Before he was the "Black Mamba," Kobe Bryant was a high school kid on the Main Line outside of Philadelphia.
Born in Philadelphia, Kobe would live abroad before his family returned to Montgomery County, where Kobe went on to star at Lower Merion High School, leading the Aces to a state championship his senior season.
Kobe would forego college to enter the NBA Draft, where the Charlotte Hornets picked him 13th overall before trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Twenty seasons, five championships, 18 All-Star appearances, and an MVP Award later, Kobe had cemented himself as an all-time NBA great. Kobe died Sunday, along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others, in a helicopter crash in Southern California.
Kobe always remembered his Philly area roots. Take a look back at some of those moments and how he is being remembered.
17 photos
1/17
Rusty Kennedy/AP
Kobe Bryant dunks the ball at his Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, high school gym during a practice on Jan. 19, 1996. He led the Aces to the 1996 Pennsylvania state championship.
2/17
Gregg Downer, Kobe's high school coach, holds the full page color newspaper cover of Kobe during the 1996 state championship year for Lower Merion High School.
3/17
Getty Images
Kobe Bryant would occasionally visits his alma mater Lower Merion High School during his time starring with the Lakers.
4/17
A banner marks Kobe's Lower Merion accomplishments. It hangs in a gym named for him.
5/17
People pay their respects outside Bryant Gymnasium at Lower Merion High School.
6/17
NBC10
Kobe would return to the Philly area to speak to students.
7/17
Getty Images
Kobe talks with a classroom full of students while visiting his alma mater Lower Merion High School March 9, 2007.
8/17
NBC10
Kobe would try to alwasy stop in for a cheesesteak at Larry’s Steaks. The Philly sandwich shop put a banner up honoring Kobe and his daughter Gianna after they died.
9/17
Some of the tributes left to Kobe.
10/17
Other tributes included basketballs left outside the Lower Merion gym.
11/17
Getty Images
Kobe always cheered on the Eagles, even speaking to the team during their Super Bowl run.
12/17
He never did, however, play for his hometown Sixers. (Despite this photo)
13/17
Getty Images
Kobe won one of championships by defeating Allen Iverson and the Sixers in 2001.
14/17
A.I. and Kobe would remain friends.
15/17
Getty Images
In 2002, Kobe won the All-Star MVP in front of the Philly crowd at the First Union Center.
16/17
Getty Images
Downer and Kobe shared a moment prior to Kobe's final game against the 76ers in Philly on Dec. 1, 2015. Kobe was presented with his framed Lower Merion jersey.
17/17
Sixers fans showered Kobe with cheers during the final appearance in the City of Brotherly Love.
