Lakers: Jerry West Reminisces of the Time He Scouted Kobe Bryant

The Logo gets real on how he drafted the late Kobe Bryant.

It is not often that Jerry West does too many interviews these days, especially sit down ones. In a teaser for an upcoming episode on ‘Getcha Popcorn Ready with T.O. & Hatch’, West was asked about what he saw in Kobe Bryant as a teenager that gave him the thought to draft someone that young, straight out of high school.

“Probably the easiest player that I’ve ever seen, to identify with. When you see someone, 18 years of age, work out against men, and he’s so superior to them…the mental part was especially noticeable.

The mental part: the greatest players to ever play, the one who can think, the one who can pass, the one who anticipate…you can see that, these guys have something that’s a unique part of them. They’re a play ahead…his skill level was absolutely ridiculous, and everyone wants to credit me, the other people in the league, I cannot believe, to this day they would pass a talent like that.”

What the Logo is describing here is innate in athletes. Not everyone was as gifted as Bryant was with the mental aspect of the game. Of course physically, players can practice to perfect certain aspects of the game, but the basketball IQ and perception of the game has always been ingrained in Kobe since he picked up a basketball.

West mentions how this was the same case with Luka Doncic. He was literally playing professional basketball as a young teenage over in the Euroleague and was already dominating and winning MVP awards there. The fact four players were drafted ahead of Doncic is still mind-boggling to West, similar to the 12 players taken ahead of Bryant.

Even to the naked eye when watching prospects, there are a rare gifted number of players that you can tell are obvious they are destined to be a star in the NBA. Take LeBron James for example, when he was shown on national TV on ESPN as a high schooler, it was just too evident that he was going to be a superstar once he entered the NBA.

The entirety of the Jerry West interview drops Wednesday, October 13 on Youtube.