Philadelphia Tryouts (Seeking Collections and Recommendations)

Philadelphia, nicknamed the "City of Brotherly Love," was the largest city in Pennsylvania and the fifth-largest city in the United States, behind only New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. The Philadelphia metropolitan area was the fourth-largest metro area in the country, behind only New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Philadelphia itself had a population of 1,553,165, while its metropolitan area had more than 7.15 million people. It was ideally located, roughly 160 kilometers northeast of New York and about 220 kilometers southwest of the capital, Washington.

As one of the NBA's oldest franchises, the Philadelphia 76ers had neither been based in Philadelphia nor called the 76ers when the team was first established. Instead, they had chosen a highly patriotic name—the Syracuse Nationals. Founded in 1937, the Syracuse Nationals entered the NBA in 1949 following the merger of the NBL and ABB, and they achieved considerable success. In the fourteen years before their name change, they made the playoffs all fourteen times, reached division and league finals on multiple occasions, and won one championship.

But it was not until they moved to the basketball capital of Philadelphia in 1963 that the team truly entered the most passionate years of its NBA history.

The first player to inject passion into the 76ers was Wilt Chamberlain, a man who possessed speed, height, strength, and skill in equal measure. Chamberlain was basketball history's first true all-around talent. Over the course of his career, he won seven NBA scoring titles and eleven rebounding titles, and he still held the single-game scoring record of 100 points.

After two years of developing chemistry, this already formidable 76ers team finally reached its peak in 1967. They charged into the playoffs with a jaw-dropping regular-season record of 68-13 and ultimately cruised to the championship. At the NBA's 35th anniversary celebration in 1980, this team was named the greatest in NBA history.

In the years that followed, the championship halo never again graced Philadelphia's skies, but fighting spirit and passion never left the 76ers. In the mid-to-late 1980s, the powerful and dazzling Charles Barkley led the team to the Atlanta Division and Eastern Conference Finals several times.

But with no championship in sight, Barkley took his MVP trophy and joined the Phoenix Suns in 1993.

This was the city where Kobe had lived for four years in high school. Philadelphia was hot in June, and the blazing sunlight made Kobe habitually put on his sunglasses.

"Rob, relax. We're just going through the motions in Philadelphia. They won't use the first overall pick on a high schooler." Sitting in the back seat, Kobe seemed to sense the white man's nervousness and spoke to the driver.

"Okay, Mr. Bryant. But I'll do everything I can to promote your physical advantages and your high school accomplishments to Philadelphia. You're going to become the greatest player in history." The white man—Rob Pelinka—looked a little calmer.

Rob Pelinka had only obtained his Illinois law license that year. Two days earlier, he had unexpectedly received a call from Kobe Bryant, who insisted that Pelinka was a born agent and invited him to attend his workout.

Pelinka had always dreamed of becoming an agent, but he could not figure out how Kobe Bryant had heard of an unknown nobody like him. This was Kobe—the first high school guard to enter the NBA draft, a sure lottery pick. There had to be countless big names eager to become his agent.

Once Pelinka confirmed that Kobe was not joking with him, he immediately rushed to Philadelphia. Kobe treated him like an old friend, and Pelinka felt that working with such a future star would be quite enjoyable, so he and Kobe quickly agreed to sign a contract.

Pelinka had originally intended to sign for 2% of Kobe's salary and endorsement income, but Kobe refused. He insisted that such a contract did not do Pelinka justice, so they signed an eight-year deal for 4%. Pelinka was immensely grateful to Kobe. Being trusted like this felt truly wonderful.

Kobe could guess what Pelinka was thinking, but he knew just how capable this guy was. Pelinka's ability to fight for Kobe's interests throughout his career, coordinate roster upgrades with the team, and handle public relations would put Kobe completely at ease. Kobe could not wait until 1998 to have this guy become his agent. This guy will be an invaluable help throughout my career!

Ready to devote himself wholeheartedly to basketball, Kobe decided to leave all off-court matters to Pelinka. He believed that Pelinka, who would even become the Lakers' vice president in the future, could handle all those off-court issues for him. He did not want to end up like in his previous life, falling out with his family over such nonsense.

Pelinka had once been an NCAA player himself. He had played four years at the University of Michigan, and while he had only been a role player, he understood players' mindsets and knew what they needed. During his career as an agent, he had at one point ranked among the top five in the world.

After speaking at length with Kobe, he understood Kobe's trust in him and understood Kobe's ambition. This was a player who could set the world ablaze, a player who wanted to overturn the entire history of basketball. He would either become immortal or be forever cursed. Both black and white would appear in his life. His career was destined to be anything but ordinary. Let me, Rob Pelinka, protect and guide him.

