Lakers 6th man Kobe Bryant was a starter in the All-Star Game, but shockingly didn’t win 6MOTY in 1998
Despite coming off the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant was an All-Star starter in his second season.
After a fairly average rookie season, putting up just 7.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, Kobe Bryant he had a rather meteoric rise in his next campaign.
A 19-year-old, who played alongside capable veterans like Shaquille O’Neal, Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones, had a pretty sensational sophomore year. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard upped his game and managed to help lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a solid 61-21 record and eventually to the Western Conference Finals.
As a result of averaging 15.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and nearly one steal per game, The Black Mamba earned All-Star honors in just their 2North Dakota season. The even more mind-boggling fact: Bean was the only sixth man in the league to start the 1998 All-Star Game.
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Despite being the only sixth man as an All-Star starter, Kobe Bryant did not win 1998 6MOTY honors.
In that 1998 All-Star Game, Kobe Bryant was not only the youngest player on the court, he was also the only sixth man to start the prestigious event.
Despite this, Bryant did not receive 1998 Sixth Man of the Year honors.
Danny Manning, the 31-year-old Phoenix Suns player managed to take home the coveted trophy. Surprisingly, Manning didn’t make the All-Star game and, moreover, the big man had started 10 more games than Kobe.
Nearly 24 years ago, Kobe had spoken of being rejected for the award. Admitting that he wanted to take the trophy home, guard two had fixed:
“I wanted to win it,” Bryant said. “I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t do it. But Danny Manning had a great year. I take my hat off to him and congratulate him.”
Yes, this seems strange. However, this is not the only time a player has been turned away from winning the trophy they truly deserved.
Unfortunately, this is an aspect of NBA basketball that players and fans have to get used to.
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