A.Personal profile
个人档案
Kobe Bryant: ＃8 － Los Angeles Lakers
Position: Forward
Born: 23．8．1978 in Philadelphia
Height: 6．7ft． ／ 201 cm
Weight: 215 lbs． ／ 97．5 kg
科比·布莱恩特：8号,洛杉矶湖人队
位置：前锋
出生年月：1978年8月23日生于费城
身高：7英尺6英寸/2米01
体重：215磅/97.5公斤
B.The road to a superstar
明星之路
Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The reason he has the name Kobe is unusual. His parents named him after a type of steak1 (kobe) seen on a restaurant menu before his birth. It seems that Kobe likes this name.
As a schoolboy, he learned the ABC2 of basketball in Italy. His father, Joe Bryant, was a former NBA forward. Kobe developed his basketball skills under the watchful eye of his father, helping his mission3 to become a professional basketball player. Kobe worked daily on his game, watching video4, playing in the playgrounds and listening to his father. Kobe made such rapid progress that when he was about 14 or 15 years old, he could finally beat his father one-to-one.
Kobe entered high school at Lower Marion in Philadelphia. He played on the school basketball team. His team went from worst to first, to a state championship during his four years at Lower Marion. He was named High School Player of the Year as a senior5 at Lower Marion.
It so happened that one of his schoolmates was Coach Luca's6 daughter. She casually7 mentioned to her dad that he ought to see Kobe play. And he did, and afterward Luca allowed Kobe to work out8 with the 76ers9. This was a great step forward toward his career as a professional10 basketball player.
He went on to finish his high school career as the all-time11 leading point scorer in Pennsylvania history with a total of 2,883 points. Kobe decided not to attend college and take his game straight to 'the league'12. The Charlotte Hornets13 drafted14 Bryant at number 13 during the 1996 draft15, but traded him to the Lakers on that same day.
Since his arrival in the NBA, Kobe has set about16 improving each year. Each season has been a learning and growth opportunity.
Despite his youth and lack of college experience, Kobe Bryant is one of the NBA's biggest talents17. At 19 years, 5 months, he became the youngest All-Star in history, replacing Magic Johnson18, who was 20 years, 5 months old when he played in the 1980 game. He was the only Laker to start all 50 games in 1998—99 and averaged19 19.9 ppg20, second on the team. He led the club in steals21 and was among the top three in rebounds22, assists23 and blocked shots24 as well. He helped the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2000 and 2001 NBA Championships25.
Kobe is so young and promising a player that many people believe that he will become the next Michael Jordan. Laker coach Del Harris spoke highly of him. He said, “ Kobe is the kind of guy26 who's like Pippen27 and Jordan28 ...you can just stick them out there and they can play.” But some people seem to have a different opinion. A commentator29 said,“He may be the most likely to fill the space of Michael, but it will take a couple of years until he can reach Michael's level.” The commentator added, “One question though, Mike won all those championships without a Shaq30 on his team. Can Kobe?” Kobe's teammate, Shaquille O'Neil has a similar idea. He said, “That shouldn't be in his head. Kobe should just concentrate on being the first Kobe, rather than the next Michael. Guys like Mike come around every 10 years.” On being asked about the next Jordan, Kobe was a little modest. He said, “As far as carrying the torch31 for years to come， I don't know...I just want to be the best basketball player I can be.”
Will Kobe Bryant really become the next Michael Jordan and help bring NBA into a new age? Let's wait and see.
