Mamba Class

This matchup had plenty of hype, with countless people looking forward to the showdown between the fourth overall pick, Stephon Marbury, and the thirteenth overall pick, Kobe Bryant.

Jerry West had once said to the media that even if the Lakers had held the first overall pick, they would still have chosen Kobe Bryant. He had wanted to acquire a higher pick to keep Kobe from being selected by another team, but unfortunately, the team had been unable to trade for a better draft position.

People wanted to know who was truly stronger: New York's own son, or Kobe, who was more deserving of a high draft pick.

Stephon Marbury stood 1.88 meters tall and weighed 82 kilograms. Born in 1977, he was only nineteen that year, just one year older than Kobe.

Marbury lagged far behind Kobe in height, wingspan, strength, speed, and jumping ability. Kobe had plenty of ways to shut down a player like him.

On offense, Kobe handed the ball to O'Neal to handle. After crossing half court, he fed it straight into the paint. Marbury had no way to effectively disrupt Kobe's dribbling or playmaking.

"So he does see me as the boss, after all." Seeing Kobe dutifully feed him the ball, O'Neal let out a sigh of relief. He had been somewhat worried that, like in the previous game, Kobe would simply take over the offense himself.

O'Neal backed down the Timberwolves' center, then floated it in despite Kevin Garnett's double-team. O'Neal shot Garnett a glare. He had actually tried to sneak in from help defense for a block—fortunately, O'Neal had reacted in time and avoided it.

Marbury brought the ball up, and Kobe stayed glued to him. This time, Marbury did not dare dribble much and tossed the ball to Garnett, who was waiting near midcourt. Garnett swung it to the unguarded Tom Gugliotta, and the big man knocked down an open three.

"That damn Ceballos." Harris had completely given up on Ceballos. The guy was nothing but a lump of mud. It seemed West's proposal really was worth considering.

It was difficult for Kobe to steal the ball directly from the shorter Marbury, but he had ways to deny Marbury any chance to attack. Under tight, physical pressure defense from Kobe, Marbury could not control the ball, much less organize the offense.

Marbury could only quickly give the ball to a teammate and start moving off the ball. His off-ball ability was atrocious, and Kobe easily tracked his cuts.

When had Marbury, who had always had things go his way in New York, ever suffered such humiliation? He had become nothing more than a spectator on offense. Growing frustrated, he caught the ball and recklessly forced up a mid-range pull-up jumper.

Smack! Kobe, who had already gotten into position, soared into the air and sent Marbury's shot flying with a thunderous block.

Eddie Jones grabbed the loose ball and raced into the Timberwolves' half for a stylish tomahawk dunk.

The Great Western Forum crowd erupted once more. Who was the last player to deliver such a spectacular defensive performance? Kobe always knew how to ignite the Great Western Forum.

"You won't score a single point on me this game," Kobe told Marbury. He wanted to teach Marbury the importance of defense and show him that defense could dominate a game too. This talented guard had enormous potential, and Kobe wanted to give him a lesson in the hope that he would grow further in the future.

"Damn it." Nothing showed on Marbury's dark face, but his heart was in turmoil. Losing to an established league superstar would not have upset him, but being completely locked down by this thirteenth pick was something Marbury simply could not accept.

Kevin Garnett hurried over to help Marbury up from the floor. He had hoped that this third overall pick could become his reliable right-hand man. But seeing Marbury perform so poorly against Kobe Bryant, another rookie from the same draft class, Garnett could not help but wonder whether Marbury was capable of being his second-in-command.

The Timberwolves called a timeout, and coach Philip Saunders chose to bench Marbury, who had been utterly crushed by Kobe.

"Oh, looks like the Timberwolves' fourth overall pick has been taught a brutal lesson by our thirteenth overall pick."

"With Kobe playing like this on both ends of the floor, it won't be long before he is no longer compared to rookies from his own class."

Kobe faced Terry Porter after he checked in. The veteran was highly experienced, and his 1.91-meter frame and excellent physicality made Kobe's probing pressure ineffective. Kobe did not force the issue. After testing him and finding the point guard's fundamentals extremely solid, he returned to his normal defensive approach.

Tom Gugliotta stayed hot for the Timberwolves and maintained good momentum on offense. Kobe was not matched up with the 2.08-meter forward and could only watch as, under Ceballos's absent-minded defense, Gugliotta knocked down shot after shot.

On the Lakers' side, O'Neal played brilliantly off Kobe's feeds. The still-raw Garnett could not do much to bother him. With O'Neal's dominant play, the two teams traded blows.

The situation changed once the benches entered the game. The Lakers' reserves, led by Kobe, once again blew the Timberwolves' second unit off the floor. When Stephon Marbury returned, his mentality had clearly become unstable. He had at least been able to avoid turnovers before, but without Kevin Garnett's help, Kobe stripped him again and again. The Lakers' transition attack was ferocious, and by halftime, they had built a solid lead.

At halftime, the Timberwolves trailed the Lakers 47-52. Shaquille O'Neal had been the standout performer, playing freely off Kobe's feeds and going 7-for-11 for 17 points and 8 rebounds. Kobe contributed 8 points, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Since O'Neal had demolished the opposing interior, Kobe focused most of his effort on playmaking and defense.

For the Timberwolves, Tom Gugliotta was scorching hot and also received plenty of shooting opportunities against Ceballos's defense. He went 7-for-13 overall and 2-for-4 from three, scoring 16 points with 5 rebounds. Once a shooter found his rhythm, he was often difficult to stop.

Kevin Garnett played solidly enough, but he did not find many good opportunities against Campbell. His halftime line was 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves' fourth overall pick, Marbury, had a stat sheet full of big fat goose eggs. With 0 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists, and 3 turnovers, he did not speak to his teammates and headed straight back to the locker room.

After halftime, Harris sent Ceballos to the bench and brought on Bruce Bowen.

It was an extremely correct substitution. Bowen was especially effective against shooters like this. Marbury's performance against Kobe was also miserable, and in the second half Kobe even started to toy with him offensively, repeatedly using shot fakes to get the overeager Marbury into the air before knocking down the shot.

"Never provoke a sleeping lion. This is the first rule I'm teaching you about surviving in the NBA," Kobe told Marbury after faking him out and hitting the jumper.

With Bruce Bowen on the floor, the Lakers firmly took control of the game. Tom Gugliotta no longer got quality shooting opportunities. His shooting line fell from 7-for-13 to 10-for-25 by the final buzzer; under Bowen's defense, he went only 3-for-12 in the second half.

O'Neal was on fire, and after shaking Marbury, Kobe repeatedly created chances for O'Neal to attack the rim. Stephon Marbury still failed to make a shot in the second half, and the game had essentially entered garbage time by the third quarter.

At the final buzzer, the Lakers defeated the Timberwolves 98-82, claiming another victory.

O'Neal finished with 35 points, 19 rebounds, and 3 assists, dominating the paint. Kobe put up 18 points, 4 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks, recording a double-double.