kobe started playing for the lakers in 1996.
kobe started playing for the lakers in 1996.
when did kobe start playing for the lakers?
1996
in 1996, the los angeles lakers acquired the draft rights to high school player kobe bryant from the charlotte hornets by trading established center vlade divac. no nba team had previously drafted a guard straight from high school. after freeing up salary by parting with other veteran players, they signed free agent all-star center shaquille o'neal later that year. the two sparred in their first three seasons playing together from 1996–1999. bryant kept his teammates at a distance, answering non-basketball questions with one- or two-word responses. o'neal told the lakers when bryant arrived, "i'm not gonna be babysitting." bryant had extreme confidence in his ability, which was unusual for an 18-year-old. some teammates interpreted bryant's confidence as arrogance. o'neal was wary of bryant, as a rookie, boasting that he would lead the lakers in scoring and be the best player in the league. lakers general manager jerry west criticized o'neal's leadership for hazing bryant that season. while o'neal's personality was good-humored, bryant's demeanor was all-business and was interpreted by some teammates as selfishness. o'neal began calling bryant "showboat" because of his flashy offensive moves. in an overtime playoff loss to the utah jazz that eliminated the lakers, o'neal fouled out with two minutes remaining in regulation. lakers coach del harris had designed the laker offense around the rookie bryant, who went on to shoot four air balls. harris explained that bryant's one-on-one skills made him the best choice. after the game, o'neal put his arm around bryant and told him there would be other opportunities. west said the team's shortcoming made o'neal angry since he was going to be judged by the team's success.
shaq–kobe feud
the lakers were then matched up against the second seeded oklahoma city thunder in the second round of the 2012 nba playoffs. during this series the lakers did not have home court advantage as they did against denver. in the first game of the series the thunder blew the lakers out 90-119. in the second game, the lakers led 75-68 with 2:08 to play but were unable to hold on. kevin durant hit the go ahead bucket with 18.6 seconds to go and steve blake missed a three-pointer in the corner resulting in a 75-76 laker loss. the lakers won game 3 at home 99-96. kobe bryant scored 36 points going 18-18 from the free throw line including the last 2 free throws that put the lakers up by 3. game 4 ended with a 100-103 thunder win. the lakers held a 9-point lead with 6:01 to play in the 4th quarter but were unable to sustain. this time it was kevin durant with the go-ahead three-pointer over metta world peace. kobe bryant had 38 points to lead the lakers but russell westbrook and kevin durant were able to both match him combining for 68 points. ultimately, the eventual western conference champions thunder proved too much for the lakers, winning the next game at chesapeake energy arena 90-106, wrapping up the series 1-4. kobe bryant averaged 31.2 points per game in the series. andrew bynum, the lakers other all-star did not perform up to his usual standards and only averaged 16.6 points per game and 9.4 rebounds per game. this was low considering during the regular season he averaged 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game, both career highs. this marked the second year in a row the lakers were defeated in the second round of the playoffs. the previous year they were swept 4-0 by the dallas mavericks.
2011–12 los angeles lakers season