"He was raised out past the city limits, in the leafy suburbs, the son of an NBA player who played for the local team and then departed for a short stint in Italy. When his family returned, he became something of a local high school sensation.

Kobe Bryant made another return to his hometown Sunday.

The Lakers play the Philadelphia 76 ers, his father's old team, tonight.

How many more returns Bryant makes are anyone's guess.

"There's not many," the 33-year-old Bryant told reporters Saturday after the Lakers' loss to the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City in the second game of their six-game trek around North America. "You can definitely count them on one hand."

Tonight's homecoming could be especially memorable, however."