Kobe Bryant made his NBA debut on November 3, 1996, becoming the youngest player ever to appear in an NBA game. Lakers Coach Del Harris had Kobe coming off the bench for the majority of the 6'6" guard/forward's first season. He averaged 15.5 minutes per game in his rookie campaign while contributing 7.6 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. At season's end Bryant was named to the All-Rookie second team.

The greatness that is the Los Angeles Lakers franchise started '46 as the Detroit Gems. In '47, the team shifted to Minneapolis and became the Minneapolis Lakers from the state nickname, "land of 10,000 lakes." The Lakers relocated to Los Angeles before the '60-'61 season.