But Kobe hadn't even had time to show off, when Roger immediately responded to him.
This time on offense, Roger broke through George Lynch and, facing the approaching help defense of Karl Malone, chose to gather the ball and step left to break through.
As Malone shifted sideways, Roger's next step was a sharp move to the right, an extraordinarily deceptive footwork that allowed Roger to pass through Malone's defense with ease.
This was a European Step, an inspiration for Wade's Mysterious Steps.
As Wade and Manu Ginobili, among other masters of the European Step, began to shine, more and more guards realized the practicality of this technique.
But let's not forget that in this timeline, it was Roger, having been teammates with Sarunas Marciulionis and mentored by him, who popularized the European Step!
After bypassing Malone, Roger softly laid up the ball, with the basketball sailing past the defending Malone and intercepting Ratliff, successfully sinking into the net!
