"I get to give my parents allowance": When asked about repaying his parents, Kobe Bryant had sly grin retort up his sleeve
Kobe Bryant was raised by his parents, Joe and Pam Bryant, in Philadelphia. Bryant also spent time in Italy when his father was playing basketball overseas.
The relationship between Kobe and his parents was contentious a few years before his death. However, the LA Lakers legend was once very giving to them when he got into the NBA.
In an appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in 1996, Leno asked Bryant if he no longer cut his parents' lawn after signing a multi-million dollar contract with the Lakers. The future five-time NBA champion responded:
"The good thing now is It get to give my parents allowance," Kobe said.
The interview happened before Bryant had married Vanessa Laine, who his father and mother didn't like. The relationship was fractured, as Joe and Pam were not present at Kobe and Vanessa's wedding in 2001.
It seems like things were getting mended in 2005 when Joe became the coach of the LA Sparks in the WNBA. Joe and Pam were present during the 2010 NBA Finals when the LA Lakers took on the Boston Celtics.
However, things turned sour again in 2013 when Joe and Pam auctioned off memorabilia from Kobe's high school career at Lower Merion and a few items from his early run with the Lakers. Kobe sued his parents, who had to give a public apology for their actions.
"We regret our actions and statements related to the Kobe Bryant auction memorabilia," Joe and Pam said in a statement.
"We apologize for any misunderstanding and unintended pain we have caused our son and appreciate the financial support he has provided over the years."
In an interview with ESPN after his retirement in 2016, Bryant discussed his relationship with his father and mother. He was still disappointed at what happened three years earlier, while Pam and Joe were noticeably absent in his final game.
'Our relationship is sh*t," Kobe said. "I say, 'I'm going to buy you a very nice home,' and the response is, 'That's not good enough?' Then you're selling my sh*t?"
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Kobe Bryant's relationship with his two sisters
While Kobe Bryant had an up-and-down relationship with his parents, he was very close to his two sisters, Sharia and Shay Bryant.
Kobe praised his two sisters for accomplishing their dreams without relying on his money.
"I'm really proud of them," Bryant told ESPN. "They were able to get their own jobs, get their own lives, take care of themselves. Now they have a better sense of self, of who they are as people, instead of being resentful because they were relying on me."
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