The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 214 Fifty Years Old

On the 15th, the Heat arrived in Salt Lake City.

The Heat had a 31-3 record, but they lost to the rookie Grizzlies on the road. In the freezing weather, the Heat's performance was a complete disaster.

The Jazz previously had a record of 22 wins and 12 losses, far inferior to the Heat, but they were still a strong team in the West and had the potential to reach the Western Conference Finals.

On the evening of the 16th, at the Delta Center Stadium.

"Doctor, it's been a long time. How have you been?" Tang Bei called out to Karl Malone, the mailman who arrived later, in the players' tunnel.

"not bad."

Ever since Tang Bei beat him up in the 93 All-Star Game when he was outmaneuvered by four players, the rational Karl Malone had no desire to clash with Tang Bei. Upon hearing Tang Bei's words, he smiled and nodded politely.

Tang Bei sighed, "Doctor, I've been practicing professional boxing for three years, but no one in the league is asking me to fight. I don't have any real sparring opportunities. Do you have any suggestions?"

The postman's face fell, and he said irritably, "Michael Tyson was released on parole last March and has already returned to the boxing ring. He's looking for an opponent, so you should go fight him."

"Tyson?"

Tang Bei blinked. Those top-tier world boxing champions, after spending several years in prison, might not even be at their peak anymore. With his current fame, if he were to fight, he should have a chance to successfully promote the sport.

"You don't dare?" the postman challenged.

"I'll warm up with you before I fight him," Tang Bei said.

The postman's face stiffened, and he snapped, "I'm not a boxer, what do you want from me? You'd be more effective if you found a world heavyweight champion to warm up with."

Upon hearing this, Tang Bei nodded immediately and said, "Doctor, you are indeed insightful. You are right. Having a weak warm-up opponent will definitely affect the warm-up effect."

The postman stared blankly, "Shit, a boomerang!"

At eight o'clock, the competition begins.

Jump ball, Heat attack.

Tang Bei vs. Felton Spencer.

Spencer now weighs 145 kg, up from 132 kg last season; he is now an absolute heavyweight.

Tang Bei didn't move to a low position, but instead landed in a high position. After Avery Johnson was ready, he suddenly made a Tai Chi turn and bypassed Spencer to enter the penalty area.

Spencer's size made his movement and turning speed extremely slow, making him completely unable to keep up with Tang Bei's pace.

So when Tang Bei entered the restricted area, Mailman Karl Malone had no choice but to immediately retreat to defend the basket.

"Whoosh!"

Avery Johnson made the pass before Stockton could close him down.

"boom!"

The next moment, after an alley-oop dunk, Tang Bei hung high above the rim, while Karl Malone, whose blocking ability was severely lacking, looked up at the basket.

"If you want the championship, come and beg for my coattails later." Tang Bei tossed a sentence to the mailman, then turned and ran back to the backcourt.

The postman was filled with shame and indignation, but he just couldn't bring himself to say no.

The game was broadcast live by NBC, with commentators Bill Russell and Bill Walton.

Lord of the Rings remarked, "Now, Severe Fear is becoming increasingly difficult to defend against. Firstly, once he gets going, opponents dare not stop him from attacking the basket; his intimidation is terrifying. Secondly, his strength seems to have increased."

Bill Walton nodded and said, "The huge gap in physical strength and explosiveness has widened the gap between Hakeem Olajuwon and the three super centers, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson, and the fear of severe fear."

Bill Russell said, "Right now, only O'Neal still has a chance, but he's still no match for Tang."

Bill Walton nodded and said, "The difference between O'Neal and Tang is no longer just about weight, but Tang is a level above O'Neal in terms of athleticism. O'Neal can only be described as a weaker version of severe fear."

Bill Russell nodded and said, "The media says that if O'Neal gains weight to 150 or 160 kilograms without a significant decline in his athleticism, he will have a chance to compete with Tang Bei. Bill, what do you think?"

Bill Walton said, "I think there's some truth to what Tang said about O'Neal needing to gain at least 155 kilograms to have a chance against him."

After defeating the Jazz, the Heat unexpectedly lost to the Hawks on the road. Six Hawks players scored in double figures, and two of them scored 20+ points.

