Philly.com’s John Smallwood brings up an interesting question regarding the Sixers. What if they had drafted Kobe Bryant rather than Allen Iverson some 13 years ago?
I think Bryant’s work ethic which is completely opposite of Iverson’s would have had an affect upon his teammates much like Michael Jordan’s work ethic forced people like Scottie Pippen to work harder and pick up his game.
Bryant would not have been content to play without being a champion. He would have driven the front office and the coaching to staff to make the necessary moves to bring a title here.
There would have been controversies but he would have demanded the proper changes be made to enable him to be part of a parade.
With Kobe it would have been easier to build a strong defensive team since he makes the all-defense team year in and year out.
Still there is no guarantee that Bryant would have led the Sixers to a championship but it would have been possible and maybe easier than with Allen.
It’s true that Larry Brown built a strong defensive team around Iverson but Allen was a weak part of it as a one on one defender. He was the scorer for the group.
Iverson was able to play the passing lanes and get steals but he never was a fundamentally sound defender with his lack of size.
Bryant is a complete player who can be the scorer or the distributor, plus we know that he’s the best finisher in the game.
If a game was on the line and the Sixers had the ball, you would have to put your money Bryant if he were wearing the red, white and blue jersey.
Nobody will ever know what would have happened had the Sixers drafted Bryant but I think they would have won a title. What about you?
