Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

After watching the "inferior" game between the Spurs and Bulls at night, all the Timberwolves players slept more soundly.

After seeing the current strength of the Bulls and Spurs, Wu Dao was full of confidence in his team.Let’s not talk about the championship for now, the Timberwolves must go to this year’s playoffs.

In his first year as a rookie, he entered the playoffs with the team, which is also a very important thing for martial arts.

You know, when evaluating a player's historical status in the future, the player's leadership ability will be an important criterion.

Whether a player plays as a substitute or as the main player in his rookie season will have an impact on the player's historical status.At the same time, the performance of leading the team will also affect this player's historical status.

Ah Tan's fans always like to compare Ah Tan to Mamba. What they like to criticize the most is Kobe's leadership ability during the OK group period.

To this end, they can even abandon the term dual-core, invent a series of new words, and distinguish between the eldest champion and the second eldest champion, so as to consolidate Ah Tan's historical status.

But regardless of whether he is the eldest champion or the second eldest champion, he always has one more championship than Ah Tan. There is no way to make up for this absolute gap with words, so as he talks, no one will take Ah Tan anymore. Compared to Mamba.

But later, Ah Tan fans used the same words to compare Ah Tan and primary school students.

At the same time, Curry, the absolute core of the Warriors' team, was placed in the second position, under Durant to prove A Tan's historical status.

But it is a pity that Dream Chasing has a good saying - "We were already the championship before you came."

Therefore, the status of the primary school students' team became unshakable, and at the same time, the boomerang also hit Ah Tan himself.

Because when the Heat started the game, A Tan, Bosh and others were all wearing training clothes and surrounding Wade, who was wearing a jersey, to motivate themselves. Even the general manager of the Heat at the time said after winning the championship. "Thank you Wade for bringing us a championship with the Heat" and the like.

This makes the fans of the league's prodigal son, Ah Tan, always at a disadvantage when competing with others online.

Fans often even borrow the words of a foreign fan to mock Atan and his fans: "LeBron, go win a championship that truly belongs to you!"

It can be seen that in the NBA, in the eyes of fans, the gold content of the championship and the championship are completely different.

Otherwise, Sam Jones, who holds 10 championship rings, would not have been included in the discussion series of the top 10 players in history.

The content of championship rings for role players is completely different from that of the main players and the absolute core.

No one would ever think that Sun Dasheng’s NBA career was more brilliant than Dayao’s, right?
After Wu Dao entered the Timberwolves, he played very well in the first two games, but this is not enough. While competing for the starting position, he also needs to become the undisputed core player of the team as soon as possible, and even the team boss.

Only in this way can the Timberwolves be considered his team!
Only in this way, when the media reports on the Timberwolves, they will use "Martial Arts Leads the Timberwolves" as the "starting style" of the title, instead of "Garnett Leds" or "Tom Leds" or something like that. words.

The NBA is such a place, even people who are indifferent to fame and fortune will think about this kind of thing.

Because your team status will be directly related to your voice in the team and your salary.

If Wu Dao wants to play basketball that he is comfortable with according to his own wishes, he must jump out of the table and become a bargaining chip that cannot be easily shaken.

Only in this way will he not be tossed around like a chess piece.

Silent all night.

The next day, Wu Dao woke up from his sleep and did some simple stretching exercises after breakfast. Then when he met Coach Philip who had gotten up early in the lobby, he was told that the Rose Garden Arena would play against the Timberwolves at noon. Team members are open.

Allow Timberwolves players to adapt to the field in advance.

After learning the news, Budao also gave up some of the low-intensity exercises he originally planned to do, leaving his physical fitness for the afternoon warm-up in the gym.

After lunch, the Timberwolves players got on the bus one after another and headed to the Rose Garden Arena.

The Rose Garden, home of the Trail Blazers, is a new venue that was officially built at the end of 95. It was put into use just two years ago. It is said that this stadium cost 2 million US dollars and can accommodate 6200 people. It is the largest stadium in today's NBA. One of the largest arenas in the league and one of Portland's iconic "ugliest urban buildings"
Before the Timberwolves' Target Center was expanded in 04, its capacity was basically around 18000 people. And the seven years since it opened in 90 have also added a bit of "vicissitudes" to the Target Center.

So when everyone from the Timberwolves came to the Rose Garden Arena, they couldn't help but sigh that the Blazers boss was so "grand".

