Kobe Bryant was the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, which meant plenty of teams passed over him. One of the teams that passed on him was the Los Angeles Clippers, the team with the seventh overall pick.
The Los Angeles Lakers pounced on the opportunity to get Kobe Bryant in the 1996 NBA Draft. They only had the 24th overall pick in 1996, which was used to select future five-time champion Derek Fisher.
Despite Fisher being the team’s only true draft pick, the Lakers still made a difference by trading starting center Vlade Divac for the then-17-year-old Bryant. It was a huge gamble for the Lakers, but he eventually became an all-time great under Phil Jackson, winning five titles alongside Fisher on the Lakers.
Plenty of teams could have had Bryant, but what irked him the most was the Los Angeles Clippers. Even though some Lakers staff members initially questioned the move, it turned out fantastic. They could have had him with the seventh pick, which was used to select Lorenzen Wright.
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesThe Clippers passed on selecting Bryant with the seventh pick
During his three seasons with the Clippers, Wright was not the most impressive player. He was a good rebounder and a starter at times, but was mostly used as a backup center. Wright never averaged over 10 points during his time with the Clippers, which is a far cry from what Bryant did with the Lakers.
The Clippers had the opportunity to get Bryant, but they were victims of their fear. They did not think Bryant was worth the gamble, so they went with Wright, who was a second-team All-American during his time at the University of Memphis.
They did not realize that Bryant was the type of player who would put fear into his opponents. He was worth the gamble, but the Clippers were not willing to take the risk.
“So I said, ‘Alright, you’re going to draft me?’ So I asked them why they wouldn’t 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,” Bryant said to Jimmy Kimmel.
Like many other moments in his basketball career, Bryant used the Clippers’ rejection as a way to motivate himself. In 69 regular-season matchups between the Lakers and Clippers, Bryant made sure to get payback. He scored 24.9 points per game against the Clippers, leading the Lakers to win 47 out of the 69 games.
Bryant had an impressive workout with the Clippers
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, former Clippers assistant coach Bill Fitch was present during Bryant’s solo workout with the Clippers. During his career, Fitch saw plenty of top-tier players, including Larry Bird.
However, Bryant was probably the most impressive player in his eyes. Doing that at only 17 proved Bryant was ready for the big league. However, the Clippers were not willing to take the risk.
Looking back, the Clippers might be regretting their decision to select Wright over Bryant. Other teams also passed up on him, but the Clippers have stood out, especially when Bryant spoke about his obsession with winning.
Bryant could have continued being a superstar-level talent on the Clippers, but he might not have had the same level of success. To this day, Bryant is still an iconic Laker, which could hurt some Clippers fans knowing that they could have done so much more.