I won NBA title with Larry Bird at Boston Celtics – I knew missing out on Kobe Bryant to Lakers in 1996 would haunt us-TH

Kobe won his final championship over the Celtics in 2010

BOSTON legend M.L. Carr nearly made Kobe Bryant a Celtic in 1996.

Carr, the head coach and director of basketball operations of the franchise at the time, detailed Kobe’s workout with the Celtics, saying it was one of the best with the team.

Kobe Bryant had a pre-draft workout with the Boston Celtics in 1996Credit: Getty

Kobe (left) was almost selected No. 6 overall by the Celtics and general manager M.L. Carr (right)Credit: Getty

The 17-year-old star impressed with his wits and play throughout the workoutCredit: Getty

Before becoming head coach and director of operations, Carr had a 10-year professional playing career between the ABA and NBA.

The 6-foot-6 small forward even teamed up with Larry Bird, winning two championships with the star in 1981 and 1984.

After his playing days, Carr became general manager of the Celtics in 1994, taking over as coach the following year.

When it came time for the 1996 NBA Draft, the 17-year-old Kobe intrigued Boston, but it wasn’t enough for the team to pull the trigger.

The Celtics held the No. 6 overall pick in the draft after trading up, looking for a player to make an immediate impact.

Ultimately, the team decided Bryant and his youthful age would take a few years to develop, passing on the promising guard.

Despite an impressive pre-draft workout and interviews, Carr looked the other way but knew they were going to remember the day they decided to pass on Kobe.

“We all looked at each other,” Carr said.

“And we knew there was a possibility that Kobe could come back and haunt us. We knew that.”

In his workout, the Lower Merion High School star stunned team executives with his skills and knowledge of the sport.

“It was unbelievable,” Carr continued.

“We put him in a lot of catch-and-shoot situations. We put him in dribble across the middle, pull-up-and-shoot. We let him stroke a little bit from the 3-point line.

“But it was a lot of quick release, get-it-off-quick [shots] to see if he could do that because we knew at the next level, he was going to have to get it quick against better defenses than in high school. But he did it with flying colors.”

Instead, Boston drafted forward Antoine Walker at No. 6 overall.

Walker played the first seven years of his career with the Celtics, becoming a three-time All-Star, but only had two winning seasons with the team.

Kobe, meanwhile, took a year to develop but was an All-Star in his second season.

In the end, Carr was right – Kobe would haunt the Celtics in 2010.

In 2010, the Black Mamba led the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals in a comeback game seven victory over Boston, winning the fifth championship of his illustrious career.

In celebration, Kobe claimed that was “the most satisfying victory of his career.”