Next season, Jordan will disappear from this league, and at the shooting guard position, Kobe believes there’s no one worth emulating and surpassing.
Only Gan Guoyang, in the past, present, and future, is someone he aims to surpass, and the next season is no exception.
When the preseason training camp started in October, Kobe realized there was still a huge gap between imagination and reality.
After the first day of training, Kobe approached Gan Guoyang and said he wanted a one-on-one challenge with him.
Gan Guoyang readily agreed, and then gave Kobe a 10-0 thrashing, with three blocks and two steals.
Kobe, as a shooting guard, faced a significant disadvantage in a one-on-one challenge against a strong 6’10" interior player.
Moreover, during the summer, Gan Guoyang slightly reduced his weight to relieve pressure on his knees and enhance mobility.
He plans to slightly reduce his weight each year in the coming years, aiming to return to about 250 pounds—his youthful weight—by the time he is 40.
Of course, this is just Gan Guoyang’s plan, and whether he will play until 40 remains uncertain.
Kobe felt very frustrated, especially finding it hard to score against Gan Guoyang. Had he made no progress since his rookie season?
"There’s progress; you’re closer to scoring now. During your rookie season, you were much further off."
"Also, don’t be too obsessed with technique; focus more on the overall situation and expand your strategic thinking."
Gan Guoyang reminded Kobe, noticing his technical obsession and excessive focus on details.
Yet, even if some technical details are polished to perfection, the efficiency gains are limited.
Constrained by physical capabilities, stamina, and human limits, furthering technical enhancements offers diminishing returns.
At this moment, one must focus beyond the details—what’s called the big picture, considering the overall rhythm of the basketball game.
Kobe lacked these aspects, but unfortunately, Gan Guoyang’s words didn’t really sink in as Kobe continued to believe that his style could succeed.
"One day, I will defeat you in a one-on-one challenge," Kobe silently vowed to himself, hoping Gan Guoyang would play for several more seasons.
In November 1998, the 1998-1999 NBA season officially commenced.
For TV audiences in China on the other side of the ocean, November of that year featured two can’t-miss TV programs.
One was the CCTV NBA live broadcast every morning. Starting from the 1998-1999 season, CCTV increased live broadcasts from one to two games per day.
Among them, the Portland Trail Blazers’ games were always broadcasted, and another game was selected based on schedule and agreements, featuring popular and strong matchups to cover every NBA team.
If it wasn’t a game day for the Trail Blazers, there would still be one game broadcast.
As early as the early 1990s, CCTV started broadcasting one NBA game live every day.
For many young basketball fans, especially students, watching the NBA live broadcast during lunch at home became one of the most important entertainment activities.
Just as the Trail Blazers are located on the West Coast, the games often started around 10 in the morning, coinciding with the end of school, allowing students to catch the second half, and in the afternoon at school, they had enough to talk about with classmates, making basketball games during physical education classes or activity classes more exciting.
If there was no evening self-study after school, families would gather in front of the television after dinner to watch the second unmissable TV program.
That was the TV drama "Princess Pearl" premiering in November 1998.
Once aired, the drama quickly became immensely popular across Jiangnan, with everyone tuning in after dinner.
Not just in 1998, but over the following years, this drama would repeatedly air on TV, especially during summer, becoming a time-passing tool for many children during their summer breaks.
In 1998, when entertainment resources weren’t very abundant, the daily NBA noon game and "Princess Pearl" at night left indelible beautiful memories for many children of that era.
That season, the Portland Trail Blazers lived up to Chinese fans’ fervent hopes, remaining formidable in the regular season.
Although they lacked the terrifying dominance of sweeping everything like the 1997-1998 season and lost their first game early in the third match of the season,
they quickly adjusted and won the remaining games in November 1998.
In December, the Trail Blazers achieved a 13-2 record, including crushing the ambitious Los Angeles Lakers in a Christmas showdown, further cementing their dominance in the Western Conference.
The entire Western Conference seemed a bit silent.
The Supersonics, with Ewing aging, gradually declined.
The Jazz duo aged another year, decreasing their competitiveness further.
The teams trying to rise, like the Kings, Suns, and Timberwolves, were not formidable enough at all.
They could only barely compete with the Trail Blazers for three quarters before succumbing in the fourth.
Although several key veterans of the Trail Blazers experienced various degrees of decline, firstly, Gan Guoyang remained strong. His outstanding and consistent performance provided the foundation for the Trail Blazers’ strength.
Secondly, the further growth of young players Kobe, Little O’Neal, and Big Ben meant they played more minutes and performed increasingly well.
By 1999, Kobe had successfully replaced Riddle and became the starting shooting guard for the Trail Blazers.