81 things to know about Kobe | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

81 things to know about Kobe | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: 81 things to know about Kobe
In honor of his scoring outburst last month and the Lakers' visit to Toyota Center tonight, we present:

COMPILED BY STEVE SCHAEFFER

FORMATIVE YEARS
1. Birthday: Aug. 23, 1978

2. Birthplace: Philadelphia

3. Named after a steak his parents saw on a menu

4. Middle name: Bean

5. Parents: Joe, who played eight NBA seasons, and Pam

6. Two older sisters: Sharia and Shaya

7. Spent eight years in Italy, where father finished playing career

8. Played soccer in addition to basketball

HIGH SCHOOL HERO
9. Attended Lower Merion High in Ardmore, Pa.

10. Wore No. 33

11. Top scorer in Southeastern Pennsylvania prep history with 2,883 points

12. Single-game best: 50 points

13. Got early taste of NBA by working out with 76ers

14. McDonald's All-American

15. Parade's National Player of the Year as a senior

16. Took R&B singer Brandy to his senior prom

17. Became 27th player to jump from high school to NBA

ENTER THE YOUNG GUN
18. Drafted 13th by Hornets in 1996

19. Traded by Charlotte to Lakers for Vlade Divac on July 11, 1996

20. Chose No. 8 in NBA because number at adidas ABCD camp was 143 (1+4+3)

21. Youngest player to start an NBA game at 18 years, 5 months, 5 days

22. Second-team All-Rookie selection in 1996-97

23. Won 1997 Slam Dunk title during All-Star Weekend

24. At 19, was youngest All-Star in NBA history in 1998

SIGNS OF GREATNESS
25. MVP of 2002 All-Star Game in Philadelphia (31 points, five rebounds, five assists)

26. In 2003, became third player to post nine straight 40-point games

27. Set NBA mark with 12 3-pointers vs. Sonics on Jan. 7, 2003

28. Tied NBA record with eight 3s in half vs. Wizards on March 28, 2003

29. Has 21 game-winning shots in career

30. Has 14 career triple doubles

31. Three-time pick on All-NBA first team

32. Three-time pick on NBA's All-Defensive first team

ROUGH ON THE ROCKETS
33. Averaging 24 points in 29 games vs. Houston

34. Scored 27, all in 12:47 span during third and fourth quarters, on Dec. 12, 1997

35. Scored 52 in career-high 54 minutes on Feb. 18, 2003

SCORING MACHINE
36. Scored career playoff-high 48 at Sacramento on May 13, 2001

37. Averaged 33.3 points in four-game sweep of Spurs in 2001 Western Conference finals

38. Scored 56 vs. Grizzlies on Jan. 14, 2002, his career high before this season

39. Averaged career-best 30.0 points in 2002-03

40. Scored 42 (of 55) in one half on March 28, 2003, vs. Wizards

41. Among NBA's top six in scoring average in each of previous five seasons

42. Is 17th all-time with 23.3 points per NBA game

43. Has scored 22.6 points per game in playoffs

44. Is 23rd all-time with 2,694 playoff points

45. Fourth all-time with average of 20.1 points in All-Star Games

MORE TO HIM THAN POINTS
46. Career high in assists: 15

47. Career high in rebounds: 15

48. Career high in steals: six

49. Career high in blocks: five

LAKERS LANDMARKS
50. Part of three straight NBA title teams from 2000-02

51. Made team-record 43 straight free throws in March 2005

52. Sank team-record 23 free throws on Jan. 30, 2001, at Cleveland

53. Led team in scoring in each of last three seasons

54. Led team in assists in five of last six seasons

55. Led team in steals in five of last six seasons

56. Second in club history with 709 3-pointers

57. Sixth in club history with 15,641 points

58. Sixth in club history with 977 steals

59. Seventh in club history with 2,981 assists

60. Ninth in club history with 420 blocks

LIFE OFF THE COURT
61. Wife: Vanessa

62. Estimated value of wife's wedding ring: $100,000

63. Daughter: Natalia, who turned 3 last month

64. Expecting another daughter in May

65. Resides in Newport Beach, Calif.

66. Guest-rapped on Brian McKnight's Hold Me remix

67. Favorite movie: Star Wars

THIS SEASON TO DATE
68. In second year of seven-year deal topping $136 million

69. Elected Western Conference starter for eighth straight All-Star Game

70. Leads NBA with 35.7 points per game

71. Became youngest player in NBA history with 15,000 points

72. Has reached 40 points 14 times

73. Became third player to score 45 in four straight games

74. Became second player to average 40 points in a month twice (40.6 in February 2003 and 43.4 in January)

75. Scored 62 before sitting out fourth quarter at Dallas on Dec. 20, briefly a career high

76. Scored Lakers-record 30 in quarter at Dallas on Dec. 20

77. Tied NBA record by making 14 free throws in quarter at Dallas on Dec. 20

78. Scored 50 vs. Clippers on Jan. 7

79. Scored 51 at Sacramento on Jan. 19

80. Scored 55 in second half vs. Raptors on Jan. 22

81. Total of 81 points vs. Raptors on Jan. 22 second-highest in NBA history