Last night ESPN aired “Sole Man,” the latest documentary in the 30 for 30 series, reliving the days of Sonny Vaccaro and his impact on Nike and the sneaker world. About an hour into the documentary, when telling the story of how Kobe Bryant ended up with the Los Angeles Lakers, we learned John Calipari passed on Kobe in the 1996 NBA Draft for Kerry Kittles. (Forgive me if that was common knowledge, but I had no idea.)
As the story goes, L.A. wanted Kobe and Kobe wanted L.A., so Vaccaro, representing Adidas at this point, faked a rumor saying Kobe would go back to Italy if he were drafted by the New Jersey Nets at No.