The Great Western Forum arena served as the Lakers' home court from 1967 until 1999!
In the 1999-2000 season, the Lakers began playing at the Staples Center, sharing the venue with the Clippers.
When He Ximeng arrived, Kobe had already finished his own training session and was covered in sweat. Seeing He Ximeng's sleepy expression, he couldn't help but remind him, "Bro, don't party too hard when you have a good thing next to you! There's always tomorrow..."
He Ximeng humbly accepted Kobe's sincere advice, but whether he would change his ways would be decided later that night.
Today was the first day of training camp for the Lakers' non-core players!
As the name suggests, the core starting players were all on vacation.
This included the newly acquired O'Neal, last season's team-leading scorer Ceballos, shooting guard Eddie Jones, point guard Van Exel, and power forward Campbell.
The list of players summoned by the team included three rookies: Kobe, He Ximeng, and Chevis Knight!
Yes, Knight, selected 29th overall in the first round by the Bulls, was eventually traded to the Lakers!
The impetus for this was Jerry West's decision to trade away Divac and George Lynch consecutively to free up salary cap space for O'Neal... Legendary player Earvin Johnson also announced his retirement...
In addition to them, there were Jerome Kersey from the Warriors, Sean Loxo from the Hawks, Corey Blount and Chris Kovesiak from the Bulls, Rumeal Robinson from the Trail Blazers, Joe Kleine from the Suns, and former Laker Byron Scott from the Grizzlies.
In total, there were exactly 10 players! Because most of these 10 players had joined from other teams during the summer trade period, the Lakers coaching staff hoped this training camp would help them get to know these players and determine the core members of the second unit for the upcoming season!
The driving force behind this training camp was the Lakers' current head coach, Del Harris!
Del Harris had previously coached the Rockets and the Bucks. He began coaching the Lakers in the 1994-1995 season, leading the team from 33 wins to 48 wins, and from ninth place in the regular season to fifth, earning him Coach of the Year honors...
...In He Ximeng's opinion, Del Harris's Coach of the Year award was a bit questionable...
Del Harris coached the Lakers until the 1998-99 season, laying the foundation for the Lakers dynasty, and then Phil Jackson reaped the rewards, leading the Lakers to three consecutive championship trophies starting from the 1999-00 season... Was it timing, or destiny?
However, many Chinese fans knew Del Harris not because he had coached the Lakers, but because in 2004, Del Harris led the Chinese team to the quarterfinals of the Athens Olympics!
Of course, that was a story for another time.
Currently, Del Harris was full of ambition, ready to build a team capable of competing for a championship for the Lakers in the new season!
Del Harris was known for his strict training, meticulous technical instruction, and experienced game management. He was considered one of the best defensive coaches in the NBA. Most importantly, he treated foreign players equally! This point was particularly crucial for He Ximeng.
Under the leadership of Coach Del Harris, the training camp for the ten reserve players of the Lakers proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Byron Scott was a first-round pick in 1983. Being the oldest and having spent the first decade of his career with the Lakers, he was a star player in his prime, averaging 21.7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game during the 1987-88 season!
Scott could have been exempted from this training camp. However, the thoughtful Scott wanted to win over these young players on the bench before the new season began! After all, with what was essentially his last season approaching, Scott was theoretically the spiritual leader of the bench, a mentor figure...
Scott was willing to sacrifice his summer vacation to solidify his role as a mentor on the bench, but he encountered a problem in Kobe!
Kobe's position on the Lakers was shooting guard, or a swingman!
Coincidentally, Scott was also a shooting guard!
This meant Scott was blocking Kobe's path!
If Scott was established as the second-string shooting guard in the new season, Kobe would have to be the third-string shooting guard...
Given Kobe's temperament, he wouldn't even be willing to be a backup to Ceballos or Eddie Jones, let alone a nearly retired Scott...
The result of this was Kobe constantly clashing with Scott during practice!
If Scott said east, Kobe would say west; if Scott said south, Kobe would say north!
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Scott decided to teach Kobe a lesson, and they agreed to a one-on-one match. The result... Scott couldn't even defeat Kobe, not even a rookie Kobe...
During that period, Scott was so angry he was seeing red!
Reasoning with Kobe didn't work, and physically, he couldn't beat Kobe...
Scott's last resort was to isolate Kobe, slandering him as an unsociable "freak" who didn't play team basketball...
As a result, when Scott tried to persuade He Ximeng, he hit a wall!
He Ximeng firmly stood by Kobe's side. Not only did he support all of Kobe's decisions, including the unreasonable ones, but he also used his playmaking ability to perfectly integrate Kobe into the practice scrimmages...
With He Ximeng's support, Kobe also gained the support of Chevis Knight!
Chevis Knight was a center from the University of Connecticut. He had a fierce battle in the NCAA Final Four semifinals that year against He Ximeng and Duncan's Wake Forest University!
He Ximeng's exceptional playmaking ability and court vision left a deep impression on Knight!
Facing Scott, who seemed like a good-natured person but harbored hidden intentions, Knight unhesitatingly sided with He Ximeng, who had come from the NCAA!
As a 7-foot center, Knight desperately needed the passing support of a point guard like He Ximeng!
Influenced by Knight, two other players who transferred from the Bulls, the 6'9" Chris Kovesiak and the equally tall 6'9" Corey Blount, also chose to side with He Ximeng and Kobe!
In 5-on-5 situations, Kobe was not isolated, but rather well-supported by his teammates!
Even more problematic was the fact that Scott's former teammate, James Worthy, seemed to have a close relationship with that kid He Ximeng.
During this conflict, James Worthy, who should have been an important ally for Scott, chose to remain neutral, upholding fairness and justice...
Scott was so furious he almost rolled his eyes.