Tracy McGrady stayed at Kobe’s house until the summer was nearly over, with the three unmarried young men immersing themselves in training and soaking in the world of basketball.
They were all under 20 years old, at an age full of energy and free from worries, allowing them to focus everything in their lives on their beloved career and dreams.
It was beautiful and fortunate, but when McGrady was leaving Portland to return to Los Angeles, Kobe and Little O’Neal drove him to the airport, feeling reluctant.
Kobe kept saying harsh words, claiming that when the regular season starts and they face the Lakers, he’d give McGrady a good lesson and dunk over his head.
But McGrady just drooped his eyelids and shrugged, saying, "I’ll fight for a starting position, and so should you, Kobe. Go get that starter spot first."
Though a year younger than Kobe, McGrady seemed to view his NBA future with greater clarity and sensibility.
Unlike Kobe, who, upon entering the league, was keen on dominating and intent on replacing Ah Gan as the king of the league.
McGrady was very grounded; his first goal was to secure a starting position, establish himself firmly in the NBA and on the team.
The Los Angeles Lakers are a top-level giant, and Los Angeles is the largest city in the Western Conference; the future is bright for McGrady there.
After joining the Purple and Gold Legion, he not only secured a rookie contract worth over a million US dollars but also received a five million US dollar sneaker deal from Adidas.
Adidas anticipates McGrady’s future appeal among fans, betting on his commercial and market value.
This is the current trend: players like McGrady, Kobe, and Allen Iverson, who play stylishly and have graceful playing styles, are new fans’ favorites.
While young superstar centers like O’Neal attract every team manager’s favor and can land billion-dollar contracts, Adidas was only willing to offer O’Neal a sneaker contract of 500,000 US dollars, a tenth of McGrady’s.
Due to position and style of play factors, the potential in sports retail value between them differs tenfold.
Centers don’t sell shoes; they can’t support peripherals.
Only Gan Guoyang is an exception; his independent Skyscraper brand has become a cultural phenomenon in America.
Each year Skyscraper releases many version styles, typically having one formal type plus various miscellaneous commemorative ones.
There is the rainbow version commemorating the early days Gan Guoyang scored 60 points against the Nuggets, and the Killing Man Jason version commemorating Gan Guoyang wearing a mask, with special championship editions every time a title is won.
The 1992 Barcelona Olympics had the China Red Olympic version; there was a farewell version for his retirement in 1994, a comeback commemorative version in 1996, and the Four Data Champions Supreme version.
Even after losing the West Finals this time, Avia wanted to come up with a Jazz Snow Mountain version or something to commemorate the memorable defeat.
If any other brand did this, releasing commemorative versions for every little thing, it would be considered a cash grab, a gimmick.
Except for Gan Guoyang’s Skyscraper, due to his achievements and the pioneering influence of this sneaker early on, it has already become a pop culture phenomenon.
Many shoe enthusiasts not only do not resent Skyscraper releasing various commemorative versions, but even think that there are too few and too slow, unable to meet everyone’s collection needs.
Some unpopular early commemorative versions have already been traded at high prices in the market, and as Gan Guoyang continues to compete for titles upon his comeback, Skyscraper’s variety will keep increasing.
In late August and early September, Little O’Neal, like last year, participated in the Trail Blazers rookie training camp.
On his feet was the Skyscraper 1990 69-win championship commemorative version, with the number 69 imprinted on the side.
The sneaker uses a Chinese Taiji black-and-white yin-yang design, highly welcomed by a portion of American consumers.
However, the production volume isn’t high; it now costs several times the original price to buy on the market.
Little O’Neal couldn’t afford it initially, but after getting a contract post-draft, he immediately spent big money on a pair.
He rarely wears them usually, but the rookie training camp signifies the imminent new season, motivating himself to wear these shoes.
Like Kobe, Little O’Neal is full of expectations for the new season, although he knows he certainly can’t secure a starting position.
His goal is to become a stable rotation player inside, after PJ Brown’s departure left a void in the Trail Blazers’ inner rotation, which Little O’Neal must fill.
Gan Guoyang participated in this rookie training camp as usual, training alongside Kobe, Little O’Neal, Ben Wallace, and a group of rookies.
This is a Trail Blazers tradition, one that won’t be easily changed.
Larry Bird didn’t participate in the rookie training camp anymore, replaced by assistant coach Rick Carlisle.
Upon seeing Gan Guoyang, Carlisle still felt quite surprised—compared to last season, Gan Guoyang had become leaner and stronger.
This guy changes a bit every year, and the changes aren’t small; whenever you think he can’t get stronger, he surprises you the next season.
"You actually got leaner... how much slimmer, Sonny?" Carlisle asked.
"No, Rick, I’m still maintaining around 275 pounds. I just continued improving muscle quality."
While speaking, Gan Guoyang even showed off his strong arms, and Carlisle had no doubt that such an arm could punch his head and make it spin 360 degrees.
Many people thought after Sabonis returned, Gan Guoyang would slim down to move back to the power forward position, but he did not do so in the summer.
Upon his comeback in 1996, Gan Guoyang already formulated a strategy; his quickness and speed were bound to decline, a certainty that could only be delayed but not reversed.
Only strength keeps increasing, so he must maximize the advantages of his weight and strength, slimming down was never an option.