Chapter 28

The Lakers' third preseason game took them to Sacramento, a city in central California, United States, like Los Angeles. Situated in the Sacramento River basin, it was the county seat of Sacramento County and also the capital of California.

Despite their imposing name, they had not achieved much success in the NBA. In the 1950–51 season, they won the NBA championship as the Rochester Royals. After that, the Kings never made another breakthrough.

The Kings' current franchise star was "The Rock," Mitch Richmond. At 1.96 meters tall and 98 kilograms, the shooting guard was unbelievably burly, his body packed with sinewy muscle.

"He'll be the best shooting guard in the league besides me." That was a prediction Michael Jordan had made in 1989.

A future Hall of Famer, six-time All-Star, and five-time All-NBA selection, he excelled at both offense and defense, yet never produced any meaningful results as a team leader. In recent years, the Kings under his leadership had repeatedly done no more than struggle around the edge of the playoffs.

Kobe did not get the opportunity to match up against Richmond in this game. O'Neal's dominant performance sent the game into garbage time early.

O'Neal, steadily finding his rhythm, dominated the paint. This was an era where whoever controlled the interior controlled the game. Kobe had a modest showing, scoring 13 points in 17 minutes.

After securing three straight wins, the Lakers returned to Los Angeles. The Clippers, who would rise to prominence in later years, were still a bottom-feeder at the moment. Clippers owner Donald Sterling was cheap and stingy, and the team's highest salary was only Stanley Roberts's $3.25 million.

Made up entirely of homeless mercenaries, the team's record in recent years had been laughable.

Under the camera flashes at the Great Western Forum, Kobe continued to deliver dazzling performances. Facing the Clippers' virtually defenseless bench players, the hot-handed Kobe took over the game.

In just 21 minutes, he put up an all-around stat line of 21 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks.

"Flawless." That was Harris's assessment. He was already considering replacing one of the starters with Kobe. Leaving such a talented player on the bench was simply a waste, but he was still pondering whom to replace and whether Kobe would have chemistry problems with the starters.

Dr. Buss, who had watched the game from courtside, sent Kobe a text after the game.

"Born extraordinary. Keep it up, future legend."

The Lakers did not stay long in the warm climate of Los Angeles before Kobe and the others flew to Minnesota.

Minnesota was already carrying a hint of chill in October. The climate here varied drastically from season to season. Summers could exceed 46 degrees Celsius, while winter lows could drop to -22 degrees Celsius.

The Minnesota Timberwolves joined the league in 1989. Geographically speaking, they filled the void left by the Lakers' departure from Minneapolis. The team spent only one season at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome before moving to its current home court—Target Center.

"My God, I really don't want to play ball in a place like this." O'Neal was extremely sensitive to the cold, and the frigid weather had them shivering as soon as they got off the plane.

"Hey, Shaq. Looks like all that fat of yours isn't producing enough heat." Kobe teased. After several games and spending time together on and off the court, the two had already become quite compatible.

"Damn it, I'll show off the power of my magnificent muscles on the court, not in this frozen hell." O'Neal exaggeratedly wrapped his arms around himself. Their teammates burst into laughter. Apparently, the big man really was afraid of the cold.

After years of tanking, the Minnesota Timberwolves had accumulated several decent players. But the harsh weather here made it difficult to retain outstanding talent.

Kevin Garnett had been selected fifth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round the previous year, becoming one of the few players to enter the NBA directly from high school, as well as the first high school player under twenty to be selected in the NBA draft.

This future Hall of Fame power forward was still sharpening his claws. His rookie-year numbers were unremarkable; in an average of 28 minutes per game, he could only manage 10 points and 6 rebounds.

Kobe knew this was a common problem for high school rookies. Their first year was often an adjustment period, and they performed poorly. They were too young physically.

Their ability to withstand contact could not adapt to the intensity of the NBA. These talented high school players often did not begin to produce results until their second or third year.

In the backcourt, they also had this year's fourth overall pick, Stephon Marbury. This point guard from New York possessed extraordinary talent. Kobe greatly admired the man he would become in later years; after shedding his former glory, he became Coach Ma in China.

This game was one-sided as well. Before Garnett had fully developed, the Timberwolves' interior had no answer for O'Neal. Harris experimentally put Kobe and O'Neal on the floor together, and the chemistry they produced surprised him. Kobe's timely passes after driving to the basket always allowed O'Neal to attack the rim comfortably.

Kobe and Stephon Marbury matched up during the game. Marbury's flashy dribbling did not interfere with the experienced Kobe at all, while Kobe's pressure defense made every step difficult for Marbury.

The gap in strength between the two teams was obvious. Although there were no weak teams in the NBA and upsets happened from time to time, it was hard for anything unexpected to occur when a team had stars like O'Neal and Kobe controlling the pace among both its starters and reserves.

Kobe continued to see increased playing time in this game. In 23 minutes, he scored 14 points and handed out 7 assists. Three of those assists went to O'Neal.

After the game, O'Neal quietly asked Harris, "Hey, Coach. Why don't we try starting Kobe?"

The final preseason game was against the Detroit Pistons.

The Detroit Pistons had enjoyed excellent results throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1981, the Pistons selected Isiah Thomas from Indiana University with the second overall pick in the first round. Led by Thomas, they repeatedly defeated the young Michael Jordan, then swept the Lakers 4–0 in the 1989 Finals to win the championship. In 1990, the Pistons easily defeated the Trail Blazers 4–1 in the Finals to successfully defend their title.

As the Bad Boys grew old and the Pistons fell to the bottom, they drafted Grant Hill, the hugely popular small forward.

Unfortunately, Allan Houston had joined the New York Knicks that summer. The elegant guard had ultimately not chosen this hard-blooded city.

Before the game, Harris found Kobe in the team locker room.

"Kobe, you're starting this game. Go out there and show them what you can do, kid." Silver Fox Harris had made his decision. For the final game of the preseason, he decided to let Kobe try starting. It was better to make adjustments during the preseason than during the regular season.

He was finally starting. Kobe smiled. His time as a starter had come two years earlier than in his previous life.