On January 21st, the voting results for the final week of the All-Star Game were released.

Michael Jordan received 32 votes, bringing his total to 186.5 million, while Tang Bei received 54 votes, bringing his total to 188.4 million, thus overtaking Jordan and setting a new all-time record for the most votes. Without the help of a team, Tang Bei once again became the All-Star vote leader.

Although Jordan lost, David Stern was very happy. Just think, seven or eight seasons ago, the All-Star vote leader only had two or three hundred thousand votes, but now he has almost two million votes.

Of course, with Hollywood stars involved, the vote count was somewhat inflated, but he believes that some of that inflated vote will eventually translate into genuine NBA fans.

The Lakers will visit on the 22nd.

Tang Bei firmly controlled the paint in the starting lineup, while Mourning firmly controlled the paint and rebounds in the bench lineup, thus taking the initiative.

Although Jordan had a significant advantage from beyond the arc, scoring 43 points, Glen Rice also performed well this time, scoring 26 points, and the Heat ultimately secured a home-and-away sweep of the Lakers.

On the 24th, the Heat played against the Knicks on the road, but lost due to poor form, marking their fifth loss of the season.

On the 26th, the Lakers officially announced the return of Magic Johnson, but he will not be playing point guard; instead, he will be playing power forward.

However, the magician has not recovered well; he is noticeably overweight and no longer possesses the magician's former glory.

Then, right up until All-Star Weekend, the Heat went on an unbeaten run, finishing with a 43-5 record, the best in the league.

The Lakers have a record of 39 wins and 9 losses, ranking first in the Western Conference and second in the entire league.

Stan Van Gundy became the head coach of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, and Phil Jackson became the head coach of the Western Conference All-Star team.

On February 9, 1996, Tang Bei, along with Stan Van Gundy and Glen Rice, traveled to San Antonio.

Glen Rice was especially happy to be selected as an All-Star reserve for the first time this year, and kept asking Tang Bei questions about the All-Star game along the way.

Van Gundy was also surprised to find himself in the position of head coach so hastily, only to become an All-Star head coach. He felt incredibly lucky.

Although he was a puppet, he felt this was the best possible start.

I have to thank Coach Pat Riley for choosing me, and I also have to thank Don. Without him, I wouldn't be in this position, and the Heat definitely wouldn't have achieved the best record in the entire league.

At 3 p.m., the three arrived at the hotel. Da Fan was on the 23rd floor, and Tang Bei and Glen Rice were on the 24th floor.

On the 24th floor, as soon as the elevator doors opened, a large group of basketball stars were waiting outside, with Bulls' leader Scottie Pippen standing at the very front.

"Hey, isn't this Bulls' leader, Pi Lao Er? Hello, hello." Tang Bei greeted him with a forced smile.

"You bastard, if you call me the leader of the Bulls, why do you also call me Pippen? Jordan is gone, so I'm Pippen the boss."

After cursing under his breath, Pippen chuckled dryly and quickly greeted, "Hello, Tang."

“Don, Glenn, would you like to join me for afternoon tea?” Grant Hill asked with a smile.

“Wait a minute, we’re getting a little hungry,” Glenn Rice said hastily.

The two found their respective rooms, dropped off their suitcases, and came out. Just then, O'Neal and Jordan's group also came out of their rooms, ready to go for afternoon tea, so they joined them.

"You two, are you that close?" Tang Bei asked, looking at Jordan and O'Neal who were almost arm in arm.

"The Shaq are good."

Jordan mumbled through a cigar.

“Michael is my idol,” O’Neal said hastily.

Tang Bei turned around and found Hakeem Olajuwon, whose face seemed rather pale, and said, "Dream, you're just like King Kong, you have no chance of winning the championship."

Ewing, who wasn't selected for this year's All-Star game, didn't hear this, but Olajuwon's expression immediately turned extremely ugly upon hearing it.

The Lakers had contacted his agent several times, promising to let him team up with Michael Jordan next year. But now Michael has teamed up with Shaq.

He said coldly, "I have no intention of forming a group."

