In order to achieve his career-best state, Kobe often consulted Gan Guoyang on how he could perceive the moon, rather than just see it.
Kobe pondered this question during the 1999 Finals, a time when he reached that state and performed excellently in the finals.
But soon, as Gan Guoyang left the Trail Blazers, Kobe had to take on the responsibility alone, once again facing the same issue: how to get closer to that wonderful state?
With Gan Guoyang around, Kobe only needed to worry about one thing, which was scoring; everything else would be handled seamlessly by Ah Gan.
After becoming the leader himself, Kobe realized there were numerous issues he needed to handle, both on and off the court, and sometimes he was forced to lose focus.
He disliked losing focus; he wished to concentrate, but reality forced him to take everything into account. He did his best to block everything out, ignoring any external opinions, focusing solely on himself, yet he felt it was still not enough.
