L.A. photographer captured countless iconic moments in sports history — here's the story behind them

For over 40 years, Andrew D. Bernstein captured some of the most captivating photos in sports history as the go-to L.A. team photographer for the Lakers, Kings, Clippers and Dodgers.

Quickly gaining trust from high-status players including Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Kobe Bryant, Bernstein became, in his words, a welcomed "fly on the wall" at many of the biggest sports events in recent history, including the Dream Team's 1992 Summer Olympic run, Michael Jordan's first championship win with the Chicago Bulls, and Wayne Gretzky's historic 802nd goal, when he surpassed Gordie Howe's record.

Now, Bernstein hosts the Legend of Sport podcast, mentors the next generation of sport photographers, and runs NBA Photos — the worldwide leader in licensing of NBA photography, which he co-launched four decades ago.

Here, he takes us behind-the-scenes of some of the greatest moments in sport.

"When a team wins a championship, we all rush on the court … absolute chaos and pandemonium going on. Once things sort of settle down, they do the trophy presentation on the court and start doing interviews. That was my cue to go into the locker room.

"Then the champagne bath starts and all hell breaks loose in the locker room … we're all looking at each other like, 'Where's Kobe? Where's the trophy?' And we kind of panicked, because that's our job, is to find the star player, and obviously the trophy has to be somewhere.

"So went on a seek and destroy mission … and ended up literally in the back of the locker room, in the shower. And there he [Kobe] is by himself with the trophy, having his moment … he is so deep into whatever he's thinking about. I had asked him later on, were you distracted by this? He goes, absolutely not … Didn't even have