February in the NBA was destined to be anything but peaceful.
After the trade deadline, the league suddenly had three more teams at championship-contender level.
The terrifying Spurs!
The Timberwolves, now joined by Ray Allen!
And the Philadelphia 76ers, with their twin stars reunited!
The entire league was in an uproar!
It had already been a chaotic season with contenders everywhere. Now, with three more teams capable of competing for the O'Brien Trophy, no one could possibly predict how this season would unfold!
After enjoying the post-All-Star break, Kobe returned to Los Angeles to prepare for the remainder of the NBA schedule.
By the NBA All-Star Game, the Lakers stood at 34-16, third in the Western Conference.
Then, on February 19, they traveled to San Antonio to face the fifth-place Spurs, who were 29-18.
Before the All-Star break, this game might have been nothing more than a somewhat noteworthy matchup.
Popovich and Kobe were old rivals. The Spurs had been eliminated by the OK Dynasty in the playoffs for three straight years. All the grudges and history between them had always made Spurs-Lakers games especially interesting.
But it was still only an ordinary regular-season game.
The Spurs were a defense-first team, and not many people enjoyed watching teams like that.
Fans preferred watching the Lakers go toe-to-toe with teams like the Kings or the Celtics, rather than watching Duncan slowly grind out possession after possession.
But now, after the Spurs completed a trade with the Mavericks, this game's significance was entirely different.
The fifth-place Spurs were far stronger than their standing suggested!
Quite possibly, they were a superteam that surpassed every other team in the league, even the Celtics with their collection of stars!
"I'm very happy that my new additions can play immediately in this game." Popovich was brimming