Los Angeles Lakers: Saying Goodbye To Kobe Bryant
By Greg Chin
“Some of you took me in, some of you didn’t”
When Kobe declared for the 1996 NBA Draft, his decision to go straight from prep-to-pro received a lot of publicity. It wasn’t very common to see players enter the NBA straight from high school, but much like we would see for the rest of his career, Kobe’s decision to do so stemmed from his self-belief.
The circumstances surrounding the Charlotte Hornets’ decision to draft Kobe are still very murky till today. Kobe’s agent Arn Tellem said that it was an “impossibility” for Kobe to play for the Hornets, and the Hornets and Lakers made it clear that a trade had been agreed upon before the Hornets selected Bryant. The Hornets’ head scout at the time Bill Branch claimed that Kobe wasn’t even on their radar before the Lakers came calling, and the Lakers had only been interested due to Kobe’s workout, where he dominated in a scrimmage against then-Lakers Larry Drew and Michael Cooper.
If it weren’t for that scrimmage, who knows how different Kobe’s career would have been.
Next: Kobe's Beginning