On January 23, Beijing time, 10 years ago today, Lakers star Kobe Bryant scored a staggering 81 points in the home game against the Toronto Raptors. A few days ago, former Lakers player Devin George released an autobiography on "Star Stand" about what happened that night. The following is a full text translation:
My phone exploded. Friends and family are asking me one thing: "Can you get Kobe Bryant to sign it?" "Towels, socks or something else.
Bryant was still standing on the court doing the post-game interview.
And in the locker room, we were all hitting the wall excitedly.
"Wow, what exactly did we witness just now?"
I, Luke Wharton, Brian Cook... We talked like children with great excitement.
We warmly clapped at each other, bumped our chests, stood on stools, took off our jerseys and tossed them over our heads.
"Did that guy really do it? Are you sure? ”
Bryant walked into the dressing room and we all turned our eyes to him. A look appeared on his face... It's hard to put into words, like a half-smiling expression. It seems to be saying that it is not a big deal, it is a very common thing.
But Kobe Bryant, this is not an ordinary thing.
Phil (Jackson) scanned the room, his eyes fixed on Kobe. If you know something about Phil, you'll understand that he's a man who doesn't talk much. In fact, at this time, the room was also quiet.
"Hey, Kobe... I think you need a little ice on that shoulder. ”
We got restless again and rushed over to surround Kobe.
Bryant smiled and showed his teeth.
January 22, 2006 (Note: January 23, Beijing time), is 10 years ago today. That day, Bryant scored 81 points and I also came out in that game to witness the moment.
Last week, I decided to go find the videotape of the game, which I hadn't seen in years.
First I looked for YouTube, but there was only a little bit of snippet there. Maybe they didn't save the game. Absolutely not.
I found an old friend at the Lakers.
"We'll send you it by FedEx, wait, what do you want this for?"
"Research."
It was delivered, and I took the DVD out of the box and walked over to my computer to play it. But wait... Oh, my God...... My computer doesn't have a DVD slot.
So I had to find someone to convert this document into an electronic file.
Finally, I can watch it.
10 years have passed, but it doesn't seem like long has passed, and this moment, all of a sudden, I feel like I'm back in that day.
Okay, now let's go back to the old days.
Pre-match
Apologies to raptors fans, raptors are part of the story, but not the kind of character you want. Maybe the players didn't think about it at the time, but they did become part of the story. The character is out of their control — just like the supporting characters in the movie you don't deliberately remember them. Because they are not the main attraction.
I understand that no one wants to be part of a team that lets an opponent score 81 points. But lol, think about it: It's like the pitcher who made Ken Grephy Jr. for his 600th home run, part of history, in a way.
The word "normal" first came to my mind, which may sound strange, but at first it did look like a normal game. The Raptors and Lakers are ordinary teams in the NBA, and their records are medium. The season is in the middle of the season, before All-Star Weekend — when no team is going to be at their peak.
Even the spectators at staples arena were not full.
So, in the beginning, it was like a normal basketball game day, and the only thing to look forward to was: we had Kobe.
We don't just have Kobe, we have Kobe Bryant in 2006. He's been through an incredible year, and he's done things we've never seen before. Before that game, he averaged 31 points per game. Four weeks ago, in a game away to Dallas, he scored 62 points in the first three quarters and then never played again in the fourth quarter.
I joined the Lakers in the OK group era. But by this time, Shaq had been traded, and the whole team was Kobe Bryant's. Now, 10 years later, when I watch this game, I see Kobe Bryant as someone who tries to push the limit — like, drives the whole team forward — as a scorer. At that time, we knew that Kobe Bryant's hands were hot all year round, but we didn't particularly appreciate him. Before this game, he was very tough on us.
Throughout the year, there are always some misconceptions about 81 points.
One of them is that Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, which was purely accidental. When I hear people ask me, "Do you have any thoughts about Kobe Bryant being able to get 81 points?" I observed the surprise in their voices and replied, "I don't know when it will happen, but no one is going to question his possibility." ”
Section 1
Bryant scored three easy goals at the start. The first goal was a layup that cut in from the left wing and was not confrontational. This was followed by a turn jump shot at the free throw line. Then there was an empty jumper, and the defender tried to seal his face, but to no avail. He ended the first quarter with two breakout layups and some free throws, and he scored 14 points in the first quarter.
