NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 509 Learning Black Snake's Techniques

During this offseason, Jia Fei plans to focus on improving his post-up game. He's practiced post-up before, but never put in the same amount of effort. In crucial moments, he trusts his face-up offense more.

When you've almost maxed out all your other technical skills, focusing on training your relatively weaker skills is another way to improve.

Therefore, Jia Fei planned to consult a master of back-to-back techniques. His first thought was Da Meng, but when he watched Da Meng's teaching videos, a familiar figure came into his view, which made him change his mind.

This person is none other than Kobe Bryant, known as the "training maniac who gets up at 4 a.m. to curse his teammates for using toilet paper, the host of the Mamba Mentality, the Los Angeles blacksmith!"

Although I've been criticizing this man, his obsession with training and dedication to mastering technique are unparalleled among basketball players. And in terms of post-up skills alone, even basketball legend Michael Jordan might not be better than him at the shooting guard position.

Hakeem Olajuwon once said, "Kobe is the star who understands his footwork the best and learns it the most effectively among all the stars who have studied it."

We know that after Shaq moved to the East, Kobe's offense began to focus on receiving the ball in the back of the net. His back-to-the-basket technique was outstanding, and his use of fakes and his ability to combine drives and shots was superb. At his peak, he was simply unstoppable one-on-one.

Kobe wasn't the only one who went to Hakeem Olajuwon to learn post-up moves; Running Man and Dwight Howard also went.

The result was that Running Man developed extremely ugly "Yangcheng Lake jump shot" and "crab back-to-the-basket" moves. But ugly as they were, at least through hard training, he managed to develop back-to-the-basket skills. But Dwight Howard... after practicing for so long, still couldn't develop back-to-the-basket ability, and his offense still relied on brute force to dunk. Some people aren't lacking in talent, they just don't work hard enough.

Jia Fei and Kobe both played the 2/3 position, so learning his post-up game would be more suitable. However, they didn't have a deep relationship, and it's unknown whether Kobe would be willing to teach him his skills.

Based on Jia Fei's understanding from his previous life, Kobe wasn't a "self-protective" star. He was indeed very strict, even harsh, with his teammates, but he was even tougher on himself! It's rare for an average person to be as ruthless to themselves as he was. With enough talent and the same level of self-discipline, most people could achieve success in their field.

Jia Fei personally contacted Kobe, expressing his sincere desire to learn the skills. Unexpectedly, Kobe agreed without hesitation, and seemed quite happy about it.

Jia Fei was naturally very satisfied with this result. Given his current status in the gaming world, being rejected was quite embarrassing, even if the person was Kobe.

Jia Fei and Kobe agreed to have a special training session at a training facility in Los Angeles on August 16.

Early on the morning of the 16th, Jia Fei went to the training facility with Art Mayork. To Jia Fei's surprise, Kobe was already there, and judging from the sweat on his body, he had been training for quite some time.

It seems that the meme "Los Angeles at 4 a.m." is not entirely unfounded.

After retiring, Kobe didn't train and control his diet as intensely as before, so he looked a size bigger than when he played for the Lakers. Even so, his calves were still toned and slender, his eyes were still sharp, and he was still meticulous in his training.

"We're late!" Jia Fei greeted Kobe with a smile.

Kobe turned his head, saw that it was Jia Fei, and said with a smile, "You guys are not late, I'm the one who arrived a little early. I'm used to waking up early. I'm getting older, and I can't sleep through the night like I used to when I was young."

As Jia Fei and Art Mayork began warming up, Kobe joked, "I saw in the news that you two are inseparable, and it's true. Your relationship is really good."

"Yeah, we're like brothers. Now we play basketball together and we're always together," Jia Fei said.

After warming up, Kobe began to teach Jia Fei the key points of the back-to-the-basket technique.

The technique itself isn't particularly mysterious or secretive; Jia Fei knew all about post-up moves. But the real skill lies in the finesse of application, the speed of reaction, the timing of passing or turning to shoot, and the use of feints… these details are the essence.

When it came to the teaching segment, Kobe displayed a meticulous attitude. He was truly very serious, and when Jia Fei made mistakes, he didn't harshly reprimand him, just like a strict teacher.

Jia Fei studied patiently. He was mentally prepared for Kobe's strictness and therefore showed no resentment or impatience. Kobe noticed his humble attitude and was very pleased.

After all, it's rare for a star player of Jia Fei's caliber to still humbly learn techniques and continuously improve himself. Those who can do this are all GOAT level players.

After the training session, Kobe invited Jia Fei for a one-on-one match.

Both players used back-to-the-basket techniques. Although Kobe was older and his explosiveness had diminished after a major injury, he still managed to make Jia Fei look foolish with his excellent and skillful back-to-the-basket techniques and various feints.

This one-on-one sparring training was extremely effective. Facing Kobe was like looking in a mirror; all of Jia Fei's technical flaws were magnified. After being thoroughly outmatched for a long time, he gradually grasped the knack of the technique and improved rapidly…

And so, Jia Fei practiced with Kobe for a whole week. During this week, Jia Fei did not participate in any commercial activities, nor did he drink alcohol or eat lavish meals. He worked even harder than during the season.

The news that Jia Fei had become Kobe's apprentice spread quickly, and the outside world was talking about it.

After the lesson, Jia Fei was surrounded by reporters who asked him about it. He openly admitted that he was learning techniques from Kobe Bryant.

When asked by a reporter why he, already the league's top player, would still seek to learn from a retired veteran, Jia Fei smiled slightly and said, "There's an old Chinese saying, 'Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me.' Even if I'm the strongest basketball player in the world, I can't possibly master every basketball skill to the highest level. One is never too old to learn; the sea of ​​knowledge is boundless, and diligence is the only boat to cross it!"

Jia Fei's words taught the reporters about Chinese culture, and they returned home satisfied.

To thank Kobe for his teaching, Jia Fei threw a party in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, and invited the Kobe family. He prepared exquisite gifts for each member of the Kobe family.