The Spurs grew stronger with every battle, and Popovich entered a state of Zen!

Was Kobe really going to win?

Last year, he had led the Knicks to a 4–2 victory over the OK Duo in the NBA Finals and lifted the championship trophy. Would history repeat itself this year?

As far as Li Fei remembered, the Spurs in this timeline were no pushovers.

Rewind to 1998–1999. It was known as the lockout-shortened season, but for the San Antonio Spurs, it marked a turning point in franchise history—the year they claimed their first NBA championship!

The Spurs' roster back then was loaded with talent: their franchise star, Tim Duncan, was at the peak of his career and had just won the regular-season MVP award, while "The Admiral," David Robinson, was a seasoned veteran still in excellent form. Together, their "Twin Towers" were the most terrifying, almost invincible force in basketball at the time!

On defense, Duncan and Robinson used their exceptional height and polished skills to turn the paint into forbidden territory that struck fear into their opponents. No one could easily breach the domain guarded by those two giants.

On offense, Duncan scored again and again with moves that looked ordinary but were lethally effective. His signature bank shot from a forty-five-degree angle lacked flash, but its accuracy was staggering;

Meanwhile, whether Robinson powered his way in from the front, spun out of a post-up, or attacked off the face-up, he performed at an elite level, giving every opponent endless headaches.

Add Gregg Popovich directing operations from the sidelines with the cool precision of a computer, and that Spurs team was tough, composed, and disciplined—a finely tuned war machine.

For the Lakers to topple a team like that on the road in Game 7 would be no easier than climbing the Empire State Building barehanded.

But the almost maniacal determination and explosive scoring