Vlade Divac was one of the pioneers of Europeans coming to the NBA and having success, having been a key part of the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings. Now he’s returned to the Kings as Vice President of Basketball Operations. There’s many things Divac is remembered for and one of them is as the guy the Lakers traded for Kobe Bryant.
Charlotte drafted Bryant on a pre-arranged deal to send him West. Which is why it was interesting when Divac sat down with the USA Today’s Sam Amick and said this about Kobe. (via ProBasketballTalk)
“It was a lovely story that I finished my career with Kobe, with somebody who I was traded for. I have a lot of respect for the guy. I think he’s definitely, by far, the best talent that I ever, ever played with. (It’s) obviously very close with Magic (Johnson) and Chris Webber, Glen Rice and Peja Stojakovic — it’s unbelievable experience for me to have a teammate like that next to me.”
Kobe will definitely go down as one of the best players ever on the Lakers and one of the best players period but there is definitely some debate about whether or not he’s better than Magic Johnson.
