"Ah-ba! Ah-ba! Ah-ba!"
"Kobe! STOP IT!" Vanessa's brows shot up. Becoming a mother had changed her in many ways.
Kobe sheepishly stopped fiddling with Nana's lips and spread his hands.
"Hee-hee~" Seeing her father's ridiculous expression, Natalia's round little face broke into a smile.
Kobe could not help pinching Natalia's chubby little cheeks again. Who could have imagined that this plump little baby would one day become a supermodel?
"Kobe, aren't you going to watch the Finals?" Vanessa suddenly asked.
"What's there to watch? No matter who wins, I'll beat them next year."
It was June 3, 2003. This year's NBA playoffs had reached their final stage.
The Lakers had battled the Spurs through seven games in the second round, only to suffer a regrettable elimination.
Duncan had stepped over the shoulders of the former kings and become a legend in a single battle.
Although the Lakers had been eliminated, there was virtually no criticism of them in the media.
In one sentence, the Lakers' season could be summed up as: "They had already done everything they possibly could."
Every Lakers player had delivered their best performance.
But the gap in talent on paper between the two sides had simply been enormous, compounded by injuries.
In the final game, David Robinson, that old guy who could barely run anymore, had seemingly been injected with adrenaline and returned to his younger days.
Even with Kobe putting on a godlike performance, what could the Lakers do when the Spurs crushed them several times over in rebounds and points in the paint?
This dismantled dynasty team, which had been considered a fringe playoff contender before the season began, had already come far enough.
70+, 51+14, 40+20+10+5+5, playing power forward to lock down Duncan.
In this series, Kobe had already done everything a GOAT