From South China Tiger to NBA King

Chapter 171 The All-Star Game Begins

The next day, major sports media focused on the dunk contest.

ESPN - "Deservedly, the greatest slam dunk matchup in history"

This is the most exciting slam dunk contest matchup in history, surpassing Jordan vs. Wilkins, and even surpassing LaVine vs. Gordon. The whole game, the exciting dunks one after another, the whole game It's as dazzling as a grand show.

Wiggins' level is enough to win the championship in any competition (except Carter's participation).

Even James, in a slightly weaker year, could easily win the slam dunk contest. They are all incredibly strong dunkers.

But they lost to Jianghu in the end, which proved that the gold content of Jianghu's championship this time is extremely high, even at a historical level.

Even Carter himself admitted that Jianghu's dunks have a higher level of visual impact than his dunks...

The previous slam dunk contest has been reduced to a battleground for role players and rookies. There have been no real superstars participating in the dunk contest for many years. The last time a player could be called a superstar was Dwight Howard.

The participation of Jianghu and LeBron James this time is also a huge surprise for the fans. As far as we know, Jiang and LeBron did not appear on the list at the beginning. With the withdrawal of LaVine and Gordon, the league had no choice but to Invite two people to come out to save the field, and arrange Wiggins as a powerful opponent for them by the way. This was an unintentional move, but in the end it created the strongest slam dunk contest in history. A good move.

This rookie player who can shoot an incredible 33 points in the three-point contest and win the slam dunk contest is a great fortune not only for the Celtics, but also for the entire NBA. Fortunately, relying on his handsome appearance and chic style of play, coupled with his explosive statistics, he has successfully attracted the attention of many new fans around the world.

According to statistics, about [-] million people watched this slam dunk contest in China, which is an unbelievable statistic.

Undoubtedly, he has once again expanded the influence of the NBA in China, and at the same time, this game has further increased his popularity. We have reason to believe that he has now begun to become one of the new faces of the NBA! ! !

Fox Sports - "Carter: Except for his last dunk, I can do everything else in my prime"

"Jianghu is the strongest dunker I have ever seen, there is no doubt about it."

"His last dunk was too difficult. The free throw line turned 720 degrees and dunked. I really couldn't complete this dunk."

"When I was young, I used to compare dunks with my cousin Tracy in the summer practice. I basically won every time, but he would let me play at a higher level every once in a while. I have tried many free throw line dunks, hand changes behind the free throw line, and windmills at the free throw line many times in the game against him. If you don’t believe me, ask Tracy, he can testify.”

"It's just that I was injured later, and there was no suitable opponent in the slam dunk contest to force me to make these bottom-of-the-box dunks, so I didn't have the opportunity to show these in the slam dunk contest."

"But I tried a lot of 720-degree dunks from the free throw line. I think there were about 15 times. I didn't succeed even once. The most embarrassing time was that I lost my balance in the air and fell heavily on my back. God. , do you know the pain? I thought I was going to break a bone, luckily it wasn't a big problem when I got the MRI, but since then I know there's no way I'll be able to do this again, it's so hard .”

"In my opinion, if I can complete a movement, no one should be able to complete it. I didn't know it until I saw Lonzo complete it in front of me yesterday. It's just that I can't complete this movement. There are still people in this world. It can be done!!!”

"God, I think this dunk is enough to make him a god. This dunk completely explains the difference between him and ordinary people. I think that apart from him, no one else can complete this action in the dunk contest for at least 30 years!!"

Carter's compliment was somewhat exaggerated, but Jiang Hu liked such compliments very much.

He was holding the phone, lying on Sophia's lap, and looked at it dozens of times, with a smug smile on his face.

................................................

On February 2, the fourth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the NBA All-Star Game opened at the Staples Center.

In China, every household pays New Year's greetings, and most of the households with TV sets are broadcasting the All-Star Game live.

The game was held at the home court of the Lakers, including Lakers president Magician, Lakers general manager Pelinka, as well as James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and many other Lakers celebrities came to watch the game.

