Many inspirational stories about the late Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant have been retold by countless individuals in the past year, especially after his tragic death. However, ESPN shared an amusing story about his pre-draft workout with the Lakers where he destroyed a 40-year-old Michael Cooper and even kicked him in his nuts back in 1996.
At 17 years old, Bryant had been making a buzz to be one of the lottery picks in the 1996 NBA Draft. Several teams have expressed an interest in selecting him out of high school but it seemed like he was laser-focused on becoming a Laker in the big leagues.
Cooper was with Kobe Bryant for the majority of his workout and the two even figured in a one-on-one battle against each other. Former Lakers star Norm Nixon was teasing his pal, “Bang on him, Coop! Bang on him!”However, after seeing how their matchup ended, Nixon made sure to let Cooper hear it as he whispered, “The kid just kicked your ass.”
The 1987 Defensive Player of the Year claimed that he was busted in the nuts by Bryant during their matchup and made sure that he followed it up with a hit of his own afterward.
“He did kick me in the nuts one time with his leg, and I was mad about that. But that was it. I was banging on him. I was hitting him with my forearm and he was banging me right back. I hit him hard one time, in the kidney and it was a cheap shot, on purpose. It was just that he was backing me down, backing me down and so I hit him. He felt it, you could tell”
The Lakers legend then claimed that Bryant always liked to let his actions do the talking for him instead.
“I said, “Hey man, sorry about that,” but Kobe Bryant was so focused on the workout he was like, “No, no, no problem, Coach, let's go.” When he'd hit me with an elbow he would say, “Oh, oh, I'm sorry,” and I said, “Quit treating me like an old man.” But no, Kobe didn't talk.”
The Philadelphia native in Bryant didn't get to be selected by the Lakers in the draft as he slid down to the 13th pick where he was nabbed by the Charlotte Hornets. However, the decision-makers of the Lakers still got their hands on the rookie as they engineered a draft-day trade to acquire his services.
Despite receiving a cheap shot, Michael Cooper got an inkling that Kobe Bryant was the type of player who would never back down to anyone. Similar to what he showed during his pre-draft workout, Bryant did epitomize grit, hunger, and resilience all throughout his decorated 20-year Lakers career as he went down to be one of the greatest players to have ever played the sport.
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