At the 2022 All-Star Game, at halftime, a photo of Bryant appeared on the big screen on the scene.
At that moment, if you like basketball, you may have mixed feelings.
The NBA held its 75th anniversary of the 75th Anniversary of the 75 superstars (the actual selection was 76ers because of the tie, just as it was 25 years ago, also in Cleveland, where the league crowned the 50 biggest stars of all time.
At that time, Kobe Bryant was still a rookie, he and Iverson in the rookie game to kill the sand, the sky is dark, Kobe Bryant 31 points in the game highest, Iverson 19 points and 9 assists to lead the team to win and take away the MVP.
After the game, the two chatted, and Bryant asked Iverson where would he go?
"I've heard that a bar is pretty nice. What about you? Iverson said.
"I'm going to train." Bryant replied.
"Why are you just finishing the game and going to training?" Iverson was puzzled.
"I want to beat you." Bryant got up and walked out of the locker room.
In the rookie tournament in 1997, in addition to Kobe Bryant and Iverson, Ray Allen and Nash were also selected as the 75 superstars, and they were the golden generation that could withstand the test of time.
Children who watched the live broadcast of the rookie game 25 years ago are now old and standing, or have not been confused, in the rolling life, gradually losing the green years in front of the TV, watching Kobe Bryant walk through the clouds, watching Iverson pass through the trees and flowers, the ceremony of the 75 superstars, like a bookmark, help you insert the page of memory.
Buried there are those days when we thought we were tired of reading, but now they seem to be carefree.
The 75 superstars are a basketball history, the NBA did not start to become a top league, also experienced the hardships and bitterness of the start-up period, once players could not support their families by playing only, but also had to work a few more jobs in the offseason, then if you see a Celtics or Lakers player is opening a rental, it will not be strange.
From George McCann to Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, from Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson to "The Magician," Larry Bird, to the flamboyant Michael Jordan, the NBA climbed from the bottom of the mountain to the top.
At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Jordan, the "magician" and Bird had a discussion of the greatest players in history, and Jordan, who had just won two consecutive championships at the time, said: "This topic should wait until I retire, I will reach heights that you have never reached." ”
At that time, Jordan's domineering spirit boiled over, and when he actually did it, he became low-key. Jordan did not show up at the group photo at the celebration, and at one point it was suspected that he was not there. Until the final moments, Jordan appeared in the center of the stage, and the NBA left the center position to him, surrounded by stars, stars among stars.
Who is the first person in the history of the NBA, this time it is considered an official certification.
Jordan has his own basketball era, and the basketball train has been rolling forward, every platform that passes is the memory of a generation of fans, you think Jordan is invincible, I think James is irreplaceable, these are not wrong, everyone who loves basketball has their own basketball youth, no high and low, are treasures that can not go back.
James in the All-Star Game with a turn back jump shot to pay tribute to the seniors, Curry with 16 three-pointers and 50 points to add a new chapter of basketball he created, unconsciously once the little Zhan has been 37, "schoolchildren" are also 34, the years have not stayed for anyone, will eventually become old.
But there are always people who are young. When Jordan led the stars to receive honors, Morant, Booker, Doncic, and Towns spoke on behalf of the burgeoning generation. Maybe wait another 25 years, when the list of the top 100 superstars appears, they will all be on the list, and by then, they may have all retired, and there will be a new generation looking up to the list of 100 superstars, looking forward to having a place in the future.
The 75 superstars are a memorial to the old times, a vision of the new time, and the story of basketball is constantly moving, leading to the distance.