NBA: Be the GOAT starting today!

Lakers bench.

Looking at the bright red scoreboard showing 30:24, Kobe's face showed a hint of satisfaction.

But that's not enough!

Kobe swallowed a mouthful of Gatorade and glared fiercely at the Clippers' number eight on the bench.

This kid actually dared to say he's old; Kobe vowed to make Zhou Yi pay the price.

Meanwhile, at the commentary booth on the sidelines, Barkley and Kenny Smith were conducting a live game analysis broadcast across the United States.

"Charles, look at Kobe in the first quarter. The Clippers were completely helpless against his offense."

Kenny Smith made exaggerated facial expressions as he spoke.

Barkley, standing next to him, nodded. Unlike Kenny's shock, Barkley's face was filled with worry for the Clippers.

"Yes, the second quarter is about to begin. Let's see what the Clippers can do to limit Kobe."

......

On the Clippers' bench, McMalone was tapping on the whiteboard, outlining the second quarter's tactics.

"Al, you take Eric out and go guard Artest. Remember to give him space for three-pointers and prevent him from driving to the basket."

As he spoke, Mike Malone looked at a young Black man.

Elsholton, the 14th overall pick in the 2007 draft, is a small forward who was pushed out of the starting lineup by Zhou Yi, and now averages ten points per game.

After assigning tasks to Elsholton, Mike Malone looked at Zhou Yi with anticipation in his eyes.

This is the sharpest sword and the strongest shield in his hands right now.

"Zhou, I'm going to put you opposite Kobe this quarter. Remember, I need you to wear him down as much as possible."

Across from McMalone, Zhou Yi nodded emphatically.

After saying this, Mike Malone took a step back and handed the last ten seconds to Zhou Yi.

With the team trailing, the Clippers teammates need some motivation.

"Alright guys, forget about that six-point difference."

As Zhou Yi spoke loudly, he stood in the crowd and raised his fist.

All the players pointed at Zhou Yi's fist, looking at him with unwavering eyes.

This job used to be done by Baron Davis, but now it's been handed over to Zhou Yi.

The position of the Clippers' leader has quietly changed, and the former leader is now loyally standing by Zhou Yi's side.

"This is our home ground, these are our fans, now we step onto the field to defend our honor. Are you confident?"

After Zhou Yi finished speaking in an impassioned tone, the Clippers players responded with confident slogans.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The Clippers fans in the stands who witnessed this scene erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

Trailing by six points in the first quarter did not deter these fans from giving up on their home team; they were full of confidence in the Clippers, who had already set sail.

......

"Alright, the game begins. Both teams' players have entered the court. The Clippers have possession of the ball."

"McMalone brought in small forward Al Thornton, so Zhou Yi was moved to shooting guard to directly match up against Kobe."

After Kenny finished speaking on the commentary stand, Barkley looked at the court with a mixture of anticipation and worry.

Kobe displayed terrifying offensive firepower from the start of the game, and it remains to be seen whether Zhou can respond on both ends of the court.

On the court, Baron Davis controlled the basketball and moved it to the frontcourt.

Baron Davis tried to find shooting space with the help of Kaman's screen, but Fisher stayed close to him.

Having wasted ten seconds and seeing that he had no chance, Baron Davis passed the ball to Zhou Yi, who was constantly making runs.

In the second quarter, in order to exhaust Kobe's stamina as much as possible, Zhou Yi began a marathon-like off-ball run around the entire court.

Kobe still had plenty of energy, so he stayed close behind Zhou Yi.

The moment Zhou Yi received the ball on the free-throw line side, Kobe quickly swarmed him.

"Newbie, that won't work."

Standing opposite Zhou Yi, Kobe kept probing with his arm as he spoke, trying to snatch the basketball from Zhou Yi's hands.

Zhou Yi ignored him and instead chose to back down Kobe.

As we all know, besides chasing off-ball movement, defending against back-to-the-basket shots is the second most physically demanding defensive action.

bang bang bang-

The collision between Zhou Yi and Kobe produced a series of loud bangs, which could be heard even by the celebrities in the first row of the stands.

The star players of the two teams clashed on the field with raw, primal power.

Zhou Yi doesn't yet have advanced back-to-the-basket skills; he relies more on using his elbows to create space for drives or on his wingspan and high jumping ability to turn and shoot.

It's important to know that while turning your back may seem simple, it involves a great deal of skill that requires practice, and even Hakeem Olajuwon's scholarship graduate, LeBron, didn't master it.

boom--

After another impact, Zhou Yi quietly raised his elbow and aimed it at Kobe.

The pain in his ribs made Kobe groan softly, but he followed Zhou Yi's movements.

"Zhou! He takes a turnaround jump shot over Kobe."

Although Kobe defended extremely well, Zhou Yi still managed to find a shooting space thanks to his wingspan.

Kobe's Mamba hands became a disadvantage at that moment, as the basketball passed right through his fingertips.

Drawing a graceful arc in the air, the basketball fell into the net with a beautiful, crisp sound.

"Kobe, this trick of mine doesn't work very well, but it can still be used against you."

After scoring, Zhou Yi opened his palm and waved it proudly in front of Kobe.

Looking at those large hands, Kobe's eyes revealed envy.

Kobe's small hands were one of the reasons he couldn't catch up with Jordan, and he even had to make adjustments to his techniques because of his small hands.

"Kid, don't expect the next ball to be so easy."

On the scoreboard, with Zhou Yi scoring two points, the score difference narrowed to four points.

Lakers on offense.

Faced with Zhou Yi's defense, Kobe responded with a back-to-the-basket move.

This time, Kobe also raised his elbow, and after hitting Zhou Yi hard in the chest, the old blacksmith turned and jumped to shoot.

Kobe's back-to-the-basket jump shot didn't have the exaggerated release height of Zhou Yi's, but he had already perfected this technique to its pinnacle.

Zhou Yi lunged forward, but Kobe's basketball was still thrown before Zhou Yi could reach out.

This is the result of accumulated skill and the technique of perfectly utilizing time differences.

Swish—the sound of a basketball going through the net.

Seemingly in response to Zhou Yi's constant trash talk since the start of the game, Kobe did not choose to leave after scoring.

He stood opposite Zhou Yi, staring fiercely into Zhou Yi's eyes, and said:

"Five hundred thousand. If you win this match, I'll give you five hundred thousand. Do you dare?"

After Kobe finished speaking, a provocative look appeared in his eyes, as if he was certain that Zhou Yi, in his rookie year, would not dare to accept this high-stakes bet.

"You said it, Kobe, I hope you won't go back on your word."

Zhou Yi's words made Kobe's eyebrows twitch; it was beyond his expectations.

Damn, this kid really dared to take on a 50 bet.

Faced with Kobe's bet, Zhou Yi naturally chose to accept.

Despite being one of the highest-earning number one draft picks in history, Zhou Yi earned tens of millions of US dollars in his first year as a rookie.

But no one would refuse 500,000 offered to them, even if it was a bet against Kobe, Zhou Yi would accept it without hesitation.