【The Last Dance導賞（5之1）】拒做廢老打壓年輕人 98明星賽世代傳承 MJ與Kobe兄弟情令人垂淚

早已有心理準備，可是當見到《The Last Dance》播出Kobe Bryant在麥迪遜花園通道與Michael Jordan相遇時，仍是有莫名的悲痛。出場的篇幅不多，但《The Last Dance》第5集的主角，毫無疑問是Kobe（Sorry David Stern, we miss you too）。以19歲之齡成為最年輕的明星球員，甫出道就被大讚有力成為下一位Michael Jordan，Kobe想必在遇上偶像之前，已把神的片段翻來覆去看過無數次，當第一次真正在場上較量，總不免戰戰競競。

少年時代吃過前輩的苦，可是長大後反而用同樣的手段整治後輩，這種「廢老」不止在球場，在職場或人生都很常見；吃盡Isiah Thomas苦頭，在首次明星賽慘遭白眼的佐敦，卻沒有變成「自己討厭的大人」；以That little Laker Boy來稱呼Kobe的佐敦，樂意把個不知天高地厚的8號仔當成小弟弟，無私傳授。本來以為98明星賽是兩人首次也是最後一次於Allstar game同場較量，結果在佐敦兩度復出後，2003年才是真正的最後一戰，結果兩人也同時成了主角。那十多廿年間，我們見證了Kobe學盡佐敦一切，於自我和團隊之間努力掙扎，終於在三連霸後，再以主角身份贏得了兩座總冠軍，正當Kobe以五座總冠軍及60分接受退休呼聲，在其他界別大展拳腳時，卻驟然身亡。

距離那晚深夜傳來的噩耗已三個多月，很多時還是不敢相信，41歲的Kobe會在人生的高峰離去我們；記得首次在靈堂看到音容宛在的橫批，我其實不太明白，到在紀錄片看到Kobe笑談當日的一切，才真切明白箇中意思。對全球所有籃球迷來說，這是個永遠修不到的缺口，無可補救。

以19歲零170成為NBA史上最年輕的明星球員，Kobe在生前的訪問大談他對佐敦的尊敬；那是已退休的模樣，滿面于思的他回想在當初加入NBA時，在當時還有不少老將的聯盟，只是個射大針的小子。可是佐敦沒有看不起他，反而經常給予各種指引，而且是鉅細無遺那種。佐敦還對他說了一句：「假如有甚麼需要，隨時call我！」

“It was a rough couple of years for me coming into the league,” Bryant says. “‘Cause at the time the league was so much older. It’s not as young as is is today. So nobody was really thinking much of me. I was the kid that shot a bunch of airballs, you know what I mean? And at that point Michael provided a lot of guidance for me. Like, I had a question about shooting his turnaround shot, so I asked him about it. And he gave me a great, detailed answer. But on top of that he said, ‘If you never need anything, give me a call.’

佐敦是個相當念舊的人，不止是他永遠穿那條北卡短褲在公牛褲之內，而是他對人對事都是舊派人，會盡力照顧。我不知道Kobe甚麼打動了他，讓當時已是籃球之神的他惺惺相惜；但當時兩人肯定存在對抗意識，在東岸更衣室，你會見到大家一早就預計Kobe會單挑所有人，「那個湖人小子」、「想要波就自己搶籃板啦！」而佐敦當然不會輕易就讓人打贏自己，所以你見到當Kobe防守他是，他的轉身做得更好。紀錄片沒有播放西岸更衣室片段，但該年湖人有多達四位球員入選，包括Kobe、Shaq、Eddie Jones和Nick Van Exel，所以湖人在更衣室可說話晒事，而其他三位湖人隊友也很清楚Kobe的脾性，預計了他肯定會瘋狂1 on 1。

“That little Laker boy’s gonna take everybody 1-on-1,”

“If I knew someone was sick, certainly the first thing I’d do, I’d go after someone. But I’ve gotta defend myself. You know, he’s gotta play defense just like I gotta play defense.”

“I really didn’t expect to come in here and win the MVP award,” Jordan said that night. “I just wanted to make sure Kobe didn’t dominate me.

