On the Court With... Kobe Bryant (7 page)

Eyes never straying from his target, Kobe Bryant focuses on making his shot.

Kobe Bryant powers to the hoop!

All disagreements behind them, Kobe and Shaq hug after a hard-fought win in the 2000 NBA Finals.

Victory! Kobe celebrates with his teammates after they clinch the NBA title.

The championship trophy at his side, Kobe Bryant whoops to the crowd at a celebration the day after the Lakers win the Finals.

Kobe hangs tight after a spectacular dunk while sporting his new uniform number, 24.

Waving goodbye to the ball, Kobe demonstrates flawless execution.

The gym erupted with applause. His peers had long known of his desire to go to the NBA and they wholeheartedly supported his
decision. But Kobe wasn’t finished.

“I know I’ll have to work extra hard,” he said, “and I know this is a big step, but I can do it. It’s the opportunity of a
lifetime. It’s time to seize it while I’m young. I don’t know if I can reach the stars or the moon. If I fall off the cliff,
so be it.” Then he stepped from the podium and embraced his parents as an informal press conference took place.

Kobe’s mother reiterated the family’s support of their son. “We were going to support him no matter what he chose to do. Whether
it was college or the NBA, we’re always going to support him. That’s what we do. It was Kobe’s decision.”

Then she added, “With Kobe, nothing really concerns me about this decision. Like any parent, I have concerns about drugs,
alcohol, and fast women, but kids are encountering that in high school.

“But Kobe is a balanced young man,” she went on. “He’s always stayed focused on what is really important. I don’t worry with
Kobe or any of my children, because we have a great family foundation.”

Then Joe Bryant spoke, admitting, “Hey, I would
have liked Kobe to go to school for four years and go to Harvard. But is that reality? This was Kobe’s dream. This is his
life, so it was his decision.”

All of a sudden, Kobe Bryant was big news. His decision to go straight to the NBA was a national story, and Kobe became instantly
familiar to most professional basketball fans.

His next step before the draft was to select an agent to represent him in contract negotiations. A few weeks after his announcement,
Kobe and his family traveled to New York for a much larger, glitzier press conference at the headquarters of Adidas America,
the sneaker and sportswear company. He announced that he had selected the William Morris Agency to represent him, and their
first act was to sign him to a multiyear endorsement contract with Adidas. “I’m very excited for this opportunity,” said Kobe.
“I’m one hundred and ten percent sure I made the right decision.”

Adidas CEO Steve Wynne said, “We view Kobe Bryant as one of a new generation of athletes who we think will transform sports
in this country. Kobe is a kid with a vision, a kid with a dream. I think his pursuit of that dream is going to be one of
the most heartwarming stories in American sports over the next couple of years.”

Kobe Bryant had yet to play a minute in the NBA. He didn’t even know which team was going to draft him. Yet the deal was reportedly
worth nearly ten million dollars. Kobe Bryant was already a millionaire before he had played a second of pro basketball.

A number of NBA teams had scouted Kobe throughout his senior year at Lower Merion, and they now redoubled their efforts. Several
teams asked him to attend private workouts so they could assess his skills in a controlled setting. Playing against high school
kids was one thing, but performing in a near-empty gym under the scrutiny of NBA coaches and scouts was another.

The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the teams that flew him in for a tryout. While growing up, Kobe had been a huge Lakers
fan, primarily because his favorite player, Magic Johnson, had played for them.

But after Johnson announced his retirement in 1991 upon learning he had HIV, the Lakers had rarely exhibited the championship
form that marked the Magic years, a fast-breaking, thrilling style of play fans called “Showtime.”

NBA legend Jerry West was the Lakers’ president. In the 1960s he had led the Lakers to the NBA Finals six times, where they
lost each time to the Boston Celtics,
before finally capturing a title in 1972. As a player, West was one of the best all-around talents in the history of the league.
A six-foot-four guard, West possessed a deadly outside shot, and was able to slash to the hoop, hit teammates with pinpoint
passes, and collect rebounds like a big man. He was at his absolute best in pressure situations. Opponents never felt that
any lead was safe as long as he was on the court, and he developed a well-deserved reputation as a player who would do anything
to win. When the NBA created their red, white, and blue logo featuring a silhouetted basketball player in mid-dribble, the
figure was modeled after West. The league could not have made a better choice.

But West had never faced a challenge as difficult as rebuilding the Lakers. Try as he might, he had thus far been unable to
build a championship team.

Bryant intrigued West. His youth marked him as a player a team could build around, and his myriad skills reminded West of
himself. Moreover, he had heard that Bryant possessed a remarkable work ethic and that the well-mannered young man wasn’t
likely to be a behavioral risk.

At the same time, West also had his eye on the Orlando Magic’s star center, Shaquille O’Neal, who
was scheduled to become a free agent. West knew that the great Laker teams of the past had featured not only a great guard,
like himself or Magic Johnson, but also a great center, like Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Perhaps, thought West,
Bryant and O’Neal might one day form a similar combination that could lead the Lakers to a championship. If everything worked
out, he hoped to acquire both players.

But West still wanted to see Bryant for himself. At the workout he stood on the sidelines as Bryant performed for Laker coaches,
displaying all of his skills.

Near the end of the workout, they asked Bryant to play one-on-one against Laker assistant coach and one-time NBA defensive
specialist Michael Cooper.

Bryant played well against Cooper, and his performance gave West a glimpse of what he believed was the most important quality
for any player to have — his heart. He could see the desire contained in Bryant’s game as he relentlessly attacked the basket
on offense and challenged Cooper on defense.

West was stunned by what he saw. He had heard that Bryant was good, but the workout really opened his eyes. He later said,
“He was the most skilled player we’ve ever worked out, the kind of skill you don’t see
very often. He has the potential to be an All-Star.”

The workout left him convinced that Bryant could be the player the Lakers needed, particularly if they were able to acquire
O’Neal as well. But there was just one problem. It wasn’t going to be easy for the Lakers to get either player, much less
both of them. West knew he would have to outbid every team in the league for the services of O’Neal. And the Lakers were saddled
with a late pick in the first round of the draft. Chances were slim that Bryant would still be available.

Although it was no secret that Bryant hoped to play for the Lakers, his desire would have little influence on who picked him
in the NBA draft. His options would be few, for if he didn’t sign a contract with the team that picked him, he wouldn’t be
able to play in the league at all. It was that simple.

On draft day Kobe was nervous. Most observers expected him to be chosen somewhere between the tenth and fifteenth picks in
the first round, long before the Lakers got to select. Yet as talented as he was, most teams still considered him a “project,”
a player who wouldn’t be able to contribute for several seasons, and most NBA teams couldn’t afford to be that patient with
a number-one draft pick. Kobe
hoped that would allow him to slip down far enough for the Lakers to take him.

He watched nervously as the first dozen teams made their picks, selecting college stars like Allen Iverson, who could help
out immediately. Then he watched NBA commissioner David Stern approach the podium at NBA draft headquarters and announce,
“With the thirteenth pick of the draft the Charlotte Hornets select Kobe Bryant of Lower Merion High School.”