As Roger’s most important second in command in 2008, Yao Ming’s confidence building is crucial.
On the other side, the Dream Team is also extrely eager to win back the world champion title.
It’s almost unimaginable, since 2000, the United States team has not won a dal in the world championships—not even a champion, but no dal at all.
This starkly contrasts with the absolute dominance the Dream Team had over world basketball in the 90s.
You know, in the 90s, the Dream Team’s tournant outcos were as stable as the outcos of South Korean presidents.
Even if the Dream Team mbers had a match the night before with a lady on the sa bed, they could still easily handle their opponents the next day.
But now, things are different.
Just like Coach K said at the inauguration conference: "We have to understand one thing, this is no longer Arica’s sport, but the world’s sport."
Poor performances forced the Dream Team to make an unprecedented move by adding two superstars to the World Championship—Kobe Bryant and Chauncey Billups.
Recruiting Chauncey Billups was considered by Coach K to be the key to winning, a good point guard can greatly raise a team’s floor.
In the past, the Dream Team actually didn’t need pure point guards because they could crush opponents with just talent, without needing much strategy.
But the backcourt combination of Stephon Marbury and AI in 2004 had already proven with a huge tragedy that the United States team can no longer win purely based on talent.
They need soone who can lead the overall situation, soone who can control the situation in critical monts rather than letting the team fall into chaos.
As for Kobe? The reason the Dream Team recruited him was simple, to show the world their resolve to win the championship.
As the man closest to Roger in this world, and as last season’s MVP, Kobe Bryant is undoubtedly one of the best current U.S. dostic players.
The participation of such a player in the World Championship is a reminder to the whole world: Arica is about to be great again.
And Kobe’s joining undeniably put imnse pressure on him.
No one joined the Dream Team with more baggage than he did.
There are just too many controversies surrounding him.
He almost arrogantly drove Shaquille O’Neal away, thinking he could defeat Roger on his own. As a result, he hasn’t succeeded even once until now.
When he joined the Dream Team, he said, "I’m tired of watching you lose," but Kobe himself is not exactly a winner, he doesn’t seem to have the qualification to say this.
If the Dream Team fails again, Kobe’s reputation will plumt to rock bottom.
Arican fans do not have high hopes for Kobe, if the Dream Team truly needs a leader, this could be KG, it could be the honor-laden Coach K himself, but it would definitely not be Kobe Bryant.
That’s right, he was indeed a mature leader for the Lakers last season. But not everyone can see this, not everyone understands him.
More crucially, the Lakers’ loss in the playoffs overshadowed his progress in this area.
In the eyes of the fans, this season’s Lakers seem no different from the previous Lakers.
In fact, even his opponents don’t fully understand him.
On the first day of the Dream Team’s gathering in Las Vegas, when Coach K gathered everyone for the first eting in the hotel conference room, Kobe Bryant was the only player sitting alone in a row.
No one wanted to sit with this difficult guy.
No one in this Dream Team is his friend.
There seems to be an inherent sense of distance between him and the others.
Especially compared to the social butterfly LBJ, Kobe, always with a cold face, seed even more aloof. He acted like he didn’t need anyone.
Afterward, Coach K asked everyone to express why they wanted to join this national team, which has a two-year cycle, from the 06 World Championship to the 08 Olympics.
As those who experienced the previous Olympic failure firsthand, the 03 generation almost all passionately declared their desires for revenge, while others ntioned the worn-out phrase of reclaiming the honor of Arican basketball.
But Kobe stood out, he repeated the line, "I’m tired of watching you lose."
That’s how he spoke to everyone, directly and unreservedly. It seed his emotional intelligence hadn’t improved.
Then, he glanced around at everyone: "I’m glad you’re all here, because you’re all in for a great show, you’re going to see Arican basketball rise again."
A speech with a style distinctively Kobe Bryant, kicking off the Redemption Team’s journey.
However, during the first practice, people quickly let go of their prejudice against Kobe.
This guy might be a jerk, might speak unpleasantly.
But he’s absolutely obsessed with victory, a guy who can lead a team to win.
The first practice ga had barely started 30 seconds when a dive to save the ball took place on the court.
Kobe, while defending the scrimmage team’s player, recently picked by the Warriors, Brandon Roy, stole the ball and imdiately dove to the floor.
He attempted in this way to set an example for the whole team and establish the tone of the practice ga.
Afterward, intense scrambles frequently occurred.
Kobe would shout commands to his teammates during defense, would fight for every rebound, and rush up to every player attempting to attack the rim.
Jas, Wade, and Anthony, the three young n, all could feel that the national team with Kobe had a completely different atmosphere from the one that lost in Athens in 2004.
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