kobe season mvp的八卦，Yahoo名人娛樂都在討論

"...My body knows it’s time to say goodbye. And that’s OK. I’m ready to let you go..."讀到這一段，真的流了淚。

Kobe, thanks for the memories.

高比拜仁(Kobe Bryant)宣布，會於完成今季後結束球員生涯。

2015-2016年球季是他連續第20季效力湖人，為史上效力同一隊伍之最長時間紀錄；高比拜仁曾五奪總冠軍、兩度獲選總決賽MVP及一次常規賽最有價值球員。

高比拜仁於NBA球員論壇網站發表文章並公布有關消息，原文如下：

Dear Basketball,

From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.

A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.

As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Running out of one.

And so I ran.
I ran up and down every court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.

I played through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.

You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.
This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.

And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have.

And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Garbage can in the corner
:05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1

Love you always,
Kobe

Hard Work Pays Off !! 19 years & still going #MVP

Kobe Bryant prepares for season #19 with the LA Lakers!

Real Training Camp: Lakers, SATURDAY at 2pm/et on NBA.com, 4pm/et on NBA TV

#EZTALK #你不知道的美國大小事
#KobeBryant #Kobe #BlackMamba #一次搞懂NBA賽事
永遠的黑曼巴 Kobe Bryant 🏀

Even if you’re not a basketball fan, you’d have to be living under a rock not to know who Kobe Bryant is. Michael Jordan may be the GOAT, but Kobe, also known by the nickname Black Mamba, is almost as famous.
即使你不迷籃球，你也一定得要與世隔絕，才可能沒聽過柯比布萊恩。麥可喬登是史上最偉大的籃球員，但綽號黑曼巴的柯比也是不分軒輊。

Born in Philadephia, Kobe spent a lot of his childhood in Italy, where his father, Joe Bryant, played professional basketball after retiring from the NBA. Returning to the U.S. fluent in Italian—and basketball—at the age of 13, Kobe played so well in high school that he was drafted into the NBA straight out of high school.
柯比出生於費城，父親喬布萊恩從 NBA 退休之後就一直在義大利打職籃，所以他童年時期幾乎都待在義大利。13 歲時，柯比帶著一口流利的義大利語跟籃球技術返回美國。由於他在高中籃球打得非常好，在高中就直接被選入 NBA。

Kobe joined the Los Angeles Lakers as a shooting guard in 1996, and would stay with the team for his entire 20-season career. And what a career it was! During that time, he led the Lakers to five NBA championships, played in 18 All-Star games, was a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, 2008 NBA MVP, and two-time NBA Finals MVP winner. He even won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
柯比在 1996 年加入洛杉磯湖人隊，擔任得分後衛，整個 20 年職業生涯皆效力於湖人隊。真是了不起！這段期間他帶領湖人隊拿下 5 次 NBA 總冠軍，入選 18 場全明星賽，15 次 NBA 最佳陣容，12 次最佳防守陣容，2008 年 NBA MVP，2 次 NBA 總決賽 MVP 得主。他甚至分別在 2008 年與 2012 年的夏季奧運中，以美國國家代表隊的成員贏得兩次奧運金牌。

After a series of injuries, Kobe decided to retire from the NBA in 2016 at the age of 36. But Kobe didn’t just spend his retirement playing golf. He kept busy writing books, making films and teaching his daughter Gianna, also a talented basketball player, to follow in his footsteps. And then, on January 26, 2020, tragedy struck. The helicopter that Kobe and Gianna were flying in—along with six family friends—crashed on the way to a basketball game, killing everyone on board. Kobe was 41-years-old, and his daughter just 13.
經歷一連串的職業傷害後，柯比決定在 36 歲，也就是 2016 年，從 NBA退役。不過，柯比退役之後不是只打高爾夫球而已。他忙著出書、拍片，並教育跟他同樣是天才球員的女兒吉安娜跟上他的腳步。接著在 2020 年 1 月 26 日，悲劇發生。柯比、吉安娜，連同 6 位家人朋友，搭乘前往籃球比賽的直升機墜毀，無人生還。當時柯比 41 歲，他的女兒年僅 13 歲。

