no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 110 Vito Stern

Xu Yong's original intention was to get rid of Windhorst earlier, but his words made him fall into the vortex of public opinion.

"He went to heaven after being dunked once? Jordan has never been dunked before? Does a rookie really take himself seriously?!"

"That means LeBron happened to have a wrist injury that day, otherwise he would have been dunked?"

"It's a clown, a smug villain, just wait to be taught by LeBron!"

……

Oklahoma City, Thunder locker room.

Harden scrolled through social media with a look of displeasure.

"James, what's wrong?" Durant saw it and sat next to him and asked with concern.

Although he didn't know Harden since childhood like Westbrook did, after getting along with him for the past few months, he found that he still liked this little brother.

"These guys are too much." Harden couldn't help complaining.

"What?" Durant raised his head.

Harden handed the phone to him, and it was full of remarks attacking Xu Yong.

Durant smiled and shook his head as he watched.

Harden didn't understand.

"Give me the phone," Durant continued.

Harden handed over the phone without thinking.

After Durant took it, he logged out of Harden's account, and then skillfully started to log in to his own... alt account.

When the Thunder were still called the SuperSonics, the team trained him, and his social media account was a carnival place for the little guys.

At first, he and the other party exchanged insults, but with only one pair of hands, how could he outshine those keyboard warriors?

As a result, he simply turned off the comment function on social media.

Then he suddenly discovered that he didn't like nightclubs, was not addicted to gambling, and had no hobbies. Apart from competing and training, he was endlessly empty.

So he opened the comment function again, and started exchanging comments with those little black guys again.

Finally, after smashing a mobile phone in anger, he thought of a good way, which is what he is doing now.

After all, social media is a virtual platform. Changing into a trumpet is like putting on a horse head and dancing. No one will recognize you, so you can naturally do whatever you want.

Moreover, he has accumulated rich experience over the years, that is, the platform generally only bans new users who have registered recently and are not very active, so he has a bunch of alt accounts that he usually logs in to.

This is called professionalism.

At this time, he logged in to a trumpet account named "KBforever".

"Why did you mention Jordan? Jordan wouldn't call a pick-and-roll after being dunked."

"Why haven't I seen any news about LeBron's injury? Does it only recur when he is dunked?"

"You want to teach me a lesson, isn't the dunk contest just an opportunity? And why isn't Jordan mentioned here? Jordan is a two-time slam dunk champion. He is not a guy like LeBron who only dares to hype but dare not participate!"

Harden looked at the screen, then looked at Durant, and then looked at the screen again. Everyone was dumbfounded.

Durant's social media combat effectiveness is much more terrifying than his on the court.

"Have you learned it?" Durant returned the phone to Harden, and then opened his schoolbag.

Harden shook his head. He was useless at learning, and he didn’t have such a professional trumpet.

"This number is for you." After Durant finished speaking, he took out the crispy noodles from his schoolbag and stood up.

Then, ignoring Harden's stunned look, he opened the crispy noodles and poured the seasoning packet into it. After shaking it for a few times, he left the locker room while eating the crispy noodles.

……

Originally, public opinion on social media was overwhelmingly criticizing Xu Yong.

What Americans are best at is double standards. When James disrespects his predecessors, they will choose to remain silent. But when someone says something bad about James, then I'm sorry, what you did can be shot on the spot.

But with the addition of some members of the Komi community, this wave of public opinion began to fall into fierce contention as before.

Durant proved with practical actions that in this era, as long as you light a fire, Comey and Jamie can perform a world war for you at any time.

And the slam dunk contest mentioned by Durant quickly became the focus of heated discussion.

The fans are constantly encouraging James to participate in the slam dunk contest, because this is what James himself has said. Now that he has the opportunity to teach Xu Yong a lesson and win two birds with one stone, why not participate?

The James fans may not have confidence in James winning the championship, or maybe it is because James said before that he would participate. They can only explain it by saying that Xu Yong may not participate.

Time just keeps passing in such days.

After about a week or so, the time was almost up. Both Xu Yong and DeRozan admitted in front of the media that they would participate in the 2010 Dallas All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest.

This time, the Jamies were forced into a blind corner.

……

Cleveland, James' private mansion.

At this time, in the living room, in addition to James, there were two very important people around him. One was his agent and close friend Rich Paul, and the other was his royal reporter who had interviewed Xu Yong before. Brian Windhorst.

"King, I think it's time to announce in advance to participate in the slam dunk contest." Windhorst said.

A little trivia: James' nickname "King" didn't come after he entered the NBA. It was when he was still in high school that after he led his team to a record of 27 wins and 0 losses and won the state championship, his teammates around him called him that. him.

Of course, it is impossible to find out whether this nickname was given to him by himself or by his teammates, but what is certain is that James likes to call him that in private.

