The 1996 NBA Draft is considered one of the best drafts ever. It goes without saying the best player in that draft was a unknown in a high school senior in Kobe Bryant.
Bryant was drafted 13th by the Charlotte Hornets, and then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers where he went on to win 5 NBA championships. As the Mamba faces the the Boston Celtics tonight for the last time, there’s a tale of the Celtics almost selecting him with the 6th pick of the draft.
“I think this kid is going to be a hell of a player,” Red Auerbach told M.L. Carr. “But it can go either way. He seems to be solid, but he’s a high school kid. You’ve got to make a choice based on what you need today. But I think he’s a hell of a player.”
“OK,” Auerbach told Carr, “now it’s up to you to make a decision.” …
Boston’s analysis was similar to many teams’: the draft had six can’t-miss prospects. The “Super Six of ’96,” as they came to be known: Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Stephon Marbury, Ray Allen and Antoine Walker.
The Celtics had the ninth pick in the draft, but they cut a deal to move up to the sixth pick, guaranteeing one of those players.
“We worked our butts off to get in a position where we could be in the top six,” Carr says. “My eye was on Antoine because I knew that watching him — [and] Kentucky had just come off a championship year in college — [that with] his skill set, he could be an incredible impact player.”
The Celtics took Antoine Walker with their 6th pick, but legendary coach Red Auerbach seen the greatness in Bryant and cautioned them about his upside.
Bryant ended up playing the Celtics in the NBA Finals in 2008 and 2010 as a Laker, but could you imagine him in green and white leading Beantown to some championships?
Pretty sure if we can re-do the NBA Draft Kobe Bryant would of been the 1st pick, and the Celtics wouldn’t of had a chance to take him at 6th.