科比·布莱恩特出生在宾夕法尼亚州的费城。他的名字有特别的来由，原来他的父母在他出身之前看到一家餐馆的菜单上有一种叫做科比的牛排，于是就给他取名科比。科比似乎喜欢这个名字。
还是个小学生的时候，科比就在意大利学习打篮球的基本技能。他的父亲乔·布莱恩特曾在NBA打前锋。在父亲的关照下，科比练就了打篮球的技巧，这为他日后成为职业篮球球员打下了基础。他又是看录像、又是在操场上练习、又是向父亲请教，每天如此。科比进步很快，在他十四五岁的时候，他可以一对一地击败他的父亲了。
科比的高中是在费城的下麦里恩上的，他参加了校篮球队。在他上高中的4年当中，他的球队从倒数第一名上升到第一名，夺得了州冠军。高中四年级的时候，他还被评为该年度最佳高中球员。
碰巧他的一个同学是76人队教练卢卡的女儿，她无意中向父亲提出他应该去看看科比打球。卢卡真的去了，随后卢卡同意科比参加76人队的训练活动。这是科比向职业球员生涯迈出的重要的一步。
他以2883分的宾州有史以来最高得分的惊人纪录从高中毕业，科比决定不上大学，直接进入NBA联赛。在1996年的NBA选秀中，夏洛特黄蜂队以第13名的顺序选中了科比，就在同一天，夏洛特黄蜂队将他换给了洛杉矶湖人队。
进入NBA以后，科比的球技逐年见长。对他来说，每一赛季都是一个学习和成长的机会。
尽管年轻、又没有上过大学，但是科比·布莱恩特是NBA中最伟大的天才。19岁零5个月的时候，他取代魔术师约翰逊成为最年轻的全明星队成员，约翰逊1980年取得这一殊荣时是20岁零5个月。他是惟一的在1998—99赛季以首发阵容参加所有的50场比赛的湖人队队员，平均每场得19.9分，在队中排第二。他在俱乐部中，断球数第一，篮板球、助攻、盖帽也排在前三名。他帮助湖人队赢得了2000年和2001年NBA总决赛冠军。
C.NEXT MICHAEL JORDAN?
下一个迈克尔乔丹
Kobe Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The reason he has the name Kobe is unusual. His parents named him after a type of steak1 (kobe) seen on a restaurant menu before his birth. It seems that Kobe likes this name.
As a schoolboy, he learned the ABC2 of basketball in Italy. His father, Joe Bryant, was a former NBA forward. Kobe developed his basketball skills under the watchful eye of his father, helping his mission3 to become a professional basketball player. Kobe worked daily on his game, watching video4, playing in the playgrounds and listening to his father. Kobe made such rapid progress that when he was about 14 or 15 years old, he could finally beat his father one-to-one.
Kobe entered high school at Lower Marion in Philadelphia. He played on the school basketball team. His team went from worst to first, to a state championship during his four years at Lower Marion. He was named High School Player of the Year as a senior5 at Lower Marion.
It so happened that one of his schoolmates was Coach Luca's6 daughter. She casually7 mentioned to her dad that he ought to see Kobe play. And he did, and afterward Luca allowed Kobe to work out8 with the 76ers9. This was a great step forward toward his career as a professional10 basketball player.
He went on to finish his high school career as the all-time11 leading point scorer in Pennsylvania history with a total of 2,883 points. Kobe decided not to attend college and take his game straight to 'the league'12. The Charlotte Hornets13 drafted14 Bryant at number 13 during the 1996 draft15, but traded him to the Lakers on that same day.
Since his arrival in the NBA, Kobe has set about16 improving each year. Each season has been a learning and growth opportunity.
Despite his youth and lack of college experience, Kobe Bryant is one of the NBA's biggest talents17. At 19 years, 5 months, he became the youngest All-Star in history, replacing Magic Johnson18, who was 20 years, 5 months old when he played in the 1980 game. He was the only Laker to start all 50 games in 1998—99 and averaged19 19.9 ppg20, second on the team. He led the club in steals21 and was among the top three in rebounds22, assists23 and blocked shots24 as well. He helped the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2000 and 2001 NBA Championships25.
