Champions Creed

Chapter 48: Michael finally learned to speak properly
Look carefully, this stunned man is called Danzi.

From his surprised expression, it can be seen that things were a little beyond his expectations.

The surrounding stadium staff all stopped what they were doing, and Tim Glover, who followed Jordan onto the court, also opened his mouth wide.

They couldn't believe that there was someone in the world who dared to speak to Jordan like that, and dared to disobey him to his face.

Wait, this 18-year-old kid couldn't possibly think Michael was a nice guy like a magician, right?
Jordan didn't expect Roger to react like this. In his fantasy, it would be good enough for this 18-year-old boy who hadn't even grown all his hair to control his body and not tremble when he saw him.

In his fantasy, Roger saw himself being respectful and admiring himself, just as he boasted to Buckley.

As a result, he actually yelled at me?

How dare a lamb to be slaughtered resist?

Jordan's brown pupils seemed to be emitting fire: "Kid, watch your tone. You think this is your territory? You can do whatever you want here? Look above your head, bastard, look at those championship pennants, and then look at the statue that will be built outside the stadium. Even if you play for a lifetime, you can never replace my position in the United Center! No one can talk to me like that in my territory!"

"Come on, I'm too lazy to replace you. Don't always think you are the center of the world. It seems that everyone wants to replace you, everyone wants to be your successor.

When you were swept by Larry Bird and beaten by the Smiling Assassin, did anyone on the Bulls say anything bad to you? No, because no one could do such a jerk. And I just lost two games, and you changed your clothes to mock me. This is why I don't like you.

So shut up, I'm going to treat you the way you treat me. If you don't mind, Michael, I'm going to continue my training."

After saying that, Roger turned around and continued training, too lazy to talk any more with Jordan.

Jordan had heard a lot about Roger. He knew that this guy had a fight with Scott in the locker room, and he knew that this guy had been playing tricks on Scott in front of the media.

He also knew that poor, useless Scott was about to lose control of the locker room.

Roger is a rebellious beast that is difficult to tame, but Jordan just likes this kind of challenge.

It's fun to conquer a hot-tempered person.
"Rookie, don't force me to teach you how to respect others."

"I say the same thing to you, Michael. You should also learn how to respect others. Your jersey retirement ceremony is over. You have received blessings from everyone, including me. Why don't you leave? You don't belong here anymore." Roger is still so "stubborn".

Michael Jordan would never allow anyone to talk to him like this. Even after he retired, he would not allow such a thing to happen.

Then, his roar resounded throughout the empty United Center: "Get over here, you bastard! Get over here, let me teach you what respect is! I allow you to attack first, as a token of my mercy to you!"

Well, Jordan used his most common method to establish his authority. He wanted to challenge Roger one-on-one.

Glover stopped Jordan and said, "Michael, your body is not fit for basketball right now."

"Are you afraid that I will lose?!" Jordan, wearing a jersey, glared angrily. He was already angry.

Grover didn't answer, but his evasive look said it all.

This further aroused Jordan's desire to win, and his heart seemed to be boiling like magma.

Are you kidding me? You really think I'm going to lose to a little brat like that useless Scott?

Roger didn't immediately walk over to Jordan with the basketball in his arms. Instead, he hooked his finger and said, "Why don't you come over here with the ball, bastard?"

As a polite person, Roger attaches great importance to reciprocity.

Furious, Jordan grabbed a basketball with one hand and stuffed it into Roger's arms: "I only need ten shots to destroy you."

"Are you sure you want me to attack first? I don't have the habit of bullying old men."

"Get out of the three-point line and attack, rookie!"

All the staff who remained on the scene were watching this one-on-one match. Roger held the ball outside the three-point line. The man in front of him looked like a beast that had been hungry for three days and three nights.

Jordan pressed forward at the moment of the one-on-one match, lowering his center of gravity so low that his hands could almost touch the floor. In addition, he placed one hand directly on Roger's chest to prevent Roger from suddenly shooting the ball.

