Legendary Los Angeles Lakers player, coach, and executive Jerry West, who was instrumental in bringing Kobe Bryant from Wynnewood to the West Coast, died on June 12 aged 86, writes Mike Sielski for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

West worked with Arn Tellem, a powerful player agent, to ensure Bryant went straight to the Lakers from Lower Merion High School in his efforts to regenerate the Lakers’ dynasty.

Tellem introduced Bryant to West during the 1996 draft season, when the Black Mamba was still a mystery to most teams. After two workouts, West was convinced Bryant would be the NBA’s next Greatest Player.

“I thought that Kobe was possibly better than the players we had on the team at the time,” wrote West in his autobiography, West by West.

Since the Lakers had the No. 24 pick, West orchestrated a trade with the Hornets, who had No. 13. The Hornets would pick Bryant, then would trade him to the Lakers for center Vlade Divac. While this nearly fell through when Divac considered retiring, he changed his mind, securing Bryant’s place in his dream team.

Read more about Jerry West in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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