“A 17-Year-Old High School Kid, Everyone Thought I Was Nuts”: Looking Back At Nets’ Decision To Not Draft Kobe Bryant

John Calipari’s NBA career will forever be associated with Kobe Bryant. When he entered the NBA in 1996, he was the head coach of the New Jersey Nets. He was preparing for a draft that boasted four future Hall of Famers.

But with the eighth overall pick, the Nets passed on Kobe Bryant and picked Kerry Kittles from Villanova. Bryant then fell to 13th where he was picked up by the Hornets, only to be traded to the Lakers later.

There are multiple stories behind why Calipari skipped Bryant. During Draft Night in 1996, Calipari said “Where we are and what we needed I felt, in the end, it was Kerry Kittles.”

Calipari tricked into avoiding Kobe Bryant?

Calipari shared this story in January after Bryant passed away. He said he had set his sights on the Lower Merion prodigy but he was advised against the move. “I had the eighth pick in the draft, and everyone thought I was nuts. A 17-year-old kid, a high school kid who’s just now getting to the NBA? It shows you don’t know what you’re doing.”

According to Bryant’s first agent Arn Tellem, other teams were not even given a chance by them. “Basically, I kept other teams from picking Kobe by not giving their coaches access to him,” Tellem said. “I knew teams would be reluctant to take a chance on a high schooler without first talking to him and working him out.”

Jonathan Abrams’ book “Boys Among Men,” tells a different story. Abrams wrote that the real reason the Nets moved on from Bryant is that the Black Mamba and his agent told Calipari and the Nets he would rather play professionally in Italy than stay in New Jersey.

Abrams also wrote “I think David Falk (Kittles’ agent)  scared the bejesus out of [Calipari}. I really do. If David Falk hadn’t been so insistent on us taking Kittles, I think Kobe would have been drafted by the Nets and John would probably still be the coach.” Calipari was fired midway into his third season with the Nets. He ended his career with a 72-112 record and just a 39% win percentage.

Kerry Kittles on went to be a decent NBA player but injuries cut his career short. In his eight-years in the league, he averaged just over 14 points. As for Bryant, he not only became the best player Los Angeles had ever seen, but also left as one of the greatest to grace the game.