Dr. Jerry Buss is arguably the most famous team owner in NBA history. “The owner who made the NBA cool again” was the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers from Jack Kent Cooke in 1979 and dedicated himself to the institution for the rest of his life. The two major things that helped him in doing that were drafting Magic Johnson in his first year and trading for Kobe Bryant in 1996.
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After drafting Magic and setting the franchise up for success early, the Lakers had settled into mediocrity in the 1990s. Despite landing Shaquille O’Neal as a free agent, the team wasn’t ready to contend just yet.
And then came the 1996 NBA draft, the night in which the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Kobe. Getting Kobe wasn’t a guaranteed path to success. But Buss trusted Jerry West’s advice and green-lighted drafting the young teenager from Lower Merrion High School in the lottery.
The kid went on to be the poster boy of the NBA and a one-team legend in purple and gold. This definitely instilled a lot of pride in the owner responsible for drafting him and led to quite the bond between player and owner.
Buss, a father of six, even went on to consider Kobe as one of his own.
Jerry Buss Considered Kobe Bryant his son
Bryant, being a homegrown talent, was the blue-eyed boy of the Laker franchise for two entire decades. Naturally, the owner was a fan. After all, Bryant was drawing fans to the LA franchise in truckloads.
5 of the franchise’s rings under Buss ownership had the Mamba’s marks all over them. Bryant retired as arguably the greatest Laker of all time and was the lead attraction in Los Angeles over his career. And it seems to have come as no surprise to Jerry Buss.
“Kobe Bryant—well, Kobe Bryant was special. Buss referred to him as “my son,” insisting he would never trade the lifetime Laker. “Kobe,” he said, “is probably going to end up on a level that maybe only two or three players have ever achieved. And I want to be around to see him when he reaches his peak, which is still many years away” said Buss of his young star earlier in Bryant’s career.
The talent West vouched for was clearly there for everyone to see, even early on in Kobe’s career. But before he became “The guy” too, it would appear he had the backing of his owner.
Buss kept his word too when there came a time when a choice had to be made regarding Bryant. That, was when Shaq and Kobe had a breakdown in their relationship and decided not to co-exist.
The Mamba was not to be traded under any circumstances. And clearly, even a Shaq-sized problem wasn’t tempting enough.
Why did the Lakers have to pick between Kobe and Shaq?
In 2004, after a humiliating defeat to the Detroit Pistons, the Lakers decided they had enough. Bryant and Shaq hadn’t been getting along, but success kept them together. A 4-1 defeat to Detroit marked the breaking point for management, it would appear.
And then arose the big conundrum. Which generational superstar from their star pairing to build around? But there were no doubts really in the management as to their pick for the future. It was always going to be Kobe.
While the decision looked murky early on, as Shaq added another ring to his cabinet, the tide did turn. Bryant won the championship on two more occasions and cemented himself as a Laker legend. Buss was validated and got to keep his word, a win-win deal if there ever was one.
Also read: $500 million Lakers owner Jeanie Buss regrets the controversial Shaquille O’Neal trade
