Kobe Effect Sweeps the World! Thirteen Straight Wins!

"Did you watch yesterday's game? Kobe and Iverson went at each other, and both of them started pouring in points again!"

"This season, Iverson was averaging 28.9 points per game! Fourth in the league, behind only Kobe, Jordan, and Malone. He was already an undisputed superstar! But compared to Kobe, his scoring explosiveness still seemed somewhat lacking."

"Give Allen a few more seasons to develop, and perhaps he'll have a chance to challenge Kobe within the Princeton offense. But right now, the 76ers are only an ordinary playoff-caliber contender, not a true powerhouse capable of going toe-to-toe with Kobe!"

"I heard the Hawks opened this season with six straight losses. Wilkens was considering retirement, and the team was preparing to rebuild. If they trade Mutombo to the 76ers, then that team will truly rise!"

"To be fair, the only things that can be compared to Kobe now are entire teams. There doesn't seem to be a single player whose performance can be mentioned in the same breath as Kobe's. After Michael Jordan scored 60+, he only put up a little over 20 points in the following games."

"In his third season, Kobe had already gradually become a player in a league of his own."

"Those superstars from the past—Penny and Hill—had already been left far behind by him. Even Michael Jordan, once the league's number one player, had been completely unable to compare with Kobe in the regular season this year."

"A class of his own—Kobe's style of play and performances were influencing the entire world!"

Conversations like these echoed among fans in every corner of the world.

From the moment Kobe defeated Michael Jordan in the Finals, the protagonist of the basketball world had completely and utterly become Kobe.

Although the Lakers' season had not been smooth sailing, O'Neal's