The Rise

[A] riveting chronicle... Sielski lends pathos to a celebrity player known for stoicism in the face of pain. Fans will relish this nuanced take on an oft-overlooked part of the legend's remarkable story. --Publishers Weekly What incredible insight into the rise of Kobe Bryant. Sielski takes you back to Kobe's father's playing days and gives the reader new details from the start. This book gives you not only stories of Kobe Bryant but the real details from the people in Philly who knew him best. Captivating from start to finish. A must read -- and not just for the diehard basketball fan. --Billy King, former general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets Richly detailed and beautifully written, The Rise is more than a sports biography; it's an illuminating meditation on celebrity culture and how the pressures and vicissitudes of fame shaped the life of one of the most gifted--and complicated--athletes in American history. Even readers who have never watched a basketball game will be riveted by Mike Sielski's page-turning portrait of a young Kobe Bryant. --Abbott Kahler (aka Karen Abbott), New York Times bestselling author of The Ghosts of Eden Park and Sin in the Second City The Philly Phase of the Kobe Bryant Story was silt that settled at the bottom of a shimmering stream that dazzled the world for two decades ... until Kobe's shocking death sent Mike Sielski down with his big shovel, big heart, and big talent to dredge and divulge all its fertile richness in The Rise. --Gary Smith, former Sports Illustrated senior writer, four-time National Magazine Award winner, author of Beyond the Game: The Collected Sportswriting of Gary Smith and Going Deep: 20 Classic Sports Stories Kobe Bryant shot to NBA stardom like an arrow from a strong bow. His notable skills and singular focus were clear from the beginning. In Mike Sielski's sensitive reporting and crisp writing, we see the closest account you will ever read of a sure thing, from showing up as a child at a rec league tournament wearing goggles he didn't need -- because they were worn by Lakers star Kareem Abdul Jabbar -- to startling teachers with his fluent Italian, to leading his Lower Merion high school team to a state championship while training with -- and dazzling -- the Philadelphia Sixers, there was never any doubt about Kobe Bryant, least of all in his own mind. --Mark Bowden, bestselling author of Black Hawk Down, The Best Game Ever, Killing Pablo, Guests of the Ayatollah, and The Last Stone There may be similarities between Kobe Bryant's game and that of a select few NBA greats. But Kobe's path to the NBA and his tragically brief but meaningful post career life make his story unique. Mike Sielski presents that story informed by meticulous research and rendered with clear-eyed insights. --Bob Costas Every superhero needs an origin story. Luke Skywalker. Clark Kent. Bruce Wayne. And now, thanks to Mike Sielski, the rise of Kobe Bryant can be fully understood and appreciated. A riveting, PhD-level study of a generational talent gone far too soon. Bravo. --Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty As one of our greatest columnists and truth tellers, Mike Sielski is the perfect chronicler of one of the most triumphant and tragic sports stories ever told. Sielski uses never-before-published interviews to pry open windows on young Kobe Bryant's competitive soul that had been forever sealed, making The Rise a titanic work worthy of its subject. Let the Philly author with the unmatched local knowledge show you why Kobe belonged to the world, and the ages, in life and in death. --Ian O'Connor, New York Times bestselling author of Belichick, The Captain, and Arnie & Jack Everyone comes from somewhere. That's often hard to remember in the face of today's sports-celebrity complex. But it's true. There are places in every past that explain a rise to the highest stages and brightest lights. Kobe Bryant might have made his name in Los Angeles, or become famous in every corner of the globe, but he was from Philadelphia. Enter Mike Sielski, who is the most definitive and important voice in that august and sports mad city. His story of Kobe Bryant tracks his rise, from Philly to the peak of his profession. He follows him from high school gyms to NBA Finals to a helicopter ride with his daughter when the things he loved the most came tumbling from the sky. This is a poignant, essential part of the Bryant canon. --Wright Thompson, ESPN senior writer and author of the New York Times bestselling Pappyland: A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, and the Things That Last and The Cost of These Dreams The Rise is terrific and provides ample evidence why Mike Sielski is the only sportswriter I routinely read outside my home region. Now I know how Kobe became Kobe. --Chuck Hogan, author of The Town