Ben Wallace admitted he thought Kobe Bryant would have become a new Eddie Jones instead of an all-time great

The careers of Ben Wallace and Kobe Bryant will forever be intertwined. The two NBA greats came from the same 1996 draft class and met each other in the 2004 finals in one of the most shocking upsets in league history when Ben’s Detroit Pistons swept Kobe’s Los Angeles Lakers. Years before that, a young Kobe generated quite a buzz after posterizing a helpless Big Ben in a summer league game.

No matter the circumstances around them, the Detroit Pistons icon always had massive respect for the Lakers’ great. For instance, Wallace was in awe of how Bryant carried himself and the lofty expectations he set for his career.

“Our relationship was different. Even though we was cool, or whatever, we came in the league together, the same year, 1996. His career took off earlier than mine. I had to find my way, I had to find my niche and I had to find me a home,” Wallace said on the “120 Watts Podcast.”

Kobe made it clear he was chasing MJ

Of course, the differences between Bryant and Wallace did not end there. As he admitted, Ben had to make a name for himself and was not really taken seriously by most NBA teams. Meanwhile, Kobe already maneuvered things to land himself in Tinseltown and take it from there.

Wallace could see the guts and greatness written all over the then-17-year-old shooting guard. Still, even in his wildest dreams, Ben did not anticipate how great Kobe was going to become.

“The crazy thing is that when Kobe first came into the league, I look at a guy like Eddie Jones, and say, ‘That’s the type of player that Kobe is gonna be.’ But he wasn’t settling for that. He’s 17 and he said he wanted to be the best basketball player to ever touch a basketball. He wanted to be the greatest player to ever play the game,” Wallace continued.

For Wallace, hearing a kid declare something like that was shocking. But he watched Bryant keep on building his resume until the conversations could no longer be ignored.

“He reached the level of greatness as far as basketball. He put himself in the argument with Michael Jordan. You can say what you want and say Jordan is the greatest, and I will agree with you, but I say he put his name in the conversation,” Wallace emphatically stated.

It’s hard to argue against Bryant’s accomplishments, especially early in his career. Pundits were already talking about how a 24-year-old Kobe was better than MJ at the same age. At that point, Bryant was already a three-time champion; Jordan did not get his first until he was 28.

Bryant ultimately fell short in this chase as far as titles and personal accomplishments went. His Airness boasted more rings, regular-season and finals MVPs, and scoring titles. The Black Mamba did have more career points, All-NBA selections, and the like.

Nonetheless, Big Ben’s point still stands. For Kobe to even project his career that way required a thirst that could only be quenched by greatness.

“He is definitely in the conversation and he said he would be at age 17. This is a kid; he can’t even legally sign a contract,” Wallace added.

1996 was a GOAT draft class

Kobe and Ben were from different spectrums of the 1996 draft class. The Los Angeles Lakers icon was picked 13th while Wallace went undrafted. Many teams were salivating on Bryant’s upside, but stayed away from him because of his age.

Other standouts in the batch were Allen Iverson (picked first), Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Stephon Marbury and Peja Stojakovic.

Wallace admitted that seeing the guys in the draft class inspired him to do better. Even though Ben did his work in the shadows, he ultimately lifted his stature to an All-Star (and later, an all-time defensive great), drawing inspiration from the standouts in his batch, especially these two firecrackers.

“The two guys that I got my eyes on are Kobe and A.I.,” said Ben. “They led this ’96 class even though we loaded. And now, there’s an undrafted player, and when I get to Detroit, now I’m at home. When I start coming into my game, that made the class even stronger because you got the No. 1 pick living up to the expectation and you got Kobe, who put the pressure and expectation on himself and living up to it.”

What stood out to Ben was the fact that Kobe had already mapped his own path at 17. That self-imposed commitment forced Wallace to find his own place in the league, which he did. Kobe’s standards became a measuring stick that Big Ben could not ignore.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Ben Wallace admitted he thought Kobe Bryant would have become a new Eddie Jones instead of an all-time great

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