All-Star Vote King

Detroit, located in the Great Lakes region of the northeastern central United States along the Detroit River, was part of the Great Lakes urban agglomeration. It was Michigan's largest city and the county seat of Wayne County. The city was named after the Detroit River, which connected Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. Its name came from the French "Rivière du Détroit," meaning "River of the Strait."

Detroit had once been the fourth-largest city in the United States, behind only New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. In the 1940s, America's first expressway was built in Detroit. World War II brought tremendous industrial growth to Detroit, making it a true "Arsenal of America."

Detroit had once been a world-famous automobile city. However, with the rise of Japanese and European cars and the further opening of Asia's cheap labor markets, the competitiveness of the American auto industry steadily declined. This was reflected not only in the shrinking global share of American brands, but also in the declining proportion of Americans among companies' total employees. The former led to the bankruptcy of some companies and, together with the latter, triggered a broader wave of layoffs affecting nearly every upstream and downstream industry. Detroit's declining tax revenue had also become an irreversible reality.

"Kobe, I'm telling you, don't go wandering around Detroit." O'Neal wore a mysterious expression. "It's way too dangerous here. A shootout could break out in any neighborhood."

Kobe knew there were only three kinds of people in Detroit: workers, gamblers, and criminals. It ranked second on the list of America's most dangerous cities, behind only St. Louis, Missouri, with 1,759.6 crimes involving violence or the threat of violence per 100,000 people.

Since August 1988, the Pistons had used the "famous" Palace of Auburn Hills. Although the brawls that took place there were what truly made people aware of the arena, from an architectural perspective, The Palace of Auburn Hills did have its own unique merits. With a capacity of 22,076, it was the largest arena in the league and a widely recognized quality sports facility in the United States.

By current standards, the arena's facilities were hardly luxurious, and its exterior looked somewhat outdated as well. But that happened to suit the Pistons' plain yet hard-nosed style perfectly; the two complemented each other. Besides, passionate Detroit fans would not fuss over whether the arena was good or bad.

Before the game, the Lakers announced their starting lineup: PG Nick Van Exel, SG Kobe Bryant, SF Cedric Ceballos, PF Elden Campbell, C Shaquille O'Neal.

Fisher let out a strange cry. His boss had made the starting lineup—could his own chance be far off? Once Old Fish became a starter, could the All-Star Game be far away? The peak of Old Fish's life was coming again.

Kobe and the others celebrated, while Eddie Jones sat in the locker room with a livid expression. His starting spot had been taken by an eighteen-year-old player, and he was utterly unconvinced.

As for defense, their defensive abilities were just as outstanding. Eddie Jones even believed that Kobe's excellent performances had only come against utterly trash opponents.

Just wait. Tonight's Pistons shooting guard, a member of the Bad Boys, Joe Dumars, would expose you for what you really were.

The Pistons' starters were: PG Lindsey Hunter, SG Joe Dumars, SF Grant Hill, PF Otis Thorpe, C Theo Ratliff.

Joe Dumars, a future Hall of Famer, had won two NBA championships, the 1989 Finals MVP, six All-Star selections, three All-NBA selections, and five All-Defensive Team selections.

Of the current Pistons, he was the only remaining member of the Bad Boys. This thirty-three-year-old veteran bore the mission of leading the team back to prominence.

In 1992, after FIBA first allowed professional players to compete in the Olympic Games, USA Basketball assembled the "Dream Team." Yet in an internal scrimmage, this team hailed as "the greatest basketball team in human history" was defeated 62-54 by a collegiate all-star team led by Grant Hill, instantly making Hill famous.

During college, Hill won consecutive national championships in 1991 and 1992. In the second year, while defending their title, Hill assisted Laettner on a game-winning shot against the University of Kentucky with 2.1 seconds left. That game had become an NCAA classic passed down to this day.

Grant Hill was also one of the hottest first wave of Jordan successors. With his elegant style, he had beaten out everyone to become the All-Star voting leader in his rookie season. He was also the first player in North America's four major professional sports to lead All-Star voting as a rookie.

In the season before last, after Jordan returned, Hill had even surpassed Jordan and once again claimed the most votes in the United States!

In the 1995-96 season, Grant Hill averaged 20.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6.9 assists on 15 shot attempts per game. His 40.8 minutes per game ranked third in the league, while his total of 656 defensive rebounds ranked second, behind only Robinson and ahead of interior players such as Ewing, Malone, and Kemp.

Otis Thorpe was also a formidable interior player. This power forward had won a championship alongside Olajuwon in 1994, and at his peak, he had been a 20+10 forward. Even at thirty-four, he had still put up a respectable starter's line of 14+8 the previous season.

This Pistons team was strong—probably the toughest opponent the Lakers had faced in these preseason games. They were balanced on both ends of the floor, with a superstar and quality role players.

Kobe was never nervous because of an opponent's strength. This game also marked his first start, and before the game, Kobe sat quietly in the locker room.

It was one of his habits. Whenever he faced a strong opponent, he would sit quietly in the locker room before the game, think of nothing, and empty his mind.

The Zen Master had taught him this. It helped regulate his emotions, and Kobe found it very useful.

"Guys, get out there." Rambis called to the players. The game was about to begin.

Kobe stepped onto the court and looked at Grant Hill in the number 33 jersey. He was 2.03 meters tall and weighed 102 kilograms. Kobe could not resist using his ability inspection function on him.

"System, inspect Grant Hill's abilities."

"The host has used the ability inspection function on Grant Hill. Activation successful."

"Grant Hill, basketball player. Position compatibility: PG 90%, SG 90%, SF 100%, PF 90%, C 80%."

"Physical attributes: S-. Layup skill: S. Dunking skill: A. Mid-range skill: A-. Three-point skill: C. Ball-handling skill: S-. Playmaking skill: A+. Defensive skill: A-."

"Current physical condition: full of vitality, extremely low injury risk."

"Ability use complete. Cooldown time: 7 days."

Just as Kobe had expected, Hill's physical attributes were S-tier. S-tier physical attributes meant a historic-level body; O'Neal, for example, was S+. Bodies at that level usually possessed speed, strength, and leaping ability all at once. They often did not need many techniques to play—simple moves alone were extremely difficult to defend.

In fact, Hill had been injury-free throughout the first four seasons of his career. In other words, he had not originally been someone prone to injury. The reason he had failed to reach his expected heights was his terrible playing time and medical staff.

This was trouble. The Lakers' small forward, Ceballos, was nothing more than a walking ATM in front of Hill.