Did Kobe ever play a game with the hornets?
Bryant was chosen as the 13th overall draft pick by the
Charlotte Hornets in 1996. However, according to Arn Tellem,
Bryant's agent at the time, Bryant playing for the Charlotte
Hornets was "an impossibility". Nevertheless, the Charlotte Hornets
selected Bryant, seeing that there was a chance to trade with the
Lakers. On July 1, 1996, then L.A. general manager Jerry West
traded his starting center, Vlade Divac, to the Hornets in exchange
for Bryant's draft rights.