The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 809 The Silver Generation
Let's rewind a bit and go back to May 31, 1997, in Salt Lake City, to the final game of the Western Conference Finals, a breathtaking battle for the Western Conference championship.

That night at the Triangle Center could only be described as insane, even more so than the later Finals.

The fans were not only making noise, they were also in a state of collective frenzy.

Their sole objective was to disrupt the Portland Trail Blazers as much as possible, in order to defeat Forrest Gump.

To some extent, this is an honor even more worthy of praise than winning the championship.

In Game 6, the Trail Blazers rallied and dragged the game into a Game 7, but when it actually came to Game 7, the immense pressure almost crushed everyone.

The players were not mentally prepared, and correspondingly, the Utah Jazz, playing at home, had been waiting for this day for far too long.

Only three players on the Trail Blazers were psychologically unaffected: Gan Guoyang, Bird, and Kobe.

Gan Guoyang performed consistently well, as the Jazz had anticipated, and launched the most aggressive double-teaming and siege tactics against him.

It's common for three players to double-team you at the start, and four players to surround you. It's not uncommon for all five players to rush over when you get to the basket.

If it weren't for the rules, Sloan would have rushed up to make a contribution. As for the fans on the sidelines, they were all roaring and trash-talking like madmen.

In this situation, Gan Guoyang would definitely pass the ball to his teammates, creating many open shots on the perimeter, but the Trail Blazers' outside shooting was quite poor tonight.

The combined psychological and physical pressure distorted the players' shooting motions—the Jazz's shooting percentage wasn't high either, but their offensive options were more spread out.

By the fourth quarter, apart from Kobe, no one on the Trail Blazers' perimeter dared to take the ball and shoot.

If Van Exel were there, that madman would take bold shots, even if they didn't go in; at least he'd be willing to take responsibility.

Van Exel's departure left Kobe with the responsibility of attacking from the perimeter, as Porter Jr. no longer posed a significant threat with the ball.

Kobe took advantage of Gan Guoyang's defensive presence and passing to repeatedly drive to the basket and score, prompting the Jazz to start paying more attention to defending him.

Jerry Sloan assigned Bryan Russell to guard Kobe, and in the final stages, Kobe was unable to drive to the basket and could only catch the ball and shoot.

After missing the ball completely, Gan Guoyang retrieved it and scored on the putback.

Another airball, but Gan Guoyang gets the ball back and scores with a hook shot.

Kobe's airballs are almost turning into assists under the basket, making it hard to tell whether he's genuinely missing the shot or deliberately faking it to pass.
However, by the third time, when Gan Guoyang missed the ball and it went out of bounds, people knew that he really couldn't make the shot and didn't have the ability.

Forrest Gump had done his best to cover the rebounds, but there was nothing he could do. Offensive rebounds are inherently dependent on luck, and besides, the Jazz's defense was 100% focused, leaving no chance for them.

The Trail Blazers lost the game, and Kobe was constantly subjected to insults and taunts from Jazz fans on his way back to the locker room.

However, when Gan Guoyang passed through the player tunnel, the fans immediately changed their tune, clapping, cheering, and smiling at him. After all, they had won, so they might as well play the good cop.

If you really anger Forrest Gump, he might rush into the stands and punch every kid in one go, and that would be a huge problem.

Back in the locker room, the atmosphere was heavy for the Trail Blazers, who were just one step away from the Finals.

Although everyone knows that in terms of raw talent, the Trail Blazers are no match for the Jazz.

If they manage to win tonight, it will be difficult to compete with the Bulls in the Finals—but who wouldn't want to create a miracle?

However, only those who have truly experienced it will understand that miracles don't happen just by thinking about them.

Miracles are always easy to imagine: making those incredible shots and having your opponent make some incomprehensible mistakes.

The reality is often the opposite: the opponent makes incredible shots, and you yourself make incomprehensible mistakes.

The Jazz had been preparing for this day for many years and had a perfect season, with Stockton and Malone playing the pick-and-roll for 10 years.

The Trail Blazers' reliance on Forrest Gump's support, Larry Bird's inspiration, and Kobe's fearlessness is far from enough.

In the locker room, Bird was still the one concerned about Kobe, asking, "How are you feeling?"

Bird was clearly referring to those three airballs, and it's easy to foresee a fierce media storm targeting Kobe.

Kobe shrugged and said, "I'm fine, what's wrong?"

He did look very frustrated, but he didn't cry, complain, or show any fear.

"You missed three important shots," Bird reminded Kobe.

Kobe stood up and yelled, "Fuck it! It's because nobody else dares to shoot except me! What am I supposed to do? Why don't you shoot, Larry?!"

“I’d like to,” Bird muttered.

Gan Guoyang was being interviewed outside, and no one else in the locker room dared to contradict Kobe, because indeed, no one else dared to step forward and take the blame.

