West knew very well that Hornets head coach Dave Cowens would absolutely not welcome a high school player like Kobe; the old Celtics alumni were just that rigid.
But at the 9th pick, the Dallas Mavericks surprisingly snagged Kobe. Immediately after, Kobe was traded to Portland in exchange for another young guard, Michael Finley.
Many years later, when Jerry West talked about Kobe being snatched away, he still shook his head, saying it was cheating. Someone from the Trail Blazers must have cheated; they obtained some critical information.
Trading a young shooting guard averaging 15 points in his rookie season for the 9th pick, to get a high school shooting guard, such an operation seemed absurd no matter how you looked at it.
Like in a board game, where suddenly a move is made that the human brain couldn’t come up with, seeing dozens of steps ahead, anyone would feel like flipping the board.
Jerry West was frustrated with the Trail Blazers’ move for many years, even suspecting that Bobby Berman had betrayed them again.
Until one day, he found out that the decision to pick Kobe was made by Ah Gan. At the draft, he pointed at Kobe’s name and then asked Buckwalter to call all the managers with early picks to ask who was willing to trade.
As it turned out, Don Nelson was willing to trade, and Kobe was swapped to Portland.
Upon learning the truth, Jerry West was relieved; it was that bastard Ah Gan all along, which explained everything.
Kobe never considered that he would become a member of the Trail Blazers; he hadn’t practiced in Portland, but everything here fascinated him.
What fascinated him most was naturally Ah Gan. He watched Ah Gan’s every move closely, trying to figure out something from his training.
Gan Guoyang noticed Kobe staring at him like a lunatic, understood what he was thinking, and said, "Hey Kobe, how about training with me for a while?"
Kobe, who had been sitting on the floor, immediately sprang up, wiped the sweat off his head, and stepped onto the court without hesitation.
Little O’Neal, who was warming up after changing clothes, whispered, "Take it easy, Kobe."
Kobe didn’t even turn his head and said, "Watch closely, Jermaine, I’ll give Ah Gan a surprise."
Although Kobe was confident, he wasn’t arrogant enough to think his 18-year-old self could crush Ah Gan in a one-on-one game.
He hoped to leave a deep impression on Ah Gan.
But Kobe overestimated himself or underestimated the gap between him and his idol.
Gan Guoyang played a few rounds of one-on-one with Kobe, resulting in a complete and utter domination.
Firstly, the height and weight were completely mismatched; after two months of recovery training, Gan Guoyang’s weight and strength were at a career peak.
And Kobe, to put it bluntly, was still a kid; tall and strong among his peers, but in front of Ah Gan, he was like a sugar cane wearing a jersey.
Gan Guoyang didn’t hold back; he used his excellent physical fitness and various concise, efficient techniques to leave Kobe with no chance to retaliate.
Jermaine O’Neal and other rookies watched from the sidelines, discovering that Gan Guoyang didn’t rely on explosiveness and speed but on technique, strength, and timing differences.
The first ball, he squeezed inside by dribbling sideways against Kobe, who couldn’t resist at all. Gan Guoyang, like pushing a scarecrow, easily reached the basket without needing to jump, and scored with a light left-handed hook shot.
The second ball, facing the basket with the ball, after a non-threatening triple threat, went to the right side; without accelerating, he relied on body contact to push to the baseline’s sweet spot, and scored with a light one-footed jump shot.
The third ball, Kobe was getting a bit anxious, began to lower his center of gravity for aggressive defense, but Gan Guoyang used extremely skilled dribbling to toy with Kobe, finally using a KiKi-step to step back and hit a mid-range jump shot with ease.
This sense of ease, excellent rhythm, effortless shots, gave the Trail Blazers’ rookies an up-close look at what being the greatest in history means and why Ah Gan could win seven championships.
As a center, his technique was so comprehensive; many skills and experiences surpassed most perimeter players.
And he hadn’t even truly shown his expertise in post play yet; Kobe was already beaten with lumps on his head, completely powerless.
Kobe would naturally not miss this opportunity to spar with Gan Guoyang; he was extremely excited, becoming more and more determined the more he was frustrated, increasing the intensity in defense.
Some of his actions had already exceeded the scope of normal defensive movements, like occasionally using his elbow to jab Gan Guoyang, trying to disrupt Ah Gan’s dribbling.
But Gan Guoyang’s size and strength were like mountains in front of Kobe, leaving no room for Kobe’s nimble, quick advantages to play out.
A one-sided crushing, Gan Guoyang seemed relaxed, but he was actually very serious, not letting up a bit, every move reflecting accumulated efforts of over a decade.
Little O’Neal watched with fear, thinking that if he were up there, he’d likely lose confidence after just three rounds.
Why even bother playing? Just surrender, it’s genuinely embarrassing.
Kobe didn’t think so; he immersed himself fully into this asymmetrical confrontation.
Knowing he couldn’t win, Kobe still adjusted continuously, trying to find a flaw in Gan Guoyang’s offense.
Finally, after being scored on by Gan Guoyang ten times in a row, Kobe caught a flaw in Gan Guoyang’s defense and disrupted his shot.
Gan Guoyang protected the ball but lost balance and could only throw it casually, the ball hitting the front rim, missing.