The Lakers treat its three generations of leading guards just like Real Madrid treats Raul. They rely on giant puzzles to win championships, but only West, Magic, and Kobe are children of Los Angeles.

Ⅰ

Do you still remember what the 22-year-old Kobe Bryant looked like when he won his first NBA championship on June 20, 2000? Lakers No. 8, who has a semi-mushroom head, looked like a child who had just scored 100 points on the test when the final whistle sounded. He screamed and threw himself at Shaquille O'Neal, accepting a tight hug from his giant brother. Then, Kobe won the championship trophy and Shaq won the Finals MVP trophy. They returned to the locker room and were showered with champagne. At the same time, on Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, countless young people wearing yellow or purple clothes were screaming, singing, dancing and kissing crazily, setting more than 70 police cars on fire by the way, and the night sky around Staples was as bright as day. .

Nine years later, at the Amway Arena in Orlando, 31-year-old Kobe Bryant, like a big brother and elder, held Derek Fisher tightly in his arms and rubbed him affectionately. Forehead - even though Lao Yu is 4 years and 14 days older than him. Then, he picked up the championship trophy - and the Finals MVP trophy handed over from Bill Russell, returned to the locker room, and showered him with champagne. At the same time, Figueroa Street in Los Angeles was brightly lit, countless young people wearing Lakers jerseys celebrated all night long, and many hapless police cars were burning.

Time is so wonderful. Sometimes you feel like nothing has changed, and sometimes you feel like everything has changed. In fact, more often than not, this change is only a little bit.

However, just for this little bit, Kobe waited for 9 years.

Nine years is enough to turn No. 8 into No. 24, turn a mushroom head into a monk head, turn the proud man who does not know the taste of sorrow into an eight-fingered uncle who is trapped in the world, and turn the passion for skipping classes and watching football The boy turned into a submissive and ordinary office worker. The most important thing is that Kobe Bryant, the most powerful scorer in active service and the best defender in the past decade, finally led his own Lakers to win his first NBA championship after a arduous 105-game season. 4 rings.

You know, there are at least 1 billion people on the planet who assert that Kobe can't do this.

"I will never hear those ridiculous criticisms again. It's unbelievable. I don't have to pay attention to those boring things anymore." Kobe said.

Think about it, whose names were originally listed with Kobe? Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Ray Allen...now, will anyone compare them to Kobe? And Kobe himself, in the 13th season of his career, defeated Deron Williams, Shane Battier, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. On June 15, 2009, he did To the point where the whole world thought it was impossible for him to do it. It has been 7 years since his last championship, 5 years since he and Shaq officially broke up, and 362 days since the humiliation of 39 points he tasted in Boston.

Whether you like Kobe or not, you should admit that this is indeed an extraordinary achievement.

Ⅱ

Before Game 5 of the Finals, all the reporters asked this question: Why doesn't Kobe Bryant smile?

In Jerry West's opinion, this question is extremely stupid. "Why are you laughing in hell?" he asked, "I'll tell you, I've never seen Michael Jordan laugh in the Finals."

No one is more qualified than West. Made this answer. Even when he hit the famous 60-foot buzzer beater in Game 3 of the 1970 Finals, you couldn't see West smiling. He is the LOGO of the NBA, the godfather of the Lakers, the greatest guard in the league before "Magic", and the man who brought Kobe Bryant from Charlotte to Los Angeles. He knows Kobe very well. In fact, he and the Philadelphia high school student who is 40 years younger than him have many similarities. For example, they are both tough and tough, they both have a series of terrifying scoring records, and they are both good at shooting key shots. , both extremely trust their own shooting, and neither likes to hand the ball to the big man inside - has anyone seen West pass the ball to Wilt Chamberlain who is in position? The biggest similarity is that neither of them is from Los Angeles, but they have played for the Lakers from the first day of their careers. They have gradually grown from rookies to superstars and team flags, and the process has always been accompanied by doubts, sarcasm and abuse. .

This is an alliance of winners and losers. If you averaged 40.6 points per game in the 1965 playoffs, scored 42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in Game 7 of the 1969 Finals, but still couldn't win a championship trophy, don't expect to hear anything. Nice words.

