Kobe Bryant is a legend in Los Angeles Lakers history, but not everyone in the organisation was sold on his potential at first.
On draft night in 1996, the Charlotte Hornets selected Kobe Bryant with the 13th overall pick before trading him to the Lakers for centre Vlade Divac. At just 17 years old, few could have predicted what Bryant would become.
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Divac went on to have a solid NBA career, including an All-Star appearance with the Sacramento Kings. But Bryant’s legacy far surpassed that, spending all 20 seasons of his Hall of Fame career in purple and gold.
Jerry West and Del Harris were confident they’d made a good deal even then. But Gary Vitti, who spent over three decades as the team’s athletic trainer, wasn’t so sure at first.
Kobe Bryant’s legacy with the Los Angeles Lakers
The story of how Kobe arrived at the Lakers has been well documented over time. He became one of basketball’s greatest icons and spent his entire 20-year NBA career with them.
Bryant retired as one of only seven players ever to score more than 30,000 points during their careers and was named NBA Finals MVP twice while winning five championships with Los Angeles.
Vitti started working for the Lakers in 1985 and helped shape the careers of James Worthy, Magic Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. For the Lakers’ runs during both “Showtime” and the Shaq and Kobe teams, Vitti was an important figure behind the scenes.
But he wasn’t exactly on board with giving up Divac for a teenager who hadn’t played a single NBA game yet.
“We traded Vlade Divac for Kobe. You understand that trade?” he recently asked. “I mean, he’s a legit seven-foot guy. I mean, huge hands. If he touched the ball, he owned it. Great footwork. Smart, you know.”
Before leaving Los Angeles, Divac was averaging 12.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and had built a reputation as one of the league’s better defenders.
“I love when he played defense on Shaq,” Vitti reflected. “When Shaq would get him in the post, he’d destroy him.”
Divac came up with flopping to try to slow down O’Neal – a move that quickly won over Vitti.
“The only thing Vlade could do was invent the flop,” Vitti added. But do you know that he’s actually whispering in Shaq’s ear? So the first possession that Shaq would get in the post, right before the ball went into Shaq, he’d say, ‘You ready to get two quick fouls?’ Vlade played with his mind. Vlade was smart, man.” Kobe Bryant spent his entire career with one team which is rare in today’s NBA landscape.
Vitti had his doubts about Bryant early on
While Jerry West admired Bryant’s work ethic from the start, Vitti had concerns about his stubborn approach and how it might lead to injuries over time.
In some ways, those concerns weren’t entirely unfounded. Bryant did deal with his share of injuries, but he also developed a reputation as one of the toughest players in Lakers history. Still, back in 1996, Vitti wasn’t so sure.
“Giving away a legit seven-footer, which is hard to come by for a 17-year-old kid, who was stubborn? Kobe was stubborn!” Vitti recalled. “Kobe was one of those guys who had a lot of postural dysfunctional movement patterns because of the type of training and the amount of basketball that he played and as hard as he trained.”
Bryant’s dedication ended up being what set him apart during his career. Still, at just 17 years old at the time of the trade, it was a big risk for the Lakers.
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