1. live under a rock「與世隔絕」
2. GOAT「史上最偉大球員」：為Greatest of All Time的縮寫。
3. Black Mamba「黑曼巴」：是分布在非洲撒哈拉沙漠以南的一種大型毒蛇，而柯比之所以有「黑曼巴」的綽號，是因為他投籃與灌籃迅速，有如黑曼巴蛇爬行一樣迅速。
4. NBA「美國男子職籃」：為National Basketball Association的縮寫。
5. draft sb. into「徵召，招募」
6. shooting guard「得分後衛」：得分後衛的主要任務就是盡可能投籃得分，一般擔任此位置的球員在體型體能的要求較嚴格，需要有速度跟爆發力。
7. NBA Championship「NBA總冠軍」
8. All-Star Game「NBA全明星賽」：是美國職籃協會舉辦的年度球星表演賽，每年約於2月舉行，由觀眾與教練選出全聯盟的東西區明星球員出戰，是NBA明星週末（NBA All-Star Weekend）的壓軸比賽。
9. All-NBA Team「NBA最佳陣容」：是美國職籃協會每年頒獎的榮譽之一，用來表彰當季聯盟表現最好的籃球員。
10. All-Defensive Team「NBA最佳防守陣容」：用來表彰當季聯盟防守表現最好的球員。
11. MVP「最有價值球員」：為Most Valuable Player縮寫。
12. NBA Final「NBA總決賽」：為爭奪NBA最高榮譽「NBA總冠軍」的賽事，也是NBA 季後賽（NBA playoffs）的最後一輪比賽，於每年6月初舉行。
13. follow in one’s footsteps「仿效某人，步上某人腳步」

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Iverson crossover on Kobe in 1999 season~

Allen Iverson finally shook his shadow and shook up the NBA Finals.

Hounded by unheralded Tyronn Lue, Iverson scored seven of his 48 points in a one-minute span of overtime as the Philadelphia 76ers stunned the Los Angeles Lakers with a 107-101 victory in the opener of the NBA Finals.

Iverson scored 30 points in a scintillating first half, letting everyone know that the 76ers were going to be more than another pushover for the powerful Lakers. His late flurry silenced the Staples Center and unceremoniously ended Los Angeles' run at a perfect postseason.

"Anybody that bet on it, some broke people out there," Iverson said. "I'm glad nobody didn't bet their life on it 'cause they definitely would be dead right now."

Instead, the Sixers -- double-digit underdogs -- are very much alive as they again displayed their heroic heart.

"Our guys just try hard," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "This is kind of unexpected but it's neat."

In between Iverson outbursts, Lue stymied the NBA Most Valuable Player for nearly 20 minutes, using his quickness to prevent Iverson from even getting the ball, let alone shoot it. He had spent the last two practices impersonating Iverson and apparently got pretty good at it.

"I just try to deny him the ball as much as possible, because when he does get the ball, the best penetrator in the game is going to be hard to stop," Lue said. "We were trying to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible."

"He was holding me the whole time," Iverson said.

But the third-year reserve let his guard down for just a second and it cost the Lakers. Iverson's two free throws pulled the Sixers within 99-98 with 1:46 remaining and the Lakers called a timeout.

Lue drove and threw up a wild shot as he fell out of bounds. The Sixers rebounded and Iverson ran out in transition. With Lue nowhere in sight, he drilled a 3-pointer that gave Philadelphia the lead for good at 101-99 with 1:19 left.

"That was really the knife that wounded us," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Rick Fox spoiled a solid game by throwing away a pass and Iverson made a step-back baseline jumper for a 103-99 lead with 47 seconds to go.

Kobe Bryant, who shot poorly and could not defend Iverson, hit a baseline jumper with 33 seconds to play. But Eric Snow, whose runner late in the fourth quarter saved the Sixers, made a similar shot to seal it with 10 seconds left.

On the eve of his 26th birthday, Iverson made 18-of-41 shots and 9-of-9 free throws, adding six assists and five steals. Playing his first NBA Finals game, his explosion offset 44 points and 20 rebounds by Shaquille O'Neal as he won the duel between the league's last two MVPs.

The Lakers rallied from a 15-point third-quarter deficit only to blow a five-point overtime lead as they lost for the first time since April 1, a span of 20 games. They had come into this series as huge favorites, having romped through the postseason with 11 straight wins by an average of more than 15 points.

"I'm kind of relieved it's over in some ways but but it does put some pressure on us to get a win on our home court," Jackson said. "We've got to go out on Friday night and find a way to get this series tied up."

The Sixers came in with no one expecting them to win a game, let alone the series. But they used their trademark toughness to do in just one game what the weak knees of the Western Conference could not do in 11 -- beat the Lakers.

"They thought we were gonna get swept and that was like a slap in the face to us," Iverson said.

Game Two is Friday at Los Angeles. Philadelphia is trying to knock off the defending champions and win its first title in 18 years.

"Now it's a series," O'Neal said.

However, Philadelphia may have to try a little harder. Guard Aaron McKie, who did a superb job of defending Bryant, suffered a chip fracture of his right ankle but is probable for Friday.

