Nearly 20 years ago, the Charlotte Hornets traded a fresh-out-of-high-school Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers. The rest, as you know, is history. And Bean is thankful:

On this day 18yrs ago the hornets told me right after they drafted me that they had no use for me and were going to trade me #thanku #lakers

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) July 1, 2014