Despite a nice showing at Sunday's NBA All Star game in Houston, Kobe Bryant is not reaping many of the benefits of professional athlete superstardom these days.
While the Los Angeles Laker was able to reconcile differences with his wife Vanessa Bryant to call of their divorce proceedings, the timing couldn't have been much worse for the couple. The near-divorce has cost Bryant and his family their beloved $3 million mansion Vanessa was awarded during the initial divorce proceedings.
According to TMZ, Mrs. Bryant sold the 6,000-square-foot mansion for roughly $3.22 million when it closed in January, but the canceled divorce won't bring back the home they first purchased in 1999 for $1 million. As if that wasn't bad enough, Bryant initially listed the home for $3.75 million and allowed it to go for more than a half a million dollars less than the listed price. Ouch.
Troubles at the home aren't Bryant's only problems. His highly lauded Lakers squad has been a major disappointment in 2013, and it looks like they will certainly fall short of their championship expectations despite featuring a roster of brimming with elite talent. And it appears when you're down and in the public eye, everyone is willing to take a shot at you.
Rapper Drake has also taken notice of Bryant's recent struggles, and in his track "Stay Schemin," he says that Bryant's wife should not be awarded any of his fortune if they are to divorce because she "wasn't shooting with [him] in the gym."
Kobe and his wife responded, with the Laker writing on Twitter, "No, she wasn't. She was busy raising our kids #nonanny #respectmothers." Vanessa also added on her Instagram account page, "I don't need to be in the gym. I'm raising our daughters, signing checks and taking care of everything else that pertains to our home life," she wrote.
"I really wish people would stop THINK and then realize that they are being sucked into someone's clear intention to monetize and gain attention off of our family's heartache. This is real life. I hold down our home life so my husband can focus on his career. It's a partnership," she responded.
The couple's divorce is off the books, but will it last? Comment and let us know what you think of the Bryants.