When Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the Finals MVP and helped OKC win the championship, apart from the Pacers, there was another team cribbing about their luck. The team in question, the Charlotte Hornets, acquired the Canadian guard as the overall 11th pick. They exchanged it for the 12th pick, Miles Bridges, and two second-round picks. In hindsight, the move made in 2018 doesn’t sit right. But there was another move the same team did, involving Kobe Bryant.
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Yes, the 5x NBA champion and 2x Finals MVP’s saga is from the July 11 night in 1996. It will soon be 29 years since the Charlotte Hornets traded high school prospect Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers. At the time, Black Mamba was only 17 and had a scrimmage against former Lakers players in Larry Drew and Michael Cooper. He left a lasting impression on then-GM Jerry West. In fact, when Kobe wanted to play for the Memphis Grizzlies, West told him, “No, no, no. Kobe, you belong out here (Los Angeles).” The Logo did the rest and was successful in trading Kobe to the Purple and Gold franchise.
The only problem, though, was that the Lakers did not have a lottery pick and needed to complete a trade to acquire Bryant, which is where the Hornets came into play. But the solution was not straightforward. At the time, the Lakers were actively looking to clear cap space in order to fit in Shaquille O’Neal from the Orlando Magic. At the same time, the Hornets needed a center, so West saw that as a perfect opportunity to unload Vlade Divac’s salary in exchange for the 13th pick.
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The reason Kobe Bryant slipped down to 13th— many teams were hesitant to build around a high school phenom. Plus, the 18x All-Star made alleged demands that he would go to Italy if his favorite team didn’t select him. This was the reason why the New Jersey Nets, who had the eighth pick, seriously considered drafting Kobe, but eventually signed Kerry Kittles.
Who should get the credit for trading Kobe Bryant?
Another reason why the Hornets did not stick with Kobe was due to his ability. The Lakers legend, in an interview, spoke candidly about how the then-Charlotte coach straight away No. “Cowens told me, ‘We really don’t need you here.“‘ Bryant said. “I mean, I had grown up watching basketball. I knew who Dave Cowens was and [was] pretty excited [to play for him]. Then I was like, ‘Oh, all right.’ I quickly transitioned from smiley kid to killer instinct.”‘ This was not the only post from Kobe Bryant.
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PHILADELPHIA – JUNE 15: Kobe Bryant #8 of the Los Angeles Lakers poses with the NBA Championship trophy after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers in game five of the 2001 NBA Finals at First Union Center on June 15, 2001 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
On X, in 2014, the 3x Olympian shared the story from his POV once again. “On this day 18yrs ago the hornets told me right after they drafted me that they had no use for me and were going to trade me #thanku #lakers”. So, the credit goes to Jerry West for making this trade possible? Or to Cowens, who was adamant about not selecting Kobe? Well, Shaquille O’Neal would like to take all the credit.
“If I don’t go there, ol’ boy not a Laker anyway,” Shaq stated on The Big Podcast. He means Kobe Bryant and explicitly states, “If I don’t go there, no, he’s in Charlotte.” Once again true, as West wanted to sign the Big Aristotle, which led to the clearing of cap. Then the idea of trading Divac to the Hornets in order to sign Kobe. Whoever gets the credit, the team in Charlotte would definitely feel hard done by trading away two future MVPs.
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Siddharth Shirwadkar