‘He Was Going to Do Great Things.’ Why Many Believed the Best Was Ahead of Kobe Bryant

Jerry West saw something the other basketball mavens didn't. Everyone around the league was intrigued by the slender high school senior with NBA genes and confidence to spare. But could Kobe Bryant really go directly from leading the Lower Merion High School Aces in suburban Philadelphia to guarding Michael Jordan? It took West, then executive vice president of the Los Angeles Lakers and one of the best players in NBA history, less than a half hour to know the answer.