The rivalry between crosstown competitors, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers, has always been one of the fiercest in the NBA. However, who could have imagined that at one point, Lakers great Kobe Bryant actually almost signed with the Clippers?

Longtime Clippers broadcaster Ralph Lawler, who just recently retired after 40 years in the business, was a firsthand witness to this highly improbable turn of events, and the 81-year-old was more than willing to share his side of the story in a recent interview with Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times.

“The deal was basically done,” said Lawler. “Within the organization it was everywhere:

“Oh my god, we got Kobe Bryant.”

Lawler went on to explain how these events transpired, and how the conflict between Bryant and teammate Shaquille O'Neal almost led to Kobe parting ways with the Purple & Gold:

“They made their pitch to Kobe and it was a very strong one because it seemed apparent to everyone at that point that Kobe and Shaq just could no longer co-exist,” Lawler said. “Then it’s time for Kobe to excuse himself and go and Donald Sterling walks him to the door expressing concern. ‘Is this really going to happen?’

“Kobe turned to him and — this is an exact quote that I’ve had repeated to me by multiple people — he said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m a Clipper.’ So he walked out the door and [the Clippers] are all high-fiving each other thinking, ‘By God, we’ve done it.’

“If anybody denies any of that,” Lawler added, “ they are of faulty memory or they just don’t want to acknowledge it because that is what happened in that meeting in that hotel room.”

Kobe would eventually decide to stay with the Lakers and go on to win two more championships before his retirement, and it is without a doubt that if things had gone another way, his legacy would have looked much, much different.