John Smallwood: Imagine if Sixers chose Kobe over Iverson in 1996 draft

HINDSIGHT IS always 20/20.

Besides, it would be extremely difficult to argue that the 76ers blew it when they drafted Allen Iverson over Kobe Bryant with the No. 1 overall pick in 1996.

First, Iverson is a Hall of Fame player. The decade he played during his first go-round with the Sixers was one of the most exciting and successful in franchise history.

Many Iverson backers will tell you he is the best player in team history, ahead of such legends as Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain and Charles Barkley.

Picking Iverson instead of Bryant was not like the Portland Trail Blazers taking Sam Bowie second overall instead of Michael Jordan.

But 13 1/2 years into their respective careers, you can't help but wonder how things in Philadelphia might have been different had the Sixers gone out on a limb and reached for the kid from Lower Merion High.

You look at those four diamond-encrusted championship rings Bryant earned with the Los Angeles Lakers and wonder: Would he have earned at least one with a Sixers logo?

You look at Bryant's stunning style of play, 25,000-plus career points, 12 straight All-Star Game appearances and tenacious attitude, and know that if he had done all of that in a Philadelphia uniform, he'd be one of the most revered athletes this region has produced, instead of one of the most despised.

How different would things be if Bryant had broken another city's heart, instead of Philadelphia's, in the 2001 NBA Finals?

You look at a 31-year-old Bryant and marvel at how he remains in Most Valuable Player form, despite 13-plus seasons of NBA wear and tear.

You look at a 34-year-old Iverson, see how injuries have slowed his game and understand how much 13-plus seasons of NBA pounding can affect a player.

You look at all the different issues Bryant has faced in Los Angeles and appreciate that he has never worn any other NBA uniform but the Lakers'.

You look at all the love Iverson received from Philadelphia and appreciate how he was welcomed back, despite playing for Denver, Detroit and Memphis over the last three seasons.

Bryant is on course to lead the Lakers to a second straight championship, while Iverson is just trying to do enough to help a floundering team squeeze into the playoffs as an eighth seed.

Kobe over A.I.

It's impossible to know how things might have been different.

If Iverson had someone like an in-his-prime Shaquille O'Neal at center, as Bryant did, it's hard to imagine "The Answer" would not have won at least a couple of championships.

Perhaps a coach such as Phil Jackson could have successfully navigated personality battles with Iverson, as he did with Bryant.

We'll never know.

Given Bryant's personality, I doubt he would have been stymied by the enormous expectations and pressures from being a No. 1 overall pick for a hometown team.

I assume he would have handled it as marvelously as LeBron James has in Cleveland. But maybe he would have tired of Philadelphia and let the lure of cities such as New York, Los Angeles or Chicago pull him away as soon as he became an unrestricted free agent.

Iverson never wanted to leave Philadelphia and the fans who embraced him.

The Sixers did not get it wrong.

You have to look at the climate surrounding the NBA draft in 1996.

The year before, Kevin Garnett became the first player in a generation to enter the draft directly out of high school, but KG was 6-11, and even then, more than a few observers questioned the Minnesota Timberwolves for drafting a 19-year-old fifth overall.

Bryant was a 6-6 swingman when he declared for the draft. There was no precedent for an 18-year-old at that size to be considered as the top pick in the draft.

Besides, if you want to chastise the Sixers for passing on Bryant, what do you say about the other teams that passed, such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted Vitaly Potapenko 12th - one pick ahead of Bryant.

How about the Charlotte Hornets, who drafted Bryant 13th overall, then traded his rights to Lakers, saying a high school kid couldn't help them.

The only person I remember insisting that Bryant would end up being the best player in that draft was Greg Downer, Bryant's coach at Lower Merion, who had a natural bias for his star player.

The Sixers made the right pick at the time.

Iverson will make the Hall of Fame.

But Bryant will wind up as one of the top 10 players in NBA history. When he is done, the only debates might be over whether Bryant surpasses Jordan and Chamberlain, and whether James ultimately will pass Bryant.

But you also wonder how much fun the debates would be for Philadelphia if those future conversations were about Kobe Bryant, a lifelong 76er. *

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