James said nothing.

"Bryan, why do you think the King will participate in the dunk contest?" Paul on the side asked with a smile.

Windhorst was stunned. He looked at James and then at Paul. Wasn't this what James said himself?
"The King never said that he would definitely participate in the dunk contest. What he said was that if he participated in the dunk contest, he would definitely win the championship." Paul emphasized.

"But now is the best opportunity?" Windhorst didn't understand. Since he said such words and now the public opinion is here, isn't this the best time?
Paul couldn't help shaking his head. This Windhorst is very loyal, but his brain is not smart enough.

"There will never be the best time." At this moment, James, who had been silent for a long time, spoke.

"Yes, what the King said is just to give the fans an expectation. As long as he doesn't participate, that expectation will always be there." Perhaps because he was afraid that Windhorst's brain was not strong enough to understand, Paul helped translate.

At this moment, Windhorst suddenly realized.

"Don't say these things out, and don't mention things related to the slam dunk contest. Those on social media will pass after the slam dunk contest is over, and no one will care about it anymore." Paul is afraid of Windhorst Another bad thing, he added.

Windhorst nodded repeatedly, knowing that James called him here to beat him.

The reason why this dunk contest is so popular is because of his previous interview with Xu Yong.

The reason why James didn't say anything about him was because he knew that his original intention was to gain popularity just like in the past.

Just then, James' phone rang.

James didn't pay much attention at first, but after seeing the note on the caller ID, he immediately signaled the two of them to mute the call, and then picked up.

The call came from league commissioner David Stern.

"LeBron, how are you doing these days?" Stern's tone on the phone was as charitable as he showed.

James also responded with a hearty laugh.

The two of them were like old friends they hadn't seen for a long time, chatting about a few things about their family.

Then, Stern explained the purpose of coming.

He came to ask James about his willingness to participate in the dunk contest this year.

"I'm still thinking about it, David." James gave his answer.

Stern was not surprised, and did not continue to ask questions. Instead, he introduced some details of this year's slam dunk contest to James.

"We have invited three people this year, two newcomers, DeMar DeRozan and Xu Yong, and one you are familiar with, Shannon Brown."

James was a little surprised when he heard this.

Of course he knew that Stern said these things to get him to participate, but it did make him feel a little bit excited.

No one has a temper. How could he be indifferent to Xu Yong's remarks that he didn't take him seriously?
And the comments on social media also made him angry. If he wants to catch up with Jordan, he must have the honor of winning the slam dunk contest.

But angry, he is still very rational.

But what Stern said, if these three people are really the case, he really has hope.

Needless to say, DeRozan can jump, but his physical condition is average, and his dunk action is not stretched at all.

As for Brown, it's not worth mentioning, except for his lack of ability to jump high, his men are defeated.

This is an opportunity for him to teach Xu Yong a lesson.

Just, not enough.

Among the three, Xu Yong's dunk is still very competitive.

If he can't guarantee that he will win, there is no need for him to take such a risk.

"We have also made some changes to the competition system this year." After hearing James's lack of response, Stern spoke again.

"I'm listening, David." James expressed his interest.

"We still use the scoring rules in the preliminaries, but in the finals, we will use SMS voting to select the final champion."

"SMS voting?" James didn't expect that the official could still play this way.

"Yes, text messages, and we will select the valid text messages, and only the fan votes in the United States will be valid."

What Stern said next made James's heart double.

Xu Yong is a newcomer, and his popularity only comes from China. If this blocks the voting there, his popularity will definitely crush Xu Yong.

"We need you to save the dunk contest, LeBron." Just then, Stern added over there.

James was very moved, glanced at Paul beside him, suppressed his mood and replied: "I need to think about it, David."

"I'm waiting for your good news."

At this time, in the president's office in New York, Stern hung up the phone after saying this.

He then got up, walked to the French window, and looked out the window at the busy traffic.

As the league president, he has a lot to consider.

The slam dunk contest has not received much attention in recent years. The need for a gimmick-enough contest to attract fans' attention is only one aspect.

And, it's a small aspect.

What he cares more about is James' image.

James is his designated next generation leader of the league.

So from the moment James made his debut, whether it's penalties or rules, he has been leaning towards this proud man.

Now that the media is so hot, including Xu Yong's words, they are challenging the authority of the next generation leader.

James must respond. If he has concerns, he will help James eliminate these concerns.

Of course, what he said is all he will do. As for whether James or Xu Yong or someone else wins in the end, it doesn't matter.

After all, this is just a dunk contest. The important thing is that everyone knows that James is as tough a player as Kobe and he will not back down from a challenge.

　To popularize science, before James decides to be one, his image in the league is the next spokesperson~ In addition, everyone remembers that it is best to come to Qidian Chinese website to subscribe and support~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)