Oh, and one word to youngsters: don't give superstars an easy chance to score points, and remember not to do it. It's like teasing a cat, and the basketball superstar is excited to be stimulated. Even someone like Kobe Bryant needs a little bit of confidence to fill the game with energy. Layups are the easiest way to score, so you can build confidence early. Foul if necessary, but don't let a scorer scorer do that.
This is what happened in the first place and is a harbinger of what will happen next.
Section II
Another legendary aspect of this game is that Bryant's scoring was an adversity outburst. One might think that the Raptors had let Bryant pitch the entire game, but they forgot that the Lakers had been controlled by the Raptors in the first half, and after halftime, the Raptors took a 14-point lead at 63-49.
Rewatching the game in the second quarter was a bit embarrassing. I blamed our role players, including me.
My data can also illustrate some of the problems. I lost all 4 shots in the whole game and didn't score a single point.
Bryant is the only one who plays with energy. None of us played a good counterpoint and were all drowsy. I don't know if it's because we played back-to-back before (note: the Lakers have lost back-to-back to the Kings and Suns on the road before), and I really don't know what's wrong. Bryant is the only one who has a sense of urgency when playing.
It feels ironic — people always go to kobe bryant's 81-point game, and every time I watch it, my performance of 4-of-0 is revealed.
At some point in the second quarter, we hit a low. We tried to run out of the triangle attack, but we got lost. I'm not trying to explain what a triangle attack is, I guess we want the big guys to get into the game as quickly as possible, to move our defenders so they can cut to the basket offense.
Phil kept telling us to give the ball to Kwame Brown, who was in the lower post.
But the effect is not good, because Kwame often makes mistakes when receiving the ball.
Phil called a timeout.
Here's one more thing to mention about Phil: he's very strict with Kwame, and he's trying to control him. I think he was hoping that Kwame would be able to play, but he was really driving Kwame.
"O Jesus Christ, Kwame! I don't think your wife will let you hold the baby! (Note: Criticism of Kwame Brown for being unstable with the ball)"
Phil was watching the joke, but he didn't look happy. Once again, he was incomprehensible.
Also, remember, Kwame is my friend, all the time. It's not for him alone — it's for all of us, all the role players, our performances are dragging down the team, and I think that's embarrassing.
Phil didn't say much more: "You have to pay attention, run when attacking, I won't call any more pauses to save you." ”
Phil and Bryant's relationship has always been interesting, they never seem to look at anything, but they respect each other. Phil is very demanding of his players, but he's not the kind of guy who makes you feel good at length. Bryant has always been a self-motivated person, so I think he likes Phil's approach.
After the timeout, Bryant was more direct on the court. I'm pretty sure he was thinking, give me the ball, I feel hot in the hand. But he didn't say anything like that. He's more about saying words of encouragement, like, "Hey, let's lift the spirits." They want to blow us up. We're about to let them succeed, get up the spirits! "He's trying to lead us forward.
Half
Bryant scored 26 points in the first half.
Here's another misconception about the game. Bryant didn't score 40 or even 50 points at halftime. 26 points is good, but it's not the kind of rhythm that "if he continues to maintain this state, he can break the Lakers' all-time scoring record." It was just a very ordinary half for him – it was good, but it wasn't particularly out of line.
In the locker room, Phil continued his style.
"We got to where we wanted them to be (note: the implication is to give the Raptors a head start for a while)." He joked.
We all nodded, but Kobe was quiet, he seemed angry, he hated us losing.
Section III
We trailed by 18 points at the start, which looked bad.
This is the moment when greatness happens. In the middle of the third quarter, we had a turnaround. At least that's how I was able to remember this game.
With six minutes left to finish the third quarter (we were 12 points behind by then), Bryant dribbled toward the bottom line, just a little bit within the three-point line, and it looked like he had been targeted. Maurice-Peterson blocked him. At this point, Bryant made a move that we had seen countless times in training.
It seems like this action is simple, but please take another look. After making a fake move, he was unprepared to face the bottom line. He had lost the support of his leg while shooting. A lot of people don't have the ability to throw even a normal jump shot, but Bryant can jump up and hit a jumper under Morris's masked defense. Then he cheated into a foul and got a penalty.
