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As the 2003/04 NBA season unfolded, Kobe Bryant was more fed up than ever with the Los Angeles Lakers. Unquestionably the league’s best player, he was stuck playing second fiddle to an out-of-shape Shaquille O’Neal, yet again, unable to showcase his individual skills in the triangle offense.   “I’m not wasting any more of my prime years on this sorry-ass team,” he told Lakers GM Mitch Kupchack.  As much as Kupchack hated the thought of trading his franchise star in the midst of a championship run, Kobe’s pending sexual assault case concerned the entire front office.  To make matters worse, Bryant was threatening to opt out of his contract at the end of the season….and take Slava Medvedenko with him.

Jerry West, the former Lakers GM and current head of Memphis Grizzles, had a soft spot for Bryant ever since trading for his rights in the 1996 NBA Draft.  The two had frequent conversations about reuniting once again, and West privately promised to rescue Kobe from his predicament.  Unbeknownst to the media, the Lakers and Grizzlies had agreed to a blockbuster trade.  Memphis would send the ‘whitewash package’ — Mike Miller, Jason Williams, Jake Tsakalidis, and a lottery-protected 1st Round draft pick — to Los Angeles in exchange for Bryant.  The Grizzlies front office only needed a verbal commitment from Kobe that he would sign long-term extension with the franchise.

On February 9, 2004, two weeks prior to the NBA trading deadline, Kobe was in Colorado for a pre-trial hearing.  West invited him to attend a game between the Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets that evening.  He had a special surprise for Kobe prior to the game – a Memphis number 8 jersey with “Bryant” stitched on the back.  Kobe teared up and thanked his mentor for everything he had done; he smiled at the thought of playing with new teammates and more importantly, notching his first NBA scoring title.

As Kobe watched the players step out on the floor for the opening tip, his mouth dropped. He couldn’t believe the scene that unfolded in front of his eyes.  Stromile Swift nodded at Carmelo Anthony.  Marcus Camby gave fist bumps to Pau Gasol and Lorenzen Wright.  Kobe’s eyes bulged and he let out a primal scream before suddenly sprinting out of the building.  A few minutes later, West found him alone, rocking back and forth on Pepsi Center steps, softly mumbling to himself.

“What’s the matter, Kobe?  I thought this is what you wanted?” he asked.

Kobe took a deep breath and swallowed hard before answering.  “Can’t you see?   It’s the numbers!  He told me this would happen!”

“What numbers?  I…I…”  West stammered, “I don’t understand. What does that –”

”Stro is number four, Melo is fifteen, Pau is sixteen, Camby is twenty-three, Wright is forty-two…and I’m number eight!”  Kobe was yelling now, attracting the attention of a few onlookers on the dimly-lit street.  “It’s a sign, old man!  I shouldn’t be here.  The numbers are following me everywhere.  4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42!”

West started at him blankly. “Why don’t you calm down and we’ll discuss this whole thing in my office.  I still don’t –” West started to get up, but lost his footing.  He gasped and knelt down in pain.  “Son of a gun.  I think I broke my ankle,” he groaned in agony.

“See!  I told you!  The numbers are cursed!” Kobe was ranting like a mad man.  “It all started when I visited Leon Smith in the psych ward and he just sat there, repeating those same numbers over and over again under his breath.  I couldn’t get them out of my head!   I should’ve never played the lottery with them.  Mark Madsen, that dancing machine, warned me about this and I didn’t listen.  I’m sorry…I have to go.”  West sat dumbfounded on steps, clutching his injured ankle, as he watched Kobe disappear into the night.

Kobe didn’t say a word about the incident to any of his teammates or coaches.  He stormed into Mitch Kupchack’s office the following morning and declared that the Memphis deal was off and he would be re-signing with Los Angeles over the summer.  The heavily-favored Lakers would go on to lose to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals.  The following season, the team would finish last in the Pacific Division and miss the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.  Kobe knew it was his fault — he should’ve never messed with the numbers.

Addendum: Prior to the 2006/07 NBA season, Kobe Bryant changed his jersey number from 8 to 24. While his reasons were never fully explained, no one close to him was surprised; Kobe had long been haunted by the numbers.  A number of misfortunes occured in succession:  his house caught on fire almost immediately after he purchased it, a priest at a family ceremony was shockingly struck by lightning, and Kobe was arrested when the police mistook him for a drug dealer.  On February 1, 2008, four years after the fateful night in Colorado, the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol — number 16.  Los Angeles would reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2004.  Had the curse finally been lifted?