Chapter 408: Kobe Bryant's curtain call
PS. Present today's update, by the way, pull a vote for the "starting point" 515 fan festival, everyone has 8 votes, and the vote will also give the starting point coin, kneel and beg everyone to support and appreciate!
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He shot this ball in a hurry, even if it was himself, he was not as confident as before.
Not only Tang Shuai, but everyone on the scene was praying for this ball.
The basketball crosses the highest point and flies towards the basket.
"Rebound!" Cole shouted from the sidelines.
Green pressed Jordan Jr., Barnes and Thompson had already jumped, and as long as the ball didn't go in, the rebound was the Warriors'.
"Bang!"
With a muffled sound, the ball was shot too hastily after all, and it hit the back edge of the basket.
Thompson and Barnes had a gimmicked look on their faces.
The scene was in an uproar.
The basketball bounced up and then fell again, not yet out of the hoop.
Barnes and Thompson quickly withdrew their hands, and at this time they touched the interference ball.
The basketball fell and hit the front of the basket again, and then bounced off and spun in circles on the basket.
"Toot!"
The red light on the sidelines was already on.
Originally, the Clippers finished attacking, and the Warriors still had a few seconds to attack. But because the Clippers didn't score on the first offense, plus the ball bounced several times. At this point, it's the end.
Everyone held their breath and stared at the spinning basketball.
The basketball makes two turns on the hoop. Finally unloaded the force, and rolled into the net bag.
Three-pointer, score!
The scene exploded with a bang.
"Lore! It's a killer shot! Don's lore! The narrator at the scene couldn't help but scream loudly.
Cassel shook his fist hard.
“we.will~we~will~rock.you!”
The familiar melody began to slowly sound again, and the sound became louder and louder.
"Pow", Tang Shuai felt the whole person's blood rushing, his eyes uncontrollable pantothenic acid, and then tears flowed out uncontrollably.
“we.will~we~will~rock.you!”
The singing at the scene became louder and louder.
“we.will.rock.you!” Tang Shuai roared uncontrollably, he couldn't control his emotions at all now, and then hit the killer ball after missing the key ball. Such ups and downs made him unable to control his emotions anymore.
“we.will~we~will~rock.you!” The cheers of the audience went even higher.
The Clippers players couldn't control their excitement and rushed onto the court.
Streamers on the scene sprayed and fell all over the sky.
The Clippers managed to snipe the Warriors, in Griffin's absence!
We're going to rock you, and the Clippers are shaking everyone with the same singing that resounded through the arena.
Tang Shuai's performance in this game was not particularly good, with 8 of 16 shots and 20 points, which can only be regarded as decent compared to the performance of the previous games, and even missed the penultimate key jumper, but the performance since then has been perfect. A rebound, a stunner, there's no better performance than that.
At the press conference after the game, Tang Shuai had recovered from the excitement, but his eyes were still red. It represents the excitement he once had.
"Don, did this game have a special meaning for you, after you hit that killer shot?" Near-perfect performance. The reporters on the scene no longer deliberately made things difficult.
"Yes, it means a lot differently to me. It's going to be an indelible memory for me because I missed a key shot before that. It was a bit controversial, but it almost cost the team a loss, but in the end, I lived up to DeAndrew's pass and won the game for the team. Tang Shuai nodded and said.
"We all know that the Warriors are going all out to make a new record, but after this game, their losses are eight games, and they have two more games against the Spurs, which means they are likely to lose, and I believe that when this result comes out, you will become the 'enemy' of a lot of fans, have you considered this?" The reporter asked.
"It's an interesting question, but for me and all the Clippers guys, we play for the only purpose of the game, and that's to win the game, no matter who the opponent is, no matter what that game means, that purpose doesn't change." Tang Shuai said with a smile.
At the end of the press conference, Tang Shuai and Paul came out of the press conference with a smile, and for all the Clippers players, it is a proud thing to beat the Warriors in this way at this time.
The locker room was still noisy, and tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
"Let's go, let's go out tonight, I don't think Sam will care." Paul smiled heartily.
Tang Shuai smiled and nodded, he had to indulge with his teammates tonight.
At this moment, the mobile phone in his pocket vibrated for a while, he put away his smile, took it out and saw that it was Duffy calling.
"I'll answer the phone." Tang Shuai pointed to his phone with some embarrassment.
"Well, I'll be waiting for you inside." Paul tapped him on the shoulder as he spoke, and went into the locker room.
"Jaime, what's wrong?" Tang Shuai picked up the phone and walked towards the other side of the passage, which was relatively quiet.
"Zhou Wan turned me down and hired Alex Saradisis as an agent, and just now, he officially announced his participation in the 2016 draft." Duffy told all the news in one go.