Michael Jordan glared at Tang Bei, then turned to Hakeem Olajuwon and said, "Hakim, don't listen to him, he's trying to sow discord between us."

"Oh, so the Lakers won't be recruiting a superstar center next year?" Tang Bei asked with a grin.

"Humph!"

Jordan isn't responding anymore. Why did he go to the Lakers instead of recruiting a superstar center?
Barkley, unable to stand by and watch, said to Olajuwon, "Hakim, wait for me, I'll come help you in the summer of '97."

"Year 97?"

Tang Bei said, "Flying Pig, do you think the Suns will wait until your contract expires in '97? If you don't agree to a sign-and-trade, you can expect to be traded after this season."

"Oh?"

Barkley thought it made sense and said happily, "Hakeem, next year you get the Rockets to trade me, and we can team up."

Upon hearing this, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler immediately burst into laughter.

If the three of them could join forces, they could definitely launch the most powerful attack on the championship, and Jordan's Lakers probably wouldn't be able to stop them.

“Then we can team up,” Glenn Rice said softly.

Barkley, with his sharp ears, heard this and angrily retorted, "What super team? I swept Michael to win the championship, did I need to team up? Even if we did team up, it was Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler riding my coattails."

At that moment, Drexler, Olajuwon, and Jordan's faces all darkened, and they all glared fiercely at Barkley.

Barkley slapped his own mouth and laughed awkwardly, "It's not my fault, it was all nonsense. I've already punished it."

"Ha ha……"

Tang Bei and Glenn Rice burst into laughter.

Upon arriving at the hotel's coffee shop, the group of players sat down, ordered tea and coffee, and began chatting about topics of interest.

Tang Bei listened for a moment and realized that the topics these guys were talking about were basically sports cars, luxury goods, and women, which wasn't very interesting.

He suddenly thought of the Atlanta Olympics and said to Jordan at the next table, "Air Jordan, are you going to participate in this Olympics?"

"NO."

Michael Jordan shook his head and said, "I've been to two Olympics and won two championships. I'm not interested anymore."

Tang Bei was taken aback. He thought Jordan had only participated once, with the Dream Team, but he didn't expect him to have participated twice and won the championship both times.

"And you?" he asked the others.

O'Neal shouted, "Tang, I'll be on the Dream Team III, and we'll be Olympic rivals."

"Dream Team III?"

Tang Bei scoffed, "Stop bragging. With the strength of Dream Team II, do you even deserve to be called the Dream Team?"

Everyone fell silent. The Dream Team II had been utterly defeated by Tang Bei, and they certainly didn't have the style of the Dream Team I at all, and were unworthy of the title of Dream Team.

"Who else?"

He asked again, and this time Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Hill, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, and others all said they would go.

Now it's his turn to have a headache, because even with him, the Chinese men's basketball team probably couldn't beat this group of players.

There are three super centers, and Barkley and Karl Malone at power forward. The reason they were able to win the last World Championship was because the US team's center position was too weak, and their power forward position wasn't strong either. They were completely outmatched on both ends of the court.

If the national team wants to beat the American team this time, he has to single-handedly destroy all five of them, both offensively and defensively, which is extremely difficult.

"Never mind, I'll just do my best."

Unable to think of a good solution, he put the matter aside.

"Tang, what are your thoughts on the competition?"

On the evening of February 11, before the All-Star Game began, Stan Van Gundy approached Tang Bei and asked him a question.

"I'll just have some fun. Give Glenn some time," Tang Bei said casually. "OK."

Da Fan nodded, indicating that he understood.
In this All-Star Game, the Western Conference emerged victorious, with Jordan racking up 25 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds, stealing the All-Star MVP award from David Robinson, who was playing on home soil.

The second half of the regular season will continue after the All-Star break.

Teams that are already in contention for the playoffs are starting to increase their rotations, while teams that are less certain or have a chance to make the playoffs are continuing to push forward. Some teams, on the other hand, are continuing to tank, as this year is a strong draft year and everyone wants to get a good draft pick.

After consulting with Tang Bei, Stan Van Gundy reduced Tang Bei's playing time to 33 minutes, while increasing Mourning's playing time to 30 minutes.

