PHILADELPHIA -- Bottom line, Kobe Bryant doesn't want to be booed this weekend.

An NBA superstar who grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and watched his father play for the hometown 76ers, Bryant returned home this weekend hoping for a different response than what he got in June. If you remember, Bryant entered town with the big, bad Lakers -- the dreaded opponent! -- in last season's Finals and helped stunt any hopes of Philly winning the title.

	Yes, that's the Lakers' Kobe Bryant in a 76ers jersey.

And he was booed. Mercifully booed.

Now Bryant returns just an NBA superstar trying to get a little love from the home folk. He's not the opponent. He's not hated. He's not the enemy. He might even be cheered.

"This is where it all began for me," Bryant said. "This is where I come from. I love it here."

Unlike the other famous hoops prodigies to pass through the City of Brotherly Love, Bryant didn't grow up in the city. He went to Lower Merion High School, in the suburban outskirts called the Main Line. And while that might be one reason he was never embraced as a favorite son, the main one is simple: He's not a 76er. Can you imagine if he was? Let's just say if Allen Iverson is big in this town, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

But back to the booing. Kobe, Shaq and the other mean Lakers who ended the Sixers' 2000-01 season were given less than warm welcomes, which is understandable. Philly boos everyone, just ask Santa Claus. Today, Bryant will appear in his fourth All-Star game, and you get the feeling this one means a little more to him than, say, his All-Star appearance in Oakland.

"Right now I am having such a good time in Philadelphia," Bryant said. "I'm excited about being here. Most guys are pretty sharp when it comes to the history of Philly basketball, and if they aren't, I remind them. Earl Monroe at Bartram (a city high school), Wilt Chamberlain, you name it. It's nice being here."

Bryant barely scratched the surface of historic Philly hoopsters, of which he certainly seems to be a full-fledged member. Julius Erving, Billy Cunningham, Hal Greer, Tom Gola and Wilt are just a few of the greats.

Even before he went pro, however, Bryant was never popular in the Philly area. Maybe it was his bravado when he dominated in high school and talked of skipping college. The media wasn't on his side when he made his intentions known and was drafted as a teenager. The 76ers chose first in that 1996 draft and took Iverson. Kobe went 13th. Can't fault the 76ers for that one.

Bryant gave a glimpse of what being a Sixer might have been like when he arrived at media day Friday wearing a Sixers jersey, the one his father Joe "Jelly Bean" Bryant wore when he played for the team in 1977. A bright blue jersey with white letters surrounded by red, and the No. 23 and Bryant's name on the back, Kobe wore it proudly. The local TV stations played it up big on the evening news. Bryant said he did it "to represent my pops." Not only did Bryant do it out of respect, he surely must have known this would endear him to the hometown faithful.

Dikembe Mutombo was on hand for the Finals and as a relative newcomer to Philadelphia, knows how hard fans can be on opposing players, even ones from the area. Mutombo says he was surprised at the reception Bryant got back then, but he expects the fans to be different today. And he was also quite surprised to see Bryant wearing a 76ers jersey of any kind. Since Motombo didn't know who Jelly Bean Bryant was, the significance of the jersey hadn't hit him.

"This is a hard city," Mutombo said. "Hard fans. You have to compete to protect your dignity, even the home team. But the fans have to respect Kobe because he grew up here. I told him next time he comes back they will show him some love."

Garry Cobb, a local TV sports reporter (and former NFL linebacker) who was on hand the day Bryant made the announcement that he was going straight from high school to the pros, recalls how negative the media was that day. He doesn't think Kobe will get booed today.

"Kobe came back here (for the Finals) and said he was going for the jugular, to beat the Sixers up, and he was a Laker," Cobb said. "I respect that, and he wasn't received well, but now it's not like that. People will sit back and be nice, for he's a Philly guy. He's not here to beat our Sixers. The city should be proud of him. I think you'll see people erupt, and they weren't able to do that before."

What kind of game will Kobe play? No matter how well he is received by the fans, Bryant will surely want to make his mark. Kobe did let down his usual guard of stressing teamwork and winning above all else when he said there's no pressure to win this game, so he'll be more relaxed.

Gary Payton, who performed for his home crowd when the All-Star game was in Oakland in 2000, knows how different this game will be for Kobe. And he plans to help.

"I know he will be juiced," Payton said. "Heck, we're gonna give him the ball and help him do his thing. I hope the fans don't boo him. They should respect him."

Even if he's not wearing a Sixers jersey.

Eric Karabell is an ESPN.com NBA editor.