The Maternal Ancestry of Basketball Legend Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant was born on August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Joseph Washington Bryant and Pamela Cox. He also has two older sisters — Sharia Bryant, born March 19, 1976, and Shaya Bryant, born July 30, 1977. Kobe first entered into the national spotlight while he was attending Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, PA. During this time, he became the first freshman in several decades to start for the school’s varsity team, and was named Pennsylvania’s Player of the Year in his junior year. When he was just 17, Kobe made the decision to forgo college and enter into the NBA draft. Kobe Bryant’s career began on June 26, 1996, when he was selected 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets. Now, for those of you who followed basketball in the 1990s and 2000s, you know that Kobe would never play for the Hornets and he would be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers just days later. He would go on to play for the Lakers for 20 years and will go down as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

Kobe Bryant’s Father Joe Bryant

Joseph Washington Bryant was born on October 19, 1954 in Philadelphia, PA. He attended La Salle University from…