“Better Than Anyone We Have”: 18-Year-Old Kobe Bryant’s Manhandling of Retired 5x NBA Champion Convinced Jerry West of His Skill

Drafted 13th overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 1996 NBA draft, there was a reason why the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Kobe Bryant on draft night. General manager Jerry West had invited a young Kobe Bryant to work out one last time with the team. He asked five-time NBA champion and defensive stopper Michael Cooper to make Bryant work during his time there. But it shockingly ended up being the other way around.

Michael Cooper, though 40 years old at the time was still quite muscular and athletic. He still had his legs under him and gave off the impression that he could go toe-to-toe with an 18-year-old Kobe Bryant in the workout. However, instead of Cooper locking up Bryant, a young Mamba went to work on him.

Bryant was slicing to the right, spinning to the left, dunking the ball, and floating it in while gliding in the air himself. Having seen enough, general manager Jerry West had to cut the workout short. As Kobe Bryant was having his way with Michael Cooper during the workout, West had no other option but to stop the workout.

Afterward, West turned to the two media relations heads who were present at the time of the workout. Impressed with Bryant’s game and tenacity on the floor, he could not help but mention that this was the best workout he had ever seen.

“He concluded: “Best workout I’ve ever seen.”: From Three Ring Circus by Jeff Pearlman

Despite having no experience playing at a professional level, Kobe Bryant was able to get the best of Michael Cooper. A five-time NBA champion, Cooper was known as the defensive stopper for the Lakers during his time with the team. And yet, Bryant was able to school him so badly that West had to cut the workout short.

Justifiably, Jerry West did not feel the need for any more proof to believe that Kobe Bryant was the real deal and would go on to be a star in the NBA before long. To the surprise of very few, he was right on the money.

How the Clippers fumbled on drafting Kobe Bryant

The Los Angeles Lakers were not the only team impressed with Kobe Bryant and his skills on the hardwood floor. The Los Angeles Clippers too had a workout session scheduled with Bryant before the draft.

Even the Clippers franchise felt that Bryant’s workout was the best they had seen so far. An excited Bryant came up to the Clippers staff asking if the team would go on to select him in the upcoming draft. The Clippers ended up revealing that the team had no desire to draft Bryant as they wanted to get serious with their organization. 

And that was the day that Bryant developed a strong hatred for the Lakers’ inter-city rivals. The hatred stayed with him throughout his career as The Black Mamba went the extra mile whenever the team faced the Clippers. In fact, you can be sure that someone from the Clippers front office may have lost their job on fumbling the chance of drafting Bryant.