Kobe Bryant becomes 1st NBA player to play 20 seasons with same team

When Kobe Bryant debuted for the Los Angeles Lakers, his teammate D'Angelo Russell was eight months old.

On Wednesday night, the two took the court to kick off the Lakers' 2015-16 season, the latest (and potentially last) in an unbroken succession of 20 campaigns for Bryant in the forum blue and gold.

As soon as the ball was tipped at center, Bryant became the first player in NBA history to spend 20 seasons with the same franchise, breaking a tie with former Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton.

Over the course of his Lakers career, Bryant became the all-time franchise leader in a host of statistical categories, including games played, points, steals, and win shares.

On the 1996-97 squad, which Bryant spent his rookie season, the oldest player was current Lakers head coach Byron Scott, who was born in 1961. Russell is the youngest member of this year's team, born in 1996.