Great Western Forum

The preseason began after a brief period of joint practice for the Lakers. NBA preseason games were warm-up contests held by each team before the regular season began.

They were held because every team underwent considerable roster changes before the season. A few games that did not count toward the regular-season standings were arranged to help teams build chemistry, familiarize themselves with their own styles of play, determine their lineups for the new season, and improve communication between players and coaches.

The NBA also often held preseason games overseas, with the goal of expanding its international influence. This year, however, the Lakers had no overseas games on their schedule.

For the coaching staff, this was an opportunity to test the troops. For the players, it was a process of regaining their competitive form.

The Lakers had six preseason games this year, against their Pacific Division rivals the San Francisco Warriors, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings; their crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers; as well as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons.

The first game was against the San Francisco Warriors at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles. The Great Western Forum was located on West Manchester Avenue, spanning 90th Street and sitting north of the Hollywood Park Racetrack and Casino, three miles from Los Angeles International Airport.

The Forum had served as the Los Angeles Lakers' home arena from 1967 to 1999, making it the home court they had used the longest. They had won six championships there. It had also hosted the basketball games for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

For Kobe, this was where the dream had begun. He missed the locker room, its scent, and those orange seats.

Now that he had the chance to race and soar across this court again, it was an honor.

In the locker room, Harris announced the starting lineup. Kobe Bryant, who had performed outstandingly in recent scrimmages, was not on it.

Kobe knew this would take time. For now, he still had the patience to wait.

Kobe walked to the corner of the locker room, a spot he knew well. He had already submitted his jersey number to the team, and the purple-and-gold No. 8 uniform lay quietly in his locker.

He had chosen No. 8 again so that, twenty years from now, both the No. 8 and No. 24 jerseys would still hang in the rafters of the Lakers' arena.

This was Kobe's pride, and also his obsession. By the time he put on No. 24 again, the No. 8 jersey would surely have become a legend.

"GO, LAKERS!" O'Neal shouted loudly, as fond of drawing attention as ever.

Kobe stepped forward and placed his hand over O'Neal's. In this life, he would not be that aloof young man.

The great Shaq had finally conquered this high school kid with his charisma, and O'Neal was secretly delighted. Looking at Kobe and his group joining in, he saw that this little clique consisted entirely of this year's rookies. Though they were all reserves, Shaq had long recognized Kobe's and the other players' potential during team practices.

Without O'Neal, even the starting lineup was no match for Kobe's group. Shaq was quite happy that they were willing to join in the team activity.

"Alright, guys, take the court," Del Harris called out to the players.

The spotlights shone down on the court as the crowd surged through the stands. Photographers took up positions in every corner, while the Lakers players were the focus of the entire arena.

Kobe took a deep breath in the players' tunnel. He loved this atmosphere. He had missed this feeling.

"Time to come out! Kobe, you go first!" O'Neal shouted.

"First to take the floor, our thirteenth rookie, No. 8 from Lower Merion High School—Kobe Bryant!" the DJ announced in a deep voice.

Cheers erupted throughout the arena. The fans were unfamiliar with Kobe, but they did not hold back their applause.

Smiling, Kobe stepped onto the court. Through his performance, he would become a legend before the eyes of these wonderful fans.

"And last to take the floor, the legendary 2.18-meter center, one of the fifty greatest players, No. 34—The Big Aristotle, O'Neal!"

The arena erupted. People cheered wildly to welcome the Lakers' superstar, believing that he would lead the Lakers to new glory.

The San Francisco Warriors' starting lineup was PG Mark Price, SG Latrell Sprewell, SF Chris Mullin, PF Joe Smith, and C Todd Fuller.

On paper, it was a stacked lineup. Their goal this year was to shake off the label of a bottom-feeder team and make the playoffs.

First, they had Hall of Fame small forward Chris Mullin leading the way. This Dream Team member was still in fine form. Sprewell, the Madman, was also hitting his stride and had made the All-Star team multiple times. Price had put up a standard point guard line of 16 points and 7 assists two years earlier.

Joe Smith, who had been selected first overall last year ahead of Kevin Garnett, Stackhouse, and Rasheed Wallace, possessed explosive athleticism and was hailed as the second Shawn Kemp.

Their coach was Rick Adelman, a scholarly head coach with an extensive tactical repertoire. The team believed that under his leadership, they would shine.

The game began, and O'Neal won the tip. The Lakers focused their attack inside, and with the Warriors' weak perimeter defense, Van Exel could easily lob the ball into the paint. O'Neal caught the ball repeatedly and scored with hooks in the post, while Joe Smith and Todd Fuller were completely unable to disrupt him.

The Warriors' offense also stagnated somewhat. Their players mostly played one-on-one, with no one willing to defer to anyone else and no teammates in their eyes. The friction between the new and old players, along with their weak defense, made their performance on the court awful.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers led the Warriors 28-17. The large lead had the fans at courtside roaring with delight. It was only a preseason game, but watching the Lakers stars perform had already made the ticket price worthwhile.

"Kobe, warm up. Get ready to go in," Harris called.

Finally, it's my turn. Kobe had been itching to get on the court for a long time.

Kobe led the Lakers' all-reserve unit onto the court. Harris had deliberately arranged for their group to play together, believing they had special chemistry.

"Oh, our genius rookie Kobe Bryant is checking in." Magic Johnson was serving as the color commentator for this game. West had told him they had drafted a future cornerstone, and he was eager to see Kobe perform.

"Guys, full-court press!" Kobe was extremely excited. He also knew that the Warriors did not have an outstanding ball-handler in their second unit.

Led by Kobe, Fisher, Bowen, and Wallace, the defense applied tremendous pressure. Young as they were, they had the stamina to press full court.

Kobe relentlessly attacked the ball-handler. The Warriors' backup point guard, Bimbo Coles, was only 1.85 meters tall, and under Kobe's fierce physical pressure, he struggled to organize any effective offense.

Watching Kobe's second unit repeatedly force turnovers with high-intensity defense and convert them into fast breaks, Del Harris could not help but think, I don't remember telling them to run a full-court press...