"Refused?" Tang Shuai was stunned for a moment. But I didn't think much about it, these decisions should have been made by Zhou Jianwei. It's also natural to choose a large, reliable company, he said. "So be it, by the way, you know how he's doing right now?"
Duffy is an agent, and his uncle is a well-known agent, so he must know some of these insiders.
"Quotes...... It's just average, it's definitely better than when you first arrived, but you haven't tried it out yet, it's hard to say, and it's ......" Duffy said with a pause.
"And what?" Tang Shuai could hear that there was concern in Duffy's tone.
"The Chinese national team's training camp is imminent. Zhou is different from you, he has a contract, and as far as I know, his contract does not include an NBA exit clause, everything depends on the meaning of his original club, so I don't think his candidacy will go so smoothly. Duffy followed.
"No NBA bounce clause?" Tang Shuai was stunned for a moment, before coming to the NBA, he knew more or less about Zhou Qi's situation, and Zhou Qi was what all fans were looking forward to entering the NBA. The Xinjiang boss has also said in public more than once that Zhou Qi can jump out of the contract and go to the NBA at any time, but the reality is not like this?
It seems that the Chinese bosses all do things in the same style, and what they say is one thing, and the real thing is coming. It's a different set.
"Well, so it's hard to say, it depends on how his new agent works. The good news is that both public opinion and Gong Luming now support Zhou's candidacy, according to my prediction. As long as he is selected, his original club will still release him. ”
"Hmm. Let's hope. Tang Shuai nodded, Zhou Qi entered the league, he has an extra companion in the alliance in the small aspect, and the big aspect, playing international competitions in the future, will also become a big help for him.
"Don! What are you doing? At this moment, Smith arrived at the door and shouted directly.
What should have been said has been said, and after Tang Shuai hung up after a few more words, he shouted: "It's coming!" ”
With the Clippers and Warriors heading to Boston to face the Celtics back-to-back and play the Spurs twice in a row after the Clippers and Warriors, it will not be easy for the defending champions to break the Bulls' regular season record.
The Warriors are battling to break the all-time record, the Clippers are battling to cement their third spot in the West, and other teams on the fringes of the playoffs are battling it out for a playoff spot, and for all teams, with less than ten games left in the regular season, it all makes a difference.
Time kept ticking, game after game, and in the blink of an eye, the regular season had come to an end.
On April 14, U.S. time, at the Staples Center, the arena of nearly 20,000 people was full, and there were no empty seats, and there were a lot of Hollywood celebrities on the scene, and there were more TV broadcasts than any before, not because this was a crucial game, on the contrary, the two sides of the war could only be regarded as weak teams.
However, this game has attracted unprecedented attention, not only in the United States, but also basketball fans around the world, the main reason for this is because of one player in this game.
Kobe Bryant, after two decades in the league, finally ushered in his final stop, against the Jazz, who were already determined to miss the playoffs.
Tang Shuai also came to the scene with Su Mei and sat in the third row on the sidelines.
The game hadn't started yet, but the entire arena was packed, with the media and staff fully in place, just waiting for the players on both sides to take the stage.
The Jazz players were the first to arrive, and when they walked out of the players' tunnel, they couldn't help but show a look of surprise on their faces when they saw the crowd around them, and they could see that although they knew in advance that this game would have a different meaning, they didn't expect the scene to be so spectacular.
Followed by the players of the Lakers, before the introduction of the players began, the scene erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
However, today's protagonist Kobe Bryant did not come out with his teammates.
Fans probed their brains to look for Kobe Bryant on the Lakers' team, but never found him.
"Where's Kobe?" There were audience members shouting, but Kobe Bryant never appeared.
The fans close to the players' tunnel looked down, only to find that Kobe Bryant was in the players' tunnel, laughing and chatting with acquaintances.
Today the Lakers have an uninvited guest, one of the cores of the Lakers' three consecutive championships. The other member of the "OK" group, "Big Shark" O'Neill.
Kobe Bryant and O'Neal were chatting passionately. Laughing from time to time.
Time is the only thing that can dilute grievances, and the discord of the past is no longer there with the passage of time. It's more of an indelible memory, and in retrospect, it's a slow emotion, O'Neal, who has just retired, sees Kobe Bryant, who is about to retire, that feeling may only be known to the two parties.
"Hey, Kobe, promise me, how about going on the court today to score 50 points for your fans?" O'Neal laughed and said to Kobe.
"Hey. Shaq, I can't do it, I'm a 38-year-old man, 50 points? That's not for me right now. Kobe Bryant said with a smile.
"Well, no matter what the game is, I'll be here after the game, waiting for you to open champagne to celebrate." O'Neill said heartily.
"Oh~ Shaq, thank you."
