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Monday's P.M. Hot Clicks: Rare Photos of Kobe Bryant
Rare Photos of Kobe Bryant
Rare Photos of Kobe Bryant
Kobe, age 11, plays in a fundraiser while living in Italy.
Kobe dunks the ball at his Lower Merion, Pa. high school gym during a practice on Jan. 19, 1996.
We all knew Bryant was a superstar when he took singer/actress Brandy to his high school prom in 1996. Stud.
A member of the East team, Bryant shoots over the West team's Jamaal Magloire during Magic's Roundball Classic at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich., in April 1996.
Before he became the Lakers' all-time leading scorer, Kobe Bryant was a star on the Lower Merion (Pa.) High School basketball team. And he was all smiles in this April 1996 photo. After winning the state 4A championship, Bryant and his teammates were honored at the state capitol in Harrisburg.
Here's Kobe, striking a pose during his rookie photo shoot. Charming.
The rookie poses outside his new home in 1997, the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Kobe's got a secret during this photo shoot in 1997.
Kobe and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson chat it up during a game in 1997.
My how things have changed since this 1997 photo. Kobe remains a top NBA player while Stephon Marbury is playing in China.
Shaquille carries Bryant during a team media day photo shoot in 1997. Aww, they look so happy!
Kobe poses with Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson in the make-up room before taping of the show "All That" in 1998.
Kobe looks concerned as Amanda Bynes acts a little crazy during taping of the show "All That" in 1998.
Kobe shows off his guns during this 1998 photo shoot.
Kobe tries to get around Michael Jordan during the 1998 All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden.
Kobe poses with Magic Johnson during this photo shoot in 1998.
Kobe appears in deep thought during this photo shoot in 2000.
Kobe sits in what is likely one of many nice cars he owns in 2000.
Kobe and Shaq pose with their respective make-out trophies after winning the 2000 NBA Finals.
Shaq and Kobe (a.k.a. Superman and The Black Mamba) pose together in 2001.
Shaq and Kobe laugh as the Big Cactus appears to have ticklish feet in the training room before a game in 2002.
Bryant, of the West All-Star team, talks with Michael Jordan and Antoine Walker from the East team before practice during All-Star weekend in 2002.
Donning a Michael Jordan jersey, Bryant arrives for Game 4 of the 2002 Finals. The 22-year-old took home his third NBA title that year.
Kobe shares a laugh with Michael Jordan during the 2003 All-Star Game.
Bryant returned to Lower Merion High in 2007 to enjoy a few laughs.
Kobe peeks out form the training room as teammates Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher wrap up a scrimmage during basketball practice in Oct. 2007.
Bryant tries out the refurbished Stallings playground in New Orleans in 2008.
Family portrait! Kobe poses with wife Vanessa and daughters Natalia and Gianna at the 2007-08 MVP press conference.
Kobe and Olympic teammate LeBron James pose before the 2008 Games in Beijing. The "Redeem Team" struck gold, ending an eight-year U.S. drought in basketball.
Kobe acts like a kid again, riding the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland in June 2009.
Like father, like son (only the son went on to become a better basketball player). Bryant poses with his father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, a former Philadelphia 76er and former coach of the WNBA's L.A. Sparks, at a Dodgers game in June 2009.
After winning his fourth title, Kobe and the Mrs. return home with his 2009 NBA Finals MVP trophy.
It's as if Kobe knows he is just a few months away from winning another NBA Championship and Finals MVP during this photo shoot in March 2010.
Bryant is honored at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Feb. 2011.
Venus Williams and Kobe speak during the 2011 Cartoon Network's "Hall of Game" Award Show in Santa Monica.
Eddie Pope and Bryant fight for the ball during the 2011 Celebrity Soccer Challenge at Kastles Stadium in Washington, D.C.
Bryant has his ankle wrapped in the locker room before a playoff game against Denver in 2012.
Kobe rocks red pants and Air Jordans while speaking at a 2012 press conference for the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation.
Kobe must be thinking of Timberlake's lyrics: "It's like you're my mirror. My mirror staring back at me," during this photo shoot in 2013.
Kobe relaxes on a couch during this photo shoot in 2014.
Lakers rookie D'Angelo Russell puts his arm around Kobe, who debuted with the team the same year Russell was born (1996), during this photo shoot in 2015.
It was a big weekend for Kobe Bryant. The Lakers won two games (including an overtime victory over San Antonio) and Bryant passed Michael Jordan to become the NBA's third all-time leading scorer. To celebrate the landmark, we collected some rare photos of the Lakers star, beginning with this great shot of an 11-year-old Bryant matched up against a much bigger (and hairier) Italian player.
