How close was Kobe Bryant to playing ball in North Carolina?

Some famous people turn out to be bigger in death than they even were in life. The former Lakers star is apparently one of them, judging from the world’s reaction to his tragic demise with his 13-year-old daughter Sunday in a helicopter crash.

Bryant was labeled as a loner who practiced obsessively on the way to becoming one of the greatest players of all time. He spoke multiple languages, fluent Italian one of them from a youth living overseas with his family.

Teammates and opposing players recognized his true brilliance on the court, along with his aversion to the spotlight. Dedication to his craft was reflected in a 6-6-6 off-season regimen: work out 6 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 6 months. This, plus a fierce determination to be the best, was his identity.

Where a player competes often affects the level of his notoriety, and in Los Angeles he wore his signature numbers 8 and 24, which we are seeing everywhere this week. However, he got to the Lakers by flirting perhaps three times with our state.

As a 17-year-old high school graduate, Kobe was the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, whose fan base wasn’t that excited to hear his name called. Speculation had already swirled that the Lakers had completed a trade with Charlotte and actually dictated to the Hornets who to take.

The trade that would send veteran center Vlade Divac to Charlotte was almost nullified when Divac threatened to retire. If he had, Kobe could have started his NBA career with the Hornets, who might never have moved to New Orleans had he.

Over the years, Bryant was asked where he would have gone to college, be it for a year or two. His most popular answer, especially after winning two Olympic gold medals playing for Coach K, was Duke. But other news reports had said Carolina was actually his first choice. Imagine the rivalry either way.

How any of that might have changed the course of history, we’ll never know. But, assuredly, with his path as an ambassador and family man since retiring, Bryant will remain even bigger than life.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Related Stories
‹
Chansky's Notebook: Bailing Out
Roy Williams probably had reasons for the soft statements. Carolina fans reacted strongly to the video of a team party after the win over Duke. Only Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe were in the video, but a statement from players and managers said it was supposed to be a closed event that other students and […]
Chansky's Notebook: Please, Go In!
UNC men's basketball faces what is an early season must-win at Georgia Tech. Art Chansky says a look at the statistics is painful, but not terminal.
Chansky's Notebook: Leaky Steps Up
Dean Smith used to say he’ll be happy with a one-point win. The legendary UNC basketball coach struggled spiritually between playing well according to his teachings, regardless of outcome, and winning no matter how poorly you play. Since his job was to win and he was so competitive, he chose the latter. If he was […]
Chansky's Notebook: Rock(et) Star
Ben Kiernan was UNC’s MVP of the Notre Dame game. When Mack Brown went over the 31-17 loss, he gave mixed reviews to the two main branches of his Tar Heels’ play. He said the offense was good in the first half and then “went dead” in a scoreless second half. He praised the Tar […]
Chansky's Notebook: Goals and Ambitions
Garrison Brooks has both opportunity and pressure. On paper, the ACC looks as weak as it has been in some time due to widespread losses to graduation and early departures to the NBA, and no sure-shot superstars in the incoming recruiting classes. A beneficiary of this development is Brooks, the Carolina senior who was second-team All-ACC last year and earned the league’s […]
Chansky's Notebook: A COVID Debate
Clemson was livid that Florida State wouldn’t play the game. Let’s be lawyers, and make a case for each of the teams that did not play its scheduled game over the weekend. Clemson had traveled to Florida State when it learned a player with mild symptoms who had practiced with the team all week tested […]
Chansky's Notebook: Draft Dodgers
Carolina and Duke players have lost ground in the NBA draft. Like everything else with sports in the COVID era, the NBA draft goes off tonight after being postponed for five months. And if you look at the various mock draft boards, certain things jump off your screen. First of all, about half the names […]
Chansky's Notebook: A Two-Thirds Bet?
What if Phil Mickelson and Mack Brown amended their bet? With the Masters being moved back to this weekend due to COVID, perhaps the three-time champion should revisit the fun bet he made with Carolina’s football coach back in 2003. The famed lefthander was still seeking his first Green Jacket when he partnered with the Texas football coach at the […]
Chansky's Notebook: Kudos To Carolina
UNC teams did a commendable job beating the odds. Who among us thought the ACC would be playing football and other fall sports last summer? With the pandemic upon us and the medical experts still learning, the seasons looked like a long shot. While other conferences pumped the breaks and/or called off football, the ACC […]
Chansky's Notebook: Extra Motivation
Carolina’s schedule could be working to its advantage. When the COVID-revised list of games came out, it looked troublesome for the Tar Heels with Virginia Tech and Florida State basically bookending Notre Dame and Miami with four rivalry games in a row right in the middle. Coaches usually don’t like that because it takes a […]
›