Julius Randle is the highest draft pick for the Los Angeles Lakers since the team selected Hall of Famer James Worthy out of North Carolina with the number one overall pick back in 1982. The Lakers think very highly of the Kentucky product and feel he will be star in the near future.
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Randle is arguably one of the most promising players coming out of the 2014 NBA draft which is considered to be one of the most talented in recent memory.
In honor of quite possibly one of the best draft classes in quite some time, SLAM magazine has re-created a cover photo from 1996 with Randle taking Kobe Bryant’s place in a Lakers jersey on the cover, via SLAM:
Back in 1996, Kobe was part of one of the most successful drafts in NBA history. Kobe was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th pick in the draft before being traded to the Lakers and is one of many players in that draft class to have an incredible career.
SLAM got all the top rookies together, with the exception of Allen Iverson, for a photo shoot:
It’s hard argue that Kobe wasn’t the most successful of the players shown. Ray Allen has two titles to his credit being the closest to Kobe’s five, but Steve Nash tops his current teammate with two NBA MVPs to his one.
Regardless of Kobe’s accolades in comparison to the rest, this draft class is one of the best we’ve seen along with Michael Jordan’s in 1984 and LeBron James’ in 2003. Only time will tell if Randle’s class will experience the same level of success in the future.
[divide]NBA Summer League: Julius Randle On Carlos Boozer, Kobe Bryant