其實這場明星賽，是佐敦的另一場Flu Game，燒到38.3度的他，在影片仍所見相當風騷，打了全場最多的32分鐘，並以23分和8次助攻贏得了MVP。雖然佐敦場外樂意提攜後進，而且也是他的「最後一季」，但仍不想輕易讓在湖人都未打過正選的Kobe，太早以為自己可以戰勝全世界。這場明星賽，我們記得佐敦不斷的轉身單打和fadeaway，Kobe只能守住殘影，毫無辦法。眼看佐敦在場上談笑風生，焦急的Kobe不斷向西岸明星隊教練George Karl埋怨，希望更多上陣時間。卡爾回憶比賽時也覺得好笑。「Kobe認為我把他放在後備席，是因為想佐敦贏得MVP。不少老將都想休息，例如David Robinson和Karl Malone。他想所有人走開，讓他不斷地單挑佐敦。」

“Kobe thought I kept him on the bench because I wanted Michael (Jordan) to win the MVP,” the former Nuggets coach recalled Monday.

“And that was the game where I think Kobe, he was telling guys to get out of the way, he wanted to go 1-on-1 and isolate,” Karl said of Bryant, the 41-year-old basketball icon who perished, along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others, in a helicopter crash Sunday. “And a couple players came to me and said, ‘I don’t want to play.’ David Robinson was older at that time, Karl Malone was older at that time.”

我想大家都會記得，Kobe在那次比賽中，叫本想單擋的Karl Malone走開，好仔他可以單打，結果激怒了馬龍；而教練George Karl在第4節沒有讓Kobe多打，結果這個湖人小子只能望住佐敦高舉明星賽MVP。事件還未完結，Kobe自此當了George Karl仇人，每次湖人對上金塊，他都全力出擊，包括97–08的首圈橫掃、翌年西岸決賽贏4:2，11–12年則再在首圈以4:1勇挫對手。Kobe在2019年一次podcast中才講出這件事，看來Black Mamba比佐敦更加「記仇」！

“Later in years (that) became my motivation against Denver, to never let them win a playoff series because he didn’t play me the whole fourth quarter of that game,” Bryant said in 2019. “So when we played the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs, it was like, ‘Hold on — you’re never, you will never, beat me in the playoffs.’”

在紀錄片中兩大巨星都已退休，說出來當然是輕描談寫，但記得當年在亞視看這場明星賽，Kobe是發了瘋似的進攻，在短短22分鐘內已攻入西岸全隊最高的18分，包括那球快攻360度入樽，以及Kevin Garnett回傳的雙手拆你屋，都在當年的精華片段不斷重播；當然不少得那球自製後手再勾手走籃入波，之後就開始有人話他獨食！要是George Karl讓他在最後一節落場多點，分分鐘比2001年那屆更精采。記得Glen Rice那年超勁，幾乎逢射必入，第二日睇番SCMP的scoreboard，才知他打了16分鐘已入16分，足足入了4球三分！

回想這屆比賽，不止是星味十足，也是一班新星蓄勢待發，預備接管聯盟的一年；Penny和Grant Hill一隊，加上剛轉會騎士的Shawn Kemp（到今日都係睇唔慣）；西岸有全盛的Shaq和Gary Payton，當年的Vin Baker也相當好波。還有不少射手在後備，單是The Rock Mitch Rickmond、Reggie Miller、Steve Smith、Glen Rice等，當時見到荷蘭長人Rik Smits，也覺得很新奇，22年前彷如昨日。

1998 All-Star Game rosters

Eastern Conference
Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
Anfernee Hardaway (Orlando Magic)
Dikembe Mutombo (Atlanta Hawks)
Shawn Kemp (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Grant Hill (Detroit Pistons)
--------------------------------
Reggie Miller (Indiana Pacers)
Rik Smits (Indiana Pacers)
Tim Hardaway (Miami Heat)
Glen Rice (Charlotte Hornets)
Steve Smith (Atlanta Hawks)
Antoine Walker (Boston Celtics)
Jayson Williams (New Jersey Nets)