"I often hear comments like this: Jerry is a selfish player who only cares about scoring points. He will never win a championship in his life." West said lightly.

Kobe and his fans are very familiar with this view.

How could you possibly see a smile on his face when he finally got the chance to respond to all this?

What you can see is that Kobe cuts ferociously, makes crazy jump shots, defends desperately, passes the ball hard, and releases all the energy accumulated throughout the season into the finals. In Game 5, Rashard Lewis and Pietrus poked Bryant's long-injured finger hard while defending. During the timeout, No. 24 was stamping his feet in pain on the bench. Team doctor Vitti prepared an ice pack, but Kobe refused.

"I need to feel this pain." Kobe Bryant said.

40 years ago, when Jerry West's nose bone was broken by an opponent for the seventh or eighth time, the team doctor forced him to rest and receive treatment. No. 44's answer was: "Don't be stupid. "The team needs me."

In 1972, the 34-year-old Jerry West finally won the only championship ring in his career, and this was in his 9th Finals. Worst ever. "I played very well in the past, but I didn't win anything. Now I'm doing a complete mess, but the championship has come. Fate is really unfair to me." West said happily.

What about Kobe? Among the league's top superstars, he has always been the one with the worst performance in the finals. Fortunately, his best ever was this one.

Averaged 32.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks, 43% shooting rate, the highest 40 points in the history of personal finals, a lever that will go down in history, a beautiful tile Nyssa, lovely Natalia and Jaina. These are Kobe Bryant's 2009 NBA Finals.

Ⅲ

An interesting phenomenon is: from Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal to Pau Gasol , every championship-level insider in Los Angeles is obtained through poaching. The great George Mikan is not mentioned here because his glory does not belong to this city. However, the three most outstanding guards in Los Angeles history, Jerry West, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant, were discovered and trained by the team themselves until they became symbols of the Lakers and Los Angeles. They are the children of the Lakers, just like Baresi is to Milan, Del Piero is to Juventus, and Raul is to Real Madrid. Their growth history is the growth history of the team. Their glory must be accompanied by the team's glory. The decline of the team must mean the decline of the team, and their departure must also mark the end of an era for the team.

Of course, although they are both children and standard-bearers of the Lakers, Kobe is still different from the two great seniors. West was the second overall pick in 1960, and in the same year he led the U.S. team to the basketball gold medal at the Rome Olympics with Oscar Robertson; Magic was the first overall pick in 1979, and had just stepped on the most classic NCAA finals in history. Larry Bird's head wins. And Kobe was only the 13th pick, not even as good as Lorenzen White and Rasim. His most boastful experiences before were the 1996 Pennsylvania high school basketball championship and the four-year high school record of 2883, breaking Chamberlain's record. point.

In fact, in the summer of 1996, no one would have thought that the brat acquired in exchange for Vladi Divac would one day compete with Jerry West and the Magic. Division Johnson's name was juxtaposed - including West's own. That deal, which now seems miraculous, was originally intended to free up an additional $4 million in salary space for Shaq's signing.

Kobe’s growth is indeed unexpected. It only took him 6 years to win 3 championship rings, and he grew into the most powerful second-in-command in history. At least in a one-on-one battle, he could defeat John Havlicek, Hal Greer, Walter... Frazier, Kevin Johnson, and Scottie Pippen were all stepped on. From this perspective, his luck is second only to Magic and 300 times higher than West. But as mentioned, this was ultimately a surprise, and Jerry Buss had no intention of turning this kid into a bronze statue outside the Staples Center. He didn't like Kobe very much, especially after West left the Lakers front office. But he hated Shaq even more in 2004, because this lazy fat man kept clamoring for a contract big enough to buy a Pacific island country. More importantly, even though Shaq was a little older, his trade value at the time was still much greater than that of Kobe, who was at the lowest point of his career. Being a cunning businessman, he chose to trade Shaq and then put the blame on Kobe.

This incident, together with the rape case, the 2004 Finals and Phil Jackson's "Final Season", destroyed 90% of Kobe's career.

Ⅳ

Many tragedies were caused by Kobe himself. Essentially, he is a withdrawn, aloof guy who doesn't like or need a lot of friends and social interaction. There is only basketball in his life, and he has an almost pathological desire for victory. At the same time, he believed too much in his abilities. He took it for granted that everyone would value victory above all else, and he was the best player on the team. In this case, he should give all the balls Put it in your own hands and let him take care of the game.

