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The fourth-quarter whistle blew and sent All-Star night into full climax.
The exhibition fun was gone.
This was real basketball now—real knives out.
It was both a superstar showdown and a proper thank-you gift to the fans.
The West trailed by two.
Kobe sat on the far end of the bench, eyes laser-focused.
McGrady breathed hard beside him while Carmelo iced his knee.
Link sat a little further in.
He knew that in this final knife-edge stretch, unless something crazy happened, he probably wasn't checking back in.
On the floor, both teams rolled out their closing lineups:
West: Kobe, McGrady, Garnett, Nowitzki, Duncan.
East: Wade, Arenas, James, Bosh, O'Neal.
Besides Arenas and Bosh maybe being a tier down, every single guy was a future Hall of Famer.
First possession—East ball.
"Defense! Defense! Talk it up!" Coach Avery Johnson clapped from the sideline.
Wade pushed it past half-court and swung the ball to LeBron on the wing.
Defending him was Kobe Bryant!
The arena exploded.
"Here it comes! LeBron versus Kobe! The young king against the established legend!"
Mike Breen's voice shot up. "But this isn't for show anymore—look at Kobe's eyes. That's straight playoff intensity."
LeBron set up in triple-threat, dropped his shoulder, and exploded forward.
Kobe stayed low, long arms spread wide, giving zero space.
LeBron forced a tiny gap and barreled into the paint!
Kobe stayed glued—muscle-on-muscle contact loud enough for courtside to hear.
The shot rattled out.
Duncan grabbed the board.
"Beautiful defense! Kobe didn't give an inch!" the other commentator praised.
Transition the other way. McGrady rose up over Arenas and drained a tough long two.
West took the lead!
Link was glued to the bench, loving every second.
This was what a real All-Star Game looked like.
In his last life, these young stars had turned the fourth quarter into playground ball.
That's when a voice came from behind him. "Link, right?"
Link turned. A pair of brown eyes met his.
It was Khloé Kardashian.
The middle Kardashian sister was staring right at him, no shame.
Next to her stood a slim girl who still looked very young—her half-sister, Kendall Jenner.
Khloé flashed a bright smile.
"You were killing it out there. Those shots were money. I'm Khloé, and this is my little sister Kendall."
Link felt a small jolt of recognition.
Old memories from his previous life flooded back.
This family had just started blowing up from their reality show.
They were going to have endless NBA ties down the road.
His Lakers teammate Lamar Odom would end up in a short, messy marriage with the woman standing in front of him right now.
And that chapter definitely wasn't going to help Odom's career.
"Appreciate it, Miss Kardashian," Link nodded politely.
"Just Khloé is fine," she said, leaning in a little. "My big sister is Kim—you might've heard of her."
"Our whole family are huge basketball fans!" she added with a laugh.
"I've heard," Link said politely, but his eyes were already back on the court.
Right then, Kobe drained an insane fadeaway over Dwyane Wade.
The whole building lost it.
"Wow!" a soft gasp came from beside him.
Kendall. She was hooked. "Kobe… he's insane!"
Link looked at the girl who would one day be known as the "NBA player collector."
Right now she was only fourteen—still just a kid, even if she was already on reality TV.
A weird time-displacement feeling hit him hard.
Kendall tilted her head. "Who do you think's better—you or Kobe?"
Link almost laughed. "Kobe's a superstar. I'm nowhere near his level yet."
"Kendall!" Khloé shot her sister a look.
Link just shook his head—he didn't mind.
The game kept rolling.
Half the quarter left. It was white-hot now.
Under the heavy defense, shooting percentages started dropping on both sides.
In the clutch, the veteran Stone Buddha stepped up.
Duncan backed down O'Neal, gave him a couple bumps.
But Shaq's mountain-sized body didn't budge.
Duncan didn't force it. Pump fake, spin, straight-arm banker off-balance.
Shaq contested hard, but the ball still kissed the glass and dropped.
West lead up to five!
East coach Eddie Jordan called timeout.
The East was in serious trouble with spacing in crunch time.
"The East has a big problem right now. They desperately need someone to create separation," the ESPN guy said calmly.
"This East roster is seriously lacking shooters and space," the other commentator agreed.
He was right. Besides Arenas, nobody in that closing lineup could stretch the floor.
And Shaq? Zero spacing threat.
On defense, the West could collapse and double-team without fear.
The East had no answer.
After the timeout, LeBron brought it up again—Kobe right in his face.
In the fourth, Kobe had taken the LeBron assignment himself.
"Come on, LeBron—no screens," Kobe said low, staying in his stance.
LeBron ignored him and called Bosh up anyway.
Kobe fought through it like tape.
"That all you got?"
LeBron couldn't shake free. He powered inside and drew the foul on Kobe.
Made both free throws.
East kept fighting!
West ball. Kobe called for it the second he crossed half-court.
The game had become his personal stage.
Teammates cleared out. Isolation.
LeBron locked in.
Kobe probed once, then attacked right.
LeBron slid his feet fast.
But the drive was a fake.
Kobe ripped a huge between-the-legs pullback and stepped way behind the arc.
LeBron was half a step late.
Kobe rose up—high arc, slight fade.
Swish!
"Wow! Kobe Bryant! Unstoppable isolation!" the commentator was hyped.
"He's got 33 points and has completely taken this game over!"
Back the other way.
LeBron facing Kobe again.
The young King and the Black Mamba were fully locked in.
LeBron dribbled calmly a couple steps past the three-point line.
Kobe closed the gap—maximum pressure.
"Come on, LeBron. One-on-one!" Kobe talked trash while defending.
The crowd was losing their minds. Everyone on their feet.
Twelve seconds on the shot clock. LeBron tried to drive from the top—his favorite spot.
But Kobe wouldn't let it happen. He forced LeBron baseline and into the help.
Bodies banging. Kobe's strength was tank-level.
LeBron couldn't get any advantage!
Clock running down. LeBron forced up a three-step layup.
Under Kobe's contest he couldn't get full lift. The shot was too low.
Duncan barely reached and knocked it away.
West secured the board.
Ball right back to Kobe. One hard dribble from deep, sudden stop, long two.
Swish!
The lead kept growing!
"Clean, efficient Kobe scoring. That's the stuff LeBron needs to study," one commentator said.
"LeBron isn't built like that. He needs to run the offense, push transition, use his size," the other shook his head.
The comment nailed it.
LeBron and the Jordan/Kobe archetype were totally different players.
After that, the East couldn't put together any real run.
Final score: West All-Stars 134, East 127!
A few minutes later the lights focused on center court again.
Commissioner David Stern stepped to the mic.
"And now, the 2007 NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player…"
He paused for effect. "Kobe Bryant!"
The arena exploded.
Kobe stepped out from the group and took the crystal trophy.
He'd dropped 37 points with 6 boards and 4 assists.
And in the fourth he'd completely locked down LeBron. Perfect night.
Kobe lifted the trophy high as MVP chants rained down.
He gave a quick thank-you to teammates, coaches, and fans.
Finally he looked toward the East bench—especially LeBron.
"The best opponents bring out the best in you," Kobe said. "This was a hell of a game."
The crowd went wild again.
While confetti flew and the cheers thundered, Khloé slipped Link a sleek business card with her number.
"Stay in touch, Link. Maybe we can talk business sometime?"
She winked, then grabbed Kendall and headed out.
Before they left, Kendall turned back one last time.
"You gonna get as good as Kobe one day?" she asked curiously.
Link smiled. "Maybe one day, Kendall."
Kendall blinked, then got a serious look on her young face.
"Then… when you really do get that good… make sure you tell me!"