Did The Boston Celtics Save Themselves By Not Drafting Kobe Bryant?
When I first became a basketball fan, the Celtics immediately struck my eye. From their history of winning and being regarded as arguably the best franchise in the NBA to making historical trades such as the Paul Peirce trade back in 2014, the Celtics have been a successful franchise overall. However, in 1996 the Boston Celtics made arguably the worst decision in their entire franchise history which was, passing up Kobe Bryant in 1996.
Kobe Bryant as we all know is regarded as one of the greatest players to ever step foot on a hardwood floor. His championships, 18 all-star selections, an Olympic champion and many more achievements have easily solidified himself as an all-time great. Yet, I find myself scratching my head, thinking, the Boston Celtics could have had Kobe Bryant and yet they ended up drafting Antoine Walker instead. Even though Walker was a great player when he played in the NBA, Kobe Bryant is on a whole other stratosphere and would have elevated the Celtics in not just winning, but also popularity. However, if the Celtics drafted Kobe Bryant, what would have happened to his legacy, and would he still be regarded as one of the best players ever to step foot on a hardwood floor?
It’s safe to say that if Kobe Bryant stayed in Charlotte where he was initially drafted or the Boston Celtics, the Mamba mentality would have existed. Where ever Kobe Bryant would land, work ethic was never in question as all he ever wanted to do was win and be a true competitor. His biggest motivation was to match Micheal Jordan and win as many accolades as he did. As history unravels itself, Kobe was pretty close to Jordan but still lacked a few accolades, such as four more MVPs, a sixth championship, and a few others. However, I believe that Kobe Bryant would have been equally great if not better at the statistical side of things, but not in the accolade region if the Boston Celtics drafted him and here’s why.
I firmly believe that Kobe Bryant would have averaged 30+ points in the first few years of his career. Even though Kobe Bryant had a slow start to his career, (which I don’t see changing), I believe that in his fourth or fifth year, he could have averaged 30+ points due to the lacklustre roster the Celtics were competing with. Kobe Bryant didn’t touch the 25 points per game mark until his fifth year in the league behind Shaquille O’Neal as Kobe averaged a steller 28 points per game. That’s insane if you think about it considering that Kobe wasn’t even regarded as the best player on those Laker teams during that time. Yet in Boston, Kobe would still have a rocky start similar to what he had in Los Angelas; however, if everything else remained the same until the 1998 NBA draft, the Boston Celtics would select Paul Peirce with the 10th pick in the draft. I believe that the first two seasons with Kobe Bryant on the Celtics wouldn’t entirely change anything due to how horribly constructed the Celtics were. During this time, the Celtics would constantly miss the playoffs and were regarded as a lottery team for countless of years. With that being said, Kobe Bryant would have made the Celtics more promising in the future; however, it would not have changed the fate of Paul Peirce getting drafted by the Celtics. Statistically, Kobe Bryant needed a few years to get accustomed to the NBA before being an elite scorer that he was, as history shows. However, how would Kobe Bryant and Paul Peirce play alongside each other?
The idea of Paul Peirce and Kobe Bryant being teammates would be exciting and quite ironic for many reasons. During the late 2000s, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angelas Lakers would verse Paul Peirce and the Boston Celtics in an epic duels unlike no other. However, in this fantasy, Paul Peirce and Kobe Bryant are teammates, which begs the question, how would these two superstar sensations correspond with one another? In my opinion, this duo would work; however, it wouldn’t be as successful as Kobe and Shaq. The reason why Kobe and Shaq worked so flawlessly was due to the different roles they had and their ambition to win. Everyone understood the tensions Kobe and Shaq had when they played together, yet when it came to a basketball game, they put their differences aside and, as a result, managed to win three championships. As far as roles go, Shaq being the dominant force he is, his objective was to defend the paint while posterizing anyone that prevented him from scoring inside. With Kobe, however, he was an athletic, two-way guard that had a killer jump-shot and was, at times, the leader of the Lakers as he was slowly developing the Mamba mentality. Both Kobe and Shaq understood their roles and were successful in doing so. Yet when it comes to Paul Peirce and Kobe Bryant, for the most part, they would have similar roles. Both players are primary scorers, and as far as Paul Peirce goes, he would need the ball to be effective. Luckily for Kobe Bryant, he is one of the greatest defenders at his position, which truly outlines how versatile he was. The only way for this duo to work, in my opinion, is if the Celtics would sign a playmaker that would distribute the ball to both offensive beasts. Now I know what you’re going to say, Paul Peirce and Ray Allen played together, and they worked out, what makes you say this duo can’t? The reason why Ray Allen and Paul Peirce were successful together was due to Ray Allen’s understanding and also accepting his role as a perimeter scorer similar to what Klay Thompson was to Stephen Curry during the Warriors dynasty.
