The Kobe Bryant retirement tour takes its stop against the Charlotte Hornets, a team that has connections to the Black Mamba.
As Hornets team owner Michael Jordan pointed out, Charlotte was the team that drafted him 13th overall in the star-studded 1996 NBA Draft. He was traded to the Lakers on the same night.
Air Jordan had an endearing message as SI.Com recounts. "I'm a big fan," said Jordan, who was not in attendance Monday night at The Time Warner Cable Arena. "I still love watching you play."
In the video, Jordan also said that Bryant was a "big help to the game of basketball," and refers to him as a little brother.
"We are very proud of what you have accomplished over the years," Jordan added. "Have a great game. But not too good." Bryant did play well, but not well enough as the Lakers lost 108-98.
Meanwhile, on the subject of Charlotte drafting Kobe Bryant, it was always believed that Kobe and specifically his agent, Arn Tellem, already orchestrated a trade that would send him to the Lakers. Kobe disputed this and reiterated to ESPN that he was rejected by the Hornets.
"Charlotte never wanted me," Bryant said on Monday. "[Hornets coach Dave] Cowens told me he didn't want me. It wasn't a question of me even playing here. They had a couple of guards already, a couple small forwards already. So it wasn't like I would be off the bench much. "
That organization is not the same now, with Jordan at the helm. And while Jordan loves to revisit the connection between the team and Kobe, it may go down as one of the biggest blunders in draft history.
"I mean, I had grown up watching basketball," Bryant said. "I knew who Dave Cowens was and [was] pretty excited [to play for him]. Then I was like, 'Oh, all right.' I quickly transitioned from smiley kid to killer instinct."
"Cowens told me, 'We don't really need you here,'" Bryant said.
Kobe would have been the steal of the draft, as he ended up as an MVP, 17-time All-Star and the third leading scorer in NBA history at the 13th pick. Trading that away will haunt a franchise and the Hornets got to witness what could have been.