At that time, they played at the Warriors' home court. The Warriors' Oakland Coliseum had not yet been renovated, and that venue could "only" accommodate 15000 people.

At the beginning of the season, the Warriors' Oakland Coliseum finally completed renovations, and its capacity increased to 19000.

In the NBA, every arena represents a piece of team history.

When players play at home, they will more or less receive certain mental "bonuses."

This feeling is just like the Chinese people during the 08 Olympics. The mental outlook of the athletes when they are on the field is indeed completely different from when they are playing away from home.

Timberwolves players spent more than two hours in the Rose Garden to get familiar with the arena.

After that, I took a short rest in the players' lounge, and after having an early dinner at four or five o'clock, I returned to the arena.

In the evening, the media channel opened, and a large number of media entered the arena one after another.

In the players' lounge, he was sitting on a stool and was about to tie his feet. When he was preparing for the game, the door to the lounge was opened. Coach Philip opened the door and his eyes fell directly on Wu Dao. , shouted towards Martial Arts:

"Hey! Martial Arts!"

"Come here and join me for a pre-match interview."

In the pre-game interview, this kind of thing has never happened to Martial Arts before. Coach Philip will either bring Tom and Garnett, or Garnett and Marbury.

Even the post-match press conference was not attended by Martial Arts. This was the first time.

"hurry up!"

"After the interview, we still need to prepare for the competition!"

Seeing that Wu Dao was stunned, Phillip shouted loudly.

After hearing this, Wu Dao also hooked up his slippers with his feet, slapped his big slippers on, and walked towards Coach Phillip.

"."

Phillip looked at Wu Dao's unattractive look and was speechless for a while.

The pre-match interviews were conducted in the corridor without a scene booth. Wu Dao followed Coach Philip for a few steps when he was blocked by a large group of reporters holding "long guns and short cannons".

Some members of the media seemed to be seeing martial arts for the first time and looked at the young man standing behind Coach Philip.

Very tall, very handsome, and very tall.

At this time, Wu Dao is wearing slippers, giving people a sense of unrestrained freedom.

“Thank you to Coach Flip Saunders for speaking with us.”

"The player next to you should be a high school rookie from Oak Hill College, martial arts, right?"

"Hello, Mr. Wu Dao! Thank you very much for accepting our interview." A young reporter said, holding a microphone in one hand, shaking hands with Philip with the other hand, and then handed his hand to Wu Dao.

"Hello."

Under the camera, Wu Dao nodded calmly and then held the reporter's hand.

After a brief exchange of greetings, the reporter also began to cut to the chase and began to ask Coach Philip what plans he had before the game; was he prepared to face a team like the Trail Blazers? ;What is the Timberwolves’ goal this season?Questions like that.

Philip is also a veteran. He was humble and calm in his answer. He praised the Blazers' strength and euphemistically expressed that the team's goal is the playoffs.

After hastily dealing with some routine questions, the media lost interest in Philip and turned the topic to martial arts:

"Mr. Martial Arts, you have performed well in the games against the Warriors and the Hornets."

"It can be said that you are currently the best performer among all the rookies in 97."

"How would you rate the opponents you've faced before?"

"Why do you think you scored 40+ points in two games?"

The reporter's question seemed ordinary, but Philip immediately smelled the pitfalls in it. He couldn't help but turned his head and looked at Wu Dao. Just when he was about to take over the conversation, he heard Wu Dao say with a smile:

"I'm very happy that the fans recognized my performance."

"You know, the Warriors and the Hornets are both good teams, and both teams have a long-standing team culture."

"The players I played against were also very active on the court, which caused me a lot of trouble."

"They are both respectable and strong opponents. As a rookie, I have learned a lot from them. I also hope that if I have the opportunity, I can play against them again, which will allow me to learn more."

"As for why I scored 40+ points in both games, of course I have to thank the team and my teammates for having enough trust in me."

"Gives me enough power to take action."

"You know, in the previous two games, I took more than 20 shots, including a lot of three-pointers."

"Without the trust of my teammates and the support of the coaching staff, this would obviously be impossible."

"In my opinion, I just scored the goals I should have scored, that's all."

"If you take as many shots as I do in every game, you can get 40+."

Budao had a faint smile on his face when he was being interviewed by reporters. He did not take credit or say stupid things like "I am Gota". He attributed the credit to other people.

