Remembering The Legendary Kobe Bryant

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Adjusting To The NBA.

Source: https://nba.net

Kobe debuted in the Summer Pro League in Long Beach, California, and scored 25 points even as defenders tried to get in front of him. His performance impressed Lakers coach Del Harris, and excited the already impressed Jerry West. At that time, he became the youngest player to ever play in an NBA game (18 years and 72 days), a record since broken by Jermaine O’Neal and former teammate Andrew Bynum. Initially, Kobe played limited minutes, usually coming off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. But by the end of the season, he averaged 15.5 minutes per game. He won the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, becoming the youngest dunk champion at 18. The 1998-99 season marked Kobe’s emergence as a premiere guard in the league. When Jones and Van Exel were traded, Kobe started every game for the lockout-shortened 50 game season. He signed a 6 year contract extension worth $70 million.