Kobe dared to take the blame and also dared to speak out about his grievances afterward. He was only 18 years old, and that's just his personality—unpretentious, very childlike, but also possessing a heroic spirit.

After the game, Gan Guoyang naturally took all the blame upon himself. He praised Kobe, saying that it was remarkable that Kobe dared to take the shot under such circumstances.

However, public opinion is cruel. Fans and the media don't care about each person's mental journey before taking the shot. Many people only look at the result: if it goes in, you're a hero; if it doesn't, you're a loser.

When Kobe Bryant missed three shots in a row, all of them airballs, he naturally faced criticism and ridicule from all sides.

The biggest criticism of him, or rather the biggest crisis Kobe faced, was not that he missed those three shots, but the crisis of confidence that those three misses brought about.

Many people began to doubt Kobe's future achievements, believing that he might fade into obscurity, because true superstars show the qualities of winners very early on.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Forrest Gump all achieved major victories at a very young age, while Kobe Bryant seemed to lack that ability.

In the world of basketball, you can tell what a player will be like from the very beginning. Winners are winners from a very young age, and if you can't become a winner early on, you may never become a winner in your entire life.

Kobe Bryant lived in a youthful fantasy of success. He loved reading, watching cartoons, reading science fiction, and admiring superheroes, imagining himself as a superhero.

In 1993, when Petrovic and Lewis passed away unexpectedly, Kobe witnessed Forrest Gump's heroics to win the championship, which was the greatest basketball hero performance he had ever seen.

In December 1994, when Gan Guoyang decided to retire, Kobe Bryant, upon hearing the news, actually hugged his sister and cried, believing that his heroic dream had come to an end.

Then, in 1996, Forrest Gump returned to the NBA and joined the Trail Blazers. His dream continued, and everything was wonderful. From a substitute to a rotation player, his first basket, his first dunk, his first game-winning shot, and winning the dunk contest...

But this season's story didn't have a good ending. Although Kobe said "fuck it" after the game, although Forrest praised his courage, and although Kobe knew that no one else dared to take the shot except him.

But those three airballs became Kobe's biggest nightmare all summer. Almost every article about him revolved around this incident. Interviews, events, and TV shows were all talking about this ball.

From the beginning, everyone praised Kobe's courage, to:
Why doesn't it even touch the basket?

"Why do you dare to try three times after missing once or twice?"

"If it weren't for Forrest Gump's putback, you wouldn't have dared to take the shot at all."

"Kobe Bryant is desperate to be a hero."

"Jordan won the NCAA championship with a game-winning shot in college. Kobe could never have done that at the same age."

As time went by and things unfolded, especially after the NBA championship was decided, the NBA entered a long offseason, and everyone needed a topic to pass the time.

The "Gan vs. Joe" topic has been discussed to death, and besides, Gan didn't even make it to the Finals this time.

After losing the Finals, the Jazz quickly disappeared from the public eye, like a villainous Yeti defeated by a superhero, making a timely exit.

At this point, everyone realized that Kobe's three airballs that led to the Trail Blazers losing Game 7 were the perfect topic of discussion.

Although he has financial backing, he lacks achievements, influence, and a large enough fan base.

Therefore, criticizing and mocking Kobe Bryant at this time is a relatively easy, low-risk, and high-reward activity, and more and more people are joining in.

Some players, like Raptors forward Walter Williams, said: "Going straight from high school to the NBA is like a virgin sleeping with a 40-year-old woman with three children. You'd better improve your skills significantly, or you'll be humiliated."

Kobe's high school basketball career will still be brought up, and for a long time this will be a reason for critics to attack him.

Kobe's response was simple: he trained like crazy.

The day after Game 7, Kobe returned to Portland to begin training.

Instead of asking the team for help, he found a school and rented a gym to start practicing shooting.

Kobe Bryant remained silent throughout the attacks and criticisms he faced from the media, offering no verbal response.

By July, the Trail Blazers had acquired Sabonis, Mullin, and Blake, leading people to realize that the formidable Trail Blazers team might be making a comeback.

And Kobe, can Kobe still find a place with the new Trail Blazers? If he misses three consecutive shots, will Forrest still pass him the ball?

Will Kobe still be in the rotation when training camp starts? These are all questions people have, and many are waiting to see him fail.

Many fans like Kobe, but there are plenty of people who don't like him. This guy always acts arrogant and disdainful of others, which is indeed not very likable.

In the summer, Kobe attended an Adidas shoe launch event for him, and at the age of 19, he got his own signature shoe: KB8.

These black and white sneakers are very avant-garde in appearance, no longer the style of Converse canvas shoes of yesteryear, and full of youthful vibes.