NFL's Most Perplexing Trash Talker
The Wall Street Journal has a great feature on Colts QB Andrew Luck and how he's angering opponents by complimenting them when they make a nice play. Eagles defensive back Nolan Carroll once got a "Great job, Nolan" from Luck after a sack, which left him perplexed. I realized it was Luck who said it. I’m like, ‘What’s going on? Aren’t you supposed to be mad?’” Carroll said. “So then I’m the one who gets ticked off because an upbeat attitude isn’t something you see.”
Walmart Fail
Walmart has the perfect stocking stuffer for any Knicks fan -- a plush, 14-inch Carmelo Anthony doll. The only problem is the doll wears No. 17 and looks exactly like Jeremy Lin.
P.M. Lovely Lady of the Day
Tom from Livingston, N.J., pointed out that it's been a while since I featured Shay Mitchell. He's 100 percent correct and I feel bad about this egregious gap in Shay Mitchell LLOD features (click here for full-size gallery).
Hot Clicks Giveaway: NBA Ugly Christmas Sweaters
Ugly Christmas sweaters are all the rage this year and the NBA joined the fun with its own sweater line at the official NBA store. After seeing them, I called my contact with the NBA and begged for a couple extras to give away to the Hot Clicks readers. Luckily for you, they came through and I am staring at a Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs ugly sweater. I will give them to the 100th (Spurs) and 200th (Heat) person to email me (andy_gray@simail.com) the price of Louis Vuitton boxing gloves and bag. The answer was in A.M. Hot Clicks. Please make the subject line "NBA Ugly Sweater."
Update (6:19 a.m.): Contest is closed. Winners will be notifed. Thanks for playing.
10 Best Johnny Manziel Photoshops
As you may have heard, Johnny Manziel was awful in his first start as an NFL quarterback. And since it's 2014, people on Twitter created funny photoshops of Manziel's dreadful performance.
15 Best Bill Walton Quotes
Arizona fans created a petition to ban Bill Walton from broadcasting the school's basketball games. Awful Announcing, like myself, understands what a national treasure Walton is and collected his 15 best quotes.
That Didn't Take Long
Well. That didn't take long..... #Browns pic.twitter.com/r58ApluXvO
— Ryan McNaughton M.Ed./M.A.🍊🇺🇲🇮🇪🏴 (@RyanInNiles) December 15, 2014
U.S. Soccer's First Couple
US soccer has a new First Couple: USWNT's Sydney Leroux & KC's Dom Dwyer (22 goals in '14) http://t.co/qlX3bOQHEc (via @sydneyleroux)
— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) December 15, 2014
Most Valuable U.S. Sports Team
Get Out!!
and getting in trouble for it RT @WillBrinson: Missed Jason Garrett doing the Elaine "GET OUT!" shove http://t.co/6HQUSGi6Zs
— Lana Berry (@Lana) December 15, 2014
Kobe Gets a Cake
VIDEO: Lakers go all out celebrating Kobe passing MJ. Chocolate cake! http://t.co/6CZfUnFPDR https://t.co/P7mHTSQjbL https://t.co/42SzLQStnI
— theScore (@theScore) December 15, 2014
Odds & Ends
The 11 best NFL celebrations of 2014, including the dissing of Johnny Manziel ... New Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy is really bad at Photoshop ... Fox News thinks the Super Bowl might get cancelled ... Best part of the New York Jets season ... The 50 fittest women in sports ... Even the WWE mocked Johnny Manziel. Speaking of the WWE, The Undertaker doesn't look that scary these days ... Gisele Bundchen was excited about New England's victory over Miami ... The father of the modern baseball card,Sy Berger, passed away ... Criminal Minds is getting a spin-off. Hope it's better than the last one.
Tom Brady, Fast as a Cheetah
The Patriots QB posted this replay of his 16-yard run to his Facebook page.
Slap Chopt
Need a holiday gift for the chef in your family? We teamed up with U.S. Olympic Hockey player Hilary Knight to make this commercial for the Slap Chopt.
Student Section of the Day
A teacher at Elkhart Memorial High in Indiana sent in this video of the student section's synchronized group cheer.
Playboy Interpets Holiday Movie
Playboy casted some Playmates to portray its favorite Christmas movie characters. This is safe for work (and pretty funny).
A senior editor atSI.com, Andy Gray oversees Hot Clicks, Extra Mustard and the Swimsuit site. A Boston sports loyalist and Columbia graduate, he joined SI in 2005.