Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 252 Please Call Me Lü Bu

"He's strong."

At the post-game press conference, when asked by reporters how he would evaluate O'Neal, Yao Ming did not hesitate for long before giving his answer.

Just because you scored a double-double of 49 points over Shaq doesn't mean you can arrogantly mock Shaq for being bad.

Yao Ming is not that kind of person.

"As you have seen, it is very difficult to completely stop him in a game."

At this point, Yao Ming paused for a moment and said, "In China, there is a history of war in which three countries were at war."

The American journalists in the audience were completely bewildered.

But Chinese reporters immediately realized that Yao Ming was referring to the Three Kingdoms period.

However, to Yao Ming's surprise, there was an American reporter at the scene who excitedly shouted out the name of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Yao Ming was somewhat surprised, not expecting that there were fans of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in the United States.

Yao Ming nodded and continued, "That's right, it's from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There was a general who was extremely powerful, the most powerful general in the entire Three Kingdoms period. His martial prowess was this."

He gave a thumbs up.

"His name is Lü Bu. There is an old Chinese saying, 'Three heroes fought Lü Bu,' which means that in a battle, three very powerful people challenged Lü Bu."

"What I'm trying to say is that when three people are fighting one, everyone thinks it's perfectly reasonable and no one would think they're bullying the weak."

"Even Lü Bu himself thought so. He believed that he was very strong, the best in the world, and should be able to fight many people by himself."

"I think Shaq is like Lu Bu. He's so strong that he thinks it's perfectly reasonable for others to double-team him."

"So he may fail, but he is the undisputed strongest, and even I am no match for him right now."

After Yao Ming finished speaking, the American reporter who had quoted the Romance of the Three Kingdoms immediately clapped excitedly.

He felt that Yao Ming had said too much.

He thought O'Neal was like Lu Bu, who tacitly allowed multiple people to gang up on him.

If Shaq isn't the strongest, then who is?

Most of the American journalists present had no idea about the story of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and turned to ask those around them what Romance of the Three Kingdoms was and who Lü Bu was.

At this moment, Su Qun, standing in the crowd, asked with a smile, "Yao Ming, if you compare Shaq to Lu Bu, then who do you think you are?"

Could it be that after Lü Bu's death, Guan Yu, who would sell his head to anyone, was now a target for smuggling?
Facing Chinese reporters, Yao Ming seemed a little embarrassed. After a moment's thought, he said, "If I had to choose one, I would prefer Zhao Yun."

A white horse and a silver spear, rescuing his lord single-handedly—it's practically every man's ultimate dream.

Su Qun guessed it right away and clapped his hands.

A reporter also asked Yao Ming why he didn't score 50 points.

49 points, that's going to drive people with OCD crazy.

The key point is that Yao Ming had a real chance to score 50 points.

He was substituted off the court with 1 minute and 17 seconds remaining in the game.

If they had stayed on the court, they would have had a real chance to score 50 points.

Faced with this question, Yao Ming paused for a moment, then calmly asked in return, "Do you really think I can't get 50 points?"

He even said it with a smile.

The reporter who asked the question was taken aback and quickly shook his head.

Just kidding, you scored 49 points against Shaq. Against any other center, scoring 50 points would be a piece of cake.

Yao Ming continued, "If everyone gives me the ball, I can score 50 points, or even 60 or 70 points."

"But I'd rather help the team win the game; that's the most important thing."

These words highlight his team's paramount importance and his commitment to winning.

The relaxed tone with which he said he could get 60 or 70 points also revealed his strong confidence.

The response was very good.

The New York reporters in the audience applauded.

See that? That's true leadership qualities!
Winning the game is the key; nothing else matters.

Does Yao Ming care how many points he scores? It's not like he can't get them.

The reporter who asked the question, driven by a desire to stir up trouble, subconsciously wondered, "Who is Yao Ming implying when he says 'If everyone passes the ball to me'?"