Tang Bei's stats started to decline after the All-Star break, but his stats in the first half of the season were so strong that even with the decline, he still stood out in the entire league.

In the Eastern Conference, the Heat remain in a class of their own and have a great chance of reaching 70 wins again.

The Magic are behind the Heat, but their net win percentage is 13 games, a significant difference.

The Knicks, a long-standing powerhouse in the Eastern Conference, have fallen from grace, hovering between fifth and sixth place in the East since the All-Star break.

As for the Hornets, they have fallen out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

This team has been running for several seasons, and in order to acquire Larry Johnson, they have traded away Don Bei and Mourning. Now, more and more Charlotte fans are abandoning the Hornets. The city is dominated by the NCAA, and the Hornets' operations are becoming increasingly difficult.

In the Western Conference, after the All-Star break, the SuperSonics caught up and are now competing with the Lakers for the top spot.

Following them are the Spurs and Jazz, while the Rockets, like the Knicks, have fallen from grace and are hovering around fifth or sixth place. The Suns have fallen even more drastically and could potentially drop out of the top eight in the West.

On February 15th, with the Spring Festival approaching, the Tang family returned to the United States, and the Nemurs also returned from China.

Tang Bei inquired about the situation of his second, third, and fourth sons, and they were all doing well.

The second son, Tang Bin, became a sales manager in the sales department and just received his two-year adult college diploma.

The third child, Tang Yuman, is 18 years old. He has obtained his driver's license and is preparing to take the national unified college entrance examination in October this year. If he passes, he will receive an adult bachelor's degree, not a junior college degree.

Tang Ning, the fourth child, is 12 years old. In the past two years, she has won the 100-meter and 200-meter championships in the U11 and U12 groups in the Tianjing City Track and Field Competition. She has also broken the national women's 100-meter and 200-meter records in these two age groups several times. She has entered the national track and field reserve talent list, which means that she will have the opportunity to enter the national team in the future.

Tang Bin said, "Brother, I'm planning to pursue a bachelor's degree after completing my associate's degree. I'll be taking the national unified entrance examination at the end of August, and I've already registered."

"Okay, I support you all in trying to get a master's degree." Tang Bei encouraged.

The little girl, Tang Ning, exclaimed, "Big brother, big brother, what are you going to study?"

Tang Bei's face darkened. "Go away, go play somewhere else."

His educational background is a sore point he doesn't want to touch, because his educational background is the lowest in the entire league. Others are at least high school graduates in the draft, while he only went to junior high school.

"You have no sense of propriety. Your eldest brother has the lowest level of education in the family. If he wants to study, he can only go to high school." Jia Bao pulled Tang Ning, who had been chased away by Tang Bei, to her side and teased him.

"Haha..." The family burst into laughter.

Tang Bei was unconvinced. "My fourth sister won't be starting junior high until next year. I have a higher education level than her," he said, but he was too embarrassed to say it.

"Brother, I heard that guns are going to be banned in our country, but the official documents haven't been issued yet. They're just making noise in town," Tang Bin said.

Tang Bei was taken aback, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "It's good that it's banned. Guns are rampant in the United States, and tens of thousands of people die from gun violence every year."

"Tens of thousands?"

Tang Bin's jaw almost dropped to the floor, as did everyone else's.

On the evening of the 17th, the Heat defeated the Magic at home. There are no games on the 18th and 19th, which happen to be Lunar New Year's Eve and Lunar New Year's Day.

After the New Year, my family only stayed until the sixth day of the Lunar New Year before returning to China, as my second and third children were preoccupied with work.

The Nemurs only stayed a few more days before returning to China. The couple now resides in Shenzhen, where Tangjia Communications' headquarters and factory are located, not in Tianjing.

Jiabao plans to dispose of her family's remaining assets in Miami over the next few years, mainly fixed assets, such as her parents' villa and several buildings, a factory of tens of thousands of square meters, and her own two buildings.

The US real estate market has begun to recover, and a large amount of capital has flowed into commercial real estate. Her family's previous investments in Miami real estate were mainly in commercial real estate.

Her plan was to capitalize on the rising value of US commercial real estate, make a profit in a few years, and then invest the funds in the Chinese real estate market.

