National Basketball Association

5 alternative timelines for Kobe Bryant's career

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Every basketball career is an endless series of forks in the road. What would have happened if Kobe Bryant had walked a different path?

Kobe Bryant’s career — as much as it will be remembered for his ‘Mamba Mentality’, his title wins and who he played with — was largely defined by where he played. For 20 years, Kobe defined the post-Showtime Los Angeles Lakers. Other stars, Shaquille O’Neal and Pau Gasol most notably, came through and won with Kobe, but they were not around as long as ‘Th Mamba’. No one else was there for both the highs of titles and the lows of being one of the worst teams in the league over the past few seasons.

And yet, it required a bit of chance for Kobe to remain in Los Angeles for two decades. On the night he was drafted, he had to be traded for Vlade Divac. Last week, it was reported that he had requested a trade his rookie season and had very nearly been dealt to the Detroit Pistons. Later on, he had to walk back trade demands prior to Gasol’s arrival. And even before he entered the league and within his time in Los Angeles, there are events and transactions that could have played out differently and changed the way the world looks at Bryant.

Here are five forks in the road that could have re-shaped Kobe’s career arc. Think of these as Kobe Bryant’s Elseworld tales.

5. What if Shaquille O’Neal had never left Orlando?

Bryant’s arrival in L.A. is certainly a franchise-defining moment for the Lakers, but so was Shaquille O’Neal joining the team and it happened during the same summer. Prior to Shaq’s arrival, the Lakers were trying to get back to where they were in the 1980s and without Shaq leaving Orlando, the success Los Angeles had with Shaq and Kobe might never have happened.

Had Shaq decided to keep drinking Pepsi and wearing Reebok in Orlando, there’s a scenario at play that rests the future of the Lakers on Bryant’s shoulders from an early point in his career, perhaps even during his rookie season. Maybe the Lakers would have landed another star to pair with Kobe and to mentor a young Bryant, but it’s also possible that Bryant would have been tasked with doing it on his own.

If that’s the case, maybe Bryant develops differently, perhaps more like LeBron James would do a few years later. Maybe he’s good enough to get the Lakers to a certain level, but can never get them over the final hump of winning a title. Maybe then, sick of playing with a lacking cast and stuck in a cycle of not winning, Bryant exits in free agency near the beginning of his prime to join up with other stars, maybe somewhere like San Antonio or Orlando if Shaq is still there. Consider this as the inverse of Bryant’s actual journey.

Feb 21, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) leaves the game against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

4. What if Kobe had been traded to the Bulls?

In 2007, Kobe Bryant’s relationship with the Lakers had deteriorated to the point that it looked to be broken beyond repair. In that summer — with the Lakers coming off a first-round playoff loss and management reportedly blaming Bryant for breaking up a dynasty — it looked as if Bryant was going to be headed to the Chicago Bulls. Ultimately, it didn’t happen because Bryant didn’t want Luol Deng to be involved in the trade so he had a chance to win in Chicago right way. From there, it did all work out. Pau Gasol came to Los Angeles mid-season and Kobe would win two more rings.

But let’s say Bryant ends up in Chicago and Deng stays. A lot changes; Derrick Rose probably doesn’t end up in Chicago, Joakim Noah becomes a Laker and Bryant heads to the city where the man he modeled his game on played most of his career.

Bryant in Chicago, playing for the Bulls and maybe wearing No. 24, would have been fascinating. Kobe is, at his core, Michael Jordan’s ideals taken to their most extreme and seeing him try to match Jordan in the Windy City would have resulted in Bryant being the most scrutinized athlete on a number of fronts. Without Noah there to develop and the 2007-08 Bulls roster (Tyrus Thomas! Larry Hughes! Coach Scott Skiles!) not exactly being great, it’s not hard to imagine Bryant’s legacy being looked upon much worse than it is now. He and Skiles almost certainly would have clashed from the get go as well.

What’s the saying about better the devil you know?

