In New York, since yesterday, David Stern has had some complicated thoughts.
This time last year, two of the league's biggest superstars retired at the same time, which caused a great shock to the league. The situation between the Eastern and Western behemoths that he had painstakingly created came to an end. The ratings for the 2001/02 season dropped sharply, and the league lost a lot of popularity.
Fortunately, there are still a few rising stars in the league who can barely support the situation after Jordan and Old K retire.
Both Iverson and Kobe in 1996 had great personalities and abilities. They had already made a name for themselves and were well known.
McGrady in 1997 has become a son of the Windy City, supporting the basketball market after Jordan left the Bulls.
In 1998, Vince Carter was a top dunker in actual combat. His astonishing dunk in the 2000 Sydney Olympics earned him tens of millions per year and made him famous around the world. In recent years, he has also become a rising star with a notable reputation.
These four shooting guards are the up-and-coming stars of the league that he personally selected after Jordan and Old K retired last year.
The era of old K's monster K has ended. Now is the shooting guard era started by Jordan himself. After being interrupted by old K, starting last year, he began to promote the era of four major shooting guards.
In addition, although Old K retired, Yao, who was trained by Old K, appeared and reached the peak of his debut. Yao supported the Chinese market after Old K retired and became a signature star in the Chinese basketball world.
So one year after the two signature stars retired, the league's situation has stabilized.
However, now that old K is coming back, this will cause some problems.
If old K's condition declines seriously, it won't matter. But if old K's condition declines not too seriously after his comeback, his appeal will definitely have an impact on the new quarterback era.
Old K is almost thirty years old. Even if he is not injured, he has already entered the late stage of his career at this age. Even if Old K can still perform to a certain extent after his comeback, he is not optimistic about Old K because his era has already passed.
The past has passed, and he doesn't want the future of the league to be affected by Old K's comeback. Old K and his K era are already in the past.
To be honest, now he would rather praise Yao than old K.
The only regret is that Yao is not as personable and topical as Old K.
However, he is not very worried, because old K is not Jordan, Jordan is an outside shooter. At the age of 37, he still averaged a crazy performance of 26 points per game in the finals, and old K is a center. After experiencing a devastating injury, even though
After a forced comeback, at almost 30 years old, he will definitely not be able to return to his previous state.
If old K were replaced by Jordan, even if Jordan suffered such a serious injury when he was 30 years old, he would still have hope, but old K, he would not.
"Let him pass what must be past, and bury what must be buried. A new era has begun and is unstoppable."
He walked to the window and opened the curtains. The office was suddenly bright. Looking out the window at the eight or nine o'clock sun, David Stern felt a sense of vitality and vitality.
In his eyes, the dazzling sunshine is like the four famous shooting guards. Ashes to dust, dust to dust. Let's let him become a thing of the past in the K era. The league needs a new star, a sense of freshness, and no longer needs the old guard.
K.
…
On this day, following the US media, countless domestic media began to focus on reporting on Wang Tiejun's comeback. After a while, Lao Wang's mugshot once again appeared on the front pages of major domestic media.
As Lao Wang expected, almost all media from home and abroad are not optimistic about his comeback. Many media think that he should not pay, thinking that he is old and injured. Now is the era of young people, and his era has already passed.
Become a thing of the past.
CCTV's 7 o'clock news also gave one minute for Lao Wang to reappear in the eyes of the people across the country after a year.
On the 5th, O'Neal was interviewed by Los Angeles TV station in Los Angeles.
"Shaq, how much better do you think K will be when he comes back?" the reporter asked.
"We know that Tim Duncan suffered a torn meniscus in 2000 and went from flying to floor. As an athlete, injuries are inevitable, but Duncan overcame the injuries and is still the most powerful player in the league.
Power forward, so I believe that Old K will also overcome the injury problem, and I believe that he will have a successful comeback." O'Neal said seriously without being funny.
"But Lao K's injury is several times more serious than Duncan's," the reporter said.
"Maybe Old K will not be as good as Duncan after his comeback, but I think he will still be a very important person in this league," O'Neal said.
"Shaq, I heard that you want to lose weight. Do you feel threatened because Old K announced his comeback?" the reporter asked.
When it comes to this issue, O'Neal's eyes widened and he immediately denied: "This is impossible. Even if Old K comes back, he will not pose a threat to me. I will still be the number one center in active service. I will keep him at the top."
