Q 01/05

Kobe Bryant was named after what?

A) A style of Japanese beef

B) A city his parents honeymooned in

C) A jazz trumpeter

D) A Buddhist temple

Answer · why

A) A style of Japanese beef

A style of Japanese beef: his father picked the name after spotting Kobe beef on a restaurant menu.

Q 02/05

How many seasons did Kobe's father, Joe Bryant, play in the NBA?

A) Eight

B) Two

C) Twelve

D) Fifteen

Answer · why

A) Eight

Joe Bryant played eight NBA seasons, from 1975 to 1983, with the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers and Houston Rockets, before taking the family ...

Q 03/05

Which future WNBA star befriended young Kobe while both of their fathers were playing pro basketball abroad?

A) Lisa Leslie

B) Tamika Catchings

C) Candace Parker

D) Sheryl Swoopes

Answer · why

B) Tamika Catchings

Tamika Catchings: decades later she and Kobe were enshrined together in the Naismith Hall of Fame's class of 2020.

Q 04/05

Which soccer club did Kobe call his favourite team growing up?

A) Juventus

B) Inter Milan

C) AS Roma

D) A.C. Milan

Answer · why

D) A.C. Milan

A.C. Milan: he spent ages 6 to 13 abroad while his father played pro basketball, and grew up loving the club.

Q 05/05

Kobe was the first guard to jump straight from high school to the NBA; which forward had done it a year earlier?

A) Jermaine O'Neal

B) Rasheed Wallace

C) Shawn Kemp

D) Kevin Garnett

Answer · why

D) Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett: owners wanted to stop deals like his record $126 million contract, and the 1998-99 lockout followed.