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

There are only 10 seconds left until the end of this year's All-Star Weekend.

At that moment, Jordan hit a signature pull-up fadeaway jumper to help the Eastern Conference All-Stars take the lead in the final moments.

The Eastern All-Stars lead the Western All-Stars 118-116 by 2 points.

The Western Conference All-Stars only had 10 seconds left.

The Western All-Stars have also used up their timeouts. They must inbound the ball from their backcourt and complete their final attack within 10 seconds, and they must score to tie or take the lead.

For the Western Conference All-Stars, this was almost an impossible task.

Although Chen Fang no longer has a timer function, he can request a substitution.

Shawn Kemp and Karl Malone were substituted out and replaced by Nash and Stockton to increase mobility on the court and provide more three-point shooting options.

The referee gave the ball to Olajuwon, who then served from the baseline.

At this point, the Eastern All-Stars began a full-court press, forcing the Western All-Stars to make mistakes.

The Western Conference All-Stars started moving around, but they were always surrounded by Eastern Conference All-Stars.

Just as he was about to inbound the ball, Hakeem Olajuwon suddenly spotted Kobe running near the center line.

"Kobe!!!"

Without a second thought, Olajuwon passed the ball directly to Kobe.

Kobe leaped high and caught the ball, but as soon as he landed, Jordan was already blocking his way.

Kobe attempted to spun around to get past Jordan, but Jordan reacted quickly and never gave Kobe a chance.

"Kobe received the ball, but how was he going to get past Jordan's defense?"

"Kobe tried to break through Jordan's defense, but he didn't have much time left!"

"He took the shot! Kobe forced a shot even though he hadn't completely shaken off Jordan!"

"That shot looks very straight..."

Coach Zhang had already excitedly stood up from the commentary booth.

At that moment, all the fans in the stadium focused their attention on the orange basketball.

The players on both benches also stood up and watched.

Charlize Theron and Jessica Alba were so worried they couldn't bear to watch.

"Go in! We absolutely have to go in!"

"Get in! Get in!"

Chen Fang and Kobe prayed together in their hearts.

At this moment, time seemed to stand still, as if it had been paused.

The basketball flew slowly through the air.

next second.

"Shh!"

A crisp sound rang out as the ball swished through the net—goal!

"Oh my god, it's in! It's in! It's unbelievable!"

"Kobe forced a shot from a meter out of the three-point line, even though Jordan wasn't out of position, and the three-pointer went in!"

"Kobe hit the game-winning shot against the Eastern Conference All-Stars! He did it! He succeeded!"

"By a single point, the Western Conference All-Stars defeated the Eastern Conference All-Stars 119-118, with Kobe Bryant hitting a buzzer-beating game-winner with 10 seconds remaining!"

Seeing the basketball accurately swish through the net, Coach Zhang couldn't contain his excitement and roared loudly to vent his emotions.

"Dear viewers, this is the charm of basketball!"

"Kobe showed us through his actions that we should never give up until the very last moment!"

……

The game ended, but Kobe was still in the same shooting posture, not quite ready to react.

At that moment, the Western All-Star players rushed in from all directions and surrounded Kobe.

Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, and others kept rubbing Kobe's head.

"We win, we win!"

"Good job!"

"You little rascal, you actually dared to throw it!"

At this moment, they were even happier than if they had won the championship.

"Congratulations, you won!"

Jordan smiled helplessly and went to Kobe to congratulate him.

"Thank you!"

With this, the NBA All-Star Weekend of the 1996-1997 season came to an end.

The stadium had turned into a sea of ​​joy, with many star players starting to chat with each other on the field.

Finally, there was the All-Star Game MVP award ceremony.

Kobe Bryant deservedly won the All-Star MVP award.

This is also his first MVP award!

Looking at Kobe standing on the stage receiving the award, Chen Fang's expression turned serious.

"All-Star Weekend is over, now it's time to push for the playoffs!"

If teams were holding back during the regular season before the All-Star break, they would unleash their full potential after the All-Star break in their pursuit of a playoff spot.

Apart from the teams that are tanking, all other teams will fight tooth and nail for a playoff spot.

This implies that the regular season will be even more intense in the coming days.

The Mavericks are currently ranked first in the Western Conference. Although making the playoffs shouldn't be a problem, it doesn't mean they will enter the playoffs as the top seed in the West.

The Houston Rockets, ranked second, are only one win behind them, and the Seattle SuperSonics, ranked third, are only two wins behind them.

Even the fourth-ranked Utah Jazz have a chance to overtake the Mavericks in the remaining games.

With over 30 games remaining in the regular season, they will undoubtedly make a run for the top spot in the Western Conference against the Mavericks, aiming for home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Besides Western Conference teams eyeing the Mavericks, several Eastern Conference powerhouses also want to dethrone them.

After the All-Star Weekend, the Mavericks will take a day off and then host their first post-All-Star opponent, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves are currently seventh in the Western Conference, but the eighth-ranked Los Angeles Clippers are only 0.5 games behind them.

This means that if they lose to the Mavericks, the Clippers will overtake the Timberwolves and rise to seventh in the Western Conference based on their net win percentage.

Conversely, if the Timberwolves can beat the Mavericks on the road, they will surpass the Phoenix Suns to rise to sixth place in the Western Conference.

For these lower-ranked teams, securing a playoff spot and improving their ranking in the remaining regular season games is of paramount importance.

Because if they're not careful, they could be overtaken by other teams and fall out of the top eight, missing out on a playoff spot.

Therefore, even when facing these lower-ranked teams, Chen Fang dared not let his guard down.

The players can rest, but he can't.

After finishing his daily training, he, along with Coach Bu and the other members of the coaching staff, went into the conference room to study the Timberwolves' game videos.

The Timberwolves are one of the younger teams in the league, and they have never made the playoffs since they entered the league in 1989.

In previous years, their record in the regular season was often at the bottom.

But this year is different.

First, team leader Garnett has improved significantly since his rookie season after a year of training.

Furthermore, this season they also selected Stephon Marbury and Kevin Garnett in the draft to form an inside-outside combination.

With several teams tanking for Duncan this season, the Timberwolves have had their best season since the team's inception, and their strength should not be underestimated!