Everyone knows that Kobe Bryant wasn’t selected as the No. 1 pick, even though he was an extremely talented player who ended up maximizing every bit of his ability. While there were certainly great players such as Allen Iverson and Steve Nash in the 1996 draft (both of whom were MVPs), it’s clear that Kobe Bryant has an edge over everyone else.
Twitter page Kobe Highlights and Motivation has recently shared footage from Kobe Bryant’s workout with the Los Angeles Clippers before the 1996 NBA Draft. The Los Angeles Clippers ended up passing on Kobe Bryant to select Lorenzen Wright with the No. 7 pick. The post went viral, with many fans roasting the Clippers. Back then though, no one knew what Kobe Bryant would eventually become.
Footage from Kobe's workout with the LA Clippers before the 1996 NBA Draft
(The Clippers drafted Lorenzen Wright with the 7th pick) pic.twitter.com/p4X5DK20dU
— Kobe Bryant Stories & Motivation (@kobehighlight) October 10, 2021
Kobe Bryant once revealed why the Los Angeles Clippers didn’t draft him, despite his amazing workout. It seems as though the team didn’t want Bryant because they wanted to “turn things around” and thought that “the city of Los Angeles wouldn’t take it seriously” if they drafted a kid coming out of high school.
I actually had a really good and fun workout with the Clippers. I did. I had a really good workout with the Clippers. And then they told me, ‘this is the best workout we’ve ever seen. So I’m excited, let me come to LA. So I said ‘alright, you’re going to draft me?’ – No…So I asked them why wouldn’t they draft me? They said ‘well, we want to turn things around with our organization. And we felt like if we drafted a 17 -year-old kid, then the city of Los Angeles wouldn’t take it seriously. So they said we can’t draft you.
In hindsight, it’s clear that the Los Angeles Clippers and every other team that passed on Kobe Bryant made a mistake. Lakers fans were obviously blessed to watch Kobe Bryant play, and many expressed their awe at his abilities in the comments.
There is no doubt that Kobe Bryant is an all-time great, and that he was wildly successful. He had a great work ethic, and it’s clear that he would have likely found success with the Los Angeles Clippers as well. However, we can’t change history, and Kobe Bryant will forever be remembered as a Lakers legend.