Kobe is so young and promising a player that many people believe that he will become the next Michael Jordan. Laker coach Del Harris spoke highly of him. He said, “ Kobe is the kind of guy26 who's like Pippen27 and Jordan28 ...you can just stick them out there and they can play.” But some people seem to have a different opinion. A commentator29 said,“He may be the most likely to fill the space of Michael, but it will take a couple of years until he can reach Michael's level.” The commentator added, “One question though, Mike won all those championships without a Shaq30 on his team. Can Kobe?” Kobe's teammate, Shaquille O'Neil has a similar idea. He said, “That shouldn't be in his head. Kobe should just concentrate on being the first Kobe, rather than the next Michael. Guys like Mike come around every 10 years.” On being asked about the next Jordan, Kobe was a little modest. He said, “As far as carrying the torch31 for years to come， I don't know...I just want to be the best basketball player I can be.”
Will Kobe Bryant really become the next Michael Jordan and help bring NBA into a new age? Let's wait and see.
科比年轻、前途无量，所以许多人相信他将成为下一个乔丹。湖人队教练德尔· 哈里森高度评价了他。他说，“科比像皮蓬和乔丹那样……你将他们放在场上，他们就知道如何打球。” 但是有些人似乎有不同的看法。一位评论员说，“他最有可能取代迈克尔的地位，但他需要几年的时间才能达到迈克尔的水平。”这位评论员接着说，“但问题是，迈克尔不需要队中有个奥尼尔就可以获得所有冠军，科比行吗？”科比的队友大鲨鱼奥尼尔有相同的看法，他说，“科比可不能这么想，他应该集中精力争作科比第一，而不是乔丹第二。像迈克尔· 乔丹那样的人每10年才能出一个。” 当问及第二个乔丹的时候，科比似乎有些谦逊，他说，“至于接下来几年谁将是执大旗者，我不知道……我只是想尽力成为一个最好的球员。”
科比·布莱恩特真的能够成为下一个乔丹，带领NBA走入一个新时代吗？我们拭目以待。
D.Kobe quotes
科比心语
“I just wanted the challenge to play with and against the best players in the world．”
—Kobe on his decision to go Pro (职业选手) early
“As far as carrying the torch for years to come, I don＇t know．．．just want to be the best player I can be．”
—Kobe on being the next Jordan
“If you don＇t believe in yourself, no one else will．”
—Probably his most famous quote
“There＇re a lot of fake (假的) people there (in L．A．), wherever you go． You just have to love your family, have your friends and that＇s basically it．”
—Kobe on living in L．A． (洛杉矶)
“That shouldn＇t be in his head． Kobe should just concentrate on being the first Kobe, rather than the next Michael． Guys like Mike only come round every 10 years．”
—Shaquille O＇Neal (奥尼尔) expresses his view on Laker teammate Kobe becoming the new carrier of the torch for the NBA after the departure (退役) of Michael Jordan．
“Playing small forward (边锋) is fine with me． I＇m just looking forward to playing． Learning the new position, you＇re making yourself a well－rounded basketball player, and this is going to make the team better, too． It＇s fine． It＇s a lot of fun．”
—Kobe on playing small forward
E.An Interview with Kobe
问问科比几个小问题
Jojo: (Radio DJ) Hey Kobe, what＇s the best and worst part about playing in the NBA?
Kobe: The best part is the challenge, playing against different players each night. And the most difficult part is also the challenge!
Jojo: So how do you keep your heart from pounding out of your chest1 during a game?
Kobe: The scary2 part is actually before the game because you try to envision how it's gonna3 play out. But once you actually step out onto the court4, everything else just goes out the windows. This is what you've worked your whole life for, so just let it out on the floor.
Jojo: How did it feel after you guys won the NBA championship5 last year?
Kobe: It felt great. The buzzer6 goes off so quickly, your body just gets numb. But during the parade, there are all those fans out there—that's when it all sank in7. We did it for all those people behind the TV, watching as we played, and going through the ups and downs8 that we went through.
Jojo: Have you thought about what you want to do after you retire from9 basketball?
Kobe: Actually, I'm going into business. I have a couple of business activities I'm involved in, and I have a basketball team in Italy. But for the most part10, I want to retire, gain a little weight11, be a good father, be a good husband and just grow old and gray.