Personally, I don’t see Paul Peirce or Kobe Bryant submitting themselves to that role due to how versatile both players are. Tensions would form between the two and, as a result, would not be successful. Meanwhile, other potential dynasties would form, such as the potential team-up of Allen Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal in Philadelphia. Due to the Lakers not having anything appealing for Shaq to join, the next best destination for him to potentially win a championship would be pairing up with Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers wish would have been incredible. This means that the Eastern Conference would likely consist off, Paul Peirce and Kobe Bryant of the Boston Celtics, Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson of the Brooklyn Nets, Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors, Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers, and Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks. By the simple yet impactful change of Kobe Bryant’s destination, the Eastern Conference would match the Western Conference rather than the Western Conference continuously dominating the East in talent. Instantly, the 76ers would be what the Lakers were during the early 2000s, which would tarnish Kobe Bryant’s legacy, or would it?
Even though Kobe Bryant wouldn’t win a championship in this world due to the potential dynasty of Shaq and Iverson (so far), I believe that Kobe would win other accolades that would boost his legacy. I believe that Kobe Bryant would win many more MVP’s and would also be the face of the Celtics for countless of years. However, with Paul Peirce, I think he would eventually want to either request a trade or sign elsewhere due to the possibility of him believing that he can do more than being a second option on a team which is valid. Although I do believe Kobe Bryant and Paul Peirce would have made countless playoffs appearances and could go as far as the Conference Finals, without a decent big man to handle the paint or a playmaker, this team could never touch the NBA Finals. Even though the 2015 Golden State Warriors and the Chicago Bulls in the ’90s did win championships without a superstar big men, the Warriors had Draymond Green, who is a defensive player of the year and a player that has been known to stop other dominant forces in the paint. For the Bulls, they rotated between Horace Grant, Bill Cartwright and most notably, Dennis Rodman, who is now a Hall of Famer. Even though Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors and Micheal Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the main reasons why they won their respected championships, both teams had a player in the paint that would disrupt other offensive threats. I believe that the Celtics would try to build around Kobe Bryant and Paul Peirce; however, eventually, this duo would come to an end.
Once Paul Peirce eventually leaves the Celtics to join a different team (in this fantasy world), Kobe Bryant would be left with barely any talent. However, the Celtics still had Kobe Bryant, who would most likely be not only the best player on his team but also the player that would have to do everything.
Between the stretch of 2003-2006, the Celtics were overall an average team. In 2003 and 2004, the Celtics barely touched the playoffs with Paul Peirce leading the charge, however, in 2005 and 2006, the Celtics were a lottery team. With Kobe Bryant replacing Paul Peirce, I believe that the Boston Celtics would have been a much better team due to how versatile Kobe Bryant was on the court. This is something Kobe had already proved, especially when the duo of Kobe and Shaq ended. This was a test for Kobe as he was left with little to no talent to work with yet still managed to lead his team to the playoffs in the competitive Western Conference. Putting Kobe Bryant on the Celtics between 2003-2006 would only elevate the team and could potentially make the playoffs as a low seed every season. However, Kobe Bryant would have wanted much more than just to be a weak seeded playoff team and instead would voice his frustrations to the front office of the Boston Celtics. In real life, Kobe Bryant did the same thing with the Lakers as he almost went to the Pistons or the Bulls, yet the front office refused to trade him and instead looked to add another star in the making and managed to swindle the Memphis Grizzlies in an unbeatable trade. The Lakers would receive Pau Gasol, who will be a future Hall of Famer. With the Boston Celtics in 2006, the Celtics had Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Gerald Green. Tony Allen, Al Jefferson, and Kendrick Perkins. In this fantasy world, Ray Allen wouldn’t be with the Boston Celtics as they already would have a shooting guard in Kobe Bryant. However, the rest of the players that were on the team would potentially stay as players such as Rondo was a player the Celtics attained during the draft night where they traded cash and a draft pick for Rondo from the Phoenix Suns. With that being said, the Celtics starting five in 2006 would potentially be Rajon Rondo, Kobe Bryant, Gerald Wallace, Ryan Gomes, and Al Jefferson. On paper, this team doesn’t look too bad and could make the playoffs; however, this team desperately lacks a reliable second option to Kobe Bryant. As a result, I believe that the Celtics would look to trade for Kevin Garnett similarily to how the Celtics did in real life. On July 31, 2007, the Boston Celtics traded away, Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash considerations, and a few draft picks in exchange for Kevin Garnett. The reason why I believe that the Celtics would attain Garnett regardless is due to his time with Minessota being a lost cause. The Timberwolves failed to build anything around Garnett, which led to no all-star calibre player joining the Timberwolves as it was a low market team that had nothing to gain. Instead, the best option that the Timberwolves had was to trade away Kevin Garnett in exchange for a bunch of young talent that could potentially blossom, which some did. Players such as Al Jefferson and Gerald Green panned out to be great players in their careers; however, they could never match Kevin Garnett. With this trade happening, the Celtic’s new starting five would be Rajon Rondo, Tony Allen, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Kendrick Perkins. This new-look Celtics team would instantly be a contender in the east as organizations such as the Philadelphia 76ers who in this fantasy world were the dynasty would finally plummet as Shaq and Iverson were regressing. Even though teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers with Lebron James, Orlando Magic with Dwight Howard and Miami Heat with Dwyane Wade (assuming that everything else in the NBA remained the same) were teams that were on the rise, the Celtics were the new dynasty of the east and would have most likely have battled against the San Antonio Spurs or the Phoenix Suns. Due to Kobe Bryant being on the Celtics instead of the Lakers, the Lakers didn’t have a superstar, which meant that they weren’t a threat in the West unless they had a high draft pick between 2002-2007. Although the Lakers most likely would have attained someone else, no one came close to Kobe Bryant’s skillset and raw talent.
