"Knock, knock, knock." The rhythmic sound of the basketball hitting the floor is so pleasant, Kobe Bryant slapping the basketball. At the basketball court floor of Raul Merrion High School, Kobe Bryant likes to listen to the sound of the basketball hitting the ground, whether happy or not, the best way to calm his mind is to return to the court, listen to the sound of the basketball, and his heart seems to be quiet.

Merion School District, located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, serves 62,000 residents in the Lower Merion Township and Naberth District. Founded in 1834 as one of Pennsylvania's first public school districts, it has a rich tradition of LMSD achievements, innovation, and social partnerships, and a long-standing reputation as one of the best schools in the United States.

This high school has the beginnings of Kobe Bryant's basketball, with a red and yellow floor, a black jersey, and a blue-and-purple stand. In a trance, Kobe Bryant saw the wind-chasing boy galloping on the court, breaking through again and again, and shooting.

He thought it was more than 20 years ago, but now he finally realized that the story was about to begin.

"Boss! I knew you were in the arena. A group of people pushed open the door to the training gym. Come on, this is a prom, so don't you soak in the arena, boss, okay? ”

Kobe Bryant looked at these teammates in high school, their still green faces, and they hugged Kobe Bryant enthusiastically. Yes, we just won the interstate championship together, and that was Bryant's first honor.

"Good! Let's go for a new era! Bryant smiled his trademark smile again, his swarthy face accentuating the whiteness of his teeth.

In the face of Kobe's strange words, teammates have long been used to it, and it is not surprising that Kobe Bryant said that he was going to fight Jordan alone. They hugged Bryant and left the arena.

Proms are nothing more than clichéd gatherings, although high school proms are a very important moment in American society. Bryant has long been accustomed to dealing with such occasions. He calmly thanked the teachers and classmates for their popularity.

Leave the prom and throw away the little pieces of paper in your pockets. Bryant drove his Beetle, his first car, to downtown Philadelphia. He looked at the Mission Impossible poster in the movie theater, the dazzling neon lights, and he breathed the breath of this era hungrily.

"Damn, the SuperSonics and Jazz tie-break is about to begin." Kobe Bryant didn't feel too much, and hurried back to his residence in Philadelphia, and Old Joe had already turned on the TV.

"Hey, stinky boy, you're finally back. Come and watch the game, this Malone will throw camp out of the! Old Joe laughed and cursed, and studying the game video with his son was his favorite leisure activity.

"Old Joe, it's hard to say." Bryant also happily chatted with his father about the game.

The Seattle SuperSonics are led by Gary Payton and Rainman Shaun Kemp, and Bryant remembers Gary Payton to be one of the best perimeter defenders of the era, as well as a decent offensive skill. This season, he averaged 19.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 7.5 assists and a staggering 2.9 steals per game. He was the steal king of the season and won the best defensive player award of his career.

And Rain Man Sean Camp is a hot physical power forward, a standard American brutalist big forward. This season, he averaged 19.6 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, while contributing 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocks. The explosive blow made him even popular in the United States, and the slightly rough technique did not affect his dominance of offense and defense.

The inside and outside double defensive gates led by Payton and Kemp made every team member who encountered them miserable. In this era of slower attacking tempo, having two players like this can also be said to have the key to victory.

The Utah Jazz also have the all-time assist king John Stockton, who won 9 assists in a row from 87 to 96, and after the Magic retired, he was the greatest court conductor in the NBA. At the same time, he has a tough style of play, similar to Paul's small movements, and his slightly weak body does not affect his defense. He was named to the All-Defensive Team 2 times 5 times in his career. This season's 14.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 11.2 assists and 1.7 steals are also very dazzling.

Karl Malone had been leading the power forward position until Duncan came along, and Bryant remembered that he won the MVP in '97 and '99 next year. The MVP award is not so good, and in this era of bright stars, every MVP is the brightest star. This season, 25.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.7 blocks are amazing.

The Jazz mainly play the pick-and-roll tactics initiated by Stockton and Malone, and they are also immortal legends in the NBA. Pick-and-roll tactics are tactics that will never go out of style. Stockton's ball handling and playing, Malone's solid cover, can shoot outside, can attack the basket down, and can even be used as a central axis to divide the ball. This versatility makes their pick-and-rolls very difficult to defend.

Bryant believes that Stockton's aggressiveness has given this tactic its final flaw, and if Stockton's self-directed attack ability is taken to the next level. Then their blocking tactics will be incomprehensible. Now, if the outside players can't shoot the opponent after the Ma Long, they don't have a second insurance.

"In 97, 4-1 swept away my feud with the fat man, and I haven't forgotten it." Kobe Bryant remembered the three three-no-sticks he threw in overtime against the Jazz, and he couldn't help but feel a little dark.

