What if we could go back in time, before he became the icon, and ask him: how did you become Kobe Bryant? “I Am Kobe” tells the story of Kobe Bryant’s early life through his coaches, his family, his friends. With never-before-heard intimate tapes of Kobe himself. His thoughts, his dreams, his goals from his teenage years, revealed for the first time. Listen to “I Am Kobe” for free on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, and all the places you get podcasts. Listen to his voice.

Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

What if we could go back in time, before he became the icon, and ask him: how did you become Kobe Bryant? “I Am Kobe” tells the story of Kobe Bryant’s early life through his coaches, his family, his friends. With never-before-heard intimate tapes of Kobe himself. His thoughts, his dreams, his goals from his teenage years, revealed for the first time. Listen to “I Am Kobe” for free on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, and all the places you get podcasts. Listen to his voice.
Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK
Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Webby Award winner and People's Voice winner for Best Sports podcast! How did Kobe Bryant craft the passion, the determination, and the strength to become a legend? This remarkable series reveals intimate, never-before-heard tapes of Kobe as a teenager, exploring his thoughts, his dreams, and his goals. Philadelphia journalist Mike Sielski tells the story of Kobe Bryant’s early years, weaving together these tapes and speaking with Kobe's high school coaches, his friends, his family, and the figures who knew him in his youth, to paint an enthralling documentary portrait of the making of an icon. Before he was an outsized global basketball celebrity for the Los Angeles Lakers, a 5-time NBA champion, an 18-time All-Star, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, a children’s-book author, a husband, a father, and sometimes a lightning rod for controversy, Kobe Bryant was a kid from Philadelphia. Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK

Webby Award winner and People's Voice winner for Best Sports podcast! How did Kobe Bryant craft the passion, the determination, and the strength to become a legend? This remarkable series reveals intimate, never-before-heard tapes of Kobe as a teenager, exploring his thoughts, his dreams, and his goals. Philadelphia journalist Mike Sielski tells the story of Kobe Bryant’s early years, weaving together these tapes and speaking with Kobe's high school coaches, his friends, his family, and the figures who knew him in his youth, to paint an enthralling documentary portrait of the making of an icon. Before he was an outsized global basketball celebrity for the Los Angeles Lakers, a 5-time NBA champion, an 18-time All-Star, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, a children’s-book author, a husband, a father, and sometimes a lightning rod for controversy, Kobe Bryant was a kid from Philadelphia. Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK

I Am Kobe

Webby Award winner & People's Voice winner for Best Sports Podcast. How did Kobe Bryant craft the passion, the determination, and the strength to become a legend? This remarkable series reveals intimate, never-before-heard tapes of Kobe as a teenager, exploring his thoughts, his dreams, and his goals. Philadelphia journalist Mike Sielski tells the story of Kobe Bryant’s early years, weaving together these tapes and speaking with Kobe's high school coaches, his friends, his family, and the figures who knew him in his youth, to paint an enthralling documentary portrait of the making of an icon. Before he was an outsized global basketball celebrity for the Los Angeles Lakers, a 5-time NBA champion, an 18-time All-Star, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, a children’s-book author, a husband, a father, and sometimes a lightning rod for controversy, Kobe Bryant was a kid from Philadelphia. Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK

Webby Award winner &amp; People's Voice winner for Best Sports Podcast. How did Kobe Bryant craft the passion, the determination, and the strength to become a legend? This remarkable series reveals intimate, never-before-heard tapes of Kobe as a teenager, exploring his thoughts, his dreams, and his goals. Philadelphia journalist Mike Sielski tells the story of Kobe Bryant’s early years, weaving together these tapes and speaking with Kobe's high school coaches, his friends, his family, and the figures who knew him in his youth, to paint an enthralling documentary portrait of the making of an icon. Before he was an outsized global basketball celebrity for the Los Angeles Lakers, a 5-time NBA champion, an 18-time All-Star, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, a children’s-book author, a husband, a father, and sometimes a lightning rod for controversy, Kobe Bryant was a kid from Philadelphia. Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK

What if we could go back in time, before he became the icon, and ask him: how did you become Kobe Bryant? “I Am Kobe” tells the story of Kobe Bryant’s early life through his coaches, his family, his friends. With never-before-heard intimate tapes of Kobe himself. His thoughts, his dreams, his goals from his teenage years, revealed for the first time. Listen to “I Am Kobe” for free on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, and all the places you get podcasts. Listen to his voice. November 16, 2021.

