Kobe Bean Bryant or Kobe Bryant for most of his fans was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 23, 1978. He speaks fluent Italian and Spanish since he spent his childhood in Italy where his father, Joe Bryant, played as an NBA player for Philadelphia 76ers and worked as head coach for Los Angeles Sparks. He is the youngest of 3 children and his parents named him after the well-known beef in Kobe, Japan.
Kobe entered NBA at the age of 18 when Charlotte Hornets drafted him; but after few weeks, he was traded for Vlade Divac of LA Lakers on July 11, 1996. Bryant’s career soared after. He led his team to win three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002. He had won many individual awards at the age of 24 and was regarded as one of the NBA’s best players.
After a much disappointing 4 to 1 game loss to Detroit Pistons, he opted out of his contract and tried the free agent market. Finally, after seducing the idea of joining a different team, he renewed a 136 dollars 7-year contract with the Lakers on July 15, 2004.
Kobe stands 6’7 and plays as a shooting guard. He is also capable of playing as a small forward. He was regarded as one of the most complete players of NBA and his stats proves this. A prolific scorer averaging 25.1 points a game, with 1.5 steals, 4.6 assists and 5.3 rebound. He is an exceptional defender and his excellent ball handling skills and athletic ability works well to finish points at the basket.
His soaring popularity grasped the attention of major companies like Adidas, McDonalds, Sprite, and a whole lot more. Alongside his product endorsements, Bryant’s jersey became a top seller in China and the United States during the 2006-2007 season. As stated by many journalists, the increase in sales is attributed to Kobe’s new number; he switched his number from 8 to 24.
The 2007 NBA playoffs tarnished the sales of Bryan’t jersey when they were eliminated by Phoenix Suns. But this does not affect the overall rating of the most saleable jerseys for 2008-2009 season. According to NBA store in New York and the online sales from NBAStore.com, Bryant’s jersey was the best selling among the top 15 players of NBA. He was followed by LeBron James of Cavaliers, Chris Paul of Hornets, Kevin Garnett of Celtics and Allen Iverson of Pistons.
Adidas is the official manufacturer of Bryant’s jersey but Reebok also releases a replica jersey. There is a screen print of Kobe’s name and number and the logos of NBA and Reebok on the left strap. The replica jersey of Reebok is the only available images shown on webs nowadays.
Being the top selling jersey, more and more people opt to buy Bryant’s 24 and other NBA superstar jerseys. Online store like realsportsjerseys.com provides authentic NBA jerseys of well known NBA players. Realsportjerseys provides authentic and replica jerseys for everyone. This site does not only provide jerseys but information about the players wearing them. This can really be a great gift for every NBA fanatic!
