Sometimes when you see a player, no matter his age, you just know that he’s destined for greatness. NBA fans are experiencing that now with Cooper Flagg, who has been the presumptive No. 1 overall pick since before he stepped foot on Duke’s campus and was playing at a random high school in rural Maine.
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Kobe was a phenomenon, a multilingual son of a former pro who tore up the Philadelphia high school hoops scene before jumping straight to the NBA. He modeled his game and his killer mentality after Michael Jordan, and though he shocked the world in 2013 when he told Jimmy Kimmel he would have gone to MJ’s alma mater, North Carolina, and not Duke.
Kobe used to practice against NBA players back when he was still a prep baller, and one of the players he matched up with was two-time NBA champ Vernon Maxwell. Mad Max, as he was nicknamed, appeared on Byron Scott’s Fast Break this week, and he spoke about how he gave Kobe some pointed advice when it came to whether he should go to school or make the NBA leap.
“F*** the education,” Maxwell recalled his words to the future MVP. “Go get your money, come get your money, son. The way you did me in that motherf***** gym, and I was really trying to check [him].”
Given Maxwell’s honest assessment of a young Kobe’s game, which echoes so many stories we’ve heard from people around the game, it’s a wonder that the future Black Mamba didn’t get drafted until the 13th overall pick.
The 1996 NBA Draft was a loaded one, with players such as Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby, Ray Allen and Kerry Kittles all going in the top eight. Even after Kobe went, Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash and Jermaine O’Neal were still on the board. It’s still wild to think that 12 players went ahead of a guy who most NBA experts agree is a top-15 player of all-time.
Maxwell is known for being willing to talk trash to any and every player he’s ever been up against, so for him to lavish such praise on a high school player is practically unheard of. “Kobe was a killer, man,” he said. “I wouldn’t have wanted to see that motherf*****, and that was when he was coming off the bench.”
Maybe NBA executives were skittish about drafting someone that hadn’t attended college, because it was such a new thing. Kevin Garnett had gone fifth overall the year prior, but Tracy McGrady (ninth overall pick in 1997) was still a year away. There were some quality players that followed, but the list of players who didn’t pan out is even longer.
Kobe’s work ethic and unshakable confidence put him on an early path to stardom. Who knows if going to college would have affected his legacy in any way, but it all worked out in the end, as he won five titles with the Lakers while becoming one of the most influential players to ever step on a court.