But in fact, for most people, no data means no contract. If it cannot be cashed into dollars in the end, what is the meaning of a simple victory? What's more, Kobe plays alone and everyone else is a spectator. Can this model really win?

From Harris, Rambis, Jackson to Tomjanovich, every Lakers coach is trying every means to enlighten Kobe: You should integrate into the team better, you should help your teammates get into the game, you I should become friends with everyone... Kobe agreed one by one, but it turned out that this did not have an effect. In the past, every away game, on the Lakers bus, Shaq was always surrounded by people, talking, laughing, and chattering, while Kobe always sat in the last row, put on his headphones, and looked out the window indifferently, as if everything around him It has nothing to do with him. He didn't understand that these people were just his colleagues. Because five people had to play in a basketball game, they got together to play. After the game, they naturally went their separate ways. Why did they have to go singing K and dancing together every weekend? Dee? Why invite them to hunt in the woods of Minnesota on vacation? Why couldn't he be alone instead of enjoying their silly jokes and cheap pranks?

After Shaq left, the Lakers became Kobe's team. You can imagine the awkward atmosphere in the Lakers locker room: everyone stayed away from Kobe, obeying on the surface but cursing behind his back. Kobe gave a poor pre-game speech, applauded vigorously, and tried to inspire the team's fighting spirit, but what Odom and others were thinking was, "God bless, if he passes the ball to me later, I will definitely make a shot." That’s all."

Sometimes, Kobe would feel disgusted with this kind of indifference and distance, so he tried to follow the coaches’ advice, pretending to want to be good friends with everyone, patting shoulders and backs, winking, everywhere. Treat guests to meals and give gifts. The problem is that if a person who has always been arrogant and cold suddenly does this, it will have no other effect except making himself and the people around him feel extremely awkward.

For three years, the Lakers struggled to move forward in this unspeakable state.

Ⅴ

No one can imagine how Kobe survived. During those days, he had almost disappeared from the mainstream view of the league. There were no promotional videos, no endorsements, no advertisements, and no whistles. Instead, he was replaced by "the impolite Kobe Bryant who made David Copperfield angry." "I almost beat him up" was the overwhelming news. Kobe always comes out on top when it comes to voting on who he least wants to be teammates with. In 2005, the Lakers were 34-48, losing 14 straight at the end of the season, and were blocked from the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Kobe, who averaged 27.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 6 assists per game, was shaved off in the MVP voting, losing to P.J., who had 18 wins and 64 losses and averaged 10.8 points per game. Brown - the latter received 1 vote.

In 2006, after the Lakers' 3:1 lead was reversed by the Suns, Charles Barkley made the famous conclusion: "Kobe will never deserve to be MVP." The next year, Kobe, like a child who never got candy, finally shouted to the world "Buzz is stupid" and "trade me". Everyone lost patience, and Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak began looking through all the plans that might send Kobe away. The deal was so close to success that Kobe even started telling fans to "buy a Bulls jersey."

West and Magic have never had such a gray-black experience.

Imagine what would have happened if Kobe really left the Lakers that summer? At least, the Staples Center dome will lose a No. 24 jersey, Lakers fans will lose an unforgettable 08-09 season, and Kobe will become a professional mercenary. No matter how many rings he wins, he will not be able to Become an icon and symbol of a city. If Paolo Maldini had moved to Manchester United in 1995, would he still be the eternal legend he is now?

Thanks to Chicago, in the end they were not willing to let go of Luol Deng. Kudos to the Lakers front office for putting up with Kobe. Thanks to West, he sent Pau Gasol to Los Angeles. We also have to thank Derek Fisher, who helped Kobe to lubricate the Lakers locker room to the maximum extent, and saved the two greatest three-pointers of his career for the most important game of Kobe's career.

In the last minute of Game 5 of the Finals, Kobe Bryant put his arms around Lamar Odom and said, "It's over."

At this moment, Odom might Still not his brother, but at least, already a comrade.

