The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 104 Landlady Elena Garbo

On the evening of January 15th, at the Target Center, the home court of the Timberwolves.

In terms of records, the Heat are currently dominating the Timberwolves, who have a record of 10 wins and 20 losses, ranking third from the bottom in the Western Conference.

Alonzo Mourning is the Timberwolves' primary scorer, averaging an impressive 22.5 points and 10 rebounds per game, second only to Donnarumma and Shaquille O'Neal among rookies.

The Timberwolves didn't have an All-Star, so he naturally became the team's core player on the court, and he also had a good status in the locker room.

Media commentators believe the Heat have a higher chance of winning this game.

The media commentary on the battle between Tang Bei and Mo Ning was similar.

This made Mourning very dissatisfied. He was arrogant and determined, and he was not convinced by O'Neal and Tang Bei, nor was he satisfied with losing.

Unfortunately, he was naturally unable to defend against a heavy center like Tang Bei, as he was completely outmatched in both height and weight.

Fortunately, Tang Bei and Mo Ning are not friends, but they also have no conflicts. This game is back-to-back, so their performance is average.

Even so, he still managed to rack up 30 points and 15 rebounds over Mourning, though his field goal percentage was only 52%, and he also slapped Mourning three times.

Mourning was unable to get close to the basket easily due to Tang Bei's defense, and only managed 12 shots, making 6. Including free throws, he only scored 16 points and 8 rebounds.

With a four-game winning streak, a record of 19 wins and 15 losses, and a winning percentage of 55.9%, the Heat remain fifth in the Eastern Conference, behind the Knicks, Bulls, Cavaliers, and Celtics.

The coaching staff and management are both satisfied with this ranking.

Because if they make it to the playoffs, they'll face the Celtics in the first round, and their chances of winning won't be low.

The Celtics' two big men, McHale and Robert Parish, are too old, a combined 76 years old. Tang Bei will definitely dominate them.

After acquiring Tang Bei, the Heat's goal was to make it to the playoffs, and if they could reach the second round, that would be an unexpected bonus.

There are no games for the next four days. The next game is on the 20th, when they will face the Nuggets at home.

After returning to Miami, Tang Bei started his martial arts club in his spare time from practicing martial arts and sports.

The club is under renovation, with wooden floors being laid and various equipment being installed.

There are many martial arts training equipment and a lot of strength training equipment. This place is not only his martial arts club, but also a basketball and fitness club.

He divided the entire club in two, with the left side smaller than the right. The lower left corner was for strength training equipment, and the upper left corner was for martial arts training equipment.

The largest area is in the upper right corner, which is exactly half the size of a basketball court. It also serves as his martial arts arena and wrestling arena.

A boxing ring was placed in the bottom right corner, taking up the smallest area, no more than ten square meters.

As for boxing, he's ready to start training, and Eric Fleischer has hired a private boxing coach for him locally.

The boxing coach's name is Vesta Wenger, and he is a professional competitive coach at a boxing club.

费用方面，适合新手的基础教练时薪5到15美元，像温格这样的职业教练，按800到2000美元的固定月薪+5—10%的比赛提成计算。

Tang Bei only needs to train for the time being, and there are no matches. After communication, he will be paid an hourly wage of $100 per hour.

Then you'll need to hire sparring partners, which is quite expensive, because heavyweight boxers usually need at least two or three sparring partners, and they need to be replaced promptly if they get injured.

Training fees are calculated based on skill level. Mid-to-high-level training partners can earn one to two thousand US dollars per week, or they can be paid on a round-by-round basis, with each round costing three to forty US dollars. The training partner's salary is higher than that of a regular coach.

If a well-known boxer serves as a sparring partner, the weekly wage will definitely be over two thousand US dollars, but the exact amount depends on the skill level.

A sparring partner of average skill level can earn several hundred dollars a week, or more than $5 per round.

If you are a senior sparring partner, you can also be paid the same as a senior coach, based on the boxer's income, with each senior sparring partner receiving 5% to 10%.

In terms of salary standards, sparring partners are just as important as coaches, and their fees are far higher.

Tang Bei plans to brush up on his basic skills first. He has practiced too many different things, so his boxing foundation is only average. He doesn't plan to hire a sparring partner for the time being.

On the 17th, the All-Star voting data for the third week was released.

Tang Bei's votes decreased significantly, but he still received 21.5 votes, bringing his total to 79, making him the top center in the Eastern Conference and second in the entire league.

