Oh, did Kobe Bryant want to be Michael Jordan. He would study Jordan’s footwork and even his interviews, and early in his career Kobe’s cadence, even his head tilt, was eerily familiar. Kobe could never measure up — too many low-percentage hero shots, a self-belief that could result in self-sabotage — but he became an icon anyway, and inspired a generation. Including, of course, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Kobe was his idol.
Sunday, Shai and the Oklahoma City Thunder will play the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 for the NBA title to cap a fabulous series. Game 7s are so hard; they compress the nerves and weigh on the mind.
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