Brandon Simpson Holan English 3 08 May 2018 Kobe Bryant Kobe is something spectacular,something that we will never see again. Kobe was so many kids idols,so many kids want to be him. He is the reason that every time somebody shoots in the trash can you hear somebody “Kobe”. He is a cultural icon as his shoes changed fashion. Kobe was an idol to me just like he was everyone else. From a childhood that was much different than a lot of kids to becoming one of the greatest basketball and one of the most marketable athletes ever. Kobe Bryant is the american dream. Kobe Bean Bryant was born in Philadelphia to Joe Bryant who played for the 76ers. At “6 years old he moved to Italy because his father’s NBA career ended and he had a opportunity to play in the Italian League. He moved back to Philadelphia at 13 and would attend Lower Merion High School”. He led the team to four straight state titles. Even though he was a good student he decided to skip college and go straight to the pros, he was the youngest person drafted ever at 17 so his parents had to sign his first NBA contract.Kobe Bryant was born for greatness with athletic parents and with his father playing pro basketball he learned at a young age what it took to be a pro. His father used to takehim to practices and workouts where he would learn and fall in love with the game. Since he learned it oversees and the make sure that you have great fundamentals when he came back to America he was more skilled than them. Kobe was also a big soccer fan and he played the sport, because that is the main sport in Italy. This made his footwork great and prepared him for the American game. “When he came back to America he dominated the game and was one of the best players in America”. When he returned to the states he participated in Sonnie Hills’s league for the top players in the area. Going into his sophomore year he started to go Temple University and play pickup with the team, where he dominated the players on the team. “Although he was striving athletically and academically, it was socially that he struggled”. He had a hard time connecting with the American youth. During his “Junior year he started to become more well known around the country and was ranked the number one player in the country. He averaged 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Duke, North Carolina and Villanova were the schools that he was looking at the most”. Instead of going the regular route to the NBA he decided skip college and go straight to the NBA. He was drafted 13th to the Charlotte Hornets but was traded on draft night. He was the youngest person ever drafted at 17 and his parents had to sign his contract. Kobe was special and everyone knew it. He had so much passion for the game and a great work ethic. NBA executives were too scared to try someone who was so young, but it certainly paid off for Jerry West.Kobe and Allen Iverson had a big rivalry in the late 90’s and 2000’s. Kobe was obsessed with Allen Iverson and on November 12th 1996 Iverson had 35 against and Kobe had two points against Houston. Even though the didn't play, this got Kobe extremely mad and that night Kobe demolished his hotel room. Allen Iverson was older than a young Kobe and he dominated him for the first few matchups. Iverson had 41 points and 10 assists.Kobe was so fascinated with Iverson and the thought of shutting him down, that he watched every game that he could find of his going all the way back to high school. He was ready for the challenge again. He wanted to show the people that he was better than ever. On February 20, 2000 in Philadelphia he got his chance, the second half he was told to guard him he started the half with 16, and he ended with 16. Kobe was happy but he wasn't satisfied. He wanted more.Kobe’s mindset wasn't like other people’s. He was going to be better than you in every aspect of the game, and if he wasn't, he would try until he was. He wanted to be the best and for it to be obvious. Kobe never wanted anybody to say that they did something good against him and if you did he would want to absolutely dominate you. In a practice scrimmage, Kobe drove baseline and went to dunk to win the game. Tyronn Lue pinned the dunk and Kobe immediately wanted to fight him. Lue would not fight so he wanted to play but when Lue declined again he would go at him everyday at practice as if his life depended on it. Kobe was going to be the most competitive player off all time he was not going to be beat. His mindset was just different and it had really only seen by one person, Michael Jordan. There is no debate that kobe is one of the best players ever. He has the 2nd most points in a game with 81 and 3rd all time in a career with 33,643 points in 20 seasons. A 18 time all star and a 11x NBA all first kobe has dominated the league for a while now. He has a total of four NBA championships, a 2x finals mvp and a 3x gold medal olympian. KOBE IS THE GOAT!!!!“Kobe Bryant has endorsed some of the biggest companies there are from Nike and Adidas,to Mcdonalds and Coke” (Duncan, 2016). He did lose some of these due to a rape trial which he was proven innocent. He has brought companies billions of dollars as in “2015 alone his shoes made 110 million dollars” (Duncan,2016). He is also more famous than any other NBA player in China. Even though his playing days are over he still makes shoes and still brings in a huge amount of money.Kobe is known around the world for his ability to get buckets, but it’s his mentality that makes kids fall in love with him. Kobe was raised in the gym with his father that played pro. He wasn't raised in America, he was just different. His mindset wasn't like anything that we had seen before. His mindset and his upbringing made him the best.