Pengpai News reporter Ma Zuoyu
Kobe and James brigade across time and space.
After waiting for so long, this slogan finally became a reality again - Lakers championship!
After 10 years, the Los Angeles Lakers have once again made it to the podium of the NBA championship. This time, the core of the team is no longer Kobe Bryant wearing the No. 24 jersey. However, when James wins that golden championship trophy, Lakers fans will yell, "Kobe, this championship is won for you. #For Kobe#"
Sometimes, the trajectory of history is so similar.
In 2009, the Lakers defeated Rockets and Nuggets in playoffs, and Kobe won his fourth championship ring in Orlando; in 2020, the Lakers defeated the Rockets and Nuggets in the playoffs, and in Orlando, James won his fourth championship ring.
Kobe has never left this team. Kobe, always stays in the Lakers.
" Mamba Spirit " will always be in the Lakers.
pressure vs power, putting on that "black mamba" jersey
Perhaps, it is a bit exaggerated to describe Kobe's influence on this Lakers by "everywhere", but when Kobe and his daughter Gianna unfortunately passed away, his "mamba spirit" has always been with this team. The most intuitive manifestation of
is that James originally wanted to win the championship in the "black gold jersey" that symbolized Kobe, but in the end, the tenacious Heat completely disrupted the plan, which also put the Lakers under unprecedented pressure.
The "black gold jersey" was not the Lakers' regular jersey this season, but a "black Mamba" jersey designed by the Lakers after Kobe passed away - the prototype of the design was a set of black city jerseys that Kobe personally created for the Lakers in the 2017-2018 season.
At that time, Kobe gave his design the "Mamba spirit", "This is the meaning of the Black Mamba, which represents the depths of your heart. It not only represents me, it represents an attitude. As long as you wear the Lakers jersey, your inner attitude should have a killer mentality."
Originally, according to the American media ESPN, the Lakers management planned to let Lakers players wear this jersey during this season's Western Conference semi-finals. However, the Lakers had ups and downs in the early stages of the playoffs, so this "Black Mamba" jersey appeared in advance.
The first time wearing this jersey was played, James scored 30 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds in 28 minutes, with an astonishing 85% shooting percentage, while the Lakers beat the Trail Blazers by 20 points.
"When I wear this jersey, I will think of the spiritual power left by Kobe, and I will think of everything he has dedicated to this team for more than 20 years."
After the big victory at that time, James talked about this jersey and mentioned Kobe, ", whether on and off the court, he treats his teammates and himself very strictly. In these aspects, he gave me guidance and we have a lot of similarities."
James and Davis put on the black and gold jersey.
The Lakers wore this jersey in a total of 5 times throughout the playoffs, and the first four games ended with victory, but it was precisely because of the only fifth game that James suffered huge accusations.
James had the chance to end the game by himself in Game 5, but he passed the ball - many fans also complained on social networks, "If it was Kobe, no matter whether the final result was good or bad, he would make the toughest choice", "If you want to consume Kobe, come up with the best result", "If you want to wear this jersey, please don't let down the Mamba spirit you mentioned"...
Trail Blazers core Lillard also said that if it was him, he would definitely choose to shoot for the last attack; another Trail Blazers star McLemo said that if it was him, he would definitely attack three people...
Even Heat player Crowder mentioned Kobe after the game, and even said that when the Lakers wore this jersey, it was actually inspiring the Heat.
"You have been hearing that they have not lost the game in black jerseys, and people are always discussing these things. This may be a motivation for Lakers , but it is the same for us. We want to tell everyone that the Lakers are not invincible."
However, the accusations and doubts brought by the "Black Mamba jersey" are the pressure on James and his teammates, and the ultimate motivation. Although they failed to keep the jersey alive, they finally won the series.
"Kobe has left a valuable legacy for NBA, the team and this era. It is undoubtedly a huge pressure to end this series in his name." As the second leader of the Lakers, Anthony Davis, said, "We don't want to lose because we don't want to disappoint him."
James was wearing a T-shirt with Kobe's image printed on it.
A party that failed to achieve
Although Kobe can no longer stand on the sidelines of the Lakers to witness the glory of this team, he will not be disappointed with the Lakers this season:
The entire playoff stage, James, " Davis," Davis, Dwight Howard and every Lakers player have shown stronger beliefs.
Nowadays, for the new leader LeBron James , who is wearing the No. 23 jersey, he retains such a team spirit and is also the best tribute to Kobe. However, he always has a huge regret in his heart - a party that he can never go to again in his life.
In the summer of 2018, when James finally decided to become a member of the "Purple and Gold Legion", Kobe sent a text message to James as soon as possible. The content of the text message was simple but sincere: "Welcome, my brother. Welcome to the Lakers family."
"That moment was too special to me, because Lakers fans could not fully accept me at that time. I never doubt myself, but when Kobe said this, it must be of great significance."
During this year's finals, James talked about his "big regret" in recent years in an interview with Yahoo Sports in the United States, that is, the two originally agreed to have a dinner party, but in the end, their itinerary failed to achieve.
"There are always regrets in life, but I really hope to have a dinner with Kobe." In fact, James had already made an appointment with Kobe at that time, and he wanted to discuss all aspects of his participation in the Lakers and the future development of the Lakers.
Not only that, James also hopes to ask Kobe for advice on how to adapt to a professional sports club with such great history. "Whether it is Cleveland or Miami, I have never joined such a great team before. I hope to learn from him how I want to adapt to and help this team."
, the "big regret", has now become one of the motivations for James to lead the Lakers forward.
Fortunately, Kobe should have seen this championship.
"Kobe, always with us"
attributes the 16 playoff wins that the players have fought on the court to a kind of spiritual power. Isn't it a bit unrealistic?
Perhaps only in that environment, wearing that Lakers jersey, and shouldering the team honors of a long history can we truly experience the soul of a team called "Son of Los Angeles" and the huge impact on a team in the face of suffering and challenges.
"Kobe has been with us and has never left."
This is the emotion expressed by Lakers coach Vogel more than once in an interview, "Any time, when our big family has to face challenges, we will build a strong emotional bond with Kobe, and his spirit makes our team more cohesive. You may not be able to imagine such a scene, but I know that this power deeply affects every Lakers player and coach."
"Brother Davis" Davis won the Nuggets.
Indeed, in this special playoff in Orlando, the Lakers players have proved Coach Vogel's words with actions.
It’s like in the Western Conference Finals where the three-pointer defeated the Denver Nuggets, when Anthony Davis hit the buzzer-beating ball that changed his fate, he couldn’t help but shout Kobe’s name.
The goal was just like the final shot that Kobe faced the Kings 10 years ago - the last moment, the left wing, three-pointer, and jump shot.
Kobe won the king.
It was like the night when he defeated the Nuggets and won the Western Conference championship. When James was asked about his feelings about reaching the finals for the tenth time, he just answered firmly, "Our goal has not been completed yet."
Just like 11 years ago, during the finals, when Kobe was asked "Why don't you laugh after winning", Kobe at that time gave the same answer, "Our goal has not been completed yet."
"Kobe's memory remains in each of our brains, and now is the time when we pay tribute to him in our own way." As Vogel said, Kobe's spiritual power is a wealth and a driving force for the Lakers to rush towards the championship.
"Kobe, this championship is won for you." James fulfilled this promise.
Editor in charge: Tengfei
Proofreading: Ding Xiao