There don't seem to be any players in the league who ask their teammates to pass them the ball, suppress their teammates' stats, and then pad their own stats.

Yao Ming's words immediately reached Shaquille O'Neal's ears.

He had a lot of pride, so he insisted on arriving at the press conference at the very last minute.

He didn't even want to come. Before the game, he kept saying he would treat Yao Ming to a big braised pork knuckle, but in the end, Yao Ming treated him to a hot pot meal.

I'm so ashamed.

But Jackson said, if you don't go, you have no idea what people will say about you.

At least you got 37 points, so you didn't get completely crushed.

Say a few polite words, praise Yao Ming, and the matter will be over.

O'Neal arrived at the scene with a dark expression, already mentally prepared for a storm.

Then I heard the reporter relay Yao Ming's words.

"Who? Lü... Bu?"

O'Neal asked in a daze, "Who is this?"

Seeing that none of the American journalists in the audience could explain it clearly, O'Neill looked at a Chinese journalist.

The Chinese reporter thought for a moment and said, "He was a very powerful military general in Chinese history, and his fighting ability was the best at the time."

"First?"

O'Neal's eyes lit up. He imagined Yao Ming mocking him and trash-talking him.

But O'Neal never expected that Yao Ming would compare him to Lü Bu.

He is still the number one fighter.

Shaquille O'Neal loved this kind of thing; his furrowed brows relaxed, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

He asked in detail who Lü Bu was and which book he was from.

"I want to read this book."

"That's right, I am Lü Bu."

O'Neal proudly showed off his muscles to the reporters.

He liked the title of "Number One in the World".

Moreover, he was a top military general from Chinese history.

How cool!
So O'Neal pointed at everyone and said, "From now on, don't call me the Great Shaq, call me Lu Bu!"

He was so excited.

The group of Chinese reporters in the audience looked at each other in bewilderment.

"He wouldn't actually read Romance of the Three Kingdoms, would he?" a reporter muttered.

While Lü Bu was undoubtedly the greatest warrior in the land, he also had the infamous reputation of being a traitor who served three masters. The reporter next to him immediately understood and, after thinking for a moment, said, "It should be fine. We talk about being a traitor who served three masters, but the Americans don't care about that. For them, it's a better future."

Anyway, O'Neal on the stage was overjoyed.

In return, O'Neal also began to praise Yao Ming effusively: "Yao is the greatest player in China."

"My God, you have no idea how strong he is. He blocked my shot twice."

"And his offense, I just couldn't stop him. He got 49 points, Fuck, that's insane. He's not a rookie, he's a Chamberlain-esque super genius."

"That's right, he's the best center in the world, just as good as me."

O'Neal left New York satisfied.

The news of the Knicks defeating the Lakers, with Yao Ming scoring a massive 49 points against O'Neal, quickly went viral across the United States the following day.

Clearly, Romance of the Three Kingdoms sold out overnight.

The next day, Tang Sen was stunned when he saw the headline in the New York Times.

The Battle Between Zhao Yun and Lü Bu: An Epic of Heroes

Zhao Yun, Lü Bu?
Tang Sen was completely bewildered, having no idea why the New York Times would bring up Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

But you know what, Yao Ming's comparison of O'Neal to Lü Bu is actually quite apt.

But comparing yourself to Zhao Yun?
If Tang Sen remembers correctly, the Shu Han Group didn't fare very well.

But there's no way around it; which man who reads Romance of the Three Kingdoms doesn't admire Zhao Yun, the righteous and loyal hero with his white horse and silver spear?

Tang Sen never expected that Yao Ming's casual remark would spark a considerable Three Kingdoms craze in the United States.

So much so that when all the star players arrived in Atlanta, Kwame Brown, during a reporter interview, quickly brought up the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

He asked Yao Ming remotely, if Yao Ming is Zhao Yun, then who is he, and is he Guan Yu?

This is his understanding.

Yao Ming is Zhao Yun, and there is a Five Tiger General in the book.