Although the arena can only hold about 2 people, the All-Star Game's revenue is still one of the highest in history, second only to the 2016 and 2010 All-Star Games.

2016 was Kobe’s last All-Star game. The Air Canada Center in Toronto adjusted the ticket price to an extremely exaggerated level. The highest ticket price for the front row was 54000 US dollars, and the cheapest mountain top seat also cost 650 US dollars. The average ticket price calculated It reached 1403 US dollars, which means that on the day of the All-Star Game alone, tickets were sold for 2800 million US dollars.

Even with such a ticket price, people are still flocking to it, because this is Kobe's last All-Star Game, and Kobe fans all over the world will definitely pay for it.

The All-Star Game in Dallas in 2010 was due to too many people. The game that year was held at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. A total of 108713 fans came to watch the game, creating the highest number of people watching a basketball game ever. , The ticket price for that game was quite cheap, with an average ticket price of only 215 US dollars, but with the advantage of the number of people, it still became the second most expensive All-Star ticket price in history with 2337 million US dollars.

The highest ticket price for the Staples All-Stars this time is $28800, the peak ticket is about $400, the average ticket price is $1058, and the total ticket price of $2100 million also ranks third in history.

Of course, this is just the ticket price of the All-Star Game, after all, the All-Star Game is mainly about entertainment.

Of course, the ticket price for a single game in the regular season and playoff finals is higher than this.

But it also proves that fans all over the world recognize Jianghu, and they are willing to pay a high price to watch Jianghu's first All-Star tour.

At the press conference before the game, Jianghu, James and Curry attended as player representatives.

When asked how he felt about the All-Stars, Jiang Hu said:

"I am very happy to be able to stage the All-Star Game in front of the audience in Los Angeles. I know the importance of this game. I will bring a wonderful game to everyone with the mentality of pursuing victory. When my team needs me, I will I will do my best to give everyone a good performance.”

There is no problem with Jianghu's words. After all, it is the first time to participate in this competition, so you must express your determination.

But James on the side was very upset when he heard it...

You have already won two games in the regular season, and we are not on the same team in the All-Star Game, do you still want to win?I let you win, and I was killed three times by you in one season, what will the fans think of me?Besides, this time my teammates are Curry, Irving and Durant, what are you fighting with me?

After the press conference, the competition started soon.

After the players have finished warming up, the lights are turned off, and they are ready to start the ceremony.

Jiang Hu slumped in his seat, closed his eyes and quietly waited for the game to start.

Anthony Davis saw that everyone was chatting with their opponents in twos and threes, only Jianghu sat alone and did not interact with others, so he thought he was nervous.

"Relax, relax, don't be nervous, Jianghu!!!"

Jianghu was sleeping soundly, when he suddenly felt his shoulders being massaged by a pair of big hands, his scalp was a little numb, he thought it was a fan running over, but when he looked up, it turned out to be Davis with thick eyebrows and big eyes.

Jianghu curled his lips in disdain, and said:

"AD, what hell joke are you talking to me? This is Staples, I'm too excited, do I need to be nervous? I'm thinking about how to teach the guys on the opposite side."

At this time, Stevens, the head coach of the Jianghu team, walked in, and he happened to hear what Jianghu said.Hearing Jianghu's words, he also smiled slightly, and then clapped his hands to signal the players to come around.

Although Stevens is not a rookie coach, he is also the first All-Star coach. However, he has experienced big scenes. As a coach, he has led the team to participate in the NCAA Finals twice. It is not a big problem to deal with these scenes now .

Even though the stars present are all big names in the NBA, Stevens' state is very calm, as if it was just an insignificant Celtics internal training.

So he just smiled and said something like "Everyone relax, have fun" and let the players go to the player tunnel to get ready to play.

"Jiang, stay here for a while, I have something to say to you alone."

After Stevens finished speaking, Jiang Hu was just about to go out, but saw Stevens chasing him and grabbed him.

