pinnacle swinger

Chapter 98 Rookie Challenge

In the downstairs lobby of the Hilton Hotel, the sound of the piano was soothing, and a faint fragrance filled the air.

The crowd communicated in twos and threes, and most of the people passing by were tourists coming and going.Among them, Joe Thomas and Wesley Johnson were talking to each other, looking down at the watch in their hands from time to time, showing a ray of anxiety.

"coming!"

Wesley Johnson whistled, "Wow, and his little girlfriend."

Tang Wenlong held Fang Chuxia's hand and walked up to Joe Thomas and Wesley Johnson. Fang Chuxia's face was blushing and she was really shy.

"Hello, beautiful lady, I'm Wesley Johnson, Tang's college classmate." Wesley Johnson's eyes lit up, and he reached out his hand to greet Fang Chuxia familiarly.

Fang Chuxia smiled generously, and lightly shook hands with Wesley Johnson, "Hello, Mr. Wesley, I know you, you are Tang Wenlong's best brother."

"I'm Joe Thomas, let's hurry up, Dwyane Wade and the others have already set off." Joe Thomas interrupted the impulse of the two to continue chatting, and after a brief introduction of himself, he greeted everyone leave the hotel.

So the four got up and walked towards the main entrance of the hotel, with Joe Thomas and Wesley in front, and Tang Wenlong and Fang Chuxia behind.

"Let's just drive a car, tell the other two to wait for me here." Wesley said, and then walked towards the parking lot alone.

Going down the steps, Fang Chuxia tightly grasped Tang Wenlong's hand with five fingers, and her body was on Tang Wenlong's body.

"What's wrong?" Tang Wenlong asked softly.

Fang Chuxia shook her head, her face was still flushed, and her posture was awkward.

Tang Wenlong said with concern: "If you don't feel well, don't go. I'll pick you up to watch the Rookie Challenge at night. Community activities are nothing fun."

Fang Chuxia rolled his eyes, are NBA players all livestock?But she was embarrassed to say what happened to her, and explained in a low voice with a blushing face, "I'm fine, I don't work anyway, I just want to see you."

Tang Wenlong was very moved and lowered his head to kiss her cheek.

Not long after, Wesley Johnson drove over in a large off-road vehicle, and the three of them got into the vehicle and left the hotel immediately.
Since the rookie game was established in 1994, the coaches will select the best nine freshmen and nine sophomores one month before the start of the All-Star weekend.

But in fact, in the earliest days, the rookie game was just a rookie game, and the players selected by the coach were all rookies who had just entered the league. It was just like the All-Star Game, divided into the East and West.It was not until the beginning of the new century, in 2000, that the competition system was changed to the current first-year challenge second-year competition, and the name of the competition was also changed to Rookie Challenge.

Speaking of which, although the second-year players have one more year of game experience than the first-year players, their overall strength may not completely crush the first-year players, because the growth cycle of a player is very long, and many players are going through After a long period of cultivation, the potential is fully released and reaches the peak.

But it is undeniable that most of the sophomore players who have played for an extra year have higher tactical literacy and cooperation.So until today, the first grade and the second grade have played against each other 11 times, and lost 8 times.

When it comes to the most valuable player in the rookie game, many well-known names will be mentioned, and many of them are active superstars.For example, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, the first most valuable player winner in the last century, Tang Wenlong's idol "Answer" Iverson, his senior brother "Melon" Carmelo Anthony, and now 76 People are most familiar with him, his colleague Iguodala who works with him every day.

For the rookies who are newly entering the league, it is very commendable to win the honor of participating in the rookie game and the title of most valuable player. At least they exposed themselves and got a lot of opportunities to show their faces. It also proved his potential as a rookie from the side.

But Tang Wenlong didn't like this very much. He is a pragmatic guy. He made up his mind early on, just to make up his mind, just add soy sauce.

As the night descends on Los Angeles, the true charm of the City of Angels comes out.

The bright lights illuminate the night like day, and the Staples Center Arena is like a night pearl in the night, radiant, dazzling and eye-catching.