Both Iverson and O'Neal abused a series of defenders. Iverson sent starter Derek Fisher to a permanent seat on the bench and also had his way with Bryant before Lue came on.

"You can't take anything away from Tyronn Lue," Iverson admitted. "A lot of guys go out against a player that's named MVP of the regular season and won't give it his all, act like he's scared. But he gave his team a great lift."

O'Neal met some resistance from Mutombo but manhandled Matt Geiger and Todd MacCulloch at the end of the third quarter. He made 17-of-28 shots but just 10-of-22 from the line.

Most of O'Neal's offense came against single coverage from Dikembe Mutombo, who sat down with foul trouble for most of the third quarter but still contributed 13 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.

His presence allowed Philadelphia to swarm to Bryant, who had an awful game with just 15 points, on 7-of-22 shooting, and six turnovers.

"They got into Kobe's body, and bodied him on the dribble, stripped the ball when he picked it up," Jackson said. "He really didn't clear himself for shots very easily tonight."

Snow scored 13 points and injury-hampered Matt Geiger provided an unexpected 10 for the Sixers, who shot 48 percent (40-of-83) and missed just two of 25 free throws, which came at the worst possible time.

O'Neal's dunk off a feed from Bryant with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter gave the Lakers a 94-92 lead, their first since midway through the second period.

Snow answered with his first running jumper and the Sixers had a chance to take the lead when Mutombo rebounded a miss by Snow and was fouled with 34 seconds to go. But he missed both after Philadelphia had hit its first 19 from the line.

Bryant and Snow missed, sending it to overtime, where it looked like the Lakers were ready to win. O'Neal threw in a hook, Bryant spun for a layup and O'Neal split a pair from the line for a 99-94 lead.

The Sixers looked dead when Raja Bell found himself trapped in the lane with the shot clock running down. But he pivoted and threw in a scoop shot with his left hand with 2:19 remaining, sparking the comeback.

Fox scored 19 points for the Lakers, who were playing for the first time in 10 days and shot 44 percent (40-of-90).

At the start, it looked like another Lakers landslide. A 16-0 burst capped by Bryant's first basket gave Los Angeles an 18-5 lead with 5 1/2 minutes to go -- and perhaps allowed complacency to set in.

"We watched games that they played when they jumped out on guys and guys just packed it in and stopped playing," Iverson said. "But we've been like that before. We've been in games where we started off slow and ended up winning."

Iverson scored 10 points in the rest of the period, then opened the second quarter with a jumper over Bryant for a 24-23 lead.

The Lakers still held a 38-36 lead midway through the second quarter when Jackson was hit with a technical foul for arguing a non-call against Mutombo.

Iverson made the foul shot, Geiger hit two jumpers to give the Sixers the lead at 41-40 and Iverson took over from there as he scored Philadelphia's last 15 points of the half, mostly off his trademark crossover dribble.

His 3-pointer gave the Sixers a 56-48 advantage before O'Neal hammered home a miss by Bryant in the final second.

At intermission, Iverson had 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting, lighting up Bryant, who was 2-of-10 for four points with five turnovers.

"Allen really stepped it up," Brown said. "His first half was about as good as it gets."

It continued in the third quarter, as Iverson fed Jumaine Jones for an alley-oop slam, sank a jumper and dropped a layup over O'Neal for a 64-54 lead. He took a steal in for a layup and hit a fading corner shot before Eric Snow's three-point play gave the Sixers their largest lead at 73-58 with 5:23 left.

But with Mutombo on the bench, Philadelphia could not fight off O'Neal, who overpowered Geiger and MacCulloch and muscled Los Angeles back into it. He scored 14 points in the final 5:10 of the period, and with Lue shadowing Iverson, the Lakers pulled within 79-77 entering the final period.

Philadelphia led by as many as seven points early in the fourth quarter, when Mutombo picked up his fifth foul and again sat down before returning less than a minute later as Geiger fouled out.

Michael Jordan got the start and provided one more lasting moment. But it was all Kevin Garnett at the finish.

The 52nd NBA All-Star Game was Jordan's last and filled with firsts as the Western Conference exhausted the Eastern Conference 155-145 in a double-overtime thriller.

Given a surprise start as Toronto's Vince Carter stepped aside, Jordan appeared to make yet another of his seemingly endless series of game-winning shots. The superstar swingman of the Washington Wizards threw in a high-arcing jumper from the right baseline over Phoenix's Shawn Marion that gave the East a 138-136 lead with 4.8 seconds left in the first overtime, bringing a roar from the Philips Arena crowd.

"I didn't think it was going to go in, but it went in," said Marion, who was victimized for a game-winning shot by Jordan in Phoenix last season.