Jianghu looked at the mysterious Stevens curiously, a little curious about what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd.

"Jiang, this is your first time participating in the All-Star Game. I have something to tell you. It may not be true, but it should be of some use to you."

Stevens motioned him to sit down and said, it's still early, there are still performances outside, and there is still a short period of time before the players appear on the field.

"Did you know? What you are going to participate in today is a game similar to a celebration. Your task in this game is to relax and play. You have to remember that this is an entertainment game, and it is also a game for all of you. This is the only game that can be "played" this year. What I mean by "play" is not to let you treat the game with a casual attitude. In today's game, you have to do your best, but not defend with all your strength and attack with all your strength, but relax with all your strength , go all out to be happy."

Stevens looked at Jiang Hu's rare puzzled eyes, and he smiled happily.

He has always liked him very much. He likes this young man very much. He has strong physical fitness, is self-motivated, trains hard, and will lead by example in the locker room. Such a young man is almost hard to find in today's NBA.

Stevens is very happy to be able to coach this player in the dry period of his coaching career. He hopes that he can get along well with Jianghu and finally cooperate for a long time. A golden partner.

Recalling these times, his eyes began to become deep, as if he was recalling something, Stevens raised his head to look at the roof of the locker room and said leisurely: "I have often trained with my father since I was a child, and later in Having been a coach in college for many years, I have encountered countless players, some of them are very talented, and some of them are very mediocre."

"Many people spend their entire lives without knowing what a real basketball game is, which makes him put in almost all his efforts, but in the end he still doesn't get any memorable achievements, and there are a few players who also go all out , but can leave a brilliant stroke in NBA history."

"The biggest difference between them is that the former did not get happiness in basketball, while the latter turned every hard training into happiness"

"So today I hope you can relax a little bit and play happily."

Stevens didn't agree with Jianghu's words, but he still nodded seriously.

"It's nonsense, I'm much more talented than you. I can show off my talents on the court and earn a lot of dollars off the court. Don't I enjoy the fun of basketball more than you do?"

Although he complained a little in his heart, Jianghu could still feel Stevens' kind persuasion.

How to listen is one thing, how to do it is another matter, Jianghu felt that the first half can be played normally, not seeking to lead, but not too far behind.

Wait until the second half, and then make a sudden effort to take him away in one wave.

Before the game, the starting rosters of the two teams were played on the big screen.

Eastern Rivers and Lakes starting backcourt: James Harden, DeMar DeRozan.

Starting frontcourt: Jianghu, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Western Curry starting backcourt: Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving.

Starting frontcourt: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid.

The introduction to the stadium starts with the Curry team.

The first to appear was Curry. He took off his braces and made a prayer gesture with his palms together. Jianghu didn't understand what the hell it was.

Followed by Owen, Owen with his hands behind his back, reluctantly beckoned to the camera when the camera came over.

Embiid was the All-Star starter for the first time in his career, and he still doesn't believe that he can be selected as the starter. So he looked a little overwhelmed, and smiled shyly at the camera.

The last one to play was Zandu, and the two played at the same time. It is said that this was James' request, and it may be to express his respect for Durant.

James and Durant kept tapping the rhythm when they came out, dancing their bodies to the music, and received huge cheers during the introduction.

The Jianghu team seemed much quieter when they played. Antetokounmpo, who was the first to play, blew his fist and waved towards everyone.

Davis and Harden played together. The two of them made a set of fancy black pre-match interactions, which made the world dazzled.

DeRozan showed a naive smile on his face, crossed his hands to the fans, and bowed. Those who didn't know thought he was participating in idol trainees.

The last player from the Jianghu team to play was Jianghu. He just walked on the field as usual, and then stood in the middle with his arms around him, showing that arrogant appearance.

This is the same celebratory pose he used in yesterday's slam dunk contest.

Although Jianghu looked full of attitude, the fans at the scene gave deafening cheers.

The impression he left in the slam dunk contest yesterday was so deep that the fans of other teams couldn't help remembering his appearance.

(End of this chapter)