Scrubbing on the floor.”
At this point, he also made a gesture of pressing Lao Wang on the floor and rubbing continuously, while shouting: "Rubbing, rubbing, rubbing..."
"You stole Brother Tiejun's position. Now that Brother Tiejun is back, he will definitely get you. It's enough to make you the number one active center for one year. You still want to press Brother Tiejun to the floor and rub him?"
At Yao's home in New Jersey, he looked at O'Neal on the TV and said to himself with some dissatisfaction.
Yao's father and Yao's mother were sitting on the side. At this time, Yao's mother sighed: "Yao, your Tiejun brother is back, but I don't know what his condition is. The American media has been mocking him in the past two days."
"Brother Tiejun said he is recovering well, I believe him." Dayao had inexplicable confidence because Wang Tiejun had always given him such confidence.
At this time, Washington and Jordan watched O'Neal's interview program in his villa.
He defeated the Lakers to win the championship last year, no, he defeated old K to win the championship. He retired immediately and ended his career. After many NBA players retire, some will choose to be coaches, or enter the management, or become like Barkley and others.
Commentator, but he doesn't have these thoughts. What he wants is to become the team owner who can decide everything.
The opportunity soon appeared. The Wizards' owner was willing to sell 5% of the Wizards' shares for $20 million. He successfully became the Wizards' minor owner, entered the management team, and then led the subsequent draft.
The Wizards held the No. 1 pick in 2001, and he helped the team select Kwame Brown, a talented guy.
But obviously this draft did not bring him much face, because Brown's rookie season was not successful.
Now that the news of Old K's comeback has been announced, he feels a little emotional.
This time last year, he and Old K were locked in a close match in the finals. Unexpectedly, at the last moment, Old K and O'Neal were seriously injured and were both seriously injured, allowing him to complete the championship.
Although O'Neal's injury was serious, it was not fatal and he recovered within a few months of the offseason. However, Old K's injury was more serious. Dr. Carter, who performed the surgery on Old K, said that there was no possibility that Old K would return.
On the basketball court, he also thought that this giant beast would never come back, but he didn't expect it to come back now.
Whether it was a forced comeback or whether he really recovered, he didn't know.
However, with O'Neal's current strength, he should be able to suppress Old K. Last year's knee fracture did not have a great impact on O'Neal, because the fracture was very mild and healed well, while Old K was not the same, so he
It is speculated that Lao K was unwilling to make a comeback.
In fact, he also admires Old K's courage to come back. After all, as a heavy center, Old K is really not young now.
At this time, the phone rang, and when I saw it, it was a reporter from the New York Times whom I knew.
"Hey, Michael, how about accepting an interview with me?" the other person asked after getting through the phone.
"OK."
Jordan agreed. This was unavoidable, and he didn't want to avoid it. If Old K comes back and he has no voice, it can only mean that he is no longer important.
"So Michael, what do you think of Old K's comeback?" the reporter asked.
"With such a serious injury, I admire his courage to come back, but I think his comeback is irrational," he said.
"Do you think Old K is making a forced comeback?"
"Yeah, that's about the same thing."
"Can you predict what level Old K will reach after his comeback?"
"Oh, no matter how severely damaged his strength is, his foundation is too strong. I think he should have All-Star strength, but he should not have super dominance."
…
On June 11, after the finals, the Trail Blazers led by Duncan finally defeated the Nets led by Yao, with a big score of 4 to 2. Duncan won the first championship in his career.
The 2001/02 NBA season also officially ended. The training team arranged by Hawksman also rushed to the capital and began to help Lao Wang train. He officially began the road to recovery.
These days, a large number of reporters rushed to Fengshen Street to interview Wang Tiejun. Most of them were foreign reporters, and the majority were from the United States.
Lao Wang was focused on training and did not accept interviews at first, but in the end there were too many reporters and they blocked the two entrances to his home every day, which was a bit troublesome, so he decided to hold a press conference.
Bai Changsheng quickly made arrangements for him. The time is 10 a.m. on the 16th. The press conference will be held in the News Hall No. 1 of the K Times Sports Center.
On the afternoon of the 15th, Dayao's family of three, Lao Hu and his wife, Da Zhi, Zhang Lili and Su Qun, who had returned from the United States, arrived at Lao Wang's house.
