Why the Nets missed out on five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant in 1996

Lakers guard Luka Doncic arriving in Los Angeles subsequently sparked some entertaining debates, including one over the best acquisitions in franchise history.

During an ESPN segment discussing Kobe Bryant’s draft day trade to the Lakers, former Nets assistant general manager Bobby Marks was forced to relive one of the most heartbreaking misses during his time as an NBA executive. For what it’s worth, Brian Windhorst comically advised him not to remind everyone of the historic Black Mamba blunder.

“We passed on Kobe in that ‘96 draft,” Marks reflected. “I don’t want my good friend Kerry Kittles to be mad at me. We passed on him because we thought Kobe was going to go play in Italy. We were threatened that he was going to go play in Italy. To this day, the greatest draft workout I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Marks, who started his professional career with the New Jersey Nets as an intern in 1995 and rose to an assistant general manager role in 2010, watched the franchise prioritize seven-year guard and 1996-97 All-Rookie selection Kerry Kittles at No. 8 overall with concerns that Bryant might take his talents overseas. We know how that story went, similar to how we were recently reminded, the rich always find ways to get richer no matter what.

Bryant, drafted five picks later by Charlotte and later traded to the Lakers to unknowingly form a dynasty, ultimately didn’t go to Italy after all. Showboat actually went on to become an 18-time NBA All-Star, 15-time All-NBA guard, 12-time All-Defensive selection, 2007-08 NBA MVP, four-time All-Star Game MVP, two-time scoring champion, two-time Finals MVP, NBA 75th Anniversary Team member, 2018 Oscar winner and 2020 Hall of Fame inductee. 

Kittles posted his best numbers during the 1997-98 campaign with 17.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 44 percent shooting from the field. Meanwhile, Bryant averaged 25 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists on a 44.7-percent shooting clip throughout his 20-year NBA career. Don’t forget Kittles played in Los Angeles, too, though just 11 games with the Clippers during the 2004-05 season before ending his well-respected stint in the league. 

Still, enough to make your stomach turn if you, like Marks, were involved with one of the front offices that left Bryant on the board. Not only did the Nets miss out on the greatest player of the 1996 class, costing them years later in the NBA Finals, but Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Jermaine O’Neal and Derek Fisher were also all taken in the first round after New Jersey committed to Kittles. 

Kittles has the ninth-best career scoring average (14.1 ppg) of the 1996 class, behind Bryant (25 ppg), Stojakovic (17 ppg) and Nash (14.3 ppg), who were all still available with the eighth pick. The Nets’ 1996 first-round investment played in fewer NBA games than all but one top-10 selection (Samaki Walker).

What could’ve been in New Jersey…