At the beginning of the game, the previous battle was a 3-3 draw, and the two sides already knew the bottom line and launched a targeted attack and defense. In this era, the transition between attack and defense is very slow, and both sides pursue star shots as much as possible, and shots after the tactics run out. It's rare to see a fast break go down.

Pulling the jersey in defense and elbowing people are endless. This is also the hallmark of basketball in this era. Hard-hitting basketball has brought the NBA a huge number of fans around the world.

The SuperSonics really chose Malone to quickly pack after holding the ball, and Malone passed the ball to outside pitchers Jeff Hornacek and Brian Russell multiple times. But the jazz pitcher feels cold. Only 30 percent of the shots were made. This percentage of hits is destined to be impossible to win.

So Stockton and Malone began to exert their strength in the second half, Malone forced a shot after the pack, and Stockton tried many attacks in the middle and long distance, maintaining the score with a low shooting rate. The score was not far off, but the situation was out of control.

Kemp grabbed a number of offensive rebounds, and the Jazz had no way to face Kemp's secondary offense, so they had to pay fouls to stop him. Sean Kemp played his tougher game, winning 11 free throws and hitting 10 of them.

Payton, on the other hand, relied on his body to be stronger than Stockton, constantly eating Stockton in his position, and from time to time he made internal and external passes, revitalizing the team's offense and flowering more, allowing the team to hit 54% of the shooting rate throughout the game.

Malone is a big front frame, and he can't score with his back after being locked by a bag clip in the middle distance. So he only scored 22 points on 36.4% shooting in the whole game, and the performance of 5 rebounds also knows how much he was suppressed by Sean Camp in this game.

The defeated Malone slapped the floor, and Stockton soothed him. Sean Kemp completely blew Malone with 26 points, 14 rebounds, and a 66.7% shooting percentage. And Gary Payton also easily cut the standard data of 21+5+6.

At the end of the game, the Seattle SuperSonics defeated the Utah Jazz 90-86 to win the Western Conference championship and advance to the Finals. Their next opponent is Jordan, who is ready to start a second dynasty.

Kobe Bryant is a video maniac, and he loves to study the videos of various stars. When he was a teenager, he studied Jordan, and after entering the NBA, he would study the videos of each opponent, and after retiring, he still made a detailed analysis of the pros and cons of each player's movements.

He will not miss this game either, and the study is played over and over again on videotape. Feel the meat grinder-like competition intensity, strong physical confrontation, and highly executed tactical literacy in this era. This is a man's sport, a bloody sport, and the basketball he loves.

Kobe Bryant was already enthusiastic, and even wanted to pick up the ball and go head-to-head with them. This is an era of star collision, soldier against soldier, and the winner is king. And Kobe Bryant is ready, and he's ready to rule this era.

He couldn't help but pick up the basketball again and rushed to the park next to his home.

"Stinky boy, come back early!" Old Joe seemed to have seen no surprise, and shouted calmly.

Bryant came to the court, and the basketball atmosphere in Philadelphia was very strong. On the court, a large number of people were sweating, and a large number of spectators on the side of the court were also cheering.

"Add one, I'm not very good at playing." Bryant smiled.

"Kobe, it's Kobe." The crowd has already recognized Kobe, who is still a little famous in Philadelphia, and people know that a small star led Raul Mayne High School to win the intercontinental championship and is about to run for the NBA.

"Hey, Kobe, let's go heads-up!" A 190-centimeter black man stood up, black Americans always have the spirit of challenge, not to mention a young player who has just become a little famous, even if he becomes a famous star, he will be challenged a lot.

Kobe Bryant loved the vibe, and he loved the open, hot-blooded scenes. Although the opponent is weak, will he let him? No!

What followed was a slaughter, game after game. Heads-up, 3V3, 5V5. Looking at Kobe Bryant's master-like basketball skills and gorgeous movements, the cheers in the crowd never stopped.

"You're going to be the best!" Passers-by shouted.

"I know, I know, of course." Kobe Bryant was unceremonious.

It wasn't until the wee hours of the morning that Kobe Bryant put away the basketball. The 17-year-old body is really full of energy, and he seems to have endless energy.

"Kobe, the Philadelphia 76ers heard the news of your candidacy for the NBA and invited you to a tryout! They have the No. 1 pick! Old Joe waited at home and excitedly told Kobe Bryant the news as soon as he returned.

"Okay, old Joe, take it easy. Now it's time to help me find an economic man. Kobe Bryant said calmly that this was his first tryout in the NBA in his last life.

Bryant recalled the tryout. So it seems that the side quest of life restart can be solved?