Lao Wang was doing some confrontational ball training. When a group of people saw his state, their jaws dropped to the floor.
Dayao said in surprise: "Brother, you are not being pressed to the floor by O'Neal and you are rubbing him. You are preparing to press him on the floor and rub him for a few more years!"
"Can't I kill him?" Lao Wang said.
"Ha ha……"
Zhang Lili and the others laughed excitedly.
Lao Wang did not interrupt his training, and a group of people watched him train.
Lao Wang pulled to the left wing, two steps away from the paint area, and made a fierce sideways iron mountain hit, knocking over the opposing trainer, then turned around and strode into the paint area, directly from the left waist
Taking off, holding the ball with one hand, it was an extremely explosive tomahawk slam.
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"Oh ho!"
The crowd watching the excitement suddenly cheered.
"My brother's body is amazing!" Dayao exclaimed.
Da Zhi said with a smile: "The alliance has just canceled the K Law. Now that Brother Tiejun has come back, I wonder if he will bring out the K Law again?"
"It's very possible, haha!" Zhang Li said with a smile.
"Tiejun is preparing to return to the league to cause trouble. The league has just launched the quarterback era. If there is a reversal and returns to the K era, I wonder what the league management will think?" At this point, Lao Hu laughed.
.
"Brother, do you want to carry out restoration?" Dayao shouted loudly with a smile.
"Restoration?"
Lao Wang smiled and said: "I have only taken a year off. There is no restoration. My era is not over at all. The 1990s were mine, and the 2000s will also be mine."
The training ended at five o'clock in the afternoon, and dinner had been arranged. At a restaurant in the Fengshen Street community, a group of people walked over. There were not many onlookers along the way.
Lao Wang has lived here for eight or nine years in this large area of Fengshen Street. In addition, he has been wandering here every day for the past year. People have long been accustomed to his presence. The addition of Dayao and the others did not create any waves.
After entering the private room, Zhang Lili asked: "Tie Jun, you were injured last year and the summer camp was not held. What about this year?"
Lao Wang thought for a while and said: "We shouldn't have stopped last year. Let's continue this year. It doesn't cost a lot of money and we can cultivate a few talents."
Zhang Lili said: "Last year you were seriously injured and reimbursed, how can I still have the time to run a summer camp? But our summer camp is not just the few talents you mentioned. After the seventh summer camp, there are quite a few talents who have come out of our place, and they have played abroad.
There are five or six of them, and Dayao Yao is also a product of the Iron Army Summer Camp. There are dozens of people in China who have joined the CBA. Which team does not have our people? There are so many talents!"
Lao Wang said: "Brother Zhang, you should approach Mr. Bai about the summer camp and ask him to provide the venue and funds."
"Don't worry, I'm familiar with the roads." Lao Zhang said with a smile.
Lao Wang looked at Lao Hu and asked: "Brother Hu, your contract is over, what are you going to do?"
Hu Weidong smiled and said: "I am 32 years old this year, and I have suffered from injuries in the past few years. I am not planning to go to the United States this time. I plan to return to Jiangsu and play for two more years before retiring. I left to play in the NBA, right?
Live where I was raised.”
Lao Wang nodded and said: "Although we won a silver medal in the Olympics the year before last, how can a silver medal be as good as a gold medal? In the 2004 Olympics, we must work hard to defeat the American team and then upgrade the silver medal to a lower level. What do you think?"
Dayao said excitedly: "Brother, I listen to you."
Lao Wang analyzed: "In 2004, I estimate that O'Neal will definitely not participate. Dameng has retired, and David Robinson is no longer good. He may retire at any time. Ewing is in the same situation. The United States can no longer find any decent center.
, we have an absolute advantage in the fifth position.
At the power forward position, they have Duncan and a few guys, but compared to the entire inside line, we are still stronger.
On the outside, although Liu Wei and Liu Jihua can be used, they will definitely be crushed by Kobe and the others. Fortunately, with their current strength, they will have no problem dribbling the ball through half the court.
In comparison, we both have strengths and weaknesses, so we can still compete. But those European teams are also quite strong, so we have to be careful."
After dinner, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening. Dayao and the others went to the hotel. Lao Wang habitually started wandering around the sports center. At this time, his cell phone rang. He saw a call from Ewing from the United States.
