Before Kobe Bryant was a five-time NBA champion and a sure-fire Hall of Famer, he was just a 13-year old kid with a chip on his shoulder. A chip on his shoulder and a “Kill List.”
This list consisted of kids in Kobe’s age group that were ranked higher than him – and there were plenty to choose from considering the mini mamba barely cracked the Top 200 heading into his sophomore year at Lower Merion. During a recent appearance on the “All The Smoke” podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Kobe shared some of the names that made his list way back when.
As seen in the video embedded above, 13-year old Kobe’s list included Tim Thomas, Jermaine O’Neal, Mike Bibby, Lester Earl, Shaheen Holloway, and Corey Benjamin. He also noted fellow Pennsylvania-native and NBA champion Rip Hamilton didn’t make his “Kill List” because “Rip and I were both nobodies” at the time.
Needless to say, Kobe successfully crossed off every name on that list, and then some. Says Bryant with a smile, “It was fun getting to know everybody and then seeing where we have all gone since then.”
