Kobe Bryant looks back on his career (1/20).
In the 1996–97 season, on June 26, 1996, in the 1996 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets selected Kobe Bryant with the 13th pick in the first round and traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers. On November 3, in the Lakers' 91-85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kobe Bryant played six minutes off the bench, scored one rebound and one block, making his NBA regular-season debut, becoming the youngest player in NBA history at the time.
On November 8, in the Lakers' 92-93 loss to the Toronto Raptors, Kobe Bryant played 17 minutes off the bench and scored 10 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block, scoring a double-double for the first time in his NBA regular season career.
On January 3 , 1997 , in the Lakers' 100–93 victory over the Sacramento Kings , Kobe Bryant played 22 minutes off the bench and scored 21 points , 5 rebounds and 1 assist , surpassing 20 points for the first time in his NBA regular season career.
On January 28, in the Lakers' 102-83 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Kobe Bryant made his first NBA regular-season start, playing 31 minutes, scoring 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, becoming the youngest starter in NBA history at the time.
In the 1997 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, Kobe Bryant won the championship.
On April 25, in the Lakers' 95-77 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, Kobe Bryant came off the bench for about one minute and scored two points, making his NBA playoff debut.
In the 1996–97 season, Bryant played in 71 regular-season games for the Lakers, averaging 7.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15.5 minutes per game, and played in 9 playoff games, averaging 8.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 15.5 minutes per game. Named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team that season.
