Kobe Bryant is a student of the game. He understands the history of the sport and respects those who came before him.
-== Lakers Draft Evaluations: Comparing Then & Now ==-
In the midst of the NBA combine, Bryant took to his official twitter account to share his opinion on the event. Bryant has been in this game a long time and he understands that the combine will not determine if you’re successful in this league. He used Larry Bird as an example to prove a point:
I wonder how Larry Bird would have done in the nba draft combine #ThinkBoutIt
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 15, 2015
Bird is one of the greatest players of all time and won three championships with the Boston Celtics. Was he the most athletic player in the NBA during his time? Not even close, which is why Bryant uses him to prove that the combine is mainly hype.
The NBA will take all the exposure it can get and like the NFL, they are trying to make the combine into an event that will get people to watch. They put all these players through tests and drills and ideally that will help teams make their picks come draft night. However, if Bird would have gone through those similar test, would he even be drafted?