They didn't. The Charlotte Bobcats did. But the Lakers traded Vlade Divac to the Bobcats for Kobe Bryant on Draft Night in 1996.
1996,was when Kobe Bryant was drafted into the lakers and he hasn't played on any other team since.
Kobe Bryant was origanally drafted from Lower Merion HS, Ardmore, Pennsylvania as the 13th overall pick by the at that time charlotte hornets who traded away the draftrights of Kobe to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Vlade Divac
Bryant was drafted in 1996 13th overall 1st round pick by Charlotte Hornets and then traded to the LA Lakers in July 1996.
Kobe Bryant joined the NBA in 1996 as the third pick.
1996
14,or 15, counting this year
Nike pays Kobe Bryant $8 million dollars each year. Kobe Bryant is a professional basketball player that plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.
I'm pretty sure it's 1998
Kobe Bryant from the LA Lakers salary is close to $27mil but overall including endorsements and bonuses he makes $55-$60mil per year
Shaquille O'Neal was the center in the LA Lakers. With shaq and Kobe on their team, they won three championships in a row.
Kobe Bryant is an awesome basketball player for the Lakers. He has represented a few companies. He signed a five year contract with Nike in 2003 for 45 million dollars.
Bryant was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the Charlotte Hornets in 1996. The Charlotte Hornets selected Bryant, seeing that there was a chance to trade with the Lakers. On July 1st 1996, Jerry West traded his starting center Vlade Divac, to the Hornets in exchange for Bryant's draft rights. Since he was still 17 at the time of the draft, his parents had to cosign his contract with the Lakers until he was able to sign his own when he turned 18 before the season began. woott woot kobe