Last week, 70% of the votes came from outside Miami, but this week that figure dropped to the normal 30%, with 70% of the votes coming from Miami.

O'Neal, who came in second, accumulated 66 votes over three weeks. Although he was repeatedly outplayed by Tang Bei on the basketball court, he still showed great popularity.

But one thing is certain: without a breakout vote in the final week, O'Neal will miss out on the starting center position for the Eastern Conference All-Star Game.

Besides O'Neal being frustrated by trailing Tang Bei in the votes, his shoe brand Reebok was even more frustrated.

Reebok signed O'Neal for a very high price, and with O'Neal playing at his peak right from the start, his signature shoes sold very well.

However, from rookie camp to entering the NBA, O'Neal was always suppressed by Tang Bei. His performance in the two regular season games was completely dominated. In terms of playing style, Tang Bei was also more entertaining than O'Neal, which made Reebok very dissatisfied.

What makes O'Neal stronger than Tang Bei now is the popularity he built during his time in the NCAA, as well as the advantage of being an American and a Black man.

Therefore, Reebok has invested a lot of resources in this effort to push O'Neal into the All-Star game and make him the starting center for the Eastern Conference.

However, Tang Bei's votes were ahead of O'Neal's, and he pulled off an eye-catching challenge that garnered a lot of votes, much to Reebok's dismay.

Reebok also wants to sign Tang Bei, but the company's focus is on O'Neal, and they are only willing to offer Tang Bei a third-tier contract.

The third tier of contracts is the same as the contracts of the other three superstar centers, ranging from several hundred thousand to one million US dollars per year.

Eric Fleischer is now looking for a second-tier contract: a superstar with popularity, influence, an entertaining playing style, and the ability to sell shoes. This is the perfect match. None of the three great centers can get this kind of contract because centers don't sell shoes.

The top-tier contracts are too difficult to obtain. Currently, the only ones available are those for Jordan and O'Neal. These were contracts that Nike and Reebok offered because they wanted to take a gamble on those two. They wouldn't normally offer such contracts.

For example, Nike, which won by betting on Jordan, didn't bet on Shaq this time, and Adidas didn't bet on either.

Signature shoe contracts are top-tier deals that involve much more than just the player's endorsement fee; that's a small part of the deal. The real cost is the huge investment in funding, research and development resources, and so on.

This day was also Tang Bei's 20th birthday.

His family was calculating the time difference, and his mother called early in the morning, asking him to make himself a bowl of longevity noodles, which he actually did.

It was this noodle; the chef's skills weren't up to par, it wasn't long enough, and he even bit it off in his mouth, which he felt was unlucky.

"Treasure chest, when are you going to send me some more Dongwang Buxin Pills?"

At 9 a.m. on the 18th, Eric Fleischer suddenly received a call from FILA in the United States.

"Tang, good news. Fila might offer you a second-tier semi-signature shoe contract, which is an endorsement fee of one to several million dollars."

"what?"

Tang Bei was installing equipment at the club when he heard the news and was overjoyed.

"They say O'Neal's shoes are selling pretty well, and your playing style is more entertaining than O'Neal's. Plus, you've accumulated far more votes than O'Neal in the third week, so they think it's worth taking a small gamble on you."

"Eric, when will you sign the contract?"

"Haha, Tang, you're too hasty. Take it easy. Fila America said they'll wait until the All-Star voting is over before making a decision."

"Ok."

"They probably revealed this idea to reassure us, worried that other brands would sign contracts with us first."

"Ah."

"Other brands may not offer you a second-tier contract, but now they're all vying to offer us a third-tier contract. Adidas and Nike are both contacting me."

"What a load of crap, I don't care about them."

At noon, Tang Bei left the club and went to the parking lot on the basement level. Just as he was about to open the car door, the window of a red Ferrari sports car next to him opened.

"Hey, Tang."

A clear female voice called out.

He bent down and looked down. In the driver's seat sat a white girl with long red hair, wearing a black tight leather outfit. Even sitting down, you could tell she had a good figure.

The girl wore simple makeup, had an oval face, and was very pretty, just like Catherine, and fit his aesthetic standards.

"Hey, beauty."

Judging from her face shape, he even suspected that this hot beauty was a Chinese woman in disguise.

"You really defeated Steven Siegel with a single sword strike?" the beautiful woman asked with great interest.

