Colangelo
dures to posthumously induct Hall of Famers. Baseball twice has waived its five-year waiting period for retired players and held special elections. The first time was for Lou Gehrig, who retired after the 1939 season and revealed he had ALS; he was elected that December. The other time was for Roberto Clemente, killed in a plane crash during an earthquake relief mission on Dec. 31, 1972 while still an active player; he was elected in March of 1973.
Colangelo said he was set to pick Bryant in the 1996 NBA Draft when Kobe was a 17-year-old high school star outside of Philadelphia.
“There are certain NBA players who come along every 10 or 20 years,” Colangelo said. “You saw that with Kobe even when he was in high school.”
The Suns had the 15th pick. Bryant was taken as the 13th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets, who immediately traded him to the Lakers for center Vlade Divac.
“As it turned out we ended up with Steve Nash, which was not bad,” Colangelo said. “He went on to have a good career” including two NBA MVP awards in his second stint with the Suns.
Colangelo watched Bryant spoil the Suns’ NBA title hopes in the playoffs.
“He certainly pounded us enough times in Phoenix when he was in LA,” Colangelo said.
The two finally worked together in the Olympics, as Bryant was a key performer on the 2008 and 2012 U.S. goldmedal teams that Colangelo assembled. That time spent with Bryant showed Colangelo what an impact he had on teammates.
“He showed so much leadership when he was with us,” Colangelo said about Bryant, who once was quoted before the 2008 Games — on a team nicknamed the “Redeem Team” to help reestablish U.S. dominance in the sport — that winning Olympic gold would mean more to him than an NBA title.
“The first day of practice in Las Vegas for training camp in ‘08, he was in the workout room at 5:30 in the morning. He set the tone and LeBron (James) and Dwyane (Wade) and Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh followed suit. He led the practice sessions. He was so focused.”
Colangelo was impressed by how Bryant was transitioning from to private life after his NBA career was over.
“It was a great thrill for me to see the maturity of this man and how he has grown as a person and as a player,” Colangelo said. “I thought when he finished his career, the transition he made with his family, as a father and a husband, was great. He was making up for lost time. He would have been terrific in that second life. There were other things he was excited about.
“It’s a tragic story. I’m thankful I got to know him.”