Kobe Bryant is one of the best basketball players of all-time and was known for playing his entire career for the Los Angeles Lakers, but Bryant started his career being drafted to the Charlotte Hornets in 1996. … The Hornets had the 13th pick in the 1996 draft and were aware that Bryant was on the board.
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Who was Kobe Bryant traded in 1996?
center Vlade Divac
Did Kobe Bryant play for Charlotte Hornets?
Kobe Bryant is one of the best basketball players of all-time and was known for playing his entire career for the Los Angeles Lakers, but Bryant started his career being drafted to the Charlotte Hornets in 1996. … The Hornets had the 13th pick in the 1996 draft and were aware that Bryant was on the board.
What did Charlotte get for trading Kobe?
Charlotte selected Bryant with its No. 13 draft pick, and immediately traded him to Los Angeles for Vlade Divac, but while talking to the Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell, Kupchak detailed how Bryant almost never became a Laker. He also said the Hornets weren’t even sure if they would’ve been able to draft him at all.
Did Kobe request a trade?
Kobe pulled a similar move in 2007 when he demanded a trade and was almost sent to the Chicago Bulls. The trade fell through and the Lakers obtained Pau Gasol, and the rest is history.
Why did Kobe ask for a trade?
Kobe was only averaging about 19 points per game. So Kobe called Jerry West and wanted to know how Jerry and Elgin Baylor both averaged 30 points. Kobe also said that he wanted to be traded. Of course, Jerry told me about the conversation.
Did Kobe request a trade from Charlotte?
However, the draft-day trade that sent Bryant to the Lakers from the Charlotte Hornets in 1996 almost never happened, according to Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak.
Who did the Hornets trade Kobe Bryant for?
Vlade Divac
Why did Kobe leave Charlotte?
The Hornets drafted Bryant 13th overall in 1996, with the intention of trading his draft rights to the Lakers in return for veteran center Divac. The deal was agreed to prior to the draft, but Divac threatened to retire, rather than move to the Hornets.
Who was traded for Kobe Bryant?
Vlade Divac
Why was Kobe 13th pick?
The Hornets and Lakers strike a deal. Jerry West and Kobe Bryant in 1996. Steve Grayson/WireImage/Getty Images With West needing to dump Divac’s contract to open up cap space, he was able to agree to a deal that would send Divac to the Hornets for the 13th pick in Bryant.
Who was Kobe traded for?
Vlade Divac
Why was Kobe Bryant contribution important?
During his two-decade N.B.A. career, Kobe Bryant evolved into far more than an exceptional basketball player. Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday near Los Angeles, became a crucial conduit for the league as it moved swiftly to expand its empire into an international enterprise.
Why did Kobe get the nickname mamba?
Inspired by the code name for a deadly assassin in Quentin Tarantino’s 2003 movie “Kill Bill,” Bryant adopted the nickname to separate his life on and off the court, according to a 2014 interview with The New Yorker. “The name [Kobe Bryant] just evokes such a negative emotion,” Bryant told the magazine.
Why did Kobe change to #24?
The Lakers star switched to No. 24 in the 2006-07 season, the number he had in high school at Lower Merion. While he was the same player in both jerseys, the Lakers star explained the different mentality between the two eras. … The number change became a “clean slate” after Shaquille O’Neal was traded in 2004.
Why did the Hornets trade Kobe Bryant?
Kobe Bryant was almost never traded to Lakers. … The Hornets drafted Bryant 13th overall in 1996, with the intention of trading his draft rights to the Lakers in return for veteran center Divac. The deal was agreed to prior to the draft, but Divac threatened to retire, rather than move to the Hornets.
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