"The Knicks' dynasty still reigns, but the young Black Mamba has already risen."
"This season's playoffs are destined to bring even more explosive clashes at the summit."
The clamor of All-Star Weekend gradually faded away.
After the brief carnival of stars, the NBA regular season was about to enter its final sprint.
The entire Knicks roster had finished resting and was ready to go in peak form after intensive training.
Their journey toward a four-peat dynasty still shone brightly ahead, unstoppable in momentum.
As Cleveland's All-Star Weekend came to an end, the noise of the arena gradually subsided.
But at that very moment, the heat of the United States basketball market completely exploded.
Kobe won the first All-Star MVP of his career, becoming the hottest topic in the entire North American sports world.
Sports headlines, entertainment pages, and street discussions were all filled with the Black Mamba's crowning moment.
The most direct benefit of that surge in popularity was immediately reflected in sneaker market data.
Many people did not know that Kobe had long since signed with the Li Fei Sports Brand.
His personal Mamba Series sneakers were the brand's flagship product line, second only to its main signature line.
The newly released Mamba III had consistently ranked among the top high-end basketball shoes in sales since launching this season.
But on the night Kobe won All-Star MVP, market figures saw a cliff-like surge.
In physical stores across the United States, every size of the Mamba III instantly became scarce.
Long lines formed outside stores in major core cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami.
Countless young fans, basketball enthusiasts, and trend-chasers stayed up through the night to snatch up new inventory.
The brand's real-time backend sales data soared nonstop, setting a new record for single-day