Jordan had watched Roger's games, so he knew very well how high Roger's hit rate was when he suddenly pulled up, so he would never give Roger a chance.

Many new fans are reluctant to admit that the defense in the 90s was better than that in the 21s, and think that this is a case of favoring the past over the present. But the fact is that if Jordan's defensive action is put in 20, the referee can directly call him for a foul. But in the 2024s, this was completely fine.

Why didn't a super shooter emerge in the 90s? It's true that the three-pointer was not valued at that time, but you can understand it by looking at Jordan's defense against Roger. In this case, it's not a question of accuracy, you don't even have a chance to shoot.

Roger had to admit that Michael Jordan was indeed one of the strongest outside shooters in history.

In the previous duel with Pippen, Pippen was not serious at all, and by the time he wanted to be serious, it was too late. Therefore, Roger was able to humiliate him.

But this time, Michael Jordan did not let his guard down just because Roger was only 18 years old.

Roger lowered his center of gravity and found that Jordan let him go to his left hand, because Roger's left hand was not his dominant hand. He took advantage of the situation and broke through to his left hand.

Jordan's strong upper limbs made it difficult for Roger to break through. If he continued like this, he would be forced to stop sooner or later. So Roger stopped sharply and turned around to jump shot.

Jordan reacted quickly, but he had been away from the basketball court for too long, so he was still a little slow.

This short half beat allowed the basketball shot by Roger to fly past Jordan's fingertips. Although he failed to block the shot, Jordan felt that this interference was enough.

But the next second, Jordan first heard the sound of the basketball hitting the backboard, and then the sound of the net rolling.

Under Jordan's tight defense, Roger's turnaround shot still hit the bank!

"DPOY, huh? That's it?" This goal was actually very close, and Roger might not score even if he scored again. But Roger couldn't show it, because on the basketball court, if one side shows weakness, the other side will become stronger.

Glover had seen this scene too many times, the arrogant newcomer chattering in front of Michael, thinking he could become the God Eater.

But none of these people will escape being beaten down in the end.

But today, Glover couldn't guarantee that the final outcome would be the same as before, because the person standing in front of Roger now was baseball player Michael Jordan.

In order to let Jordan play baseball, Glover spent a lot of time to reshape Jordan's muscle distribution.

Jordan's upper limbs are now very strong, with muscles in his shoulders, arms, chest and back, but his lower limbs are much weaker than before. And because of the different focus of training, Jordan's lateral movement speed has also decreased a lot.

If it was Michael the basketball player, Roger would have never been able to break through. But everyone saw the result of baseball players defending Roger. It is true that Jordan can still defend most guards in the league. But Glover knew very well how outstanding Roger's offense was.

Michael will be in danger today!

"Shut up, you damn bitch! What can you do? Just gamble on your touch from the outside!" Jordan barked angrily.

According to the unwritten rules of one-on-one duels, the team that scores a goal will continue to possess the ball, which is extremely advantageous for Roger.

Roger continued to attack, taking a tentative step to the left and suddenly pulling the ball to shoot. Jordan's bent knees straightened up, but Roger accelerated to the right.

Jordan chased after Roger with all his might and knocked him down in the air, but the basketball that was lifted high up still fell into the net due to his unbalanced state.

"And one! Old man, go home!"

Jordan gritted his teeth, he underestimated Roger's one-on-one scoring ability.

In terms of scoring alone, this kid is truly a genius.

Playing against him, Jordan felt like he was playing against the Iceman.

In 85, the two were teammates and inevitably competed on the basketball court. The Iceman was already old at that time, and Jordan could easily keep up with his pace and gain an advantage in the confrontation. But the Iceman could score in various ways, which made Jordan completely lose his temper.

This kid is somewhat similar to the Iceman.

But, fuck it!
Jordan vowed to destroy this bastard!
Jordan didn't say anything else, but threw the ball back to Roger.

