On the Court With... Kobe Bryant Read Free

that could help break down the social
     barriers he faced. That language was the sport of basketball.
    On that first day, as Kobe sat alone in the cafeteria eating his lunch, a classmate sauntered over and stood before him, sizing
     him up. When Kobe realized the other young man was staring at him, he slowly raised his eyes and looked up.
    “I hear you’re a pretty good basketball player,” said his classmate with a sneer. Word had spread rapidly that the new student
     with the funny accent was the son of Joe Bryant, who was still well known in Philadelphia.
    Kobe tried to stay cool. He wasn’t quite sure what the other student was trying to say. He just looked the boy in the eye
     and slowly nodded.
    “Well, to be the man you have to beat the man,” said the student, gesturing to himself. Now Kobe noticed that several of the
     young man’s friends hovered nearby, awaiting his reaction.
    Kobe realized that if he acted as if he was intimidated, they might give him a hard time. He knew he was being challenged,
     but he also knew that if therewas one thing he could do, it was play basketball.
    “Okay,” he said confidently, “let’s play.” Kobe and the other young man then made arrangements to play one-on-one after school.
    Word quickly spread around the school that the new kid had accepted the challenge to play the best player in the school. When
     Kobe got to the court there were dozens of students ringing it to watch the matchup. His challenger was already warming up
     and bragging to his friends about how bad he was going to beat Kobe.
    Kobe didn’t quite understand the attitude of his opponent, for as he later admitted, “I didn’t understand the school-yard
     rules, the trash-talking, the machismo.” But he did understand basketball. He tried to ignore his opponent’s boasting and
     called for the ball and started to play. The crowd buzzed with anticipation.
    For the next twenty minutes or so Kobe and his challenger went at each other, but in a matter of only a few minutes the outcome
     was obvious. Every time his opponent got the ball, Kobe was all over him, blocking his drive, sticking a hand in his face,
     and swiping at the ball. The other player could hardly get a shot off. When he did, it either clanged off the rimor missed the rim entirely for an air ball.
    When Kobe had the ball, it was another story. He discovered he was much quicker than his opponent was, had better footwork,
     could jump higher, and was far more skilled. For although his opponent was talented, he had learned to play on the playground
     and lacked the sound set of basketball fundamentals that Kobe had learned by playing on his club team in Italy, by himself,
     and with his father.
    For example, when his opponent tried to guard him aggressively and bang him away from the basket, Kobe knew better than to
     try to force up a shot. Instead, he’d throw a fake, spin past him in a blur, and soar to the basket for an easy layup. When
     the player adjusted and backed off to prevent Kobe from driving past him, Kobe didn’t try to bull his way to the hoop. Instead,
     he calmly drilled one jump shot after another.
    The crowd soon quieted, then started cheering for Kobe as he poured the ball into the hoop over and over again. Then Kobe
     did something remarkable.
    As his frustrated opponent came out to challenge him for the ball, Kobe faked left then drove to his right, soared through
     the air, and slammed the ball home.
    The shocked crowd turned silent for a moment, thenerupted in cheers. Kobe Bryant, an eighth-grader, had dunked the ball! As one of his friends said later, “I never saw a player
     like that. You just don’t see guys in the eighth grade flying through the air and dunking the basketball.”
    A few minutes later, exhausted his opponent gave up and the two young men shook hands. “I got my respect right there,” Kobe
     remembers.
    Although Kobe would still experience some awkward moments adjusting to his new school, he