"Kobe, Merry Christmas~" Penny greeted Kobe with a smile.
"Anfernee, are you enjoying Boston? If you're not, Los Angeles will welcome you once your contract expires." Kobe raised an eyebrow and deliberately teased McGrady beside him.
Sure enough! A visible tic mark popped up on McGrady's forehead!
"Hey! Kobe, you bastard! Anfernee will stay in Boston. He's not going anywhere! Right?" McGrady narrowed his eyes and grumbled at Kobe, then uneasily asked Penny for confirmation.
Penny and Kobe burst out laughing.
The Celtics and Lakers were bitter rivals, but Kobe, Penny, and McGrady had a great relationship and kept in frequent contact.
McGrady had known Kobe since high school. During his rookie year, he often called Kobe for advice on what a high-school rookie needed to watch out for after entering the league. Penny had also remained in touch with Kobe, who had always wanted to recruit Penny to his team but had never succeeded.
This summer had originally been an excellent opportunity, but Danny Ainge had swooped in and stolen him away.
Kobe found that regrettable. If the Lakers could have paired him with Penny Hardaway in the backcourt, they might have skipped the rebuilding phase altogether and gone straight for the championship this year.
Was Penny happy in Boston?
Compared with grinding himself to the bone in Orlando, playing in Boston had allowed Anfernee Hardaway to rediscover the long-lost joy of basketball.
It felt as though he had returned to those happy days when he and O'Neal had led the team together.
As the team leader, McGrady had no airs about him. He even preferred to coast whenever he could. Many outsiders believed McGrady became the star who monopolized the fewest possessions in the league because he was team-oriented.
But Penny knew it was simply because McGrady was