The summer of 1996 was a big one for the Los Angeles Lakers. That summer, they signed Shaquille O’Neal to a seven-year deal worth up to $121 million and traded Vlade Divac for the No. 13 pick in the 1996 draft, Kobe Bean Bryant. Shaq and Kobe would join 25-year-old Nick Van Exel, who was making a name for himself in Los Angeles before the future Hall of Famers came to town.
The Lakers drafted Van Exel with the No. 37 pick in the 1993 draft and he quickly became a fan favorite in Los Angeles.