Official Trailer: I Am Kobe

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/55220ef5-9a25-40ea-ae7e-ae39005977fc/transcript

At the second anniversary of Kobe Bryant's death, we explore how the change in Kobe late in his career might have come about and what this “new Kobe” was like. We hear from Carmelo Anthony, future Hall of Famer, 9th-leading scorer in NBA history. And we hear from two players on Kobe’s hometown team: the Philadelphia 76ers. Mike Sielski spoke with Seth Curry and Tobias Harris about their vantage points on Kobe: what it was like to grow up watching him and what it was like to meet him and play against him. And more importantly, we spoke about why Kobe’s presence and spirit are still felt throughout the NBA.




Purchase Mike Sielski's related book: “The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality": TheRiseOfKobeBook.com




Join the conversation about “I Am Kobe” on social media: on Twitter and Instagram: @diversionpods




Our theme music is “Create Yourself” by Grover Braam feat. Justin Starling: Listen to Create Yourself on Spotify




Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK




“I Am Kobe” is a production of Diversion Podcasts in association with iHeartRadio. This season is written and hosted by Mike Sielski. Produced by Jacob Bronstein and directed by Mark Francis. Story editing by Jacob Bronstein with editorial direction from Scott Waxman. Editing, mixing, and sound design by Mark Francis. Production Assistant: Stephen Tompkins. Music Supervisor: Scott Velasquez for Frisson Sync. Executive Producers: Mark Francis and Scott Waxman. 




Thanks to Oren Rosenbaum, Susan Canavan, and Jeremy Treatman.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

At the second anniversary of Kobe Bryant's death, we explore how the change in Kobe late in his career might have come about and what this “new Kobe” was like. We hear from Carmelo Anthony, future Hall of Famer, 9th-leading scorer in NBA history. And we hear from two players on Kobe’s hometown team: the Philadelphia 76ers. Mike Sielski spoke with Seth Curry and Tobias Harris about their vantage points on Kobe: what it was like to grow up watching him and what it was like to meet him and play against him. And more importantly, we spoke about why Kobe’s presence and spirit are still felt throughout the NBA. Purchase Mike Sielski's related book: “The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality": <a href="https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/the-rise/">TheRiseOfKobeBook.com</a> Join the conversation about “I Am Kobe” on social media: on Twitter and Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diversionpods/">@diversionpods</a> Our theme music is “Create Yourself” by Grover Braam feat. Justin Starling: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/532dT5dK1qu37kj79MfPT0?si=7ad398328205411b">Listen to Create Yourself on Spotify</a> Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK “I Am Kobe” is a production of Diversion Podcasts in association with iHeartRadio. This season is written and hosted by Mike Sielski. Produced by Jacob Bronstein and directed by Mark Francis. Story editing by Jacob Bronstein with editorial direction from Scott Waxman. Editing, mixing, and sound design by Mark Francis. Production Assistant: Stephen Tompkins. Music Supervisor: Scott Velasquez for Frisson Sync. Executive Producers: Mark Francis and Scott Waxman.  Thanks to Oren Rosenbaum, Susan Canavan, and Jeremy Treatman. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

At the second anniversary of Kobe Bryant's death, we explore how the change in Kobe late in his career might have come about and what this “new Kobe” was like. We hear from Carmelo Anthony, future Hall of Famer, 9th-leading scorer in NBA history. And we hear from two players on Kobe’s hometown team: the Philadelphia 76ers. Mike Sielski spoke with Seth Curry and Tobias Harris about their vantage points on Kobe: what it was like to grow up watching him and what it was like to meet him and play against him. And more importantly, we spoke about why Kobe’s presence and spirit are still felt throughout the NBA.

Legacy

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/d44b0a04-fa0a-489c-ba48-ae390055736e/transcript

Let's drill down on the physical and mental attributes that made Kobe Bryant a great basketball player--the granular stuff that basketball junkies love. We examine each stage of Kobe's life and career through the eyes of someone who knew Kobe well at each stage. We have three coaches with ties to Kobe to break everything down. First, you’ll hear from Ashley Howard, who grew up with Kobe and played against him when they were kids. He had been Jay Wright’s top assistant coach on two national-championship teams at Villanova, and now he’s the head coach at La Salle University.




In Part 2 of this episode you’ll hear from Temple University head coach Aaron McKie, who played 13 seasons in the NBA. Aaron finished his career with the Lakers; he was Kobe’s teammate there for two years. But before that, he had to guard him a couple of times each season -- and throughout the 2001 NBA Finals, when Kobe’s Lakers beat Aaron’s 76ers.