"Rob, let's go." Upon arriving at the Philadelphia 76ers' training facility, Kobe picked up his backpack. Wearing sunglasses and a hoodie, Kobe looked effortlessly cool. He was already prepared to do something big at this workout.

The Philadelphia 76ers' home arena was the Wachovia Center, but the players did not train there on a daily basis. Instead, they used a separate training facility on the edge of the city. Team practices, daily meals, and strength training could all be conducted there. The exterior of the facility looked somewhat old, and ever since Charles Barkley had left for the Phoenix Suns in 1993, the Philadelphia 76ers' competitiveness had declined sharply.

Philadelphia had gone 18-64 in the regular season that year. Having won the first overall pick, they desperately needed a savior to rescue them.

Philadelphia was Kobe's second hometown. After Joe Bryant retired, Kobe had lived in Philadelphia ever since returning from Italy. He had deep memories of this place, but he knew that this time, he would not be Philadelphia's savior either. Someone else was destined for that role.

He strode into the facility with his head held high and met Philadelphia's head coach, John Lucas.

The fact that the 76ers' head coach was personally working out this young man showed that he was a key prospect for the first overall pick. It also proved just how eye-catching Kobe's high school accomplishments had been. This local Philadelphia basketball prodigy had won the favor of the hometown team.

"Mr. Kobe Bryant, it's a pleasure to meet you." Lucas did not put on any airs and warmly shook Kobe's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Lucas," Kobe said with a gentle smile.

"Then let's begin with the physical measurements. Brown, take Kobe for his testing," Lucas instructed one of the team's assistant coaches.

Kobe completed the tests one by one. In the days since his return, he had continued training hard using methods that were more scientific and better suited to him. But only a few days had passed, so his physical attributes had not changed much.

At seventeen, his body was still developing. Kobe's rookie measurement results were excellent, but not uncommon in the NBA. He stood 198 centimeters tall, weighed 88 kilograms, had a wingspan of 208 centimeters, hands measuring 29 centimeters, a standing reach of 264 centimeters, a standing vertical leap of 98 centimeters, a running vertical leap of 116 centimeters, a 100-meter sprint time of 11.5 seconds, and a maximum hang time of 0.8 seconds.

Kobe believed this was only the beginning. If he continued training without pause, his physical abilities would surely reach an athlete's peak, perhaps even surpassing the physical prototype for guards—Michael Jordan.

Now, let's compare Jordan's rookie measurement data. Jordan stood 198 centimeters tall, had a wingspan of 212 centimeters, hands measuring 30 centimeters, a standing reach of 269 centimeters, weighed 88 kilograms, had a standing vertical leap of 99 centimeters, a running vertical leap of 121.92 centimeters, a 100-meter sprint time of 10.5 seconds, and a terrifying hang time of 0.97 seconds.

Whether it was wingspan, leaping ability, or speed, Michael Jordan's physical attributes completely crushed Kobe's. He was nearly a full second faster in the 100 meters, and that was the foundation that had allowed the young Jordan to treat defense as if it did not exist.

The Philadelphia 76ers were very impressed by Kobe's measurements. This was a kid with enormous room to grow. They had heard that his dedication to training was no less than Jordan's. Could he become the second Jordan? Kobe's body was still slightly slender, but who could say it was impossible?

Jordan was currently seated firmly on the throne, and finding a second Jordan was something every NBA front office desperately wanted to accomplish. Could this high schooler, whose early style of play closely resembled Jordan's and whose physical conditions were also very similar, be the answer they sought?

While the coaches were still discussing Kobe's measurement results and preparing to arrange his shooting test, a Black player walked onto the court.

"Hey, why wasn't practice scheduled today? So the old man's giving this brat a workout." Jerry Stackhouse shouted as soon as he entered.

Kobe raised an eyebrow. This guy had dared to talk big about Jordan as soon as he entered the league. Even after getting taught a lesson, he still had no intention of reining himself in?

"Stackhouse, quiet down. This is a confidential team workout." Lucas was somewhat displeased. This player was so unruly that he had disrupted the team's normal operations many times.

But he was currently the team's franchise star—the player they had selected third overall in the first round in 1995, a player who had averaged 19.2 points, 3.9 assists, and 3.7 rebounds as a rookie. He would be the 76ers' future.

What talented player did not have a temper? Lucas could only endure it. In a commercial league like the NBA, coaches were forever supporting characters to the stars.

"Old man, who's this kid? How's his game? Is he here to help me this year?" Stackhouse swaggered over and patted Coach Lucas on the back.

"How about you try him and find out?"