Mitch Kupchak shares what he and Jerry West saw in Kobe Bryant before they drafted him

While many know that the late great Jerry West discovered Los Angeles Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant, what goes unnoticed is that Mitch Kupchak also helped execute the move to acquire him. In his latest appearance on the "Legends of Sport," Kupchak talked about the process of Bryant's pre-draft workouts with the Lakers.

" Kobe played in the McDonalds game and it was uninspiring. Those games are really hard to look good in and he was just average. His representative was AR Tum, So Aron called up Jerry and they were getting to know each other and they ended up being good friends. Aron said 'I want you to work out this kid Kobe Bryant.' So he brings Kobe to Los Angeles and I wasn't on the first workout for some reason but it was a brief workout and in the office that afternoon, Jerry tells me 'Mitch we got to bring this kid in the second time, I want you to see him.'" Kupchak recalled.

The brilliance of "The Logo"

Kupchak's story on West is another testament to the latter's ability to recognize basketball talent. Not many general managers possess this skill, which is why West earned his legendary status as an executive. If "The Logo" wasn't a notable general manager, Bryant's agent wouldn't have called him then to request a workout.

Another thing worth praising about West's work is how he foreshadowed the Lakers' future in 1996. Along with Kupchak , the general manager knew that L.A. needed to build around another superstar alongside Bryant, hence the move to poach Shaquille O'Neal from the Orlando Magic during the 1996 free-agency period.

" I mean Jerry had the vision to trade Vlade Divac to Charlotte to get the 13th pick, somehow hoping Kobe would drop to 13 which he did. Now we didn't have a center so he rolled the dice on Shaquille, right? So the whole thing was Jerry, how he pulled it off to this day I don't know but it altered the landscape of professional basketball," Kupchak added.

During Bryant's pre-draft workouts, West and Kupchak recognized his rawness, but they liked the energy and bounce the 17-year-old demonstrated. The co-general managers also made it a point to let Bryant scrimmage against Michael Cooper, who in 1996 was still a decent defender. As expected, the "Black Mamba" passed the test with flying colors, which convinced West that he was the next face of the franchise.

The unsung hero

As Kupchak said, West's move to form the duo of O'Neal and Bryant changed the landscape of NBA history. O'Neal and Bryant are often credited (and rightfully so) with being arguably the best two-way punch in the sport's history, but "The Diesel" has often reminded the public that West deserves as much love for bringing these two legends to Los Angeles. The general manager believed in this duo before anyone else ever did.

" You know who else I got to thank? Jerry West. Jerry West put this thing together. A lot of people don't talk about it, like if I don't go there, he don't trade Vlade, and there's a possibility that he don't get Kobe, so Mr. West, wherever you are, thank you for helping me with my three championships because you don't get mentioned a lot either but you put this thing together," O'Neal said on 'Inside the NBA' last February.

If it weren't for West, who knows if Bryant or even O'Neal would've become the players they eventually became? Who knows if the Lakers would've had five more championships? Thanks to West, I guess we'll never really know.

Related: Kobe Bryant on Jerry West saying he's the best prospect he has ever worked with: "I hope so; I better be; I don't know"