Nov 15, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) handles the ball against Detroit Pistons forward Marcus Morris (13) during the first quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

3. What if Kobe had been traded to the Pistons?

Current Knicks president and former Lakers coach, Phil Jackson, revealed that Kobe was almost traded to the Pistons for Grant Hill when Bryant was in his fourth year in the league. As Jackson tells it, Bryant was unhappy with coming off the bench and he almost pulled the trigger on the aforementioned deal. Here’s his explanation: “The thing was that Kobe already saw himself as being one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. I thought that, in time, he would indeed reach that goal.”

Had he made that deal, Bryant would have went to the Pistons at a very, very interesting time. They were not quite the Pistons team that would ultimately be one of the NBA’s best in a few years time, but the seeds were there and, in time, those teams would have existed in some form.

If there was one major critique of the early 2000s Pistons teams, it’s perhaps that they didn’t have that one overwhelming star to lean on and build around. At the time of the proposed Bryant trade none of their future core — Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, a young Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, etc. — was in place yet. If those small deals had still manifested around a young Kobe Bryant the Pistons may have had a dynasty on their hands..

A young Bryant who arrives then and perhaps is built around in the way Joe Dumars later built the squad that won a title, perhaps those Pistons teams are better and better for longer. At the very least, the possibility of Bryant and Sheed playing together is fascinating to contemplate.

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 31: Chris Paul

2. What if the Chris Paul trade had gone through?

“Basketball reasons” (plus some behind the scenes complaining from Dan Gilbert) were the two words given for the NBA vetoing the Dec. 2011 trade that would have sent then New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul to the Lakers.

The idea behind the trade was simple: get Bryant another star to play with in hopes of getting him another title and give the Lakers a future star to build around after Bryants retired. When that deal fell apart, Paul ended up on the Clippers days later and the Lakers spent the next few seasons trying to find stars willing to play with an older, declined Kobe.

If Paul had ended up in purple and gold, it may have played out in two ways. On one end, Bryant and Paul are both intense, aggressive players who some don’t like to play with, and both are at their best with the ball in their hands. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that the two couldn’t co-exist and the Lakers never would be able to maximize the potential of that pairing. At that point, maybe Paul isn’t in Los Angeles after a season or two.

On the other side, maybe the two would have brought the best out of one another and formed a high-scoring, aggressive, smart backcourt duo that opposing teams just hated to play against before Bryant’s inevitable decline. At that point — especially if Bryant wins a ring — maybe he leaves the NBA feeling better about where the Lakers are heading and what player is assuming his Laker’s legacy.

BEIJING, CHINA – JUNE 24: NBA star Kobe Bryant attends a retirement special activity on June 24, 2016 in Beijing, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

1. What if Kobe had retired after tearing his Achilles?

Of all possible changes in Bryant’s career, a retirement after he tore his Achilles in 2013 would seem to be the most plausible, at least for players other than Kobe Bean Bryant. At the time, he was 35 and still playing at a relatively high level. But the two seasons after that were more sad than anything. 2014-15 and 2015-16 were by and large the two most disappointing seasons of Bryant’s career and it didn’t help that those Lakers teams were likely the worst of his time in L.A.

No one would have blamed Bryant for retiring at that point, as Achilles injuries had ended careers before 2013 and most certainly will moving forward. Had he retired, his resume would not be any worse off and it might even be better as a whole, considering his last two seasons were both inefficient and ineffective.

But had Bryant retired, the way he is viewed might be a bit different. The reason he has such a passionate fan following and that other players hold him in such high esteem is that, as a player, Bryant took things to the ultimate competitive extreme and really thrived on chaos, outside doubt and challenges. Of everything he faced in his career, there’s an argument to be made that getting back on the court and being even semi-functional was the biggest challenge of Bryant’s 20 years in the NBA.

Had he retired then, it wouldn’t have been a fitting way for Bryant to exit stage left. Unlike a Tim Duncan who can’t even bothered to attend his retirement press conference, Bryant loves the fanfare, loves the attention. The best way for Bryant to go out was to have his national retirement tour, have his ‘Mamba Day, his commercial and his 50-point game in the finale.

Any scenario that involves Bryant retiring before he can soak it all in and be loved after being hated for so long simply wouldn’t be Kobe.

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