There is an American proverb: "If you want to be a professional player, you must find the right parents." Although my father will call his precious son steak, he is really a talented basketball player. Del Harris, my first coach in the Lakers, once said, "Joe can make any move. His passing skills are second only to' Magic' in the league, but he was born to eat in the restricted area instead of playing point guard. " But no team is willing to accept his pure performance basketball style. In order to support our family, our family moved to Italy.
Basketball has been my only favorite sport since I was able to walk. I always fantasize about different opponents in my mind, and then try my best to break through their defenses. When I arrived in Italy, there were no children to play with me, and basketball became the greatest pleasure of my childhood. Because football is the favorite of Italians, all the children are keen on it. Alas, stupid guy, what can be more attractive than basketball?
I go to primary school from Italy. None of my classmates can speak English and I don't know Italian at all. In the first few months in Italy, I just sat in the classroom and watched the teacher's pointer swing from side to side. After the first year, I can speak fluent Italian.
Less than 10 years old, began to practice one-on-one with his father. My football skills have improved rapidly under the guidance of my father, and gradually my father is no longer my opponent. I often watch NBA games from the other side of the ocean, and the bedroom is covered with posters of Jordan, Bird and "Magician". I think the magic they play on the court can be done by themselves. I need a higher challenge. I need to go to the highest hall of basketball to realize my dream. Of course, all this can only be confirmed by returning to the United States.
199 1 year, our family moved back to America. My sister and I study at Raul Merion Middle School. Here I once again realized the loneliness of a foreign land. In a school without a companion, I spend most of my time on the court
Soon after I entered school, I began to participate in the training of the school basketball team and play with the second team of the school. But at first, I couldn't even understand some slang words shouted by my teammates on the court, so it was difficult to form a tacit cooperation with others. Although I can easily break through my opponent's defense, I can't find anyone to pass the ball to. I often take the ball from the backcourt, cross the whole stadium and break through all the opponents to score. This makes me 13 years old stand out on the court. This caught the attention of Greg Donner, the coach of the school team.
One Friday afternoon, the students of the school basketball team were all out of school, and the sun was shining on the open court. I was dribbling and making a layup alone when I saw Donna strolling to the sideline.
"Hey, Kobe, who are you fighting with?"
"Hello, coach, I'm fighting the' shadow enemy'." I wiped my sweat and answered shyly.
The "shadow enemy" aroused Donna's interest. He got on the court and said to me, "Well, I'm your real enemy now. Let's have a real bullfight! The loser invites you tonight. "
I smiled. No one can beat me before. Donna clung to my upper body near the middle circle, but my waist suddenly twisted to the right, then took two steps to the left, immediately broke through and went straight to the basket.
Donna promised to invite me to dinner. I thought about it and said, "macaroni and pie."
Since I became the main force of the school team, I vowed to rewrite Raul Merion's basketball history. This aristocratic school has trained many celebrities in Philadelphia's political, business and entertainment circles, but it has never trained a sports star.
Summer vacation came, and I began a comprehensive self-training. Insist on running in the morning, skipping rope and lifting weights every day. I also installed a 3.2-meter-high basket in the backyard and secretly practiced dunking. This low basket gave me great confidence. In addition, my father's guidance has greatly broadened my horizons. My nba career begins to count down.
A year later, my height has exceeded 1.90 meters. Under my leadership, Raul Merion's school team made a historic breakthrough: it won the first championship in the division league in 57 years, and then broke through the middle division of the Philadelphia Middle School League with a record of 16 wins and 6 losses and entered the Pennsylvania High School League. 14 years old, averaging 22 points 10 rebounds. Although Raul Merion failed to pass the first round of the state league, my ability caused quite a stir.
In my second season on behalf of the school team, I improved the team's winning percentage by 60% and entered the Quanzhou High School League, which no one in the history of Philadelphia High School League had done except Chamberlain in the 1950s. I became a myth in Philadelphia. You did a good job. I beat Chamberlain! My heart has never been calm again.
1995 Participated in the National Basketball Competition for Middle School Students organized by McDonald's. I won the honor of player of the year in high school by averaging 30.8 points 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4 steals and 3.8 blocks. I know my time has finally arrived.
1996 I took part in the nba draft, was picked by Charlotte Hornets, and then was traded to Los Angeles Lakers, which was a great event for general manager West. He has seen my game and knows that I won't let him down. Then West signed Orlando Magic center Shaquille O 'Neal from the free market. This doomed my lifelong feud with this legendary figure.
That season, I played 15 minutes every night and was selected as the second team of the best rookie team with 7.6 points per game. And signed up for the All-Star Dunk Contest that year, and conquered the judges with a crotch-changing dunk and won the championship. In the subsequent rookie game, I set a rookie record with 3 1 8 rebounds.
From then on, I had a very annoying nickname: Flying Man II. So I wrote a statement as follows: My name is Kobe, and I have my own way of playing. I'm not Jordan. I want to create my own myth.