There is Kobe. He wanders down the floor, slapping aimlessly at the ball in front of him. A walking 2:30 feeling infused with a bit of that self-satisfied strut.
He’s making everyone wait: the crowd, cheering at once for the man and the moment; his teammates, four no-names with no chance of getting the ball; time, flickering down to 9, now 8, from their spot atop the scoreboard reading 137-137; the defender, crouched and wide-eyed, expecting everything and ready for nothing.
Kobe’s past half court now. His 6’6” frame descends a few flights, coming level with his challenger, the basketball now held selfishly close.
A teammate parks himself in the key. He means well, offering himself up as an outlet or a diversion, but in this case he is a mere intrusion. Kobe swats him away. This will be a fair fight, or at least something resembling fair.
Mere seconds now. The crowd is still cheering for Kobe, they’re still behind him ‘til the end, sure. But there’s that edge of panic creeping in, like “Go, Kobe” could soon turn into “Kobe, GO.”
He switches the ball left, fakes a drive left once and fakes left once more. The defender sticks close, at maybe just an arms length. He’s balanced and well positioned. The fear in his eyes hasn’t yet reached his feet.
A final half drive. It’s an unconvincing feint, but it doesn’t matter. He never needed it to work. Two quick steps and a hop left now, and Kobe ascends. Billions of dollars are made off of copying this image: ball cocked, right elbow jutting at an angle a math teacher would love, body reclined just so. Posters, trading cards, commercials, how-to videos, all based on the re-creation of this one image. For the hundreds in a dusty gymnasium, it’s a free first edition.
And the defender, well, the defender has nearly matched him. He stayed step for step the whole way, timing the shot well and leaping and stretching an arm out as far as possible, searching for a piece of the ball.
And when he comes down and feet touch hardwood, he comes down with a story to tell. One summer day in 2011, in a dusty gymnasium, with everyone watching, he nearly stopped Kobe Bryant.
He’s making everyone wait: the crowd, cheering at once for the man and the moment; his teammates, four no-names with no chance of getting the ball; time, flickering down to 9, now 8, from their spot atop the scoreboard reading 137-137; the defender, crouched and wide-eyed, expecting everything and ready for nothing.
Kobe’s past half court now. His 6’6” frame descends a few flights, coming level with his challenger, the basketball now held selfishly close.
A teammate parks himself in the key. He means well, offering himself up as an outlet or a diversion, but in this case he is a mere intrusion. Kobe swats him away. This will be a fair fight, or at least something resembling fair.
Mere seconds now. The crowd is still cheering for Kobe, they’re still behind him ‘til the end, sure. But there’s that edge of panic creeping in, like “Go, Kobe” could soon turn into “Kobe, GO.”
He switches the ball left, fakes a drive left once and fakes left once more. The defender sticks close, at maybe just an arms length. He’s balanced and well positioned. The fear in his eyes hasn’t yet reached his feet.
A final half drive. It’s an unconvincing feint, but it doesn’t matter. He never needed it to work. Two quick steps and a hop left now, and Kobe ascends. Billions of dollars are made off of copying this image: ball cocked, right elbow jutting at an angle a math teacher would love, body reclined just so. Posters, trading cards, commercials, how-to videos, all based on the re-creation of this one image. For the hundreds in a dusty gymnasium, it’s a free first edition.
And the defender, well, the defender has nearly matched him. He stayed step for step the whole way, timing the shot well and leaping and stretching an arm out as far as possible, searching for a piece of the ball.
And when he comes down and feet touch hardwood, he comes down with a story to tell. One summer day in 2011, in a dusty gymnasium, with everyone watching, he nearly stopped Kobe Bryant.
Image via Hoopmixtape.com
1 comments:
With James Harden defending nonetheless.
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