Kobe thus became the youngest basketball player to have his own signature shoe, which brought him millions of dollars in revenue and a lot of advertising, but also considerable controversy and targeting.

Many veterans in the league don't have their own signature shoes. They've achieved considerable success in the league, and their statistics and accolades far surpass those of Kobe, this upstart. Yet Kobe, the guy who airballed three shots in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, actually gets his own signature shoe? This world is truly unfair.

As a result, the criticisms directed at Kobe Bryant increased and became more and more pointed—reportedly all of which were related to Adidas's competitors Nike and Avia.

Competition is everywhere in the NBA. As economic interests grow, there is fierce competition everywhere, with business factors often becoming an important consideration.

The Trail Blazers' successful signing of Sabonis was met with opposition from many teams, who argued that the Blazers were already over the salary cap, so how could they sign a free agent?
The Trail Blazers' reasoning was that Sabonis was a former Trail Blazers player, and although he left the team in the last four years, he did not sign with any other NBA team.

Therefore, the Trail Blazers still hold the Bird rights to Sabonis, and can sign him even if the salary cap is exceeded, without being restricted by the salary cap.

This explanation was met with protests from many teams, including the Bulls, with Jerry Krause and others taking the matter all the way to David Stern in New York.

However, David Stern said that the collective bargaining agreement did not provide detailed information on this matter and that a memorandum would be added to improve it in the new collective bargaining negotiations.

And then? That's it. The Trail Blazers' signing of Sabonis is out of the question; they said they'd finalize things later.

With no one to turn to for help, Sabonis' return was unstoppable.

Stern brought Sabonis back for two reasons: firstly, business considerations, to strengthen the Trail Blazers and ensure they faced the Bulls in the Finals, which would guarantee explosive viewership.

Secondly, it was about fulfilling promises. Thanks to Gan Guoyang's efforts, the restlessness among brokers before the major labor-management negotiations was calmed, and no mega-contract was formed.

Young players, led by Kevin Garnett, have received excessive benefits, but overall it is within a controllable and understandable range, and the NBA free agency market is stable and prosperous.

Therefore, David Stern naturally had to make compromises in some areas and not pursue the Trail Blazers for exploiting loopholes in the collective bargaining agreement.

The deals involving Mullin and Brelock, upon closer examination, all have certain flaws.

However, the league office did not pursue the matter and quickly approved the trade, allowing the Trail Blazers to assemble a new roster.

The Trail Blazers' "cheating" behavior has angered many teams, but anyone familiar with the four-time champion Trail Blazers knows how important this Lithuanian giant is to Forrest Gump.

As Forrest Gump's shadow warrior, Gump is the strongest when Sabonis is by his side.

Not to mention, the Trail Blazers also acquired Mullin and Blakelock in quick succession.

Mullin filled the Trail Blazers' problem at the forward position, as the team had always lacked a forward shooter and playmaker.

Blaylock provided crucial backcourt defense and outside three-point shooting.

Blaylock was named to the All-Defensive Second Team this season, and he is the league's best point guard at defending pick-and-rolls.

This was undoubtedly aimed at John Stockton, whose performance in the Western Conference Finals had been severely hampered by the Trail Blazers' outside shooting.

The Hawks let Blaylock go mainly because Blaylock's offensive efficiency was too low; his two-point field goal percentage hovered around 45%.

The Hawks are too offensively weak; they need a better scorer and a reliable young player at the shooting guard position.

Van Exel and Aaron McGee perfectly fit the Hawks' needs. Trading one Blaylock for two starters was a deal the Hawks considered worthwhile.

Of course, the most important factor was Blake's own desire; he wanted to come to the Trail Blazers and hoped to win a championship ring.

With the acquisition of three veteran guards, forwards, and centers, the Trail Blazers' new season is highly anticipated.

On the contrary, young players like Kobe and Jermaine O'Neal were considered a "wrong choice".

"If the Trail Blazers hadn't drafted them in '96, this year's Finals would have been Trail Blazers vs. Bulls."

"The Trail Blazers corrected their mistakes in time, which allowed the veterans to put together a championship roster. The Trail Blazers should change their strategy in the new season."

"High school players are disappointing. Aside from showing off and selling shoes, they don't show the elements of success in basketball on the court."

Similar criticisms have repeatedly appeared in print media and news programs, especially after Kobe participated in this year's Summer League.

Rick Carlisle, as the Portland Trail Blazers' coach in the Summer League, led Kobe and some young players in the competition, and he asked Kobe to play more as a team player.

But Kobe ignored Carlisle's advice and unleashed his pent-up desire for one-on-one play during the Summer League.

Kobe used his superhuman physique, skills beyond his years, and a season's worth of experience to sweep the Summer League.

He averaged 33 points, 11 rebounds, and... 1.8 assists per game. This guy doesn't want to pass the ball; he just wants to control it and play.

