"I like to create things for my teammates. I love to pass the ball, but when it comes down to crunch time, I click it on. There's no doubt I want the ball."

About Draft Day "It was pretty difficult, because I had my mother there squeezing my thigh and my sister there squeezing my hands, and my father there winking at me all teary-eyed. It was very hard, and I am glad it is over with."

Dell Harris "No one ever questioned his one-on-one skills, or even his team skills. But he didn't have college as a transition, to (advance) from where he could dominate everybody he played and do virtually what he wanted without paying a price. There's almost no embarrassment factor for him against high school kids; he could make a mistake come out all right, because he's so good. He would have gotten into some situations in college where he would have gotten stopped and had to adjust. The good news is that he's consciously working at it, and he's making good progress."

"I'm not afraid to fail. When I'm 40, if I sit back and I say, 'Man, I went to the NBA, I gave it my all and I failed,' it happens. But I couldn't accept not going to the NBA and giving my all. I can't accept that."

His favorite movie is Star Wars, he likes Karate movies and introduced Tracy McGrady to karate movies, Now McGrady is a karate-movie junkie!! Kobe likes reading, swimming and video games. Some of his favorite foods are Macaroni and cheese, swordfish, sweet potatoes, vanila malts, Apple pie. his favorite cartoon charcter: "road runner; because he cant be caught." His favorite actor is Will Smith, Magazine is Vibe, sports magazine is Slam, tv show is Moesha, baseball team is the Mariners, rap song is If I Ruled The World by NAS and Lauren Hill, group is Boyz II Men.

..There are the earrings. He doesn't wear any. "I don't want holes in my ears," he says. "Nothing against anybody else, but it's not for me." Then there are the tattoos. He doesn't have any. "What for?" he says.

Kobe went to the High School Prom with super star singer/actress Brandy. She was at the All Star Weekend to see him with the Dunk Contest and play in the Rookie game.. she and her brother (Ray-J)were cheering him on the whole time. Now they claim to be just freinds...

"I'm still a mama's boy, I'll want some home-cooked meals....."

The way he got his #8 from that his birhtday is in the 8th month and in the ABCD camp he was mvp so he took the numbers #143 and added them up and he took #8

He has his own shoe the KB-8 from Adidas. why is he with Adidas?"For the simple fact that adidas is upcoming, on the rise. I wanted to be a part of that. It's easy to just go the brand that's already at the top, join in and blend in, but that's something I didn't want to do."

He's going to school "I have started taking courses at the University of California at Los Angeles. I dont know what I will major in yet. Right now, my favorite subject is criminal law."

Who's his favorite basketball player? "I like 'em all, to tell you the truth. Magic, Michael, Penny."

Other sports stars he admires: "I like Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys. He plays with a lot of desire. He works hard and he's a great person. I also admire all-time home-run champ Hank Aaron, who played for the Atlanta Braves"

Kobe does'nt go out after games and party and stuff.. nope. he jus chills. "I go home with my mother, my father, or my sisters. We have a nice little dinner together. Then I go to sleep." His Dad says, "As I said to one reporter, I said, 'Hey, all these guys are going to the clubs. Kobe will be back at the hotel reading a book or playing Nintendo.' Maybe he'll have a couple of guys stay with him. Basketball will speak for itself. But it's no doubt about it that he has the personality and there's something about him that's going to attract a lot of people in a positive manner. That's what the NBA needs today."