Clippers skipped Kobe Bryant in NBA draft for bizarre reason
In the history of the Los Angeles Clippers, whatever can go wrong will go wrong.
However, even for this historically confused franchise, refusing to draft a Lower Merion High School player named Kobe Bryant is nothing short of ridiculous. The Clippers had a chance to onboard a generational talent but chose not to.
Adding insult to injury, Bryant was actually very keen to represent the Clips in LA. Revisiting the scenario, Kobe spilled the beans, saying:
"I actually had a really good and fun workout with the Clippers," Bryant said in a conversation with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel many years ago. "They told me, 'You know this is the best workout we've ever seen.' So I'm like excited. I'm going to come to LA. I said, alright, are you gonna draft me? 'No, they said."'
When asked why, things only became worse: "They (Clippers) said, well, we wanna turn things around with our organization, and we felt like if we drafted a 17-year-old kid, then the city of Los Angeles wants to take us seriously," Kobe recalled.
Clippers miss a star, Lakers gain a legend
With the seventh pick in the 1996 draft, the Clippers selected the older, taller Lorenzen Wright, who had an unmemorable career.
Meanwhile, the Lakers agreed to trade center Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for the 13th overall pick, which was used to take Bryant.
Kobe became one of the greatest players to pick up a basketball, achieving legendary with the crosstown Lakers. The late Hall of Famer brought the City of Angels five championships, playing his entire career of two decades with them.
Biggest 'What if' in NBA history
Everything could have been different had the Clippers selected Kobe Bryant in that '96 draft.
Had Kobe grown into stardom in a Clippers uniform, the franchise could have changed its identity from LA's other team to a legitimate crosstown rival to the Lakers.
But that didn't happen because, you know, the Clippers.
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