Monday's P.M. Hot Clicks: Rare Photos of Kobe Bryant

Rare Photos of Kobe Bryant

Rare Photos of Kobe Bryant

Courtesy of the Bryant Family

Kobe, age 11, plays in a fundraiser while living in Italy.

Rusty Kennedy/AP

Kobe dunks the ball at his Lower Merion, Pa. high school gym during a practice on Jan. 19, 1996.

Mirek Towski/DMI/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

We all knew Bryant was a superstar when he took singer/actress Brandy to his high school prom in 1996. Stud.

AP

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.

AP

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.

Andy Hayt/NBAE via Getty Images

Here's Kobe, striking a pose during his rookie photo shoot. Charming.

Jon SooHoo/NBAE via Getty Images

The rookie poses outside his new home in 1997, the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

George Lange for Sports Illustrated

Kobe's got a secret during this photo shoot in 1997.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Kobe and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson chat it up during a game in 1997.

Andy Hayt/NBAE via Getty Images

My how things have changed since this 1997 photo. Kobe remains a top NBA player while Stephon Marbury is playing in China.

AP

Shaquille carries Bryant during a team media day photo shoot in 1997. Aww, they look so happy!

Jan Sonnenmair for Sports Illustrated

Kobe poses with Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson in the make-up room before taping of the show "All That" in 1998.

Jan Sonnenmair for Sports Illustrated

Kobe looks concerned as Amanda Bynes acts a little crazy during taping of the show "All That" in 1998.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

Kobe shows off his guns during this 1998 photo shoot.

Manny Millan for Sports Illustrated

Kobe tries to get around Michael Jordan during the 1998 All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

Kobe poses with Magic Johnson during this photo shoot in 1998.

Kobe appears in deep thought during this photo shoot in 2000.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

Kobe sits in what is likely one of many nice cars he owns in 2000.

David E. Klutho for Sports Illustrated

Kobe and Shaq pose with their respective make-out trophies after winning the 2000 NBA Finals.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

Shaq and Kobe (a.k.a. Superman and The Black Mamba) pose together in 2001.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

Shaq and Kobe laugh as the Big Cactus appears to have ticklish feet in the training room before a game in 2002.

Jesse D Garrabrant NBAE/ Getty Images

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.

Andrew D. Bernstein/ NBAE/ Getty Images

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.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Kobe shares a laugh with Michael Jordan during the 2003 All-Star Game.

AP

Bryant returned to Lower Merion High in 2007 to enjoy a few laughs.

Ric Francis/AP

Kobe peeks out form the training room as teammates Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher wrap up a scrimmage during basketball practice in Oct. 2007.

AP

Bryant tries out the refurbished Stallings playground in New Orleans in 2008.

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Family portrait! Kobe poses with wife Vanessa and daughters Natalia and Gianna at the 2007-08 MVP press conference.

Michael O'Neill for Sports Illustrated

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.

Scott Brinegar/Disney via Getty Images

Kobe acts like a kid again, riding the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland in June 2009.

John W. McDonough for Sports Illustrated

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.

Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

After winning his fourth title, Kobe and the Mrs. return home with his 2009 NBA Finals MVP trophy.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

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.

David Livingston/Getty Images

Bryant is honored at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Feb. 2011.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Venus Williams and Kobe speak during the 2011 Cartoon Network's "Hall of Game" Award Show in Santa Monica.

Kris Connor/Getty Images

Eddie Pope and Bryant fight for the ball during the 2011 Celebrity Soccer Challenge at Kastles Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Bryant has his ankle wrapped in the locker room before a playoff game against Denver in 2012.

Brian To/WireImage

Kobe rocks red pants and Air Jordans while speaking at a 2012 press conference for the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation.

Walter Iooss Jr. for Sports Illustrated

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.

Robert Beck for Sports Illustrated

Kobe relaxes on a couch during this photo shoot in 2014.

Andrew D. Bernstein for Sports Illustrated

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

U.S. Soccer's First Couple

Most Valuable U.S. Sports Team

Get Out!!

Kobe Gets a Cake

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.

Post by Tom Brady.

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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). 

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