Although it is only an appetizer for the rookie competition, the big and small stars in Los Angeles can't wait to show their charm in front of the camera. Lady-type, mature-type, all gathered together, and they all took the positions in the front rows superior.There are even more young stars whose names cannot be named, but who have pretty faces and hot bodies. When the camera cuts, they will occasionally show a few shots. Fans ask the host who is this?The embarrassing thing is that the host doesn't know what the girl's name is.
There are also loyal basketball fans who help out the NBA, including boxing stars, film stars, pop stars and other stars, and most of them are singing, such as Rihanna, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and even among them , and occasionally see a few Chinese faces.

And if a team's younger brother is selected for the rookie game, the All-Star, as the team's leader, may also come to the sidelines to watch and help out. For example, Thunder sophomores James Harden and Ibaka were selected for the sophomore team. Durant and Westbrook, who participated in the All-Star Weekend as All-Stars in the team, both appeared on the scene, cheering for the two younger brothers in the team.

In the locker room before the game, the head coach is Lawrence Frank, an assistant coach from the Celtics.

"Let's just relax and play, winning or losing doesn't matter." Frank said with a smile, and then threw the tactical board irresponsibly, not planning to draw any tactics at all.

Everyone burst into laughter. Tang Wenlong and Wesley Johnson were sitting together. It was the first time the two played together after they left college.

"But coach, you should tell us where we are. There are several swing players here!" Someone said this.

Frank was taken aback for a moment, and then he immediately responded with a smile, "Sorry sorry, this is my mistake."

"I think everyone should know the starting lineup, John (Wall), Don, Gordon (Hayward), Blake (Griffin), DeMarcus (Cousins). Position?" As Frank was talking, he suddenly felt that this position was not clear. Wall point guard, Tang Wenlong and Hayward forward guard, Griffin and Cousins ​​inside. He had a black line, and said it again, Then, in order to prevent someone from asking questions again, he even applied for the substitute position.

"Wesley Johnson, Evan Turner, Greg Monroe, Derek Favors."

Hayward leaned over cheekily, "Hey, it's Don, what a coincidence. Your Axe is pretty cool!"

Wesley Johnson, on the other hand, had a bad face, turned his head with a snort, and chatted with Greg Monroe beside him.

"This guy is too vengeful, I have forgotten about the university." Hayward spread his hands, then changed the subject, and chatted with Tang Wenlong about games, "Tang, I recently played a new instant game, which is very fun. Yes, do you want to do it together?"

"What game? I just started Dota, okay?"

"League of Legends, have you heard of it? Tsk tsk, this game is okay, the graphics are very good, and the resolution is much higher than that of Warcraft. The key is—"

"What is it?" Tang Wenlong asked cooperatively.

"It's because the game has only just started, and the people in it are pretty good, and they don't know how to make up the knife. Can you imagine? If we go in, won't it kill the Quartet?"

Tang Wenlong was convinced, and refused without hesitation, "Thank you for the recommendation, but I'll still play my Dota, as I am nostalgic for the past."

"Hey, having said that, the armguard on your arm today is pretty cool. Where did you buy it?" Hayward lowered his head and poked Tang Wenlong's left armguard with his finger.

"Oh, this is a gift from the sponsor, with a dragon drawn on it." Tang Wenlong turned his arms around and demonstrated it to Hayward.

"Huh, you actually signed a sponsor? I haven't heard the media say it!" Hayward's eyes flashed, and he immediately caught an important piece of information.

"Hush~ Keep your voice down." Tang Wenlong said vigilantly.

Hayward: "Tell me, what's going on?"

Tang Wenlong waved his hand and said in a low voice, "Actually, it's not a big deal. I guess the news will be known after this game. Look at the shoes on my feet." come out.

It was a pair of high-top sneakers mainly in red. The sneakers looked like they were specially customized, and there was a golden dragon painted on the side, which was exactly the same as the armguard on Tang Wenlong's arm.Red and gold have always been the favorite colors of Chinese people, and Tang Wenlong is no exception. He is very happy with the style and color of this pair of shoes, and there is a big hook carved in the middle of the side.

"Oh, it's Nike, aren't they very picky!" Hayward suddenly realized.

Tang Wenlong, "It's okay. I didn't want to pay a high price before, but after the All-Star main game list came out, I was willing to pay a high price. I signed with them for five years."

"Hehehe, about how much it is, let's hear it!" Hayward asked with his eyebrows twitching twice.

Tang Wenlong said modestly, "Actually, it's not much. It's about the same as Durant's sneaker contract at that time. It's only 6000 to [-] million!"

"Fuck."

(End of this chapter)