Saying good things about teammates and coaches is not a missing piece of meat for martial arts, and it can also win the favor of others, so why not do it?

Seeing that Wu Dao answered appropriately, the reporter smiled, praised him a few times, asked some innocuous questions, and then called it a day.

In fact, even the reporter did not expect that there was a hidden hole in Wu Dao's words.

"If you take as many shots as I do in every game, you can get 40+."

If Jordan and his fans heard such a sentence, they would probably jump up.

Because just in yesterday's game, Jordan took 43 crazy shots from mid-range and three-point range, and only scored 29 points.
Looking at the reporters leaving, Wu Dao also had a bright smile on his face. He thought that soon, the fans and the media would be able to come to their senses!
What's the fastest way to gain fame in the NBA?Just play ball honestly and wait for others to discover this "treasure" of yours?
joke!

The best way is of course to step on the stars and get into the position!
Who is the most watched player in this era?There is no doubt that it is Jordan!

Even if martial arts is gaining popularity, it still needs to gain popularity from Jordan, right?
The media relies on popularity. As a rookie, no matter how well you play, no one in the United States knows you. If they don't know you, there will be no popularity, and the media will not bother to take advantage of you.

An outstanding rookie slapped Jordan in the face. The heat was completely different!

Americans don’t know martial arts, but they know Jordan!
At that time, both Jordan's fans and fans will cast their eyes on martial arts, and then often compare martial arts performance with Jordan, hoping to use the "god" performance to severely humiliate the rookie who knows nothing about heaven and earth.

How did you get to know Jeremy Lin at that time?

Is it his outstanding performance in several consecutive games?

To be honest, when he scored 25 points and 28 points respectively with the Knicks and won the New Jersey Nets and Utah Jazz, Wu Dao didn't feel anything.

It wasn't until Jeremy Lin scored 38 points on Kobe, beating Kobe's 34 points, that a large number of reports about Jeremy Lin began to appear on the Internet.

The popularity that superstars can bring is far beyond what ordinary stars can compare with. How can the popularity of the mere All-Star Deron Williams be compared with that of the league's number one celebrity at that time?

After finishing the interview and returning to the players' lounge, Wu Dao calmly prepared for the game.

After being reminded by the staff, the Timberwolves players got up and left the lounge, walked through the player tunnel and entered the arena.

When the Trail Blazers players entered the stadium, the on-site commentary was very enthusiastic, and the fans in the stands were shouting loudly.

When the Timberwolves players entered the arena, the tone of the on-site commentary was dull. They just introduced the martial arts that had scored 40+ points in the previous two games, but the tone was a little different.

But the fans at the scene booed when the Timberwolves players entered the stadium.

The Blazers' home fans are so "genuine"!
Amidst the boos, the Timberwolves players entered the court one after another and began to warm up. Garnett looked around during the warm-up, obviously affected. The same happened to the young Marbury, who frequently hit the iron while shooting during the warm-up.

Tens of thousands of people booed one after another, which was quite terrifying.

Soon, the warm-up time passed and the two teams entered the stadium.

The Timberwolves' starting lineup has tended to be fixed, with Tom, Marbury, Garnett, Cherokee Parks, and Wu Dao.

而开拓者这边，1号位是肯尼·安德森（183cm/76kg），2号位的伊塞亚·莱德尔（196cm/98kg），3号位的布莱恩·格兰特（206cm/107kg；94年首轮8号秀），4/5号位拉希德·华莱士（211cm/104kg），5号位阿维达斯·萨博尼斯（221cm/127kg）。

When the players were in position, Brian Grant stood beside Wu Dao, looked at Wu Dao, and suddenly said with a smile:

"First grade, I know you."

"In today's game, your opponent is me. You can't score points on my head. I won't give you such a chance!"

Hearing this, Wu Dao glanced sideways at Brian Grant and opened his mouth: "What kind of rotten fish are you? Are you worthy of guarding me?"

Brian Grant is familiar with martial arts!

In the 04-05 season, with the Lakers, he had an annual salary of US$1418 million, second only to Kobe Bryant's US$1323 annual salary. He played as a substitute, averaged 16 minutes per game, and scored 3.8 points!

acquaintance!
Wu Dao felt that he could also make money from his "acquaintance" Brian Grant.

(End of this chapter)