Kobe Bryant News: Check Why Los Angeles Lakers Almost Did Not Get Black Mamba In 1996
Most Kobe Bryant news right now have something to do with opponents' tribute to him. He said two months ago he is in his last year in the NBA after announcing he will leave the sport after the end of the current season.
The Black Mamba played for 20 years for the Los Angeles Lakers and winning five rings in return.
The successful partnership between Kobe Bryant and the Lakers almost did not happen though, and all these Kobe Bryant news paying tribute to him would have been non-existent if Vlade Divac didn't do h is part way back in 1996.
The retired Serbian basketball player was traded by the Lakers to get Kobe Bryant who joined the league straight from high school. That's just the surface of the story though. Divac said he almost retired from the game because of his love for the LA Lakers.
Had he done it, it meant the Lakers wouldn't get to trade him with Charlotte Hornets for the services of the young kid who will now go down as one of the sport's greats.
"My feelings were that I play basketball for fun. This is not fun," Divactold Yahoo Sports. "If somebody asked before, 'Vlade, are you going to play basketball over there [in Charlotte]?' It's not going to happen. I talked to my wife and told her, 'Look, I'm going to retire.'"
Vlade Divac, who eventually returned to Los Angeles Lakers 2004-2005 season, said he could have been the most hated guy in LA if he did not have a change of heart about retiring. Aside from five championships, Kobe Bryant also has one season MVP, two Finals MVP, 17 All-Star appearances, and many more awards.
He also recalled how devastated he was after hearing from the management that he will be tradedto Charlotte Hornets during the 1996 draft day.
"It felt like someone from behind hit me with a hammer," Divac told Yahoo Sports. "It was the first time in my career that something happened in a way I didn't plan. I was devastated. I was thinking, 'I play basketball for fun.' My father said when I brought my first [basketball paycheck] back home, 'Who gave this to you? Are they crazy? Do they know you would play basketball even if they don't pay you?'
"I am not going to play basketball because I have to play. I am going to play for fun. I was 28. I am not going to go somewhere and be forced to play basketball. I told my agent that I am not going to Charlotte. I loved L.A. I loved the Lakers. For every kid that played basketball, it was basketball heaven being with Magic and the other guys."
Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, and company visit Sacramento Kings this week where Divac works as vice president of basketball operations and general manager.
See more Kobe Bryant news here.