In the 1990s, technology was not as advanced as it is today, and teams had to use VHS tapes to record players’ exercises. That, of course, was the case when Kobe Bryant worked for the teams before the 1996 NBA Draft.
In an interview with Andrew Greif from Los Angeles Times, former Los Angeles Clippers assistant Rex Kalamian was tasked with operating the video camera during Bryant’s training for the team. Following the draft each year, the team recorded the footage because there was no need to keep footage of a player that the team did not choose.
However, Kalamian ended up keeping Bryant’s video and locked it for security. Now, a video of this training has been released by Los Angeles Times for the world to see.
“This one, I knew it would be something that I would like to look back on someday,” Kalamian told Los Angeles Times. “I kind of put it aside and kept it in a box for a long time.”
Although the video quality is not the best, it is still phenomenal to see a glimpse of a 17-year-old Bryant who has just come out of a stellar four-year career at Lower Merion High School in the Philadelphia area. Bryant did a series of workouts, including one in which he tried several layups in a row.
Kalamian, who is currently an assistant to the Sacramento Kings, recently showed the video to Kings coach Luke Walton, Bryant’s former teammate. In addition, Kalamian asked a member of the Clippers’ video department to convert the video into a digital file.
“I passed the video room about an hour later and there must have been about eight people around the monitor,” he said. “They were all surprised. They had just watched an hour of Kobe Bryant in [17] years old doing a workout. “
Years later, Kalamian told Bryant that he still had the footage in his possession. Before one of the games between Clippers and the Lakers, Kalamian asked a boy to hand Bryant a CD case in the Lakers’ locker room.
It is not clear whether Bryant has seen the film, but Kalamian believes it probably is.
The Clippers will certainly regret not choosing Bryant with choice number 7 in that fateful lottery. Instead, the team selected Lorenzen Wright, who had a productive 14-year career. However, there was only one Bryant and the world continues to keep its memory.