"Well, to be precise, it's the Three Swords."

Tang Bei said as he got into his car.

"The Three Swordsmen are quite formidable."

The beautiful woman gave a thumbs-up and then said, "My name is Elena Garbo. I am a passionate kendo fan and my idol is Masahiro Miyazaki."

"Irina Garbo?"

Tang Bei seemed to have heard this name before. Could it be a female celebrity?
Elena Garbo suddenly said seriously, "Don, he was there that day too. I don't think you're a match for him."

Tang Bei started the car and said, "That's what idiots usually think." "You call me an idiot?!"

Elena Garbo instantly went berserk.

No one had ever dared to talk to her like that before. Furious, she quickly got out of the car, ran to the Wrangler SUV, blocked it with both hands, and shouted angrily, "Don't go!"

Tang Bei admired the bouncy movement of her hot body; her waist was slender and her legs were endless. He estimated that this beauty's height was probably 1.8 meters, an absolute golden ratio. He smiled and praised, "Nice figure."

"of course."

Women from one year old to one hundred years old all love to be praised, and Irina Gabor was no exception, puffing out her chest proudly.

"He's just brainless." Tang Bei changed the subject.

Elena Garbo's face instantly turned cold, and she said angrily, "Tang, you're the one who's brainless. Miyazaki Masahiro could defeat you with three sword strikes. He's a sword god."

"Then why didn't he make a move that day?" Tang Bei asked.

Elena Garbo's momentum vanished. Her eyes darted around, and she stammered, "That day, he definitely wasn't prepared that day."

Tang Bei said disdainfully, "A true strongman doesn't make excuses. There's only one reason he didn't make a move: he lacks the confidence to defeat me and doesn't dare to."

Elena Garbo angrily said, "According to media reports, he was sick that day and couldn't do it."

"Even a dog wouldn't believe that, only you do. You really have no brains," Tang Bei said with a look of disgust.

"My IQ is 140. You're smart, so what's yours?"

Elena Garbo wanted nothing more than to bite Tang Bei to death; she said this through gritted teeth.

"145."

Tang Bei didn't know what IQ meant, he only knew that he had to be a little taller than this girl, otherwise she would definitely laugh at him.

"so tall?"

Elena Garbo stuck out her tongue. Her IQ was actually only 110, so she wisely decided not to continue the conversation about IQ.

The girl walked from the front of the car to the door, bent down at the window, and asked curiously, "Tang, what are you doing here?"

"I've set up a private martial arts club here, which is basically a martial arts school," Tang Bei said, staring intently at the scenery outside the window.

Elena Garbo's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Teach Kendo? I want to sign up!"

Tang Bei knew that this kind of rich girl was not easy to seduce, so he decided to take a step back and shook his head, saying, "Go find your idol to learn from. You're too stupid. I have no interest in teaching you."

"Humph!"

Enraged, Elena Garbo glared at Tang Bei, then turned and got into her Ferrari.

"Hey, Miss Jiabao, what are you doing here again?" Tang Bei asked hurriedly.

"This building belongs to me, and I am your landlord."

Irina Gabor replied irritably, rolled up the window, stepped on the gas, and the Ferrari roared away.

"So rich?"

Tang Bei couldn't help but smack his lips.

Only then did he realize that this building was called the Elena Building. No wonder he felt he had heard the girl's name somewhere before.

On the morning of the 19th, the Jazz officially announced that the Mailman, who had been sidelined for 24 days due to injury, was making his official comeback.

"Kid, we'll meet again."

At the press conference, Karl Malone spoke to the television cameras with a gloomy expression.

Everyone knows who he was talking to, but if the Jazz want to play the Heat, they'll have to wait until next season unless both teams make it to the Finals.

However, this season's All-Star Game will be held in Salt Lake City, and Karl Malone is currently second in the Western Conference forward voting, only behind Barkley, making him a strong contender to become the starting forward for the West.

A reporter immediately contacted Tang Bei by phone, asking, "Tang, that's what the postman said. How do you respond?"

“No, he didn’t say it to me, so I won’t respond,” Tang Bei replied.

"But he definitely said it to you, because you caused him the biggest loss he's ever suffered in his life," the reporter emphasized.

Tang Bei said, "Look, sir, he doesn't even dare to say my name. If he dares to say my name, I will definitely respond."

Would the postman dare? No.

After learning what Tang Bei had said from the reporter, he was so angry that he almost ground his teeth to powder, but he didn't dare to say in front of the media that he wanted to take revenge on Tang Bei.

