On the Court With... Kobe Bryant (8 page)

The Charlotte Hornets?

CHAPTER EIGHT
1996-1997

Coach Dave Cowens of the Charlotte Hornets had once been a star center for the Boston Celtics. Although Cowens had been smaller
than most NBA big men, he was aggressive and tenacious. He had made a career by outplaying bigger men.

He had been a particular thorn in the side of the Lakers’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Now, by picking Bryant, -Cowens had stuck it
to the Lakers once again.

Kobe and his family were upset, but realized there was little they could do. It appeared as if Bryant’s career would begin
in Charlotte, an idea that didn’t excite him very much.

That’s because Cowens didn’t think Bryant was ready for the NBA. After drafting him, he called Bryant “a kid,” and openly
questioned how much he would play. If Cowens believed that, thought Bryant, then why had he bothered drafting him in the first
place?

The answer to that question soon became clear. Cowens knew that the Lakers wanted Bryant and that Bryant wanted to play for
the Lakers. He also knew the Lakers were expected to make an all-out effort to sign Shaquille O’Neal, which would make current
Laker center Vlade Divac expendable. He wanted Divac and planned to use Bryant to get the player he really wanted.

It was a savvy move on Cowens’s part, but a risky proposition for the Lakers. O’Neal had yet to sign with L.A., and West didn’t
want to trade Divac until he had acquired O’Neal. But he knew if he didn’t go after Bryant right away, the Hornets might well
trade him elsewhere.

As a player, West had gambled many times. Now he did so again. When Cowens dangled Bryant in front of the Lakers, West couldn’t
resist. He traded Divac for rights to the young player.

In mid-July Bryant flew to Los Angeles to sign the standard rookie contract, worth 3.5 million dollars. At the airport, while
he waited for his luggage, a stranger approached the tall young man and said, “You must be a basketball player. Who do you
play for?”

Without thinking, Bryant started to answer, “Lower Merion.” Then he caught himself. “I guess I’m a
Laker,” he said with a smile. He liked the way that sounded.

“I’m very excited to be here,” said Bryant after the signing ceremony. “It’s a dream come true to come to a team like L.A.
that has a great history. It was a team I looked up to growing up.”

Jerry West was similarly delighted, but he cautioned that Bryant was unlikely to be an overnight sensation. “In five or six
years the people of Los Angeles will be talking of him in very high terms. We know there will be some growing pains in the
process, but we are prepared to accept this challenge.”

Kobe’s father, mother, and sister Shaya soon joined him in California. Joe Bryant even gave up his job at LaSalle. They realized
that Kobe was only seventeen and would need a lot of support. They all moved into a house in the southern California hills.
The house had a spectacular view, with the ocean on one side and the city on another. Kobe’s room overlooked the Pacific Ocean.
But he tried to stay focused on his goals.

“I won’t be doing a lot of hanging out after the games,” said Bryant. “I’ll be going home to do homework and play video games
and chow down on a
home cooked meal.” Bryant had already made the decision to start taking college courses in business to help him manage his
new fortune.

Meanwhile, Jerry West’s gamble paid off. He was able to sign Shaquille O’Neal to a contract worth an incredible 123 million
dollars. The Lakers had paid a stiff price, but West had acquired the two players he believed could lead the Lakers to a championship.

Bryant was still a kid who just loved to play basketball. Before training camp started, he traveled to Venice Beach, just
outside L.A., where some of the best pickup games in the area were played. He wanted to be ready for training camp.

But during one game in early September, he took a tumble and cracked a small bone in his left wrist. Some members of the press
questioned his maturity for playing in an unorganized game.

Although the Lakers weren’t thrilled with his injury, West understood, saying, “This guy will play in a Little League tournament.
It doesn’t bother me. He loves to play basketball and is one of the most dedicated players I have ever seen.” He appreciated
Bryant’s unbridled passion for basketball.

Still, when training camp opened in October Bryant
was unable to play. All he could do was run and participate in drills that didn’t require him to handle the ball.

Kobe took camp seriously and worked hard to fit in. Veteran Lakers were curious about the young player.

He immediately impressed them with his work ethic, but his inability to participate in workouts left him far behind. He couldn’t
really learn the offense or determine where he fit in on the Laker team.

With O’Neal playing center, everything was changing and the team had to learn to play a whole new way. The veteran players
were more concerned with learning their roles than they were with how Bryant was adjusting.

He also didn’t quite know how to behave around the veteran club. After practice, many Lakers took full advantage of their
celebrity status in the city, going to clubs and hanging out together. Kobe was too young to get into most of the nightclubs
and didn’t care to spend his time in them, anyway. He kept to himself, stayed quiet, and tried to learn by watching.

Some members of the team thought he was aloof and didn’t quite know what to make of him. Bryant knew that until he had a chance
to play and demonstrate his skills, it would be hard to fit in. Besides, although he wasn’t intimidated being around the
other players, he was cautious about succumbing to the NBA lifestyle. His priorities began and ended with basketball.