In Part 3 you’ll hear from Brett Brown. Brett has known Kobe for a long time and in a lot of ways. He game-planned against him and got to coach him in two NBA All-Star Games when Brett was an assistant under Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs. He coached against Kobe in the Olympics, when Kobe was on the U.S. team and Brett was the head coach of the Australian team. And Brett was the Sixers’ head coach when Kobe played his final game in Philadelphia, in December 2015.




Purchase Mike Sielski's related book: “The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality": TheRiseOfKobeBook.com




Join the conversation about “I Am Kobe” on social media: on Twitter and Instagram: @diversionpods




Our theme music is “Create Yourself” by Grover Braam feat. Justin Starling: Listen to Create Yourself on Spotify




Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK




“I Am Kobe” is a production of Diversion Podcasts in association with iHeartRadio. This season is written and hosted by Mike Sielski. Produced by Jacob Bronstein and directed by Mark Francis. Story editing by Jacob Bronstein with editorial direction from Scott Waxman. Editing, mixing, and sound design by Mark Francis. Production Assistant: Stephen Tompkins. Music Supervisor: Scott Velasquez for Frisson Sync. Executive Producers: Mark Francis and Scott Waxman. 




Thanks to Oren Rosenbaum, Susan Canavan, and Jeremy Treatman.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Let's drill down on the physical and mental attributes that made Kobe Bryant a great basketball player--the granular stuff that basketball junkies love. We examine each stage of Kobe's life and career through the eyes of someone who knew Kobe well at each stage. We have three coaches with ties to Kobe to break everything down. First, you’ll hear from Ashley Howard, who grew up with Kobe and played against him when they were kids. He had been Jay Wright’s top assistant coach on two national-championship teams at Villanova, and now he’s the head coach at La Salle University. In Part 2 of this episode you’ll hear from Temple University head coach Aaron McKie, who played 13 seasons in the NBA. Aaron finished his career with the Lakers; he was Kobe’s teammate there for two years. But before that, he had to guard him a couple of times each season -- and throughout the 2001 NBA Finals, when Kobe’s Lakers beat Aaron’s 76ers. In Part 3 you’ll hear from Brett Brown. Brett has known Kobe for a long time and in a lot of ways. He game-planned against him and got to coach him in two NBA All-Star Games when Brett was an assistant under Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs. He coached against Kobe in the Olympics, when Kobe was on the U.S. team and Brett was the head coach of the Australian team. And Brett was the Sixers’ head coach when Kobe played his final game in Philadelphia, in December 2015. Purchase Mike Sielski's related book: “The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality": <a href="https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/the-rise">TheRiseOfKobeBook.com</a> Join the conversation about “I Am Kobe” on social media: on Twitter and Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diversionpods">@diversionpods</a> Our theme music is “Create Yourself” by Grover Braam feat. Justin Starling: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/532dT5dK1qu37kj79MfPT0?si=7ad398328205411b">Listen to Create Yourself on Spotify</a> Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK “I Am Kobe” is a production of Diversion Podcasts in association with iHeartRadio. This season is written and hosted by Mike Sielski. Produced by Jacob Bronstein and directed by Mark Francis. Story editing by Jacob Bronstein with editorial direction from Scott Waxman. Editing, mixing, and sound design by Mark Francis. Production Assistant: Stephen Tompkins. Music Supervisor: Scott Velasquez for Frisson Sync. Executive Producers: Mark Francis and Scott Waxman.  Thanks to Oren Rosenbaum, Susan Canavan, and Jeremy Treatman. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

Let's drill down on the physical and mental attributes that made Kobe Bryant a great basketball player--the granular stuff that basketball junkies love. We examine each stage of Kobe's life and career through the eyes of someone who knew Kobe well at each stage. We have three coaches with ties to Kobe to break everything down. First, you’ll hear from Ashley Howard, who grew up with Kobe and played against him when they were kids. He had been Jay Wright’s top assistant coach on two national-championship teams at Villanova, and now he’s the head coach at La Salle University.

Tricks of the Basketball Trade

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/52b88103-d05a-4244-94a1-ae390055a1b5/transcript

“Kobe Bryant dead? That can’t be." Kobe Bryant’s death affected those people who knew him when he was a kid differently than it affected anyone else. It's not that Kobe’s Lakers teammates or his friends from the NBA weren’t profoundly saddened by his death but the connection between Kobe and people like Jeremy Treatman and his high school coach Gregg Downer and his classmates and teammates from Lower Merion High School was something else entirely.