Western Conference
Gary Payton (Seattle SuperSonics)
Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers)
Shaquille O’Neal (L.A. Lakers)
Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves)
--------------------------------
Nick Van Exel (L.A. Lakers)
Eddie Jones (L.A. Lakers)
David Robinson (San Antonio Spurs)
Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
Jason Kidd (Phoenix Suns)
Vin Baker (Seattle SuperSonics)
Mitch Richmond (Sacramento Kings)

All-Star weekend wrap-up
Slam Dunk contest: none
Three-Point Shootout: Jeff Hornacek, Utah Jazz
Rookie Game: East 85, West 80
Rookie Game MVP: Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland Cavaliers (18 points, seven rebounds, 8-for-10 shooting)

“He’s like my big brother. I truly hate having discussions about who would win one-on-one, or fans saying, ‘Hey, Kob’, you’d beat Michael one-on-one.’ I feel like, yo, what you get from me is from him. I don’t get five championships here without him because he guided me so much and gave me so much great advice.”

“I don’t get five championships here without him, because he guided me so much, gave me so much good advice,” Kobe said.

Kobe在《The Last Dance》中道出佐敦對他的照顧，我想本來導演也是半信半疑，因為佐敦和Kobe的公開交流不算多；直到不幸消息傳來，在Kobe的追思會，佐敦才說出他們的友情有幾深，例如Kobe在最後一節向他請教，包括post-up時腿如何用力等等，我們也記得，Kobe曾三更半夜打來向他討教；我相信在適應三角戰術時，Kobe也一定問過佐敦，怎樣習慣減少球權的日子。

“If you just watched them interact in a game, Kobe always was like a magnet going toward Michael,” said former Los Angeles Lakers general manager Jerry West. “Usually Michael didn’t really interact with a lot of players when he was on the court. He’d just play. But for some reason, he had this affinity for him.”

二十多年的兄弟情誼，原來有太多不為人知的場面，看完《The Last Dance》，想起佐敦之前在追思會上說出的一切，才明白為何會如此難過。在懷緬美好的九十年代同時，我們也為Kobe的逝去，而永遠悲痛不已。今日重看其訪問片段，才真真正正感受到MJ所說的，你的一部份也隨之而逝。

“Maybe it surprised people that Kobe and I were very close friends,” Jordan began. “But we were very close friends.”

“He used to call me, text me 11:30, 2:30, 3 in the morning,” Jordan said. “At first, it was an aggravation, but then it turned into a certain passion. This kid had passion like you would never know.”

“When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died, and as I look in this arena, across the globe, a piece of you died,” the NBA legend said with tears streaming down his face.

“I promise you, from this day forward, I will live with the memories and knowing that I had a little brother,I tried to help in every way I could. Please rest in peace, little brother.”

Black Mamba，願你在天上安好。

重點：同年紀的宿敵惺惺相惜見得多，但這種前輩提攜後輩的其實不多，尤其是兩人打法相近，難免比較，結果卻是兩人都信心十足，結果同樣成了真正的超級巨星。佐敦和Kobe相差了15年，令我想起火箭時代的Moses Malone和Hakeem Olajuwon，以及巴塞的細哨和美斯。在競技之外，友情同樣可貴。

冷知識1：

98明星賽可說是新舊勢力的交接，舊派當然以佐敦和Karl Malone為首，而該屆有多達7名球員是首次入選，3名球員是第2次入選，首次入選的除了Kobe以外，還有Tim Duncan、Steve Smith、Antonie Walker、Rik Smits和Jayson Williams；二年生則是Jason Kidd、Eddie Jones和KG，這班新仔之後不少都成了常客，肩負起NBA的未來。

冷知識2：

03是佐敦真真正正的最後一屆明星賽，相信大家也記得經過，本來MJ在Shawn Marion嚴密防守下，射入了漂亮的fadeaway，可是尾段Jermaine O’Neal不智犯規，Kobe沒有放水下三罰中二，將比賽帶入加時；結果東岸落敗，佐敦也喪失了以明星賽MVP送別的機會。當時Kobe腦海中究竟想着甚麼？

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