In one of basketball’s greatest coincidences, Lower Merion High School and LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant once revealed that his grandmother rejected Wilt Chamberlain, another basketball great, for prom, writes Samir Mehdi for The Sports Rush.

Bryant lived in Wynnewood with his parents after they returned from Italy, where his father played basketball. The family had roots in the Philadelphia area, with Bryant’s grandparents living there.

Chamberlain, who still holds the record for most points scored in a game at 100, with Bryant behind him with 81, grew up in Overbrook. But before becoming a superstar at Kansas, he attended Overbrook High School with Bryant’s grandmother.

The 7-foot-tall star asked her to go to the prom with him, but she turned him down since she already had a date with the man who would turn out to be the Black Mamba’s grandfather.

Bryant told the story in 2013 when he passed Chamberlain for fourth on the all-time regular season scoring list.

Read more about Kobe Bryant in The Sports Rush.

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Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on MONTCO Today in April 2022.