Now Kobe Bryant is 44 points old and we are 9 points behind. And the audience is still not fully aware of Bryant's score. To be honest, I didn't know how many points Kobe scored at that time.
I've always said that to people. One of the reasons Bryant has been able to be one of the best players in history and has ruled the league for so many years is that he has a great talent and can bring something new to the game — all night. He can spend 20 minutes doing something in a race and then bring it to tomorrow's game. He's done that all his career. He can also change the way others defend him, and the same goes throughout the night. Most of the players in the league, like myself and a whole bunch of others, train for the game, bring some of the action into the training, into the arena. Then, maybe in a few weeks, we'll try it out in the 7:30 p.m. national live game.
It's like Kobe Bryant's improvised jump shot in the third quarter. I'll tell you what, 98 percent of NBA players don't practice that. But Kobe Bryant would pull me through after training — he would let me defend him — 100 times.
And then the next day, you'll see him hit the ball in the middle of the game.
With a minute to go before the end of the third quarter, we tied the score at 85.
At this time, Kobe Bryant snatched, Jose Calderon fell to the ground to grab the ball, but Kobe left him, dribbled the ball to the front, and then used a heavy dunk.
It was the first time we had taken the lead since the first quarter.
Section IV
Everything went crazy.
Now when I revisit this part, I know that Bryant scored 53 points at the end of the third quarter (so he scored 28 points in the final quarter). I think he did all the shots in the quarter and hit almost every ball.
But the crazy thing is, I didn't realize what was happening at the time. At that moment, I still don't know what a great game Kobe played. In fact, we haven't quite kept up with the pace yet. One reason is that it was a scorching game. In addition to this, I think in my heart, I just focus on the game, try to bring my energy up, bite the score. So I didn't look at the scoreboard.
At the start of the fourth quarter, I was substituted because I got a foul.
The audience began to shout "M-V-P" in unison, and the sound became louder and louder, and I looked up at the scoreboard, and the number 67 was printed in my eyes.
I was sitting next to Brian Cook and I was like I was saying to him, "Wait, he got 67 points?!" We still have half a quarter to play, how can this be true. ”
"That's right."
We were both stunned and looked up at the scoreboard.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, the audience really felt the greatness of this moment. Bryant went from 53 to 70 points, and that time went by very quickly, like three three-pointers, a three-pointer foul, and then a dunk. Thoroughly fried.
A stat flashed out of the scoreboard: Kobe Bryant surpassed Elgin Baylor's 71 points to become the Lakers' player with the most points in a single game.
Cook and I sat there like spectators.
When Bryant scored the 81st minute, the timer showed that there were only 6 seconds left. Devon Green replaced him, man, and getting your first minute playing time wasn't a bad thing.
After re-watching this game, I feel that I have become particularly nostalgic.
Interestingly, I would have been almost impossible to play that game – if it weren't for Kobe.
When I joined the Lakers in 1999, I thought Kobe Bryant hated me. We are similar in age, but he is a rising star... But I'm a rookie from a junior school in a third-level league.
Everyone knows that Kobe Bryant loves to test rookies. I'm not sure if he's still doing it now, but he's always been. I remember training as a rookie — the first few times. The coach paired me with another player. But all of a sudden I looked back and saw that I was going to be in the right position with Kobe Bryant, and it was a training session with the ball... Before I could look back, Kobe Bryant was already in front of me, and then it was a one-on-one head-to-head... Bryant has always been there.
So I was probably thinking, "What the hell?" This guy hates me or what? ”
After a while, when it was time for the exchange round, Bryant came up to me and said, "You... You're here to defend me. ”
That's how my first year was spent, and we were always going head-to-head and heads-up.
A few years later, when my contract expired and the Lakers had the option of whether to renew me, I wasn't sure if I would be called up by the team.
Kobe Bryant was the one who was willing to gamble on me. He stood up and spoke for me and helped me get back into the team. Of course, he doesn't hate me, he just wants to test me. He wants to make me better and at the same time make himself better.
I am very grateful to him for this.
I am grateful to have been able to witness one of the best competitions in history.
I'm also thankful that a few weeks after that game, he promised my sons to sign the 81-point special shoe.
I can't wait to tell them this story.
(Editor: First Mate)