Before Tang Yu left, she told her some news: China may stop distributing housing income next year or the year after and gradually realize the monetization of housing allocation. Banks may also introduce relevant policies for personal mortgage loans.

In other words, once these policies are introduced, the supply and demand relationship in the domestic real estate market will undergo tremendous changes, and a huge real estate market will be formed in China.

She needs to start preparing funds now, but commercial real estate cannot do without bank loans, and in this regard, she needs Tang Bei's influence in China. Only Tang Bei can get government support.

However, Tangjia Investment's main investments remain Tangjia Electric Appliances and Tangjia Communications, and its real estate investments are intended to fund the first two investment projects.

On March 1, 1996, the NBA officially announced something big.

To mark its 50th anniversary from 1946 to 1996, the NBA will be selecting its 50 greatest players. Starting March 1st, the league will organize 50 media representatives, retired players, management, and coaches to participate in the selection process, with the results announced on October 29th.

The core criteria for selection of the top 50 are a comprehensive evaluation of their achievements on the field, historical influence, career length and stability.

On-court achievements include regular season and playoff performances, number of championships, MVP awards, scoring titles, All-NBA selections, All-Defensive selections, and other hard honors.

Tang Bei has high hopes for this top 50 list; if selected, there should be a reward.

However, his career was too short, and he may not be selected.

常规赛逐渐进入尾声，96年4月21号，95/96赛季常规赛全部结束，季后赛首轮将于25号打响。

The Miami Heat finished with a 73-9 record, marking their second 70-win season and setting a new league record of 73 wins, making them the best team in the league.

The Magic, ranked second, have 56 wins, but their net win percentage is 17 games lower than the Heat's, a significant difference in record.

The top eight teams in the Eastern Conference regular season are the Heat, Magic, Pacers, Bulls, Cavaliers, Knicks, Pistons, and Hawks.

The Lakers are first in the West with 65 wins, and the SuperSonics are second with 64 wins. Including the Heat, there are only three teams in the entire league with more than 60 wins.

The top eight teams in the Western Conference regular season are the Lakers, SuperSonics, Spurs, Jazz, Rockets, Trail Blazers, Suns, and Kings.

唐北的常规赛个人数据是，场均上场时间35分钟，44.5分13.5篮板3.2助攻1.6抢断3.8盖帽。

Although his playing time was less than last season, his scoring increased by more than 4 points compared to last season, making him the scoring champion this season. However, his rebounding and other statistics declined.

With the regular season over, major media outlets have immediately begun making predictions for the playoffs.

ESPN reports: "The Heat are in a league of their own with a 73-win regular season, and with their terrifying dominance in the playoffs, it's hard to find a team that can stop them from winning three consecutive championships."

TNT reports: "Tang Bei is averaging 44.5 points per game, but only plays 35 minutes, which shows that his physical exertion is under control, which will be good news for the playoffs. We are optimistic about the Heat winning their third consecutive championship."

Reports like these abound, with almost unanimous predictions that the Heat will win a three-peat.

In this atmosphere, the playoffs began.

Facing the Hawks, the Heat showed no mercy and easily swept them to advance.

The first round of the series concluded on May 5th.

In the Western Conference, the Lakers defeated the Kings 3-1, the SuperSonics defeated the Suns 3-1, the Spurs defeated the Trail Blazers 3-2, and the Jazz defeated the Rockets 3-2.

Second round matchups: Lakers vs. Jazz, SuperSonics vs. Spurs.

In the Eastern Conference, the Heat swept the Hawks 3-0, the Magic swept the Pistons, the Pacers defeated the Knicks 3-2, and the Bulls defeated the Cavaliers 3-1.

Second round matchups: Heat vs. Bulls, Magic vs. Pacers.

In the MVP voting, Tang Bei won first place in all categories, retaining his title as the regular season MVP for the second time.

He hadn't received any rewards for being the previous scoring champion, and he didn't expect to receive any for the MVP award either, but the treasure chest actually rewarded him with a valuable item.

Chapters 2 through 10 of The Story of the Stone, together with the original first chapter, brought the first ten chapters of Cao Xueqin's manuscript into his hands.

