Prepubescent Kobe Bryant, Who Snagged A Sponsorship Deal In Italy, Put On ‘The Kobe Show’ Prior To Father, Joe’s, Games

Kobe Bryant, while he lived in Italy with his family, would reportedly put on his own show of basketball excellence before his father’s games. 

Kobe Bryant didn’t have all too conventional of a childhood when it comes to NBA superstars. While he was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the same city his father played in for the 76ers, he wasn’t there for long. 

Kobe’s father, Joe ‘Jellybean’ Bryant, played 6 years in the NBA, finishing his stint in the league in 1982 as a member of the Houston Rockets. In ‘84, still not having given up on his basketball dreams, Joe signed a contract with the Sebastani Reiti, a professional hoops team in Reiti, Italy. 

So, from ages 6 to 13, Kobe Bryant lived in Italy and would actually fall in love with the sport over here rather than in the United States.

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Kobe Bryant dazzled the crowd with his basketball gimmicks pre-game. 

Once he fell in love with basketball, he was inseparable from the game. Everything he did revolved around the game of basketball. One instance where Bryant couldn’t stay put was the time between the end of the Sebastani Reiti players’ pre-game routine and the start of the actual game. 

Kobe Bryant would reportedly stay on the hardwood during this short period after having wiped down the court and put on a display of youth basketball excellence. Everything from pull-up jumpers to a dribbling exhibition, the young Bean already had it all in his bag. 

Not only was Kobe honing his basketball skills in Italy, he was also adding to his business acumen. In snagged his first sponsorship deal with his father’s club, telling them he’d wear their merch if they pay for a bicycle. As expected, they obliged. 

Kobe Bryant played with grown men in Italy. 

Kobe Bryant bot into the habit of going against tougher opponents from an extremely young age. While he entered the league at age 18 and was forced to play against men who were far more experienced, he set the stage for having that drive within him from his days in Italy. 

Kobe would reportedly play pick-up basketball with grown men and adults and actually be good. When he played against kids his age, he would drop 50+ points on the regular, realizing early on that kids his age didn’t know how to dribble with their off hand.

So, he would continually poke at the ball, get a lay-up. Rinse and repeat. The cerebral way he approached the game truly was something he picked up well before he ever made it to high school.

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