Chapter 1615 The Inheritance of Legend
"Of course, boss, we won't do such stupid things. I believe that the time for using this thing is not far away." Ji Feng responded with a smile, almost forgetting that Kobe Bryant was nine years old when he was young. His father grew up in Italy, and his favorite team is AC Milan. He once said that if he stayed in Italy, he would try to become a professional football player, so Istanbul should also be his deepest memory. place.
Shrugging, Ji Feng put the champagne back to its original place, picked up the ball, and sat next to Kobe. It was obvious that Kobe came here late at night and must have something to say.
Now the two of them looked like teenagers after playing late into the night, sitting on the ball, looking at the court, feeling the emotions unique to this moment.
"You know, boy, the year I returned to the United States from Italy was the year Jordan retired. I was 13 years old. I studied his videos every day in Italy, imitating his footsteps and imitating his movements. , even imitating his expression, staying on the basketball court for more than ten hours every day, running tirelessly. At that time, my ideal was to become a player like him.”
"After that, I spent four years in Philadelphia, where I was successful. The year I graduated, I won our first state championship in 50 years of high school. To be honest, I was so happy that night. I imagined For the rest of my life, I will enter the league, make a lot of money, win an NBA championship, and most importantly, have the opportunity to stand at the top of basketball.”
"So I trained even harder. That summer, I contacted one famous university after another. Duke even promised them a starting position. But, at that time, scouts came to me and they said to me, 'Hey, Kobe , you are already so strong, college is a complete waste of time, you can go directly to the league'.
"So I hesitated, but to be honest, at that time, very few players entered the NBA directly from high school, especially guards, which I had never done before. It seemed more reliable to go to college, but in the end, what made me determined was , that guy came back again last season, and to be honest, I don’t know how long he can play, and my dream is to beat him on the basketball court!”
Kobe squinted his eyes and looked into the distance, and unknowingly said a lot. From childhood to entering the league, these words were things he had never mentioned before, because to be honest, Kobe was not a person who talked a lot. Maybe he was before. But in the past few years, Kobe has become more and more restrained, talking less and less nonsense on the court, let alone having heart-to-heart conversations like this.
Ji Feng listened very attentively. After all, Kobe was also his idol. He was not clear about many of these stories. After all, Ji Feng was also a football fanatic. Apart from basketball, he rarely paid attention to such things.
"Many people know what happened later. I became the first guard in history to enter the league directly from high school. Then I sat on the bench for the Lakers for two years, and then became the starter, until now."
Although Kobe described this period of history very simply, the process was actually not easy, because unlike many stars, Kobe was not favored by others when he entered the league.
Before entering the NBA, Kobe won several awards for his performance in his senior year of high school, including Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade National High School Player of the Year, McDonald's All-American, and USA Today All-American First Team. , that is the real No. 1 high school student, but entering the league is very different.
Teams were not optimistic about Kobe, and it was not until the Hornets selected him with the 13th overall pick. Thanks to Jerry West, Kobe was able to come to the Lakers.
In Kobe's rookie season, he mostly came off the bench for Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel.
Although he became the youngest player in NBA history and the youngest starter in NBA history at the time, Kobe's playing time was very limited initially. As the season continued, Kobe gradually received more playing time. , but at the end of the season, his average playing time was only 15.5 minutes per game.
Just look at the treatment of James, Durant and other real talents after entering the league. You will know how bad this data is. This is the standard of ordinary rookies. Curry has averaged 28 minutes of playing time per game this season. .
And setbacks came even faster than growth. In the last game of the season, Kobe shot three misses at the last critical moment. He first missed the game-winning shot in the fourth quarter. , and missed two equalizing three-pointers in the last minute of overtime, so the Utah Jazz defeated the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
To be honest, compared with the current good honor of leading a team to the playoffs for a rookie, Kobe was obviously more severely criticized.
Throughout his career, he has never been the most favored one. Before that, the one who was favored in the 1996 generation was the maverick Iverson. Jordan's successor was Carter, Grant Hill, and Tracy McGrady. Rarely is he Kobe.
When it comes to talent, Kobe has never been in the discussion. Tracy McGrady, Carter, James, and Durant all have their own unique and superior talents, but Kobe seems to be strong in everything, but not the best in everything. powerful.
To be honest, the league is full of talented guys like Kobe, and there are also many people like him who entered the league with the middle pick and became a starter after three seasons. Most of them are lost in the crowd, and a few He can perform brilliantly for a few seasons, and then disappear into history.
They will not be compared to the likes of Jordan, nor will they compete for the best ranking in history, as if this is the fate of such players.
But now, this kind of Kobe has played a different career. When players in the same period have come to an end, he is still standing in the league and is all-powerful.
"Shaq and I won three championships, and I won two more with you, and now it's the sixth. If I want to catch up with Jordan, I understand that six championships are necessary. In those years, I thought I There will never be another opportunity like this, but now, it's right in front of me."
Ji Feng also understood that even someone as strong as Kobe would feel a little nervous when his dream was about to be realized.
"But when I really want to achieve it, I feel that it is not so important, because Jordan is Jordan, and his trajectory is different from mine. What I inherit should be his spirit. I am not him, I am just me." Kobe changed Be calm.
"Now that I have won it, it should be more of a feeling of no regrets. With 6 championships, my career is complete enough. I have fulfilled the promise I made to myself when I was a child, right?"
"If I win this championship, I will have no regrets."
"certainly."
"Then go get it!"