It's morning now.
"Hey, Patrick, how are you?" he asked with a smile after answering the phone.
"Old K, how much strength do you still have?" Ewing's voice sounded depressed.
"Uh, are you ready to retire?" Lao Wang asked knowingly.
"I have this idea." Ewing smiled bitterly over there.
After the 2000/01 season, his contract with the Pacers ended. He originally wanted to join the Lakers with a basic salary to win a ring. This is what Old K promised him at the beginning, but he did not expect that Old K was seriously injured in the finals and was reimbursed. In the end, he ended up with
He played with the Pacers for another year with a minimum salary.
Now that Old K is back, he wants to inquire about the situation. If Old K fails, he may choose to retire directly.
"Patrick, ask your agent to contact the Suns management." Lao Wang said.
"Really?" Ewing couldn't believe it.
"Would I lie to you?"
Lao Wang asked back, but immediately added: "But the Suns are terrible now, so you have to be mentally prepared."
"It doesn't matter, it depends on my luck."
Ewing has no choice. He is 40 years old now. He could only play more than ten minutes in a game last season. Championship-level teams like the Trail Blazers, Nets, and Lakers don't have the opportunity to join him with a minimum salary.
As for the location, it’s already pretty good if Old K can agree to it.
At ten o'clock in the morning the next day, Lao Wang's press conference was held as scheduled. Hundreds of media came, more than half of which were foreign media, and they were all large media. Small media could not get in at all.
Su Qun recommended himself to be the host of the press conference. Wanting to experience the addiction of flipping cards, he was the first to name his acquaintance Yang Yi.
"Old K, congratulations on your comeback. I hope you can perform again and make the country proud."
Yang Yi is a basketball reporter for Capital Youth Daily. He has become an NBA commentator for CCTV in the past two years. He sent his own congratulations before asking questions.
"Thanks."
Lao Wang responded briefly.
Next, Yang Yi asked: "Most media at home and abroad are not optimistic about your comeback. Many NBA stars have the same attitude. What do you think?"
Lao Wang smiled and said: "I have been undergoing recovery training recently. Judging from the current state, I am indeed not as good as before."
"oh!"
The reporters below let out exclamations. Old K, who never admits defeat, can say this. It seems that he is really in trouble. This comeback must be a forced comeback. I believe that soon, Old K may retire again. The real
Retired.
Lao Wang continued: "I just turned 29 years old, and I never thought that at this age, I could return to my previous state after a serious injury."
At this point, he changed the subject and said: "I may be weaker, but in the NBA, for now, I don't see any inside player who can pose a real threat to me.
"
"oh?!"
At this time, the reporters below were shocked.
They didn't expect Old K to say that. It's too crazy. He came back from a serious injury at the age of 29, and he was almost 30 when he came back a few months later. Why should he look down on all the inside players in the league?
Among the current inside players in the league, although O'Neal is 30 years old, his performance has declined slightly this season, but that is after a serious injury, and he will surely return to his peak form next season. In addition to the Sharks, the fifth position also has
There are Yao, Mutombo, O'Neal Jr., Duncan, Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, and Chris Webber at the fourth position. All of them are powerful insiders. If Old K is not injured, he still has the qualifications to look down on them.
, but how dare you say this after being seriously injured?
Suddenly, almost all media reporters raised their hands.
Su Qun turned over the New York Times reporter's cards for the second time. The reporter took the microphone and immediately asked: "Old K, do you think your K era is over?"
"The 1990s were mine, and the 2000s will still be mine." Lao Wang said with a smile.
"oh!"
There was another exclamation.
This sentence is more straightforward and explicit than the words he just despised all the inside players in the league. They can't believe that Old K can be said to have suppressed the entire 1990s, won six championships in nine years, single-handedly created the behemoth K era, and is still here
Want to continue to suppress the 2000s at the age of 30 and with a seriously injured body? This is impossible. They must have heard wrong, or Old K said the wrong thing.
"Old K, what did you just say?" the New York Times reporter also asked in disbelief.
"You heard me right, don't doubt your ears, I believe there is nothing wrong with them." Lao Wang still smiled.
"oh!"
There were exclamations again, and the media reporters realized that it was not that they had heard wrong, nor that Old K had said something wrong.
But how dare Old K say that?
The content of this conference quickly spread to North America and the world.