Ⅵ

Now, the honors in the hands of Kobe Bryant are as follows: 4 championship rings, 6 finals experiences, 1 regular season MVP, 1 Finals MVP, 7-time First Team, 7-time First-Defensive Team, 2-time scoring champion, plus an 81-pointer. There is no doubt that he has surpassed Jerry West and became the third best defender in history. Ahead of him are Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.

This is truly an unimaginably huge achievement. West is Kobe's most respected father in the league, and Magic is Kobe's basketball idol in the league.

They are the three children of the Lakers. They have witnessed the ups and downs of this team in the past 50 years. Now, they are actually among the four best guards in the history of the league. Only the God of Basketball surpasses them. Above them?

So proud of the Los Angeles Lakers. So proud, Kobe Bryant.

So, what should the Lakers’ youngest child do next? He is already one of the 10 greatest players in league history. Before him, he was Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, and Magic Johnson. , Larry Bird, Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan are names that are so dazzling that they are almost sacred. If he doesn't suffer a devastating injury and gets enough training in the summer, his competitive level can probably be maintained for 3-5 years. To go further, Kobe must win more than one championship ring and more than one MVP trophy within this precious range. Fortunately, the Lakers are still a championship-competitive team, and their core structure is still young: Odom is 30 years old, Gasol is 29 years old, Ariza is 24 years old, and Bynum is 22 years old. As long as Kupchak can handle the contract renewal issues of Odom and Ariza, Kobe's chances of getting a fifth ring are at least much greater than Shaq joining Cleveland.

This is the era of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, as well as the younger Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose Ready to move behind. At 6 a.m., Vanessa, Natalia and Gianna were still sleeping soundly. Kobe Bryant put on a sports T-shirt, carried a basketball, and walked to the backyard, muttering to himself:

In the summer of 1996, the Lakers general manager's office

"Hi! Jerry, I know a boy named Kobe , played in a high school in Philadelphia, he was great, I think we should get him!"

"Kobe? High schooler? Are you crazy, Eddie?" West raised his head and looked at Eddie Jones, the leading guard of the Lakers at the time, in surprise.

"You know, we are currently trying our best to get the big shark from the Eastern Magic Team, and I don't want to focus on an 18-year-old kid!"

"I know, But Jerry, you should at least go watch that kid's game, I've known him since he was 12 years old, and if you miss him, maybe you miss the next Mike!" Jones said firmly.

"The next Mike? Well, since you say so, let's go see him" was West's answer.

After the rain in the summer of 1996, Marion Middle School Gym in Philadelphia

This is a friendly match between Marion Middle School and its rival Mount Christian Academy. "Jerry, that kid is Kobe, and he is being defended by the main defender of Mount Christian Academy." , He is also a good friend of Kobe!" West followed the direction Jones pointed and saw a tall and thin boy who was trying to break through the opponent's defense. His opponent was very strong and failed to break through Kobe for the first time. The ball was almost cut off, but he still did not flinch. The second time he used a set of beautiful crotch dribbling to get rid of the opponent's defensive attack and succeeded. In this game, Kobe scored 38 points and 12 rebounds. His good friend from Mount Christian Academy also scored 35 points, but the winner was Kobe. In the last 5 seconds of the game, he broke through the baseline and made a beautiful backhand layup under the basket to make the score 98-96. Marion The secondary narrowly missed out on a two-point victory.

West, who was sitting on the sidelines, did not stand up until the end of the game, glanced at Jones next to him, and said softly, "Eddie, can I talk to Kobe?"

"Of course, I'm not wrong, he is a genius" Jones said excitedly.

"Maybe, although he still has a lot to learn. By the way, what is the name of the kid who is guarding Kobe?" West's voice is still very soft.

"I'm not familiar with him. He seems to be called Tracy McGrady!"

July 1996, Madison Square Garden, New York

Stann glanced at the name of the player selected by the Hornets, "Kobe? Another high school student. Last year's Garnett has not yet matured? Why is there another high school student? Are these guys from the Hornets crazy? "Stan muttered irritably.

The Hornets are not crazy, because they have reached a deal with the Lakers, exchanging Kobe for the Lakers' Divas - a player who could score 1,515 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists per game at the time top center.