The two of them exchanged an affectionate hug as they spoke.
"Go ahead, your fans are already waiting for you. They must be impatient. After hugging, O'Neal patted Kobe Bryant's shoulder and said.
Kobe Bryant smiled, then turned and walked out.
O'Neal looked at Kobe's figure and suddenly felt a lot.
Kobe Bryant just walked out of the players' tunnel. The entire stadium erupted in a burst of ultra-high decibel cheers.
Kobe Bryant stretched out his hand to signal to the audience, and the whole scene was already in a boil.
"This is Kobe." Tang Shuai looked at Kobe, who was as popular as God, and said with a hint of envy.
After Kobe Bryant waved to the audience. Then he walked towards the bench.
At this time, there was still a little time before the start of the game, and the players on both sides began to walk to the field to warm up.
And at this very moment. Some of the audience in the front row straightened up to greet Kobe.
The people who can sit in the first row of the NBA arena are famous people. Not to mention the Staples Center, every person in the position is quite status, which is not something that can be done just by having money, which is why when Tang Shuai's mother came, Duffy could only get the second row position at most.
At this time, the people who went to greet Kobe Bryant were basically some Hollywood celebrities or Wall Street business giants, and Kobe Bryant's final warm-up training was not necessary, and it was a little too late to just say hello to these people.
"Let's go say hi to Kobe." Su Mei turned her head to Tang Shuai at this time and said.
"Me?" Tang Shuai was stunned for a moment, at this time, there was no shortage of people around Kobe Bryant to say hello.
"Go ahead, whether you can say hello or not, it's a good thing." Su Mei pointed to the circle of photographers around Kobe and those people at this time.
Obviously, even if he didn't say hello to Kobe Bryant at this time, he would be on some media, which would be very helpful to Tang Shuai's positive image.
Tang Shuai nodded, then stood up from his seat and slowly descended into the venue.
Fortunately, he was already sitting in the third row, in a front position, plus he was an athlete, he reached out quickly, and jumped directly into the field by taking advantage of the vacancy in the second row.
After going down to the venue, those big names were really three layers inside and three layers outside, and he couldn't get on his turn.
But it is true that as Su Mei said, those cameras more or less filmed him.
"Hey, gentlemen, the game is about to begin, please go back to your seats." At this moment, a Lakers staff member came to say to these big names.
Tang Shuai turned his head to look at the time, there was less than a minute left before the game started.
Although those big names were a little reluctant, after all, they were all people with status, and they still had a gentlemanly demeanor, and they slowly retreated.
Tang Shuai was also ready to retreat.
"Hey, Don!" At this moment, someone suddenly called out to him, and when he turned around, he saw Kobe Bryant smiling and waving to him.
Tang Shuai was a little surprised, and then walked over quickly.
"You're here too?" Waiting for Tang Shuai to walk to his side, Kobe Bryant said with a smile.
"Well, I'm with my girlfriend." Tang Shuai said and pointed to Su Mei's position.
"Girlfriend?" Kobe Bryant showed a hint of surprise in his eyes, and then looked at Su Mei's position.
Su Mei smiled and said hello to Kobe.
"She's beautiful, you're so lucky." After Kobe Bryant waved his hand to Su Mei, he said to Tang Shuai with a smile.
"Thank you." After Tang Shuai finished speaking, he remembered what he was doing. Then he said, "I wish you a great day." There was a happy curtain call. ”
"Thank you, I will." Bryant smiled. Then he suddenly lowered his voice, like a child, and said with a hint of mischievousness, "That Shaq guy thinks I'm going to score 50 points!" ”
Tang Shuai was stunned for a moment, couldn't help but look back at the commentator O'Neill above the stage, and then laughed.
"Kobe, it's time." Just then, Randle shouted at Kobe.
"You go up." Bryant smiled and walked to the bench.
Wait for Tang Shuai to return to his position. Su Mei said happily: "Kobe Bryant treats you differently, you have to find opportunities to maintain more relationships with him in the future, which is very helpful to your career." ”
"I see." Tang Shuai nodded, just now Kobe Bryant pulled him alone and chatted a few words, those photographers don't know how many photos they took, it is estimated that he will be indispensable in tomorrow's report.
"Toot!"
At this time, the whistle on the sidelines sounds, and the pre-match warm-up ends.
This is followed by the introduction of the players, and the opening ceremony of the Lakers is relatively simple, just introducing the home team's starters.
When the other four people were introduced, the response from the scene was average. It looks like the fans are charging up.
When Kobe Bryant was finally introduced, there was a burst of explosive cheers at the scene, deafening decibels, making people feel that their ears were temporarily deaf.
Bryant held his hands high. With red eyes waving to the fans at the scene, this is the league's second only to Jordan scoring guard, the last game in the NBA.
