If you spent your February Saturday afternoon like I did — going to an area Dick’s Sporting Goods not 24-hours after the Eagles Championship Parade on Broad Street for the chance to see Eagles players such as Cooper DeJean — then you know great talent when you see it.
One day prior — DeJean was celebrating the Eagles second Super Bowl victory in franchise history by enjoying the parade with fans, entertaining Valentine’s Day love proposals, and thanking Philadelphia for selecting him in the NFL Draft of 2024. But DeJean’s ride to Super Bowl stardom becoming the first NFL rookie with a pick six in the Super Bowl and on his birthday began with a showcase of high school athleticism. He would win a State Championship in the 100-meter dash and the long jump. In basketball — he slam dunked his way (literally) to 1,832 points. But in football he was dominant — winning State Championships as a junior and a senior — evening scoring the winning touchdown in his senior campaign. It was was a showcase of ability the likes of which I have seen before.
When I ventured down to the Palestra in 1996 as a young sports’ journalist to see PIAA High School Basketball Semi-Finals — I had certainly heard of the rumors of the 6 foot 7 guard who played for Lower Merion and the son of the Sixers own Joe Bryant. But this game was not like any other that I had ever seen at the storied Palestra. Watching any game at Penn’s indoor basketball palace — constructed in 1927 and void of interior pillars by design — is not only historic. It offers hardly a bad seat in the house, if you are lucky enough to snag one of those court side seats — it puts you right in the action. I had seen crowds before — but for this game — the Palestra was packed with not a seat to spare.
It’s been five years since Kobe Bryant’s tragic death in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California that killed he and eight other passengers including his daughter Gianna in January of 2020 — merely two months before the Coronavirus pandemic swept the nation. Over the past month, CNN has aired Kobe: The Making of A Legend to honor his life since boyhood.
After his humble beginnings at Lower Merion High School, Kobe was to become one of the finest players in NBA history. His tireless work ethic — combined with a relentless pursuit of perfection — earned him five NBA Championships, two NBA Finals MVP Awards, and two NBA scoring titles.
The kid that had been born in Philadelphia before moving with his family in the 1980s to Italy — the son of Joe Bryant — who had impressed on basketball courts all over Philadelphia in the Sonny Hill Leagues — and whose performances at Lower Merion High School are still as impressive as the day that they happened created a lasting legacy.
Every now and again — Kobe would return to play the Sixers at home in South Philadelphia to the throngs of boos from the crowd when playing in an NBA All-Star Game — a mixture of a true understanding of his talent as well as an appreciation of his Philly roots. When the world lost his father last July, the affection for the Bryant family came rushing back to us all.
Philadelphia’s high schools are enjoying national recognition for athletics of late. During this year’s NCAA College Football Playoffs — six teams had Philadelphia high school football recruits on their rosters including the National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes. On the basketball court — Philadelphia has high school talent in the 2025 recruiting class going to programs from LSU to Northwestern to the University of Minnesota. Will any of them be the next Kobe Bryant or Cooper DeJean?
What I saw on that day on at the Palestra challenged virtually everything that I had known about Philadelphia basketball talent. Kobe — battling against his good friend and future NBA Star “Rip” Hamilton would score 29 points, have three blocked shots, and pull down eleven rebounds. With Lower Merion down by 6 and just under three minutes left — Bryant took over in a 70–65 win. It wasn’t just another game for the college basketball’s oldest indoor haven in America — but then again — Kobe was anything but just another standout high school basketball player.
Cooper DeJean isn’t, either.
Michael Thomas Leibrandt is member of the York Road Historical Society and lives and works in Abington Township.
