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.

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