Chapter 22: Kobe, have you ever seen Los Angeles at 4 a.m.?

It seems Weibo has yet to emerge.

Thinking of this, Li Rui wondered if he should invest in social media platforms once he had money. Instagram, Weibo, and Facebook hadn't appeared yet; this period seemed to be the time when such platforms were poised for high-speed development. If he could enter the market now, he could achieve financial freedom early.

...

After finishing lunch, Li Rui returned to his room and registered for Twitter. He submitted his personal information for verification as a Lakers player. While Twitter was still reviewing his credentials, Li Rui took the opportunity to upload some photos of his private training sessions.

With the international side of things handled, and since Weibo didn't exist domestically, Li Rui decided to spend some time on a basketball forum. He opened the still-rudimentary Hupu website and registered an account. Although he wasn't yet facing a comprehensive social media platform, Li Rui felt that once Weibo eventually appeared, these basketball fans would all become his followers.

Fans are family, after all.

After he retired, he could start livestreaming to sell products and "reap a harvest." No, wait, it shouldn't be called reaping; it should be called providing benefits to his "family." Look at how popular "The Beard" (James Harden) was; his own popularity certainly wouldn't be any worse.

Li Rui posted the same photos he had just shared on Twitter onto Hupu.

About an hour later, his Twitter verification went through. Soon after, notifications began flashing on his dashboard.

*Damn, are girls really this proactive?*

Li Rui clicked on the messages with some anticipation, only to find the profile picture was a muscular Chinese gym-goer. "Bro, where did you find these photo resources? They look like internal training photos from the Lakers."

Li Rui instantly lost interest. "The Lakers' assistant coach took them."

"Whoa, are you the real Li Rui? For real? Li Rui, I love you!" The muscular man became instantly excited.

Seeing messages like this, Li Rui didn't even dare to reply. *What if he's gay?* Li Rui decided not to engage further. If it were a girl, he wouldn't mind chatting a bit more. Wait, damn, there are over a hundred genders now; who knows if it's a real girl?

If he ran into someone like the daughter of Magic Johnson or Elon Musk, that would be a headache. Li Rui chose to put his phone down and began reading the scout report on the Bulls.

The Bulls' roster was very young, with the core starters averaging 25 years of age: Ben Gordon (21 points per game), Luol Deng (18 points, 7 rebounds), and Kirk Hinrich (16.6 points, 6.5 assists). Their record so far this season was 22 wins and 8 losses, ranking third in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls had started the season very strongly.

The Bulls' tactical characteristics were built on defense, relying on the interior presence of Wallace and Deng along with overall team coordination. They averaged 8.4 steals per game (6th in the league) and 14.3 fast-break points (9th in the league), creating offensive opportunities through defensive transitions. In set plays, they mainly relied on Hinrich to initiate pick-and-rolls to drive the offense.

Their bench depth was profound; the team’s highest scorer was the sixth man, Ben Gordon. Gordon led a second unit featuring veterans like Nocioni (8.8 points) and P.J. Brown (8.3 points), with the bench averaging 36.2 points per game, often blowing out opponents in key stretches.

Li Rui remembered that Ben Gordon won the Sixth Man of the Year award that season, and they even swept the defending champion Miami Heat in the playoffs... Before acquiring Derrick Rose, this Bulls team had great momentum and was already a formidable playoff contender.

After understanding the information on the Bulls, Li Rui successfully heard the system notification.

【Ding, Basketball IQ attribute +1.】

His Basketball IQ attribute increased from 57 to 58.

"Sure enough, knowledge brings wisdom," Li Rui sighed. In his understanding, the evaluation of "Basketball IQ" was somewhat subjective, typically referring to a player's understanding of game tactics, decision-making ability, off-ball movement, defensive anticipation, and other comprehensive skills. Players like Jokic had very high basketball IQ—they were very smart—while players like McGee didn't have much to speak of. The higher the Basketball IQ, the better.

Having finished handling the basic information, Li Rui took a nap.

...

At 3:30 PM, the bus carrying the Lakers players and staff headed toward the United Center. The distance wasn't far; it would take about fifteen minutes to arrive.

Li Rui sat in a seat next to Kobe Bryant. Most players on the team were unwilling to sit with Kobe, mainly because the pressure was too great. Kobe often chewed people out. Li Rui didn't mind; he mainly wanted to see if he could dig out more ways to improve his attributes from Kobe. He wanted to progress. To him, Kobe was a walking treasure trove.

Kobe was watching a scout report on the Bulls and said, "Li, tonight I will initiate pick-and-rolls. Stay in the left corner and the left wing as much as possible to ensure I can see you."

Li Rui's recent breakout had changed Kobe's opinion of him; he believed Li Rui could help him shoulder a lot of pressure on the court and no longer regarded Li Rui as a waste of space like before.

"Got it."

"On the defensive end, you need to watch out for Kirk Hinrich's pick-and-rolls. That guy is very good at initiating them. You need to know how to navigate screens. Also, his shooting is a real threat; don't give him space easily..."

"Got it, Kobe. Let me ask you a question."

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever seen Los Angeles at 4:00 AM?"

"I have. The sky is full of stars, the court is very dark, a few scattered lights, very few pedestrians..." Kobe seemed lost in his memories.

"So, do you often wake up at 4:00 AM to train?"

"Not often. Who the hell would train like that every single day? Anyway, where was I? Fuck, stop interrupting."

"..."

Kobe rambled on beside Li Rui like a monk, constantly talking about his understanding of tonight's opponent. Li Rui treated it as grinding for experience; others couldn't tolerate Kobe's chatter, but he could endure it for the sake of his attributes.

From time to time, Li Rui would ask questions about the technical details of Kobe's game. Li Rui appeared very humble, and Kobe was satisfied with Li Rui's attitude and was very willing to share. Kobe even told Li Rui that he could call him 24 hours a day to talk basketball.

Li Rui believed that quantitative changes would lead to qualitative ones. With a Hall-of-Famer tirelessly teaching him experience and techniques, attributes would inevitably emerge sooner or later.

However, as they neared the arena, Phil Jackson stood up in the first row, resting his left hand on the seat back and signaling for everyone to be quiet with his right hand. Kobe stopped talking too.

"We are the away team today. You know the fans here; they will put extreme pressure on us. The Bulls' defensive intensity will be very high, and we are playing on a back-to-back."

"If anyone hasn't prepared their physical condition for the game, you can talk to me privately later. Don't wait until problems arise on the court to try and solve them."

Vujacic said, "Coach, it’s not our first time playing away, and we aren't rookies. Don't worry."

"I know you're fine, but some others might have issues."

After saying this, Phil Jackson's gaze swept over Odom and Bynum. An assistant coach had seen them go out and party last night in violation of the rules... Odom and Bynum looked a bit nervous.

Li Rui breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good thing he hadn't gone last night, or he might have been benched tonight. That old man Phil Jackson had too many eyes everywhere.