The game started quickly. As Lakers head coach Scott said before the game, "Kobe Bryant will shoot a lot", Kobe Bryant accepted the Lakers' offensive rights at the beginning.
Kobe Bryant is in very good shape. Took a lot of shots, but also maintained a very good offensive efficiency.
To say that the Lakers have the second-to-last record in the league this season. There is no need to explain too much about the difference in strength, and the Jazz team is the ninth in the West, and there is still a big gap between the two teams in terms of strength, but relying on Kobe's play, the two teams are evenly matched.
Tang Shuai looked at this, and couldn't help but feel some emotion in his heart.
To say that Kobe Bryant is the same as Iverson at the beginning, they are all arrogant players, in fact, according to their strength, it is not a problem to play for another two or three years, but the practices of the two people in the late career are also very similar, they are used to the superstar style of play, they are not willing to play supporting roles in the game, and still occupy a lot of shooting rights, which is obviously not what the team wants to see.
To say that the biggest difference between the two is that Iverson was traded to the Nuggets, while Kobe Bryant has stayed with the Lakers, it is difficult to say that if Iverson was still with the 76ers, the sensation caused by retirement would be much worse than the current one.
However, the difference between Kobe Bryant and Iverson is that he dared to make decisions, and when he couldn't convince his inner self to play a supporting role, and didn't want to affect the future development of the team, he chose to retire.
It takes a lot of courage for a player to make such a decision.
The first half was quickly over, and the better Jazz took the initiative and led by 15 points at 57-42.
Bryant scored a team-high 18 points on 7-of-20 shooting in the first half, but he looked a little alone.
At halftime, the Lakers presented Kobe Bryant with a custom retirement ring at home.
The ring is extremely luxurious, with a glittering gold "Lakers" carved in the center and an O'Brien Championship Trophy erected in the center, symbolizing the status of the Lakers. Underneath the trophy are five motifs symbolizing Kobe Bryant's five-time career championship for the Lakers. The ring bears Kobe's name and surname, and is surrounded by diamonds, with the words "BLACKMAMBA" carved on one side of the ring and a No. 24 shirt underneath.
The jerseys are around 2006 and 2016, representing Bryant wearing the No. 24 jersey in these 10 years. On the other side is the words "20 years, 1996-2005", and the number 8 jersey is underneath, representing Kobe Bryant's 20 years of playing for the Lakers from entering the league to retiring, and wearing the No. 8 jersey from 1996 to 2005. These are all Kobe elements, and his nickname and years with the Lakers are reflected in this ring.
The ring was so meaningful that Bryant received the award with his wife, Vasani, and when he wore it, Bryant couldn't help but burst into tears, for him, the meaning of the ring represents his entire career.
At the end of the ceremony, Bryant bowed his head and kissed the floor that he had signed himself.
The entire Staples Center was in a state of boiling, and some viewers couldn't hold back their tears, this scene was familiar with the scene at Iverson's retirement ceremony, but it also brought fans to tears.
After the half-time event, it was soon followed by the second half of the show.
The Lakers are behind by double-digit points, Kobe Bryant is still shooting, for most fans, the victory or defeat of the game is no longer important, and it is the main thing to see Kobe's final performance.
But when the game entered the fourth quarter, a familiar but emotional scene returned.
With just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Jazz still led by nearly 10 points before entering Kobe's show time.
First, he hit a face at a 45-degree angle on the right flank. Shot a three-pointer, followed by a three-point shot at the top of the arc, he shot 4 of 17 from three-point shots, and consecutive three-point shots helped the team narrow the gap instantly.
And when Favors scored two points on his back, Kobe Bryant also hit Hood with his back, his trademark turn and back, and the ball was scored in a picturesque posture.
The fans at the scene were boiling, and all the players got up from their seats.
Kobe Bryant has scored consecutive points during this period of time and has increased his score to 50 points, and this performance is not over.
O'Neal in the commentary seat said the conversation he had with Kobe in the player tunnel, and now it does prove that Kobe Bryant is not lying, he is not going to score 50 points, but to score more!
In the following time, fans saw the familiar Kobe Bryant again, with a big bag and an exceptionally high shooting percentage.
The Jazz team is a real defense, and all defensive moves except for the bag are used, but Kobe Bryant's hand is hot, and his consecutive shots can no longer be stopped.
When Kobe Bryant hit another three-pointer, raising his personal score to 55 points, and the difference was only 2 points, the entire arena exploded, everyone on the scene got up from their seats, and no one could sit calmly.
[It's about to be 515, I hope to continue to hit the 515 red envelope list, and the red envelope rain will be able to give back to readers and promotional works on May 15. A piece is also love, and it must be better! (To be continued.) )