Los Angeles will forever echo with Kobe Bryant’s legacy. Just a short drive from the Lakers’ arena, a striking statue of Kobe and his daughter Gianna stands, capturing the bond and brilliance that defined them. From his Philadelphia roots to two decades in the City of Angels, Kobe claimed five NBA titles and wove himself into the very fabric of LA. And today, in the shadow of that legacy, two more names are set to join the ranks of unwavering LA loyalty.
This season marks the end of an era in Los Angeles sports. Clayton Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young winner, is retiring after 18 years with the Dodgers. At the same time, Kings captain Anze Kopitar is hanging up his skates after 20 seasons in the NHL. The timing is a coincidence, but both retirements feel like the closing of a chapter for two of LA’s most iconic athletes.
ESPN Los Angeles posted on X, “Loyalty is written in the stars in LA ✨ Clayton Kershaw and Anže Kopitar will join Kobe Bryant in an era of LEGENDS who spent their whole career in the City of Angels.” Kobe spent 20 seasons with the Lakers, debuting on Nov. 3, 1996.
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He averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists over 1,346 regular-season games, earning 18 All-Star selections, 1 MVP, 2 Finals MVPs, and 5 NBA championships. Bryant also won two Olympic gold medals with Team USA, compiling a perfect 36-0 record internationally. Over his career, he led LA to a 836-510 regular-season record (.621) and a 135-85 playoff mark (.614).
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“I guess it’s kind of funny how everything works out like that,” Anze Kopitar said on SA Sports Star, reflecting on the timing of his and Clayton Kershaw’s retirements. “It must have been something in the universe for us to decide to do it together this day.” For fans, it feels almost scripted—two of Los Angeles’ most iconic athletes stepping away nearly side by side.
What makes their stories so fascinating is how closely their careers have mirrored each other. Kopitar landed in L.A. from Slovenia in 2006, Kershaw arrived two years later from Texas, and together they’ve been fixtures in the City of Stars ever since.
Both were first-round draft picks carrying heavy expectations though in Kopitar’s case, he was the long shot from a country that had never produced an NHL player, while Kershaw was already a dominant high school phenom.
And both delivered quickly: by 2008, Kopitar was the Kings’ leading scorer, and by 2011, Kershaw was racking up 20-win seasons. They even shared the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2014, smiling side by side, a snapshot of two careers that seemed to move in parallel lines.
And the symmetry doesn’t stop there. Each has lifted two championship trophies, with hopes of one more before they hang it up. Kopitar broke through first, leading an eighth-seeded Kings team to a stunning Stanley Cup in 2012, then another two years later. Kershaw had to wait longer, battling a reputation for playoff heartbreak until finally silencing the doubters with the Dodgers’ 2020 title run.
Even now, they’re still proving they belong at the top: Kershaw is 10-2 with a 3.53 ERA this season, striking out his 3,000th batter while keeping the Dodgers afloat in August.
Kopitar just put up 21 goals and 46 assists, sits within 30 points of becoming the Kings’ all-time leading scorer, and continues to play the two-way game that earned him two Selkes. Two friends, two icons, both choosing to leave while still shining—L.A. couldn’t have scripted it any better.
How did Kobe Bryant become a Laker?
Picture this — it’s 1996, the New Jersey Nets are sitting on the 8th pick in the NBA Draft, and a 17-year-old Kobe Bryant is suddenly the talk of the room. Nets coach John Calipari had worked him out three times, sat down with his parents over dinner, and told them Jersey would be taking their son.
The plan seemed locked in. Then, on Draft Day, everything flipped. Kobe himself called Calipari and threatened to play in Italy if the Nets drafted him. His agent, Arn Tellem, echoed the same thing: “It isn’t going to work out.” And to make matters worse, super-agent David Falk pushed Calipari to take his own client, Kerry Kittles, instead. Ownership already had cold feet about gambling on a high schooler, and the Nets folded. They passed on Kobe.
That opened the door for Lakers GM Jerry West, who had fallen head over heels after two workouts with Bryant. In fact, West stopped one session after just five minutes that was all he needed. “Not only was he physically equipped, more importantly, he was skilled, and you could see his love of the game,” West said.
The Lakers, though, held the 24th pick. Kobe wasn’t going to last that long. So West found his path: trade veteran center Vlade Divac for a higher pick. Charlotte was willing. They selected Bryant at No. 13, and a deal was struck to send him to L.A.
But even that wasn’t smooth. Divac balked at being shipped off, threatening to retire instead. For nearly two weeks, the deal hung in limbo. Finally, Divac relented, saying, “I realized I’m going to screw the deal with Kobe and Shaq and [late Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss] and went to Charlotte for a couple of days and I said, ‘I’ll give it a chance.’”
Once he agreed, the Lakers not only landed Kobe but also signed Shaquille O’Neal to a seven-year, $121 million deal. West later called it “like Christmas for the Lakers. We got Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in the same summer.”
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And just like that, the legend of Kobe in purple and gold began. What could have been a career in New Jersey — Calipari even admitted, “I thought that in five years, Kobe would be the guy” — instead turned into 20 seasons, five championships, and a legacy forever tied to Los Angeles.
The Nets hesitated, the Hornets had “no use” for him (as Kobe himself once tweeted), and the Lakers swooped in with perfect timing. The rest is NBA history.