Capítulo 2: Chapter 2 : Replicating Kobe, The Fadeaway Jumper
As soon as Tang Lei got the ball, the other four teammates stretched their arms out, asking for a pass. The scene looked somewhat comical.
However, Tang Lei had no intention of passing the ball. If he did, there was a 90% chance the ball would never come back. His teammates wanted to show off, and so did he. Otherwise, he'd always be at risk of getting cut. Sports are brutal, and competition is fierce!
With the defender tightly pressing him, Tang Lei dribbled twice with his back to the basket, then gave a shoulder fake to the left, tricking the defender into jumping. He quickly spun around and launched a beautiful fadeaway jumper.
The move was smooth, without hesitation. The ball traced a perfect arc through the air and, with a soft "swish," dropped cleanly through the net!
However, it didn't catch much attention from the crowd, as this was garbage time. Most people couldn't even name the players on the court, so there wasn't much interest.
The game continued. The Grizzlies inbounded the ball, and Tang Lei quickly retreated to defend near the free-throw line.
The opposing player dribbled past half-court and used a classic hesitation move to shake off Jordan Bell, intending to drive inside. Seeing the center coming over to help, he quickly stopped and shot a pull-up jumper, but it missed, bouncing far off the rim.
Yuta Watanabe, who had been having a pretty decent game, grabbed the long rebound. Tang Lei, being the closest defender, hurried over to help.
Seeing that the player guarding him was a lanky Asian, Watanabe's confidence skyrocketed. He gave a feint to the left before immediately driving right.
However, when Tang Lei kept up, Watanabe slammed on the brakes and tried to pull off a stop-and-pop jumper. At that moment, Tang Lei had lost half a step, but his reaction was lightning-fast. He pushed off the ground and, in a slanted posture, soared into the air.
With Kobe's peak jumping ability now in his possession, Tang Lei could feel that the air he breathed as he leaped was somehow different.
"Smack!"
With a loud slap, Watanabe's shot was swatted out of bounds like a volleyball spike.
"Oh my God!"
"Great block!"
Steph, Kevin, and the others clapped and cheered for the play. On the bench, Coach Kerr's eyes lit up. He thought that play was a lost cause but was surprised by the highlight-worthy block.
Tang Lei seemed different from before. His offense and defense were both outstanding and, more importantly, confident.
The Grizzlies prepared to inbound the ball from the sideline. Sideline inbound plays are always tricky. The opposing team wanted to pass the ball back to Watanabe, giving him a chance to redeem himself.
There's an unspoken rule in the NBA: if a player suffers an embarrassing moment, teammates will try to give them a chance to bounce back on the next play.
But as the ball was about to land in Watanabe's hands, a ghostly hand suddenly shot out and stole it.
Of course, it was Tang Lei, who had already predicted the pass would go to Watanabe and was lying in wait.
After the steal, Tang Lei immediately sprinted ahead, and just a step inside the free-throw line, he took off for a thunderous dunk!
The dunk was so powerful it electrified the arena and set the Tencent live chat ablaze.
"Whoa! That vertical is insane! Is this really the Tang Lei we know?"
"Both ends of the floor, showing true star potential!"
"Haha, is this some sort of buff we get when playing against Japanese players?"
"If Tang Lei keeps this up, that contract's going to be guaranteed."
Tang Lei was over the moon. The crowd was cheering, his teammates were celebrating, his coach was applauding, and his opponents were at a loss. There was nothing more satisfying.
"So this is what Kobe's jumping ability feels like? It's amazing," Tang Lei thought to himself.
Outsiders often said Kobe didn't have great natural talent and that his success was purely the result of his relentless work ethic and obsessive will to win. But in truth, Kobe's talent was exceptional, even among NBA players.
The Grizzlies made a mistake on their next possession, leading to a Warriors fast break. Tang Lei put his head down and sprinted to the frontcourt, positioning himself at the 45-degree mark on the wing.
Warriors guard Damion Lee, who happened to be Steph's brother-in-law, didn't intend to pass the ball and drove straight to the basket. In mid-air, as he clashed with the opposing center and saw his path blocked, he had no choice but to pass the ball back.
Tang Lei, reading the play perfectly, had already followed up and was in position. The ball fell right into his hands.
With a burst of speed, Tang Lei leapt from within the paint. The opposing center reacted quickly, jumping a second time, his massive frame creating a wall under the rim, asserting his presence as if to say, "No one flies in my airspace!"
But Tang Lei didn't shoot immediately. Instead, in mid-air, he switched the ball from his right hand to his left, avoiding the block with a graceful reverse layup just as his feet were about to touch the ground.
"Thud!"
The ball banked off the glass and into the hoop.
From receiving the ball, to jumping, to scoring, the entire sequence took less than a second. Most people only noticed the basket going in but didn't grasp how difficult the move had been.
It wasn't until the replay showed the move in slow motion that everyone was completely stunned.
"OMG! How did he pull that off? That reverse was insane!"
"Unbelievable! That's an all-time great reverse!"
"Wow, his core strength is amazing! I'm calling it: best core in the league!"
"Wait a second… this looks familiar. Oh, I remember! Kobe did the same thing in the 2009 Finals against prime Dwight Howard!"
"Tang Lei is channeling Kobe! Incredible!"
Steph, Kevin, and the others were equally amazed after watching the replay. Their faces were full of disbelief.
The game continued, but from that point on, it became the Tang Lei show.
He could do it all—isolations, drives, fadeaway dunks, threes, and monster slams!
By the time the game ended, the Warriors had demolished the Grizzlies 149 to 99, a 50-point blowout.
Tang Lei, who played less than seven minutes, had scored 17 of the team's 25 points in the fourth quarter. His final stat line: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.
"Tang Lei is killing it! Look at him filling up the stat sheet!"
"He's got that Kobe vibe for sure. Why didn't he play like this earlier?"
"Tang Lei, you better hold on to this momentum. Don't be a one-hit wonder!"
The Tencent live chat exploded after the game. Even the commentators were pleasantly surprised.
No one had expected Tang Lei to put on such a performance, especially that incredible reverse layup, which had blown them away!
Although Tang Lei had been heavily criticized earlier, now that he had played well, the haters had nothing more to say.
That's how the world works. When you play poorly, it feels like the whole world is against you. But when you play well, everyone respects you.
This holds true even in the NBA.
After the game, several opposing players approached Tang Lei to embrace him and show their respect. Steph, Kevin, and Klay also came up to give him words of encouragement and high-fives.
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