The home where late basketball star Kobe Bryant grew up has been placed on the market for $899,900.
Located in the Philadelphia suburb of Wynnewood, the Colonial-style property became the Bryant family’s home after they came back to the United States from Italy in 1991. Bryant’s father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, had been playing professional basketball abroad and returned home in time for Bryant to start eighth grade.
The home still has the basketball hoop where Bryant used to practice before being drafted into the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. According to realtor.com, it was also where Bryant lived when he asked actress and fellow classmate Brandy Norwood out on a date for their senior prom.
The five-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom home was built in 1957 and measures 3,400 square feet. Not knowing that its owners were the Bryants, the last buyer paid $510,000 for it back in 2008. Compass’ TJ Sokso is now the listing agent selling the property.
“When they bought it, I don’t think they really had a clue until settlement, when they met Pamela, Kobe’s mom,” Sokso told realtor.com “I guess the Realtor who initially sold it maybe undersold it.”
Most of the home is decorated in a traditional style, with stained woodwork throughout. There’s a den with a stone fireplace, and the kitchen features stainless steel appliances. The outside has a circular driveway and is surrounded by trees and flower beds.
Bryant’s bedroom was the first one at the top of the stairs. “Kobe probably wouldn’t like this but it’s the one with the teddy bear on the bed,” Sokso said.
After the current owner decided to sell, she met with Sokso to go over any items that may have been left behind from the Bryants’ time in the home. They found a shelf of magazines, including an issue of Sports Illustrated with a Michael Jordan cover that had been addressed to Bryant.
Bryant, who played for the Lakers from 1996 until his retirement in 2016, was one of the most celebrated and beloved players in the team’s history. He and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were two of seven people killed when a helicopter carrying them crashed into the side of a mountain in Calabasas on Jan. 26 of this year.
Sokso said that shooting a hoop during any showing could be a way of honoring the home where Bryant grew up.
“I brought in an NBA ball, so maybe we will do that,” he said. “I’ll put a ball off to the side, that would be fun.”
