Kobe Bryant is remembered as arguably the greatest Laker ever, winning 5 championships with the team and spending his entire career in Los Angeles. So the thought of Kobe in another jersey is probably abhorrent to several Lakers fans but the truth is that before he joined the NBA, Bryant worked out for several teams including notable rivals of the Lakers like the Celtics.
And while that might be enough to anger a Laker fan if brought up regularly, that’s nothing compared to the idea that Kobe also worked out for their crosstown rivals. But he did, and there is a video of Bryant working out with the Clippers before he was drafted in 1996 that has now gone viral on Instagram.
“Imagine if he had ended up a Clipper.”
“Yea I would of be sold 2 mins into the workout…”
“Left handed on a tryout lmaoooo. Next level.”
“12 teams passed on him the clippers didn’t have the #1 pick either smh.”
“Imagine watching this workout and thinking ‘nah we don’t see much here’.”
“Who ever told the team to pass on him got fired lol.”
“Clippers would not be waiting on their first ring if he was on the squad.”
“Thanks Clippers for that mistake.”
“Clean leftie . RIP to one of the greatest to ever do it.”
“And they passed on him? Wow.”
“Common Clipper L.”
“I don’t want to even think about Kobe as a Clipper.”
“It would’ve been a cold day in hell if he were a Clipper.”
Kobe Bryant was picked 13th overall in the 1996 NBA draft, something that is almost hard to fathom in hindsight, but it worked out well for the Lakers. Jerry West has spoken about how much they wanted him after he worked out with them, but it’s amazing to think that they were able to land him when they did. It will always be a wild thought though, to think that Kobe could have played in LA and not with the Lakers.
