When James gave up the stage, the NBA's future façade opened for succession

25 years ago, at Madison Square Garden in New York, Bryant dribbled the ball, looked up at his opponent in front of him, and excitement was written on his face.

Carl Malone, the 1997 regular-season MVP, was ready to step forward to cover Kobe, who had only played in the NBA for a year and a half, and Bryant waved to Malone murderously.

"Get out of the way! I'm going to single him out, I can do it. ”

The "he" Bryant said was Michael Jordan.

That All-Star Game, according to the original setting, was Jordan's farewell battle in the All-Star (later in the Wizards' comeback is another story), and Jordan was the only protagonist.

But in fact, that All-Star weekend turned into a double male protagonist, Jordan and 19-year-old Kobe.

On New York's boulevards, large posters of Bryant can be seen everywhere. In the all-star roundtable interview, Kobe's table was surrounded by reporters, and Anfini Hardaway, who once had the title of "Jordan's successor", saw the scene and exclaimed: "Kobe Bryant swept the league like a storm." ”

Jordan originally had a play and rest attitude for that game, because he had a cold and lay down for three days before the game, but Kobe's aggressiveness made Jordan forget his illness and plunge into the showdown with the youngster.

It was a moment of torch handover, Kobe Bryant challenged the first person in NBA history to face each other, and the All-Star became a stage for the collision of the old and new basketball eras, and when Kobe shot in front of Jordan, the breath of the new era came to his face.

In the 1998 competition, it was not only Kobe Bryant who took the torch, Shaq O'Neal, Garnett and Duncan, representing the Mesozoic and new generation respectively, and Kobe Bryant welcomed the inheritance, opened an era, and ruled that era.

25 years on, Jordan just celebrated his 60th birthday, O'Neal, Duncan and Garnett have become basketball celebrities, and Kobe left with those basketball years. The NBA has long entered another "growth ring" with another name engraved on it - LeBron James.

The Salt Lake City Battle of the Stars is James' 19th All-Star selection, the tenth time he has become the voting leader, and not long ago he was crowned the NBA's all-time scoring leader, achieving the NBA's regular season and playoff total scoring dominance. James is less than Jordan when he was at his peak, but his peak staying power is the only one in NBA history.

James is evergreen in his career, the wheel of NBA development is also rolling forward, Alphabet Brother and Jokic as representatives of the middle generation, arranged the past four years of MVP, and Jokic has a lot of meaning this season. The middle generation is in the NBA various slaughtering lists, the new generation is rising, Doncic and Morant are no longer "latest", Edwards and Haliburton from the class of 2020 were selected as the All-Stars, building the NBA "fresh air system".

No one is forever young, but there are always people who are young. The All-Star Game had six first-time "newcomers", four of whom (Edwards, Halliburton, Fox and Jalen Jackson) were selected by James.

The old brings the new, first of all, the veteran will give a demonstration. Don't look at Lao Zhan 38, Tomahawk, empty catch, self-throwing, super long three points, can give you the whole, so that you can't help but sigh or he can play.

Like Jordan in 1998, Mr. "Flyer" played a live instruction, showing Kobe and other juniors what historical technology is, and all kinds of footsteps combined with shooting are dazzling.

Jordan's power lies in playing all kinds of flying flower work to the extreme when he is young, and pushing the basic skills to the limit when he enters middle age.

The epoch-making supergiants have their own legends, and they are also continuing the life of the NBA in their own way. 25 years ago, Jordan handed the baton to Kobe's generation. Now, James continues to forge ahead.

James stood between Abdul-Jabbar and Malone at the All-Star halftime, a memorial to beyond history. In the second half, James did not continue to play because of a hand injury, and because of the task of impacting the playoffs after the All-Star, the elder James gave up the stage.

Tatum took over the leading role handed over by the old Jen, the 17th generation starred in this All-Star group, Tatum led, Mitchell, Markkanen, Adebayo, Fox followed, these young people and James's 03 generation 14 years apart, when Wade and Anthony, the old Jen's former peers are already sitting in the audience in civilian clothes, Tatum They are moving towards the peak of their careers, trying to open a new timeline in NBA history.

Tatum, the pioneer who rushed to the front, he and James duel in the East, played against Curry in the Finals, won Durant, eliminated Alphabet Brother, and grew up in victories and defeats, just like Kobe Bryant back then. Before teaming up with O'Neal to create the Lakers dynasty, Kobe was a much-anticipated supernova, but he also experienced a series of pains such as three key moments in the playoffs and being swept by opponents, trudging through a superstar road in "sunshine" and "heavy rain".

Kobe Bryant is Tatum's most admired star.

25 years after Kobe Bryant's All-Star debut, Tatum broke the All-Star single-game record with a 55-point game, held the All-Star MVP, and gave LeBron the way to his first defeat, paying tribute to his idol, and became a shining star among stars after Curry and Durant were injured and James retired from injury.

Perhaps, many years later, the 2023 All-Star Game will be written into NBA history as a milestone printed with the handover of the times, and the youth landscape will sweep the All-Star arena and start a new legacy.

Just like the game 25 years ago, the veterans are still great, and the future of young people taking over is on the way.