It didn't take long for Kobe Bryant's hyper-competitiveness to become his defining feature as a basketball player.
Over All-Star weekend during his rookie season on the Lakers in 1997, Bryant set a Rookie Game record with 31 points. The next night, Bryant won the Slam Dunk Contest in dominant fashion.
Below is footage from that dunk contest.
This is before it became an over-the-top circus show with cars and Superman costumes. But even in 1997, as an 18-year-old, Bryant's facial expressions and overall swagger shine through.
Here are the highlights — all GIFs and screenshots come from YouTube:
Bryant was one of six dunkers in the contest, including Ray Allen. As a not-yet-hoarse Doc Rivers said on the broadcast, Bryant wasn't anyone's favorite to win.
The judges that year included Lisa Leslie, who was the first woman to ever judge the Dunk Contest.
Here's Bryant's first dunk:
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