As for Kobe, he was just a shooting guard at Marion High School. He was elected the best high school player in the United States, and won the Naismith Player of the Year Award and the Gatorade Champions Tour High School Player of the Year Award. and being named to the McDonald’s All-American team. In his senior year of high school, he averaged 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4 steals and 3.8 rebounds per game. His total score in high school was 2,883 points, becoming the highest scoring record in Southeastern Pennsylvania, breaking the 2359-point record of a man named "Chamberlain" who had been standing for more than 20 years.

And his record of 30.8 points per game has not been broken yet. (Isn’t it? Isn’t James known as the strongest high school student in history? Hasn’t he broken this record yet? That’s right! James averaged 30.4 points and 9.7 goals per game in high school. Rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.9 steals. Do you think if he met Kobe in high school, would James still be the strongest high school student in history?) Kobe led the team to aaaa state with a record of 31 wins and 3 losses in his freshman year. Championship, Kobe then scored a career-high 50 points in a game against Marplenewtow High School, and then led the team with 34 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 9 blocks in a game against Chester High School. The team defeated its opponent and promoted its team to the AAA level of the first district. His father played for the 76ers, Clippers, and Rockets in eight years from 1973 to 1983. Inherited from his father, Kobe's Achilles tendon is 30 centimeters long, while Michael Jordan's is 28.3 centimeters. When he was fourteen, his vertical jump had reached 135 centimeters from the ground. But don't forget, he is only 18 years old and has not been baptized in college basketball. Can he do it?

February 1997, Cleveland’s home court at Gund Arena

The annual East-West Rookie All-Star Game is being held here. “Kobe is dribbling, Kobe is shooting. "Kobe is..." You could probably hear the commentator shouting even in Chicago at that time! Kobe, who was only 18 years old at the time, scored 31 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in that game. Was he MVP? It is a pity that the MVP was taken away by a small man from the Eastern Conference who was only 1.83 meters tall. He scored 19 points and 6 assists in that game. Led the Eastern Conference to defeat Kobe Bryant's team. That little man was the rookie king that year, scoring 22 points per game in his rookie season.

Although he lost the game, Kobe let the world know him as a big boy for the first time!

On the same day, still at Gund Arena, Kobe won his first award in the NBA - the Slam Dunk Contest championship with a perfect crotch change of hands dunk.

That competition was the most exciting in recent years. It included James Ham, the NCAA dunk champion that year, and last year's dunk champion Finley. And that year's rookie Ray Allen. But Kobe won the championship with an undisputed advantage. His moves were actually not very creative. Even the crotch dunk that scored 50 points in the finals was lost to the then dunk champion Ryder of the Timberwolves a few years ago. Did. Kobe conquered the audience with these seemingly simple actions. As the referee "Dr. J" said at the time, "Kobe's actions are very simple, but full of aura. They feel very smooth and elegant!" It gives people a chic and handsome feeling. It has been a long time since Mike defended his title in 1988. No one has been able to show such beauty in the game!" From that day on, Kobe had a new title - Successor of the Flying Man.

February 1998, Madison Garden Square, New York

"Kobe Bryant! From the Lakers!" This voice came from the All-Star Game. Kobe Bryant was 19 years old. At the age of 5 months, he became the youngest All-Star player in NBA history, breaking the record of 20 years and 5 months held by Magic Johnson in 1980 when he played in the All-Star Game. Kobe has only started once this season, but his scoring has reached 15 points per game. In his first All-Star Game, he scored 18 points and had two very beautiful alley-oops. He was the highest scoring player in the Western Conference, but the result was still the same as the 1997 Rookie Game, except this time he lost to A guy named Jordan, he scored 23 points in that game, and the audience stood up and cheered him when he lifted the mvp trophy. Because he is the greatest player in NBA history. "When can I be like him?" Kobe whispered to his teammate Eddie Jones.

In 1996, there was a boy named Kobe. He thanked God because God gave him a chance to compete with heaven and earth!

In 2004, there was a man named Kobe. He thanked God because God gave him an opportunity to look down at the heaven and the earth!

I wonder if Kobe at this time can still remember that on a summer afternoon 8 years ago, a shy boy said in his firm voice "Hello Jerry!" in the Marion Middle School gymnasium. , my name is Kobe Bean Bryant!”

There was a boy named Kobe in 1996, and today he has grown up...... .....

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