Basketball trainer, I created a super giant

Chapter 261 No More Number 23 on the Field

The fourth game between the Knicks and the Wizards was broadcast nationally.

We have to broadcast it live; it could be Jordan's farewell game.

Madison is shining brightly tonight.

New York City has no shortage of stars, and even more so, no shortage of social elites.

The main entrance to Madison Square Garden was transformed into a red carpet event, with reporters gathering and luxury cars constantly arriving, from which celebrities stepped out one after another.

Of course, legendary figures are also included.

Dr. J, Magic Johnson, The Lord of the Rings, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and a host of other legendary basketball stars all arrived.

Tang Ling and her mother even came over with their neighbors, Hillary Swank and her husband.

With such a large-scale event, tickets are extremely difficult to obtain.

The price is comparable to that of the finals.

Inside the home team's locker room.

Tederski couldn't help but say, "I bet the Wizards are furious. They've essentially lost a game's worth of tickets and millions in revenue."

Tang Sen nodded in deep agreement. Towards the end of the regular season, the Wizards wanted to avoid the Knicks.

In the end, not only did they fail to avoid it, but they also ended up being unable to hold a farewell game for Jordan.

At this point, Unseld was probably thinking, "If I had known this would happen, I would have just slipped to fifth place. Even if I were eliminated 4-0, I would still have played at home in Washington."

Tedsky added, "Don't you think Michael is in the most difficult position right now?"

With so many star players here, a farewell ceremony has been prepared for you.

At this point, will the Wizards lose, or will they lose?
If we really win, are we going to send these people back to Washington to hold another event?
In other words, doing all this today is tantamount to acknowledging that the Wizards lost and that it was Jordan's last game in his career.

Tang Sen said, "Who knows? But I think the Wizards should accept it."

Even if they manage to win one game, how can they possibly turn the tide?
Collins should have realized the extent of the gap in strength long ago.

Tedsky nodded, finding it amusing.

This means that Jordan has no choice but to retire today.

He remembered something else, lowered his voice, and asked curiously why the league had contacted Tang Sen yesterday.

Tang Sen shook his head when this was mentioned.

It's not convenient to say.

Moreover, Tang Sen hasn't thought this through yet.

The main concern is that Stern's promises to himself are too grand, and I'm worried about potential pitfalls.

So Tang Sen first figured out exactly where the pitfalls were.

These guys are all shrewd; who knows where they'll dig their own graves?

But if you think about it carefully, there's no need for the league to dig a hole for itself. What could they possibly gain from this?

Skills are your own; no one can take them away from you.

So no matter how you look at it, this matter is entirely beneficial to me.

Tang Sen was particularly moved by Stern's last words.

Jordan longed to be an owner, so he made a comeback and played for the Wizards for two years.

Now I have this opportunity myself.

Fortunately, I can also earn a lot of income through the training camp.

To build an NBA team, you need money first.

Stern gave himself some time to consider.

Tang Sen felt it was too hasty.

Even if I agreed, I wouldn't have time to organize any training camp right now.

The Knicks are still vying for the championship.

If we really want to do it, we can only wait until the season ends.

But in any case, Tang Sen felt that he shouldn't have to worry about customers this summer.

In any case, the league will definitely cancel this Townsend rule.

Tang Sen also quite likes the plan of "one star player per city".

"Fred, don't ask anymore. Just wait and see how much money you make this summer."

Tang Sen patted Tedsky on the shoulder.

Last year you chose to work for yourself, and you really succeeded.

Tedsky was quick-witted and vaguely guessed something; he simply nodded.

At the pre-match press conference, Carlisle was full of fighting spirit, while Collins looked like he had lost his parents.

Facing a large group of reporters, Collins felt nothing but bitterness.

The Wizards' chances of winning were already slim, and now that Jordan's farewell stage has been set up, it would be disrespectful to the league if the Wizards didn't lose.

With that thought in mind, Collins said a few perfunctory words and left the scene.

After returning to the locker room, he didn't make any arrangements.

The atmosphere in the locker room was heavy.

Jordan was extremely embarrassed.

Logically, a farewell match should be a happy occasion.

As a result, they were eliminated in the final playoff game, and a season's worth of hard work went down the drain.

At this moment, it doesn't seem quite appropriate for me to be happy.

But the thought of becoming the team owner soon made him feel proud.

Hill, perhaps having come to terms with it, stood up and invited everyone to form a circle.

He said in a deep voice, "Everyone, no matter the outcome, as long as we've done our best!"

Hill realized that winning wouldn't be easy.

The order of play for the teams has been specially adjusted today, with the home team playing first.

At the same time, they specially invited DJ Reklay from his Bulls days.

When the visiting team players came out one by one, and only Jordan was left, the stadium was plunged into complete darkness.

Amidst the flickering and swaying lights of cell phones in the stands, Jordan's signature background music began to play.

Rekley, in his signature voice, once again announced Jordan's appearance.

6'6", Michael Jordan!

The lights locked onto the players' tunnel, and Jordan ran out, waving his arms.

A huge cheer erupted from the crowd.

On the sidelines, celebrities stood up and applauded Jordan.

From the stands, a voice gradually became clearer.

Tang Sen looked up and surveyed the stands.