Although the Trail Blazers won most of the games, Carlisle was very dissatisfied with Kobe's lone-wolf performance.

He thought Kobe would make a big change this summer after learning his lesson in the Western Conference Finals, but he didn't expect him to go his own way.

Carlisle did not publicly criticize Kobe, as the Trail Blazers have a long-standing rule against criticizing teammates in public.

However, Carlisle truthfully reported Kobe's situation to the coaching staff and management, and gave his own assessment: "He still plays like he always has. He's an unrepentant guy."

After the Summer League ended, Kobe continued to follow Adidas's arrangements, conducting shoe promotion activities in Europe, China, Los Angeles, Portland, and other places.

He also pursued his studies in economics and Italian at the University of Portland to complete his education.

One day in August, Adidas announced the signing of Lakers' number 1 small forward Tracy McGrady.

The signing took place in Portland, and that night the agent took McGrady to Kobe's house. The two high school prodigies met and got to know each other, and from then on they were both Adidas stars.

Kobe's mother welcomed McGrady's arrival and even allowed him to stay overnight.

It's important to know that Kobe's mother was very strict with him, not allowing him to go out with friends casually or let people stay at her house without permission.

He feared that those poor, disorganized Black boys would corrupt his precious son.

McGrady was clearly not on Kobe's mother's blacklist, and he stayed at Kobe's house for two weeks.

During this time, they lived and ate together. Kobe even invited Jermaine O'Neal to join him, and the three of them would practice and train together in the gym.

Faced with continuous doubts from the outside world, the three young men did not respond verbally, but instead kept arming themselves with sweat and training.

Training together with a vibrant and hopeful generation is far more effective than training alone, because they compete with and encourage each other.

Kobe liked McGrady and admired him. Similarly, when training with McGrady, he also felt a strong sense of crisis—this guy's talent was truly amazing.

McGrady's height and wingspan were outstanding, and his speed and explosiveness were also very powerful. Moreover, McGrady always had a sense of ease and freedom, which sometimes reminded Kobe of Forrest Gump.

Unlike Kobe, McGrady didn't like playing basketball as a child because he was always bullied by his teammates on the basketball court. He preferred playing baseball.

At the age of 15, guided by a scout, he chose basketball, giving up baseball and football, and joined an Adidas training camp.

It was the summer of 1996. Kobe had just been drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers, and Tracy McGrady, Elton Brand, Quentin Richardson, Al Harrington, and others appeared together at the Adidas training camp.

In the past, high school training camps like these didn't attract much attention, but since players like Garnett, Kobe, and Jermaine O'Neal successfully entered the NBA, the number of NBA scouts at the camps has increased, and the level of attention has grown significantly.

McGrady was one of the most unassuming players in training camp, and his matchups included Stephon Marbury's brother, Zach Marbury, and Lamar Odom, known as the "Left-Handed Magician," both nationally renowned high school stars.

But McGrady, wearing number 175, quickly won over everyone in the training camp with his performance.

He looked sleepy and appeared lazy and indifferent on the court, but he made the left-handed magician suffer repeated setbacks when defending Odom.

He hit consecutive three-pointers over Odom's defense, and then dribbled past Odom with a yo-yo-like dribbling style, easily driving into the paint.

In the final scrimmage of training camp, McGrady grabbed a rebound and launched a fast break, with James Felton, the best big man in the training camp, hot on his heels.

McGrady didn't care at all. He easily jumped up and completed a windmill dunk in mid-air, knocking Field to the ground.

He also dominated the entire training camp, instantly becoming a hot high school star player across the United States.

"If there had been no video recording, I would definitely have shown it to you so you could have a good look at it."

When Kobe asked McGrady about the dunk, he could only describe it verbally and could not provide a video.

Kobe shook his head and said, "I can definitely do it too. I'm the Slam Dunk King."

"Come on, your dunks in the dunk contest weren't that great, Jermaine, didn't they?"

"Impossible! How about we have a match? Jermaine, you be the referee!"

Jermaine O'Neal had been keeping quiet, not wanting to get involved in the argument between the two guys.

But Kobe insisted on the competition, so it was never-ending, and he had no choice but to step in and act as the referee.

After several rounds of competition, Jermaine O'Neal shrewdly tied the two players, ending the match.

But that didn't end their argument and battle. Kobe insisted, "I am the real Slam Dunk Contest champion! Officially certified!"

McGrady chuckled and said, "You really should just give up. By the way, I have a cousin who's still in college, and his dunking is definitely better than yours, much better. Of course, it's better than mine too."

"Oh, so you can't beat me, so you use relatives to fill the gap? Give me a break..."

"Really, I'm telling the truth! Believe it or not, he'll be in the NBA soon."

Young people are taking the stage one after another, leaving little time for the old folks.

(End of this chapter)