The hundred pieces of porcelain he received as a reward last year, along with a large number of other rewards he bought in the United States, have all been shipped back to China and are stored in the warehouse of the compound.

He hasn't had those items and Cao Xueqin's manuscripts authenticated yet. He plans to open a private museum once he has enough.

Even without Jordan, the Heat easily swept the Bulls to advance.

The Magic also defeated the Pacers 4-1 to advance and will face the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

In the Western Conference, the Lakers defeated the Jazz 4-2, and the SuperSonics also eliminated the Spurs by a large margin of 4-2, setting up a Western Conference Finals between the two teams.

On the 17th, the league announced the All-NBA Team and All-Defensive Team, and Tang Bei was once again selected for both teams.

He received the reward for being the second MVP. He thought there would be a double first team award, but there wasn't. It seems that in the treasure chest, a double first team award is not as good as an MVP award.

On May 18th, the Western Conference Finals kicked off at the Lakers' home court, and the Los Angeles Lakers, playing at home, won Game 1.

The Eastern Conference Finals began the next day.

In the evening, Miami Arena was packed to capacity.

At 7:30, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Orlando Magic: Shaquille O'Neal, Horace Grant, Dennis Scott, Nick Anderson, Anfernee Hardaway
Miami Heat: Tang Bei, Kurt Thomas, Glen Rice, Rex Chapman, Avery Johnson

ESPN commentator Michael Brin said, "In the four regular season games between the two teams, the Heat swept the Magic four times, both at home and away. There is no doubt that the Heat are stronger."

Tom Tolbert said, "Before the regular season started, all the major media outlets, including ESPN, thought the Heat were in a league of their own."

"But the regular season results were surprising. Severe Fear delivered an unprecedented performance, making the Heat a team in a class of their own."

Michael Breen said with a smile, "If the Heat win three consecutive championships, then in terms of basketball strength and honors, I think Tang Bei, who is severely fearful, will be the number one player in the NBA."

At this point, commentator Larry Bird nodded and said, "Throughout the history of the NBA, Tang's ability should be among the best."

"The only one who can be compared to him is basketball emperor Wilt Chamberlain, and Chamberlain's performance in the playoffs is not as good as Tang's."

In the players' tunnel, O'Neal faced Tang Bei once again.

From the official draft tryouts, Tang Bei made him lose face. From the moment he entered the league, Tang Bei suppressed him, turning his nickname from "Great White Shark" into "Sardine," and even beat him up. He has been holding this grudge ever since.

Now he finally stands before Tang Bei; the Eastern Conference Finals will be the beginning of his revenge.

"What are you looking at?" Tang Bei asked curiously.

Shaquille O'Neal stared at Tang Bei and said, "Tang, let me tell you, what I've lost, I will take back with my own hands."

"Stand-up comedy?"

Tang Bei was taken aback, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Shaquille O'Neal sensed a mocking laugh and angrily asked, "What are you laughing at? Don, are you mocking me?"

Tang Bei stopped laughing and asked curiously, "Sardine, what have you lost?"

When O'Neal thought about all the honors, commercial benefits, and social status that Tang Bei had gained, which should all belong to him, he felt a pang of pain in his heart and said with a sorrowful expression, "I have lost too much, and I must take it all back."

"Idiot, what are you holding a hammer for?"

Tang Bei cursed irritably, looked at the obese O'Neal, and asked curiously, "How much do you weigh now?"

O'Neal immediately said triumphantly, "After another season of hard work and weight gain training, I have now successfully reached 150 kilograms."

After saying that, he emphasized again: "Weight on an empty stomach in the morning."

"150 kilograms?"

Tang Bei muttered to himself that he had already taken more than 300 bone-strengthening pills and his weight had increased to 142 kilograms. O'Neal's weight of 150 kilograms was not that high for him.

"How much do you weigh?" O'Neal asked.

“142,” Tang Bei said.

"What, you've gained weight too?"

O'Neal was extremely surprised. He only weighed 8 kilograms, which was not an advantage. It seemed that he needed to continue to gain weight. 160 kilograms should be enough to knock Tang Bei over.

(End of this chapter)