Reborn in 96, I started by taking charge of the Dallas Mavericks.

After being tricked by Drexler, Ben Affleck started ranting.

"You liar, you actually resorted to underhanded tactics."

Drexler shrugged and said with a smile, "That's called all's fair in war. Kid, you still have a lot to learn."

When he heard the other person say that he was a child, Ben was about to explode.

Fortunately, Nash reacted quickly and grabbed Ben Wallace; otherwise, he might have received a technical foul if caught by the referee.

When it was the Mavericks' turn to attack, they continued with pick-and-roll plays.

This time, however, no matter how the Mavericks set screens, Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley simply stayed under the basket and wouldn't come out.

Even if you can make a three-pointer, you're lucky; as for two points, don't even think about it.

After several passes, the Mavericks couldn't find a completely open shot opportunity. With the 24-second shot clock about to expire, Peja completed the attack with a difficult step-back three-pointer.

Unfortunately, Peja knew the ball was off target the moment he released it.

Sure enough, the basketball arced through the air and hit the front of the rim, with Hakeem Olajuwon securing the rebound.

After securing the rebound, the Rockets didn't rush into a fast break. Instead, they heeded Coach Tomjanovich's instructions to play steadily and slow down the pace.

After dribbling the ball across half-court, Rockets guard Manilon passed it to Hakeem Olajuwon, who was facilitating play from the high post.

Barkley gained the upper hand in his physical battle with Ben Wallace, and just as he got into position inside, Hakeem Olajuwon's pass arrived.

Barkley started driving to the basket as soon as he received the ball, but he found that Ben Wallace was no weaker than him. After a few attempts, he couldn't break through and had to pass the ball back to Olajuwon who was cutting to the basket.

The latter received the ball and completed a powerful dunk over Shawn Bradley.

To be honest, in this era, only the other three of the four great centers could match up against Hakeem Olajuwon.

Sean Bradley was really lacking in ability to stop Hakeem Olajuwon.

Seeing that the situation on the field was under control, Coach Tang returned to the coaching bench.

Instead, Chen Fang started pacing anxiously back and forth on the sidelines.

"Boss, let me play again."

After resting for most of the quarter, Kobe, seeing that the gap he was about to close was about to widen again, couldn't contain his inner energy and volunteered to take over.

"hold on."

Although Chen Fang also wanted to substitute Kobe into the game, there were less than two minutes left in the first half.

The preseason is meant for players to warm up and practice, and he believes that Coach Tomjanovich will not let the Rockets' Big Three play for too long.

If they can hold on through the first half, the second half will be their chance to take the lead.

As expected, the Rockets fielded their entire bench lineup at the start of the second half, and Chen Fang didn't hold back either, fielding his five rookie players again, and they took the lead in the third quarter.

However, it must be said that the Rockets' bench strength is much stronger than the Mavericks'. After Chen Fang substituted Kobe and others to rest, the Rockets relied on the performance of their role players to catch up in the score again.

Seeing that the substitutes were playing well, Coach Tomjanovich did not bring back the Big Three.

Seeing that Coach Tang had no intention of bringing back the Big Three, Chen Fang didn't hold back and brought back the rookie five to win the game.

After all, they are rookies, and no one would think there's a problem with them playing the entire game.

Although the game was lost, the final score was still acceptable to Coach Tomás.

With the Big Three absent in the fourth quarter, the Rockets lost to the Mavericks by only 8 points.

If the Big Three played the entire fourth quarter, they would absolutely crush the Mavericks.

The MVP of this game was undoubtedly awarded to Kobe. Kobe played 35 minutes, shooting 14 of 25 from the field, 4 of 4 from three-point range, and 10 of 12 from the free-throw line, scoring 46 points.

He also added 11 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block.

Kobe's 46 points were also the highest score of the game.

After the game, Coach Zhang Weiping became a Kobe fanboy, praising Kobe's performance highly.

"My God, even Jordan in his rookie years wasn't this good. I'm certain Kobe is Jordan's successor!"

ESPN shared the same idea as Coach Zhang, and they even dedicated their front-page headline to Kobe after the game.

At the same time, the NBA also gave Kobe a great deal of respect.

Three of the day's top five plays were by Kobe Bryant.

And it was stated on the official website.

"Will Kobe be the next Jordan?"

……

Inside a luxurious villa in Chicago.

Jordan looked at the NBA's official website's evaluation of Kobe and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Kobe? Interesting guy, I can't wait to face you."

……

Back in the locker room, the players went to shower, while Chen Fang waited for Kobe to join him for the post-game press conference.

Just then, the long-lost system notification sounded in his mind.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for leading the Mavericks to a preseason victory and earning 20 points!]

Taking advantage of the break, Chen Fang opened the system panel.

Previously, Chen Fang had turned off the tactical proficiency prompts because the system notifications were too frequent.

He first opened the tactics panel, where the tactical experience points for both offense and defense were already more than halfway there.

I believe they'll be promoted after a few more matches.

He then opened the system shop, and although he still couldn't redeem the basic basketball shooting skill, it wasn't much different.

"Winning a game in the Summer League gives you 10 points, and winning a game in the preseason gives you 20 points. I wonder how many points you'll get in the regular season, and if you lose a game, will you get any points?"

Chen Fang suddenly realized that since becoming a coach, he had never lost a game and maintained a 100% win rate.

Thinking of this, Chen Fang couldn't help but laugh out loud, feeling a sense of self-satisfaction.

"What's the boss thinking, making him so happy?"

Kobe had just finished showering when he saw Chen Fang standing there grinning like an idiot.

Upon seeing that it was Kobe, Chen Fang quickly suppressed his smile.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and change your clothes for the press conference."

After saying that, he walked out of the locker room.

The preseason press conference was rather uneventful; the media only asked about the Mavericks' goals for the new season.

Chen Fang also gave some very official answers, such as aiming for the playoffs and looking forward to the championship.

After the press conference, Chen Fang led the Mavericks players directly back to Dallas by car.

As soon as Chen Fang returned to Dallas, Old Nelson came knocking on his door.

"Boss, you're amazing! I'm completely impressed."

Chen Fang was bewildered by Old Nelson's nonsensical flattery. Had the old man taken the wrong medicine today? Why was he suddenly starting to fawn over him?

The problem is that this flattery came out of his head.

Seeing Chen Fang's puzzled look, Old Nelson immediately showed him several media reports and official NBA reports.

"Kobe! Michael Jordan's successor!"

"High school Kobe scores 40+10 in his NBA debut!"

"The 76ers regret it, they regret not using their number one draft pick to get Kobe!"

"..."