But Roger didn't stop. He knew this was the best opportunity to influence Jordan's mentality: "You're silent? Damn, the famous Michael Jordan is scared. You didn't expect such a scene, and you can tell from your expression. If you are not good, practice more. If you can't afford to lose, don't play. You used to be very good, but that was the past, and this is now."

"You're going too far, rookie." Glover on the side reminded Roger not to add fuel to the fire. He didn't want Jordan to get hurt because of this meaningless one-on-one.

"Shut up cheerleader, you have none of your business here," Roger responded.

Abunassar, who was training with Roger, couldn't believe his eyes. One day, the player he trained actually made Glover, the most famous player in the industry, speechless.

On the third attack, Jordan stole the ball the moment Roger was about to pass the ball, and he almost succeeded.

Almost succeeded means that Roger passed by him and scored a dunk.

It’s 3 to 0.

The entire United Center was silent. People did not expect the duel to end like this.

But Roger was facing Jordan after all, and finally in the fourth defense, Jordan blocked Roger's quick stop jump shot.

Then, it was Jordan's moment to strike back: "From now on, you're only responsible for picking up the ball for me, son of a bitch."

Luo doesn't like this word, but Jordan keeps using it.

Jordan didn't play any tricks with Roger, and directly pushed forward with his back. With Roger's current confrontation ability, he couldn't resist Jordan at all.

It seems that intense training to defend against back-to-the-back attacks needs to be put on the agenda.

After advancing to the right position, Jordan turned over and leaned back. Roger couldn't completely interfere because Jordan's leaning back was too big.

After the shot, Jordan smiled and his favorite moment of slaughter began!
But with a "bang", the basketball hit the rim and bounced out, and Jordan's smile disappeared.

The muscle-enhanced upper limbs made Jordan's touch stiffer. Glover was not exaggerating, his current body was not suitable for basketball. Moreover, this was the first time Jordan had played basketball in a few months. If Jordan's defensive skills were still 80% of what they were before retirement, his offensive skills might be less than 60%.

"Sorry, caddy Michael, please pick up the ball. It's so funny, who the hell would want to be a caddy's successor." Roger stood outside the three-point line and looked at Jordan with a smile.

"That's enough, Michael, stop fighting." Glover could see that Jordan was angry, so he reminded him again.

"Shut your stinky mouth, Tim!" Jordan doesn't care whether you are a friend or not when he curses at someone.

"You really should have listened to that cheerleader. She's doing this for your own good." Roger added fuel to the fire.

Jordan's eyes were bloodshot and he clenched his teeth. This time he deliberately let Roger break through easily, and then when Roger jumped up for the layup, he swung his arms from behind and succeeded.

And as he fell, he hit Roger in the face with his elbow.

Roger covered his face and walked out of the baseline. After confirming that he was not injured, he yelled, "This is a fucking foul!"

"Making excuses? That's how the NBA plays. Now go get the ball for me, bastard." Jordan shouted the word that Roger didn't like again. The escalation of the conflict between them actually started when Jordan said that word.

Surprisingly, Roger said nothing, but just picked up the basketball and threw it to Jordan.

Abunassar noticed some bruises on Roger's lower eye sockets, and he wanted to stop the bullfight, but Jordan had already started it.

This time Jordan forced his way past Roger, walked to the basket and faked a shot, which sparked Roger's attack.

Just as Jordan was about to make a layup after shaking off the opponent, Roger, who was falling, hit Jordan in the face with an almost identical elbow!

"what!"

With a deep roar, Jordan covered his face and walked out of the baseline. The difference was that Glover saw blood dripping from Jordan's fingers.

"Michael? Michael!" Grover immediately stepped forward to check.

When he ran up, what appeared before his eyes was Jordan's deformed eye sockets and the expression twisted in pain.

Even Glover could see without the filming that Jordan's eye socket bone was smashed to pieces by Roger!
Michael has gone too far this time!

"You damn bastard!" Jordan yelled and took his hands away from his face.

But this time, Jordan was in so much pain that he couldn't utter the word that Roger didn't like.

He finally learned to speak properly.

(End of this chapter)