Lower Merion

Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist Mike Sielski, author of the 2022 book “The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality,” said that brief video captures the essence of Bryant, who made the jump directly from Lower Merion High School in the Philadelphia suburbs to the NBA.

Egan was a top assistant at Lower Merion under head coach Gregg Downer during Bryant’s junior and senior years, and first met the hoops prodigy on the courts of the local Jewish community center.

As the years passed, and Egan took a job at Lower Merion, the two became good friends.

Bryant served as head coach of the girls’ team at Akiba Hebrew Academy in 1992-93 before moving to La Salle as an assistant for the duration of Kobe’s career at Lower Merion High.

When Lower Merion High retired Bryant’s jersey in 2002, Joe and Pam sat in one section of the stands, Vanessa in another.