. He would then use Kobe as an example and reveal that the only reason he was even at the camp was to work on his left hand.
“We didn’t even know he was practicing on us until the head coach made us look stupid for not working as hard as he was. Needless to say, that’s where my NBA dreams were shattered,” said Kevin.
He would then hilariously reveal how Kobe simply laughed in his face when Kevin asked him what D1 college he should try out for in basketball.
Kevin Hart did eventually get to live out his NBA dream. Kind of
Many years down the line, Kevin Hart would be invited to the Celebrity All-Star game held by the NBA every single year at All-Star weekend. Hart would play out of his mind in this game and would actually bag the MVP award.
What’s even more heartwarming is the fact that he did the same thing 3 more times, making him a 4x Celebrity All-Star game MVP. Oh, and he also beat Draymond Green in a 3-point contest.
