Max Christie and Kobe Bryant now have one thing in common. They both have played for the Los Angeles Lakers. The former Michigan State Spartans guard was picked by the Lakers in this year’s draft. Many people believed it was premature for him to enter the NBA. Christie and the Lakers’ fandom experienced a wonderful viral moment this week when a fan discovered that Christie and the late Kobe Bryant have some similar lower facial features.

It was eerie and fascinating at the same time. Fans were either shocked or disgusted by seeing this. They were either shocked seeing the resemblance or disgusted because Kobe’s name got dragged into it.

Christie’s entry into the NBA was surprising and many thought it was premature, as said above. He averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last season. He has been in the starting lineup for all 35 games he appeared in for the Spartans.

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Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka had aimed to acquire a young player that new head coach Darvin Ham could develop into being part of their rotation. Pelinka’s faith was validated on Thursday when the Lakers traded for the No. 35 overall selection from the Orlando Magic. The Lakers exchanged a future second overall pick and cash for the No. 35 pick. The result was Max Christie. It will be very interesting to see how he develops in the league with the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant was a “premature” NBA draftee too

Kobe Bryant never played in college hence a direct comparison to Christie is not possible just yet. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 17.

Vlade Divac, the Lakers’ starting center, was up for sale in exchange for a player’s draft rights. It would have freed up salary cap room for the team to make an offer to free-agent Shaquille O’Neal. The Charlotte Hornets agreed to trade their No. 13 choice to the Los Angeles Lakers the day before the draft, according to Bill Branch, the team’s chief scout at the time.

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He was an exciting player who impressed coach Del Harris during the Summer League. Kobe Bryant mostly came off the bench for Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel in his first season. He played 15.5 minutes per game that season. His playing time did increase as the season went on. He averaged 7.6 points at 41.7% shooting.

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It was not a bad start for Kobe Bryant.  This season built the foundation for the greatness fans saw in his later seasons.