With two years of distance from his death, we can see more clearly what we ought to take away from Kobe's life and his career. We see the value of passion. And determination. And an unwavering belief in yourself. We see his singular and blinkered focus on becoming the best — and his resolute willingness to work as hard and as long as he needed to to achieve it. We see how the people around him fostered and encouraged that focus. And we see the cost of that focus: the entitlement, the self-centeredness. And we see that that cost can be steep.




We see, most of all, the everlasting effect that Kobe Bryant had and still has, on the people who knew him. For them, he’ll never really be gone. He’ll always be there: his scowl, his smile, his breathtaking talent, his relentless desire and tireless will, the kid he had been, the man he was becoming. Forever.




Purchase Mike Sielski's related book: “The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality": TheRiseOfKobeBook.com




Join the conversation about “I Am Kobe” on social media: on Twitter and Instagram: @diversionpods




Our theme music is “Create Yourself” by Grover Braam feat. Justin Starling: Listen to Create Yourself on Spotify




Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK




“I Am Kobe” is a production of Diversion Podcasts in association with iHeartRadio. This season is written and hosted by Mike Sielski. Produced by Jacob Bronstein and directed by Mark Francis. Story editing by Jacob Bronstein with editorial direction from Scott Waxman. Editing, mixing, and sound design by Mark Francis. Production Assistant: Stephen Tompkins. Music Supervisor: Scott Velasquez for Frisson Sync. Executive Producers: Mark Francis and Scott Waxman. 




Thanks to Oren Rosenbaum, Susan Canavan, and Jeremy Treatman.

 Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

“Kobe Bryant dead? That can’t be." Kobe Bryant’s death affected those people who knew him when he was a kid differently than it affected anyone else. It's not that Kobe’s Lakers teammates or his friends from the NBA weren’t profoundly saddened by his death but the connection between Kobe and people like Jeremy Treatman and his high school coach Gregg Downer and his classmates and teammates from Lower Merion High School was something else entirely. With two years of distance from his death, we can see more clearly what we ought to take away from Kobe's life and his career. We see the value of passion. And determination. And an unwavering belief in yourself. We see his singular and blinkered focus on becoming the best — and his resolute willingness to work as hard and as long as he needed to to achieve it. We see how the people around him fostered and encouraged that focus. And we see the cost of that focus: the entitlement, the self-centeredness. And we see that that cost can be steep. We see, most of all, the everlasting effect that Kobe Bryant had and still has, on the people who knew him. For them, he’ll never really be gone. He’ll always be there: his scowl, his smile, his breathtaking talent, his relentless desire and tireless will, the kid he had been, the man he was becoming. Forever. Purchase Mike Sielski's related book: “The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality": <a href="https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/the-rise/">TheRiseOfKobeBook.com</a> Join the conversation about “I Am Kobe” on social media: on Twitter and Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diversionpods/">@diversionpods</a> Our theme music is “Create Yourself” by Grover Braam feat. Justin Starling: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/532dT5dK1qu37kj79MfPT0?si=7ad398328205411b">Listen to Create Yourself on Spotify</a> Cover photo © Eileen Blass – USA TODAY NETWORK “I Am Kobe” is a production of Diversion Podcasts in association with iHeartRadio. This season is written and hosted by Mike Sielski. Produced by Jacob Bronstein and directed by Mark Francis. Story editing by Jacob Bronstein with editorial direction from Scott Waxman. Editing, mixing, and sound design by Mark Francis. Production Assistant: Stephen Tompkins. Music Supervisor: Scott Velasquez for Frisson Sync. Executive Producers: Mark Francis and Scott Waxman.  Thanks to Oren Rosenbaum, Susan Canavan, and Jeremy Treatman. Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com</a>

“Kobe Bryant dead? That can’t be." Kobe Bryant’s death affected those people who knew him when he was a kid differently than it affected anyone else. It's not that Kobe’s Lakers teammates or his friends from the NBA weren’t profoundly saddened by his death but the connection between Kobe and people like Jeremy Treatman and his high school coach Gregg Downer and his classmates and teammates from Lower Merion High School was something else entirely.

Remembering Greatness

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f99336f3-0470-4650-931f-ae39005571c5/transcript

Official Trailer: I Am Kobe

I Am Kobe

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