"I thought it was the game-winner, but anything can happen in an NBA game," Jordan said.

Anything did. A foul call on a three-point attempt put Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant at the line for three free throws with one second to go. Bryant made just two free throws to tie the game.

"The first thing when Kobe got up, he said, 'I can't believe he called that,'" said Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal, who committed the foul.

Bryant's free throws forced an unprecedented second extra session, which belonged entirely to Garnett.

The 7-footer of the Minnesota Timberwolves -- who played shooting guard earlier in the game -- took the smaller Carter into the low post for three straight jumpers. He added a foul shot for a 145-138 lead with 3:38 remaining, and the West never trailed again.

"It looked like old 23 crept back in the building and was trying to take the game, but for the most part, we hung together and won," Garnett said.

Garnett collected his first All-Star Game MVP award as he scored 37 points on 17-of-24 shooting and added nine rebounds and five steals. His points were the most in an All-Star Game since Jordan scored 40 in 1988.

"The All-Star Game is not about individual," said Garnett, an unselfish superstar. "It's totally a group effort. It's a time for you to share stories, good times, emotional times with your teammates."

Jordan, who turns 40 in eight days, gave Garnett some stories to share. He started very slowly and even missed a dunk in the first quarter. But he became the all-time leading scorer in the All-Star Game late in the third quarter and finished with 20 points on 9-of-27 shooting.

"I think I got a chance to enjoy some good young company tonight," Jordan said.

Some of that company joined Jordan on the Eastern Conference. Guards Allen Iverson of Philadelphia and Tracy McGrady of Orlando -- both of whom offered their starting spot to Jordan -- scored 35 and 29 points, respectively. But it wasn't enough to prevent the East from dropping to 32-20 in the all-time series.

"I was going to try to forget my jersey in the locker room," McGrady said. "That way (Jordan) had to start and go out there."

Bryant scored 22 points and Steve Francis of Houston added 20 for the West, which erased an eight-point deficit in the last two minutes of regulation and blew a seven-point lead in the last two-plus minutes of the first overtime.

San Antonio's Tim Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds and the Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal had 19 and 13. It was the sixth overtime All-Star Game and the first since 1993 in Utah.

Although the first quarter was the lowest-scoring opening period in 50 years and the first half the lowest since 1976, the game fell three points shy of the highest-scoring contest, another overtime affair in 1987.

The pace seemed to quicken a bit after a halftime ceremony in which Jordan was serenaded by Mariah Carey, who wore No. 23 jerseys of Chicago and Washington while performing three songs, including "Hero."

"I thank you for your support," a visibly humbled Jordan said to the crowd. "I leave the game in good hands."

"The halftime ceremony was something I'll remember for a long time," said Francis, who was playing in his second All-Star Game. "I felt like he was talking to me when he said the NBA was going to be in good hands."

McGrady took the third quarter into his hands, scoring 17 points to give the East a 93-86 lead. With 2:04 to go in the period, Jordan sank two free throws to move past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (251 points) as the all-time leading scorer.

The West overtook the East at 102-100 on a dunk by Shaquille O'Neal with 8:14 to go, but McGrady responded with a three-pointer. Three jumpers by Jordan and a drive by Iverson pushed the lead to 116-106 left and tightened the MVP race.

It appeared to be Jordan's when he flipped in a left-handed shot on 7-footer Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas for a 120-112 lead with 1:58 to play. But he missed shots on three consecutive possessions, allowing the West back in it.

"I wanted it to be a competitive game," Jordan said. "It was a fun ending anyway you look at it."

Bryant had a chance to win it when he was fouled with 17 seconds left but split the pair, and Marion partially blocked Jordan's jumper at the other end.

Despite eight overtime points from Iverson, the East looked dead when Francis hammered home a lob for a 135-128 bulge with 2:09 remaining. But McGrady and New Jersey's Jason Kidd scored four points each as the East surged to a 136-135 edge with 33 seconds left. A free throw by Shaquille O'Neal tied it.

"It's easy to come in with the attitude that you are just going to run down the court and jump around and not play hard, but that's not what it is about," Iverson said. "I think the fans deserve more than that."

The fans got a huge treat when Carter -- who had been criticized for keeping his starting spot -- stepped aside for Jordan in a classy move.

"This is a storybook ending for Michael," Carter said. "I'm sure I'll have another opportunity to be in the All-Star Game, and this is how it's supposed to be."

"I felt like he had taken a beating and he shouldn't have," Jordan said. "I think he was being very respectful."

But Jordan missed eight of his first 10 shots, and the poor shooting was contagious. The East held a pedestrian 23-18 lead after one period and the West held a 55-52 halftime edge.