Both he and Yao Ming trained under Tang Sen, and were disciples of this training master.

According to the ranking of the Five Tiger Generals, I am the eldest disciple and should be ranked first, so it should be Guan Yu.

McGrady is second only to Zhang Fei.

Stoudemire's influence isn't enough, so he'll be ranked a little lower. Therefore, Zhao Yun, whom Yao Ming wants to become, is just third.

The hype reached another peak when Shaquille O'Neal appeared and immediately showed reporters the tattoo on his right arm.

This guy flew back to Los Angeles and got the Chinese characters for "Lu Bu" tattooed on his right arm overnight.

He proudly told all the reporters to forget his nickname "Great White Shark" and that from now on, he would be called Lü Bu.

This level of interest led to a situation where, after Yao Ming met Jordan at the hotel where the stars were staying, Jordan immediately asked, "If Shaq is Lu Bu, then who am I?"

Lu Bu is already the best in the world, but what about me?

The real number one fighter should be myself.

Yao Ming hesitated, unsure how to answer.

He never expected that his casual remark would attract such a high level of attention.

Even the NBA officially jumped on the bandwagon, creating a promotional video featuring Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal in the form of military generals.

It seems to be inspired by a character from a Three Kingdoms game.

"Tang, it's been a long time."

Jordan asked casually, then turned his attention to Tang Sen and warmly hugged him.

They didn't even give Tang Sen a chance to refuse.

"Michael, are you really planning to retire?" Tang Sen asked.

At the end of last year, Jordan announced that he would retire at the end of this season.

So another big topic at this year's All-Star Game is Jordan's Last Dance.

Even this year's All-Star Game included a retirement ceremony.

They even invited Mariah Carey, a superstar, to sing for Jordan.

The hand is completely full.

Jordan nodded.

The words have already been spoken, and the retirement ceremony has been prepared; there's no way to avoid retiring now.

Hill had returned from injury and was in good form.

Stoudemire is incredibly talented and has the potential to be a contender for the second best rookie.

The Wizards also have a good record, returning to the playoffs, and even have a slight hope of competing for the championship.

Jordan also had the idea of ​​giving it his all, having one last dance, and then winning another championship before retiring.

It can be seen that the Magic in the East remain strong.

Moreover, the Knicks later surged ahead and became a strong team in the East, and Jordan completely gave up the idea of ​​pursuing the championship again.

With the Wizards' current strength and a weak interior, they're really unlikely to make it out of the Eastern Conference if they face the Magic or the Knicks.

"Yes."

Jordan nodded and said, "Don, we're friends. Next season, when I become the Wizards' owner, could you come to Washington and help me?"

"No matter how high a salary the Knicks offer you, I can earn more than them."

"I have the eye to spot geniuses, and you have the ability to train them. Our combination will be invincible."

An eye for discovering genius?
Tang Sen felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Do you have good judgment? If you really did, you wouldn't have let Brown go two years ago.

“Michael, let’s talk about that when you become the team owner,” Tang Sen chuckled.

If you're not going to be the boss, what good are all these promises?

Jordan nodded, chatted for a few more minutes, and then said goodbye and left.

As he was leaving, he suddenly said, "Tang, I look forward to fighting you. I won't hold back."

Jordan was referring to the 3-on-3 exhibition game on the 9th.

Each team consists of four players, including one NBA player, one WNBA player, one former NBA superstar, and one social celebrity.

They are usually movie stars.

But for some reason, the NBA contacted him, wanting him to play for the Atlanta team.

Importantly, Jordan will be joining the Los Angeles team.

At this point, Tang Sen understood why the NBA had invited him.

It's estimated that Jordan wanted to take this opportunity to get back at Jordan before retiring, to avenge his earlier victory.

After considering it, Tang Sen decided to give him this face.

He won't be able to get over the awkwardness in his heart until he wins a game against himself.

(End of this chapter)