All I could hear were the fans shouting, "Don't go!"

Jordan stood in the center of the court, waving and shouting for people not to leave grew louder and louder.

His eyes had become bright and clear.

Tang Sen clapped silently. For New Yorkers, Jordan could be considered a nemesis.

But on the day he bid farewell to the court, the New York fans present still sent him their blessings and expressed their reluctance to part.

Tang Sen shared the same idea.

Jordan may have had a lot of bad habits, but his retirement also marked the complete end of an era.

From now on, there will be no more number 23 on the field.

Just like the All-Star Game, the applause lasted for a full two minutes.

Jordan was moved to tears and simply waved repeatedly to express his gratitude.

This is just the beginning.

The real farewell ceremony took place after the match.

Tang Sen knew that, as a sign of respect, the Knicks were also preparing to retire Jordan's number 23 jersey today.

In short, I gave them enough face.

So this game was very interesting. It was supposed to be an important playoff game, but the outcome was already decided from the very beginning.

Carlisle fielded the same lineup as in the previous match.

The team has two big men in the paint, with Prince at the small forward position.

Prince played really well in the last game. His defense may be a little worse than Wallace's, but he provided more help to the team on the offensive end.

Carlisle is trying to find a balanced offensive and defensive system that can also counter the Lakers' starting lineup.

The Lakers won their first game of the season by relying on their twin towers.

Carlisle also needs Chandler's height and defensive toughness. He and Yao Ming have great chemistry in the paint, and their frequent switching on defense makes the paint area impenetrable.

The only problem is that Chandler is not as good as Bender on offense.

When Bender is in good form and his shooting touch is on, he can hit three-pointers and could even score 20 points.

But Chandler is different; he's more defensive, and offense is just icing on the cake.

So Carlisle brought on Prince to compensate for the lack of scoring ability on the front line.

As soon as the game started, Chandler immediately stepped up to help defend, blocking Hughes' layup from behind.

They directly told the Wizards through their actions that if they wanted to attack the basket, they should first ask their two seven-foot giants in the paint if they agreed.

Yao Ming remains unsolved.

In Jordan's farewell game, Yao Ming also brought out his best form.

In the first quarter, he displayed an unstoppable momentum, scoring 14 points in 10 minutes, including 6 out of 7 shots on the field and free throws.

He led the Knicks to a 31-19 run against the Wizards in a single quarter, giving them a 12-point lead.

Inside the TNT studio.

"Alright, stop worrying about it. The Knicks are going to win. The Wizards have no way to deal with Yao. He's really too scary."

"Looking at the entire league, perhaps only Shaq can rival him."

Barkley started yelling.

Before the match, all three of them spoke with restraint.

It was said to be Jordan's farewell game, and it deserves to be written about in great detail.

The crucial game hasn't even started yet. What if the Wizards win? Then all the talk will just become a joke.

Now that the first quarter is over, the three of them feel relieved.

Given the disparity in strength, it would be difficult for the Knicks to lose.

Barkley exclaimed, "The Wizards should have given Michael the ball more often. Every basket he scored in his last game was legendary."

In the first quarter, Jordan only took 4 shots and scored 4 points.

It's clear that the Wizards still want to win and are still working hard.

But in Barkley's view, all the struggles were meaningless.

It would be better to give Jordan a chance to score more points.

To score only a few points in the farewell game of one's professional career is so pitiful.

Give them more opportunities, let them get 20 or 30 points, that's what makes it perfect.

Collins had already thought of this.

He was truly unwilling to accept this, and he had a mindset of wanting to go against the whole world.

Everyone wants me to lose, but I won't lose.

But after the first quarter, Collins' only thought was that he had been overthinking things.

It's not a question of whether I want to lose or not; it's that there's simply no hope of winning.

On both offense and defense, the Wizards were completely outmatched by the Knicks.

The Knicks are in exceptionally good form, with no fluctuations whatsoever.

"Pass the ball to Michael more often; we still need to score from the mid-range," Collins instructed.

The Wizards immediately understood that Collins had given up on the game.

Hill sighed inwardly, his feelings complicated.

He was still unwilling to give in.

But given our strength, there's nothing we can do even if we're unwilling.

Hill only regretted that he was too weak.

He looked up across the crowd and found Tang Sen in the crowd.

Last summer, I just followed Tang Sen for rehabilitation training, and I recovered very well.

During the training camp, I also saw how professional Tang Sen was.

This season has shown just how much Kobe, Garnett, and others have improved.

So this summer, should I try to find Tang Sen again and give it another shot?

For example, how about practicing three-pointers?

Jordan will retire next season, but the team will continue to move forward.

The team has Stoudemire, so I have to work hard too.

Jordan started scoring.

Every time a point was scored, a huge cheer erupted from the crowd.

However, the point difference between the two teams remained, and it continued to widen.

Jordan didn't care anymore; he just wanted to enjoy this last game.

The match proceeded smoothly into its final moments.

With the ball passed to Jordan, he dribbled past Houston one-on-one, faked left and right, and made a signature fadeaway jumper, completing the final play of Jordan's career.

He scored 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting, plus free throws.

A perfect score.

It began at 23 and ended at 23.

Starting today, the number 23 will no longer be seen on the basketball court.

(End of this chapter)