But that didn’t make him immune to the usual hazing and pranks veterans pull on rookies. At a team dinner they made Bryant
sing and teased him about his friendship with the pop singer and TV actress Brandy, whom he had taken to his senior prom.
They weren’t trying to be mean, but Bryant was sensitive to the teasing.

Near the end of training camp his wrist finally healed and he began to get some playing time. He demonstrated confidence in
his game, but also showed that he still had a lot to learn.

Bryant played the same way he had in high school. He thought nothing of going one-on-one against players of greater size and
more experience, or taking the important shot. His teammates immediately nicknamed him “Showboat.”

The name stung. Bryant considered himself a team player. But he was so confident that when he saw an opening, he tried to
exploit it. He just wasn’t accustomed to playing in a system where every other player was a legitimate option.

He had particular trouble on the defense. He often
went for the steal or went after rebounds he had no chance of getting. As a result, he sometimes left his own man wide open.

That wasn’t the way Laker coach Del Harris wanted things done. He wanted Bryant to stay within the offense, work the ball
inside to O’Neal, and play team defense. Although he knew Bryant would be a great player someday, Harris also knew that his
job depended upon his-ability to win now. He couldn’t afford to wait for Bryant and really wasn’t concerned with getting him
playing time. He was far more occupied with the task of getting his starters to learn to play with a force like O’Neal. The
club had undergone a complete changeover since the previous year and only five players remained from the 1995-96 team.

When the season started, Bryant only played during garbage time, when the Lakers were far ahead or far behind. Even then,
the instant he made a mistake, Harris pulled him from the game. Kobe didn’t get his first basket until the fifth game of the
season.

With O’Neal at center, everyone expected the Lakers to win immediately, and in fact they did get off to a hot start. That
made it even more difficult for Bryant to get meaningful minutes. Harris was far more concerned with giving his key players
more time
playing with one another than he was with working Bryant into the lineup.

Bryant tried to be philosophical about it, telling the press, “My father keeps telling me my time will come.” But for a basketball
junkie like Bryant, sitting on the bench was hard to deal with. Some members of the press who had thought it was a mistake
for Bryant to skip college took note of his lack of playing time and began whispering, “I told you so.”

Behind the scenes, Lakers president Jerry West was putting some pressure on Harris to play Bryant more often, but the coach
was resistant. The Lakers were on pace to win more than 50 games, and he didn’t want to risk disrupting his team just to give
Bryant some experience.

When the league broke to celebrate the annual All-Star weekend, the Lakers led the Pacific Division. Due more to his name
than his numbers, Bryant was selected to participate in the Rookie All-Star game; a showcase for younger players played the
day before the All-Star game.

Bryant was pumped up about finally playing. The game would be broadcast nationally, giving many NBA fans their first real
look at Bryant.

In the free-form, 30 minute contest, which more
resembled a pickup game than a regular-season NBA contest, Bryant flourished, outscoring more heralded rookies like Allen
Iverson to lead all scorers with 31 points.

But he saved the best for the slam-dunk contest. Although the contest had once attracted the game’s biggest stars, they had
begun to shy away. As a result, young players like Bryant were invited to participate.

He started slowly and barely made it to the final round of four players. Then Bryant rose to the occasion. As he had done
so many times in his high school career, he saved the best for last.

Starting on the left side, he charged the basket, went into the air, and seemed to hang in defiance of gravity. As he did,
he passed the ball from one hand to the other
between his legs,
then spun to the basket and slammed the ball home! It was a spectacular move.

The crowd jumped to its feet, as did judge Julius Erving, who as a player had been best known for his artistic dunking style.
Jazzed up by the crowd, Bryant bounced to midcourt, stood before the judges, and flexed his slender body like a bodybuilder.

The crowd roared again. To no one’s surprise, Bryant won the contest.

But none of his All-Star weekend success mattered when the regular season resumed. Bryant continued to play only five or ten
minutes a game even as O’Neal was lost for over a month to injury.

But another injury finally gave him a chance to play. began to realize he could provide some instant offense. He ended up
averaging 15 minutes per game Point guard Nick Van Exel went down and shooting guard Derek Fisher took over the point. Harris
had little choice but to pair Bryant in the backcourt with Fisher.

For the first time all year, Laker fans got a glimpse of the future. The team won five of the six games he started. Bryant
proved that he Could score — and the opposition discovered that at times they had to double-team him. Even better, he demonstrated
that he was learning what to do in such situations, as he rarely forced a hot and proved adept at finding the open man.

Although he went back to the bench when Van Exel returned, Bryant’s playing time increased as Harris began to realize he could
provide some instant offense. He ended up averaging 15 minutes per game
over the course of the season. O’Neal returned to the lineup and the Lakers made the playoffs easily, finishing 56-26, just
a game behind Seattle SuperSonics for. second place in the Pacific Division.

In the first round, the Lakers blew out the Portland Trailblazers, winning the best-of-five playoff three games to one. Bryant
hardly played in the three Laker wins, but in game three, with the Lakers trailing, he had come off the bench to keep things
close by scoring 22.

In the next round, against the Utah Jazz, the Lakers lost the first two games of the best-of-five series and again Bryant
played only a few minutes. But opportunity came in game three once again.