There’s a certain pain in missed basketball timelines. The kind that never quite heals, even years later. For Kobe Bryant, the 2011–12 Lakers postseason was supposed to be one last run at something spectacular, one more flash of Mamba dominance before the inevitable fade. Instead, it became the season of what ifs. What if the front office had made just one different call? What if Gilbert Arenas had been the missing spark instead of Ramon Sessions?
Arenas himself brought that question back into the spotlight this week, in pure Agent Zero fashion. “The Lakers once called me in for a tryout… had me out there hitting game-winners in practice. Thought I was about to be the missing piece to Kobe’s last ring… then they picked Ramon Sessions over me,” he posted on X, before laughing about being just “one green release away from Hollywood.”
It was vintage Gilbert with a mix of honesty and humor, but behind it was a fascinating old wound in Lakers lore. Back in 2012, the Lakers were desperate for backcourt stability. Derek Fisher was aging, Steve Blake was streaky, and Kobe Bryant needed a secondary ball-handler who could ease his load. That’s when the team brought in Arenas, a three-time All-Star, former scoring champ, and LA native, for a private workout after the lockout.
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He reportedly drilled nearly everything in sight. “I tried out for the Lakers after the lockout,” Arenas said later. “If I took 300 shots, I might have missed 10… I went 18 for 20 from half-court.” He wasn’t wrong about the shooting. But the interview? That was his downfall.
“I talked myself out of this job,” Arenas admitted on his show, Gil’s Arena. “They asked if I could come now, and all I thought was L.A. media, the gun stuff, like, ‘Oh hell no.’ I said it’d take me two months to get in game shape. Because it’s March… season’s almost over.” He even confessed he was scared of not living up to Kobe’s expectations.
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“Am I the same person Kobe thinks he’s getting? I don’t wanna deal with that.” And just like that, he was off to Memphis on a veteran minimum deal, averaging 4.2 points in 17 games. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers pulled the trigger on a trade for Ramon Sessions. On paper, it made sense.
Sessions was younger, healthier, and averaging 10.5 points and 5.2 assists for Cleveland. The Lakers needed someone who could push the momentum and keep the offense going. They got that for a few weeks. He put up 12.7 points and 6.2 assists per game in purple and gold. But when the playoffs arrived, the promise faded.
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Sessions’ postseason averages of 9.7 points on 37.7% shooting told the story. He couldn’t handle the moment the way a veteran might have. Could Gilbert have done better? Maybe not. But in a year where the Lakers were searching for one more push before the inevitable rebuild, that “maybe” mattered.
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Kobe Bryant’s last push deserved a better hand
The 2011–12 Lakers’ roster was held together by Kobe’s willpower. He averaged 27.9 points in the regular season, third in the league, while playing 38.5 minutes a night. He was dragging a roster built on pieces of past titles and front-office caution. Chris Paul was supposed to be there in 2011-12 before the NBA vetoed the deal. Instead, Kobe Bryant got Ramon Sessions and a revolving door of aging veterans.
Gilbert Arenas might have been that one. Hypothetically, at least. At his best, he was a 28-point-per-game scorer with range and attitude that matched Kobe’s competitive fire. The knee injuries had dimmed that, sure, but even a 60% version of Agent Zero could create offense when it stalled… something Sessions arguably couldn’t. Statistically, it’s hard to compare a fading Arenas to a prime Sessions.
In 2011–12, Arenas managed just 4.2 points on 33.3% shooting in the regular season in Memphis. Sessions, meanwhile, averaged 12.7 on 47.9%. But basketball isn’t played on stat sheets alone. It’s about the fit, too. Kobe Bryant respected players who dared to take his space, not avoid it. And in that sense, Arenas’ refusal to take the challenge said as much about the moment as it did about his career.
After that year, Sessions declined his player option and left for the Charlotte Bobcats. The Lakers retooled again, chasing one last version of contention that never came. Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles tendon a year later, ending the Mamba era in spirit. Looking back, it’s not the trade that haunts, but the timing that does. The Lakers chose safe over daring when Kobe still had daring left to give.
Arenas’ post this week wasn’t just nostalgia. It was a reminder of the fragility of NBA windows, how one decision can shift the tone of a superstar’s final chapter. Kobe Bryant never got that sixth ring. Arenas never got his Hollywood redemption. And the Lakers, caught between eras, never quite got back to the magic before the fall of a legend.
Sometimes, the right player comes at the wrong time. Sometimes, the perfect fit talks himself out of it. And sometimes, all it takes to change NBA history is one green release away.