Exclusive: Kobe Bryant in a Clippers shirt and unseen footage of his 1996 Pre-Draft Workout
Today is a day where we all remember Kobe Bryant. What he's done for the game, what he's done for players, for writers, for everyone involved. In that remembrance, I had something very cool sent my way.
Unseen footage of Kobe Bryant in his 1996 Pre-Draft workout.
The footage was sent to AllClippers by Alex Cerda, who was a part of the Clippers' video team last year. He had the task of converting Kobe's 1996 Pre-Draft workout with the Clippers from a disk copy to a digital copy. What we're seeing right now is the end result.
Andrew Greif of the LA Times has also received exclusive footage that no one has ever seen before. This footage is different from that of the LA Times.
The Clippers had the chance to draft Kobe Bryant in 1996, but they ended up choosing Lorenzen Wright with the 7th pick in the NBA draft. Wright had a 13-year career of his own, but he didn't become one of the greatest players in the history of the game like Bryant did.
Jerry West revealed last year that he told Kobe Bryant not to join the Clippers under any circumstances. He didn't want Bryant to play for Donald Sterling. He told Bryant, "You can't play for that owner, period."
"I remember when he was going to leave the Lakers," West said on Inside the NBA. "I've never really mentioned this to anyone, he was going to come and sign with the Clippers, who I'm now involved with as a consultant. And I told him, 'Kobe, under no circumstances can you do this."
Kobe's path almost crossed with the LA Clippers numerous times. Destiny seemed to form the way it did, and that partnership never happened. Regardless, he ended up becoming an icon in the city of Los Angeles. Rest in Peace.