"This isn't over," he said bitterly.

On this day, the renovation of Tang Bei's private club was also completed, costing nearly $100,000 from the renovation to the equipment.

In the afternoon, he invited his Heat teammates over for a party, and Eric Fleischer threw him a small one.

When the team owner, Mickey Arison, found out, he specially sent over a gift: a cruise ship model that was a full meter long.

The top floor of the Elena Building, spanning over 2,000 square meters, is Elena Gabor's private domain and is not open to the public.

At this moment, she was having a headache, wandering around her armory, not knowing what to give as a gift.

The nearly 100-square-meter armory was filled with all kinds of weapons, ninety percent of which were swords, mainly Japanese swords.

She knew Tang Bei was having a party today and wanted to send him a gift, hoping she could learn some swordsmanship from him in the future.

Although her kendo idol is Masahiro Miyazaki, she's not stupid. Tang Bei Sanjian defeated Siegel, so she must be very good at kendo.

She definitely couldn't give Tang Bei a Japanese sword as a gift; otherwise, that awful guy might call her an idiot.

But Chinese swords are rare, and the few that exist are all rare treasures; she didn't want to give him a rare one.

"Fine, you'll get off easy."

After much deliberation, she chose the worst sword and had the maid pack it in a wooden gift box.

This is an authentic piece from her collection, not a modern replica. She found it at a flea market for a little over two hundred dollars; it was a bargain. Its true value is no less than three thousand dollars.

With the help of her personal maid, she changed into a court-style pink dress, then styled her hair into a high bun, adorned it with a Chinese-style gemstone hairpin, and chose a ruby ​​necklace to wear around her swan-like neck.

When Irina Gabor changed into this outfit, her noble and elegant temperament immediately came out, but she still exuded a sense of aloofness.

Then she changed into a pair of white high heels with a height of 10 centimeters, and took the private elevator to the Tang Family Private Martial Arts Club on the second basement level.

The arrival of the stunning beauty immediately surprised the Heat players, but no one dared to approach her. Elena Gabo's attire and aloof demeanor deterred these burly men from the slums.

Tang Bei was taken aback. After a moment of recognition, he realized that this was the stunningly beautiful woman from yesterday. He quickly stepped forward and asked, "So it's Miss Jia Bao. What brings you here?"

"Tang, this is my opening gift for you."

Elena Garbo smiled as she handed the gift box to Tang Bei, looking around the club as she said, "Aren't you going to show me around your club?"

"Thank you!"

Tang Bei led the girl around the club, explaining the functions of the various machines.

During the conversation, Irina Gabor revealed that she is French, one-quarter British and one-quarter Swedish, just turned 17, a Catholic, and came to the United States with her parents five years ago to study. She is currently a freshman at the University of Miami.

The girl was quite sociable. She revealed some private information to Tang Bei and then asked about his family situation, quickly closing the distance between them.

"Tang, there's no kendo in America, and I don't have time to learn it in Japan. Why don't you teach me kendo?"

Then, she quickly got to the point, and unlike yesterday, she took Tang Bei's arm with her small hand and pleaded with him in a gentle and soft voice.

However, this caused her aloof demeanor to vanish instantly.

"I don't have time!" Tang Bei declined.

Elena Gardin hurriedly said, "I'll pay you a little more, one-on-one tutoring, how about a thousand dollars per hour?"
Two thousand? And how about I lower the rent a bit? Five thousand dollars a month? Three thousand plus no management fees?

"So expensive?"

"A flat rate of two thousand dollars per hour, rent-free and management fees-free, how about it?"

"Really?"

“But you have to teach me real swordsmanship, not fake swordsmanship like Steven Siegel’s. I want to learn real skills.”

"Don't worry, I'll only tell the truth, not a lie."

He who takes a bribe is bound to be obligated to give it to someone else, and besides, this beautiful woman was exactly his type, and he even had designs on her. Unable to resist the girl's sweet talk, he had no choice but to agree.

"Great! Deal!"

Elena Garbo was overjoyed. "Hmph, he agreed to such a small amount of money. It seems this wretched guy must have lied to me last time. His IQ is definitely not 145, at most it's the same as mine. Bad guy! Liar!"
However, after this round of bargaining, not only did her aloof demeanor vanish, but her noble and elegant aura also disappeared completely.

(End of this chapter)