Lakers News: Nick Van Exel Praises Kobe Bryant’s Work Ethic

Before Kobe Bryant was a five-time NBA champion and among the best to ever play the game of basketball, he was an 18-year-old rookie as the 11th man on a Los Angeles Lakers team that won 56 games and lost in the second round of the playoffs. A team that had five shooting guards and small forwards ahead of him on the depth chart.One of the players that Bryant was not competing with for minutes was starting point guard Nick Van Exel. The one-time All-Star was the lead guard for the Lakers for five