10 Biggest "What If?" Questions In NBA History

It's so difficult to picture Kobe Bryant in anything other than Purple and Gold that it's easy to forget that he wasn't drafted by the Lakers. Originally, he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets and the Lakers traded Vlade Divac to obtain his rights on draft night. Although he never even came close to playing a game in Charlotte, had the Lakers not wanted him so badly, he easily could have wound up somewhere else, an almost impossible scenario to imagine today. The consequences that could have had on NBA history are immense.

The biggest question is: would Kobe have won any championships? While he likely wouldn't have won as many, he would have won some, because 'The Black Mamba' doesn't have a passive personality. The only thing that kept him on the Lakers during the down years was his love for the franchise. If he didn't like, say, the Hornets as much, he would have ditched them for a more capable team without a beat. Unfortunately, this hypothetical timeline means Shaq and Kobe would likely have never teamed up, depriving NBA fans of inarguably the most talented duo in NBA history.