A clash of two titans was born between the San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Celtics, two juggernauts that were on a whole other level. This battle would last a few years; however, I believe that the Spurs would be the more dominant force than the Celtics due to Kevin Garnett. Although the Celtics would win a championship with Kobe and Garnett, this duo wouldn’t last long considering the constant injuries Kevin Garnett suffered. In the real world, the Celtics dynasty with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett was a dynasty that was short-lived with only two finals appearances. This was heavily due to the regression of Paul Pierce, the constant injuries that Kevin Garnett had, and the feud between Rondo and Ray Allen sprinkled with the Boston Celtics front office. This dynasty was short-lived and was a mess towards the end, which led to some players leaving the organization with a sour taste. In this fantasy world, however, I believe that Kevin Garnett would suffer injuries, but would not be as heavily impacted by them simply because of Kobe Bryant. During this time, Kobe was at his peak and was hungry to win. This means that Kobe Bryant would most likely be the first option and would utilize Garnett similarly to how he used Pau Gasol just without a three-point shot. With that being said, I believe that the Boston Celtics would make three straight finals and win one championship while the Spurs would win two. Despite having Kobe Bryant, the Spurs would have the edge in health and better coaching with Greg Popovich. However, I firmly believe that every finals match-up would end in a seven-game series.
Once this dynasty comes to a close, I believe that the Celtics would continue to make the playoffs until 2013; however, it would fail to surpass the Miami Heat with Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. As a result, the Brooklyn Nets trade would never happen as the Celtics do not have Paul Peirce to trade, which instantly means that Garnett would look to be traded elsewhere. During this time, Kevin Garnett was still an all-star calibre player and had some trade value. The Celtics still would want to compete as Kobe Bryant was still a superstar calibre player and would end up trading Kevin Garnett and multiple draft picks to the Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Love, who at this time was in the conversation for best power forward in the NBA. Although I do believe that this is incredibly bold, I think this would happen considering that the Timberwolves were going nowhere and needed a restart to get some draft picks to build for the future. The Celtics would also benefit from this trade as they now attain a younger player that can compete and also be the face of the franchise in many years to come. Even though the Celtics would make some significant changes, players such as Rajon Rondo would end up staying due to the lack of tensions between players and also the organization (potentially). However, this new-look Celtics team would still be no match for the Miami Heat and would eventually look to break the team apart. This would result in the potential trade of Kobe Bryant to a contender that could help him win more championships. The team that comes to mind would be the Golden State Warriors as they would trade for Kobe Bryant to be they’re small forward, which means that Andre Iguodala would have never signed to the Warriors. The reason why I believe this could happen is due to the Warriors in 2013, believing that they can be a dynasty in the foreseeable future. Instead of signing Andre Iguodala, the Warriors would look to trade for Kobe Bryant, who would instantly elevate the Warriors. The best part about this trade is, Kobe would have never torn his Achillies as he tore it against the Golden State Warriors. Although all of this is bold, no other team in the NBA had a better situation for Kobe to win a championship and, as a result, would reach the finals in 2015 where they would face the Cleveland Cavaliers. In this fantasy world, Lebron James would still go back home in hopes of winning a championship. Everything else would remain the same as the Cavaliers would trade for Kevin Love in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, who would now be the face of the Boston Celtics. With that being said, NBA fans all around the world would finally get their wish granted as we would finally get to see Kobe Bryant and Lebron James battle in the NBA finals where the Warriors would win, and Kobe Bryant would attain a second championship.
In 2016, Kobe Bryant, in real-life, retired from the NBA, which does not change in this world. Kobe Bryant retired due to wanting to be with his family more.
Kobe Bryant would most likely have remained an 18x all-star, a 2x champion, a 4x MVP during his run with Garnett (1x MVP), with Paul Pierce (1x MVP), and when he was the lone star in Boston (2x MVP), and a Finals MVP with the Boston Celtics. Kobe would also be in the top five in all-time scoring, and the rest of his accolades would either remain the same or improved.
In the end, Kobe Bryant, as a Celtic player, would have been incredible to see; however, it would have tarnished his legacy, in my opinion. From not attaining Shaq to waiting countless years for Kobe and Paul Pierce to mesh, the Boston Celtics would have ruined Kobe Bryant’s career and wasted his prime. The fact that it took until 2008 for Kobe Bryant to win his first NBA championship would automatically ruin his case of being an all-time great. Although I do believe Kobe Bryant would have had at least four MVPs, Kobe Bryant in this world would be regarded as a player who was mistreated while also wasting his prime with the Boston Celtics.
After reflecting on this, even though I am a Celtics fan, I am also a fan of basketball, and I am glad that this never happened.
