The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 225: Only Success, No Failure

After staying in Tianjing for more than a month, on September 25th, Tang Bei and Jia Bao flew directly from Beijing to New York.

Upon exiting JFK International Airport and entering Manhattan, one is greeted by his enormous promotional photos plastered all over New York City.

Last year, Garbo bought a luxury villa on Fifth Avenue in the Gold Coast of New York's Upper East Side for more than six million dollars, which has already been renovated.

The villa occupies a small area of ​​only 1,500 square meters, with a garden of more than 500 square meters. The main four-story villa occupies nearly one acre, and there is also an attached two-story residential building covering 220 square meters, as well as a garage covering 150 square meters.

The main villa has an elevator. Go up to the fourth floor, which is a large, single-level glass house of over 600 square meters.

This used to be a rooftop, but after Jia Bao bought it, she converted it into a glass room, which became a place for her and Tang Bei to exercise, practice martial arts, and practice swordsmanship.

Tang Bei looked around. Everything he and Garbo had in Miami had been moved over—his trophies, Garbo's sword collection, everything was there.

The custom Ferrari that Mickey Arison gave him has been returned. He has had no good feelings towards Arison ever since Mourning renewed his contract with him for $1500 million a year.

After his Hummer endorsement contract ended, he renewed it for another five years, and Hummer gave him two more Hummers, which are now parked in the garage of this villa.

He didn't buy any more sports cars, as his physique wasn't suited to driving them. Custom-made sports cars weren't actually comfortable to drive either. Garbo prepared a spacious Mercedes-Benz V-Class and a Mercedes-Benz S-Class for him.

After looking around for a while and not seeing Garbo's two pets, he asked curiously, "Garbo, where are your little Monica and little Elena?"

Greta said with a smile, "There's no place to keep them here, so I bought a piece of land on Long Island last year and built a private zoo. They play there."

Then she took Tang Bei's hand and said, "Wet Tiger, there are no giant pandas in New York. Do you think we could rent one from China?"

Tang Bei was taken aback and said, "Why would you rent that thing? I heard that foreign pandas only eat bamboo from China. If you really bring them here, you'll have to transport bamboo from China every now and then, which is a hassle."

Jia Bao said, "What's there to be afraid of? We can sell tickets then. It can clock in every day, earn its own money, and we won't have to pay for it."

"Earn money to support yourself?"

Tang Bei chuckled and said, "Then you can give it a try. It shouldn't be easy. Anyway, I've never heard of a private individual being able to rent a giant panda."

On September 26th, the official training camp for the new season began, and Tang Bei drove to the Knicks' new headquarters early in the morning.

A commercial building more than ten stories away from Madison Square Garden, covering an area of ​​nearly 2,000 square meters and with a building area of ​​nearly 30,000 square meters, was bought by James Dolan in the name of Madison Square Garden Company and converted into the Knicks' new headquarters and training base.

This was his first visit to the Knicks headquarters and his first appearance in New York. The Knicks invited numerous media outlets and held a grand welcoming ceremony.

Knicks owner James Dolan, president Dave Checkerts, general manager Ernie Gruenfeld, and other executives, head coach Jeff Van Gundy, assistant coaches Greg Brittenham, Don Chaney, Brandon Malone, Jeff Knicks, Tom Thibodeau, and all Knicks players attended the welcoming ceremony.

"Crack, click, click..."

As his car pulled up in front of the headquarters, the media's flashbulbs went off in quick succession, and the sound of camera shutters was like a torrential downpour.

After he got out of the car, the flashes and shutter sounds became even more frequent.

"Don, welcome to the Knicks."

After the hug, James Dolan said excitedly.

"Thank you."

He shook hands with all the officials, coaching staff, and teammates.

The player who stood first among the players was not Oakley, but Dominique Wilkins, the Human Highlight Film.

"You've come to the Knicks?"

He was somewhat surprised. This superstar, who played for the Celtics last season, may not have had the superstar level anymore, but he still had the All-Star level.

Wilkins gave a wry smile, nodded, and said, "Hello, Don."

Groenfeld explained, "Dominic came for the championship, and he's willing to accept a substitute role."

Tang Bei nodded. That's right. Wilkins' defense is not good, so he can only stay in the bench.

The second player is veteran All-Star Buck Williams, who is also the new president of the players' union.

He played 15 seasons in the league and was selected to the All-Star team three times, but he never won a championship. He came here this time also for a championship, and he was paid a low salary of 100 million.

"Tang, I'm really looking forward to playing basketball with you."

They were very enthusiastic towards Tang Bei, after all, they came to curry favor with him.

Hello, Buck.

Tang Bei smiled and shook hands.

"Charles, I thought you had retired."

He couldn't help but joke as he shook hands with Oakley.

Oakley looked up at the sky, not wanting to say anything.

Being a lackey of someone who had broken two of his ribs was really frustrating for him.

When shaking hands with Anthony Mason Jr., Tang Bei jokingly asked again, "Hey little brother, what's your name?"

"Boss, my name is Anthony Mason Jr."

The muscular Mason showed no resistance to Tang Bei and answered with a grin.

"Damn lackey."

Oakley muttered under his breath.

Little Mason didn't let go of Tang Bei's hand, but asked expectantly, "Boss, I heard you have a habit of giving expensive watches to people while you're with the Miami Heat?"

Tang Bei's mouth dropped open. "I only gave away one last time before the three-peat last season. How did it become a habit?"
Oakley wanted to cover his face when he heard this; it was so embarrassing. He glanced at the reporters not far away, leaned over and whispered, "You idiot!"

Little Mason curled his lip indifferently. "It would be stupid to refuse a benefit."

Tang Bei chose to wear the number 88 jersey again. He showed the new jersey to the media at the welcoming ceremony and then gave an interview.

"Tang, what are your expectations or goals for the Knicks in the new season?"

"I think it's time for the Knicks to make a run for the championship, and that's my new goal."

"Oh!"

The media reporters at the scene immediately gasped in surprise.

A reporter immediately asked, "Tang, the Heat have assembled a Big Three of Ewing, Mourning, and Tim Hardaway. Do you think this Knicks team has the ability to beat them?"

"Are they stronger than the Dream Team III?" Tang Bei asked.

The reporters looked at each other, realizing there really wasn't one.

When James Dolan and other Knicks executives heard Tang Bei's words, they laughed excitedly.

But a reporter immediately said, "Tang, the Olympic final is only one game. You can beat the Dream Team with a great performance of 71 points, but you can't possibly average 70+ points per game in the series, right?"

"Of course that's impossible."

Tang Bei nodded and added, "But the Heat aren't as strong as the Dream Team. I believe that averaging 40+50+ points per game in the series will be enough to defeat them."

Many reporters couldn't help but get excited when they thought of Tang Bei's phenomenal performance of 47 points per game in the last finals.

After the media conference, Tang Bei began to tour the Knicks' new headquarters and training facility.

The first floor of the building is the training base's recreational area, with various meeting rooms, restaurants, and other facilities.

Below that is the basement level, which is the only basement level. It used to be a parking lot, but it has now been converted into two basketball training halls, a physical training room, a gym, and a locker room.

The other functional areas of the training base are on the second to fifth floors, while the Knicks headquarters office area is on the sixth floor and above.

Behind the building is a parking lot, which used to be a green area with sixty parking spaces. The Knicks gave him two dedicated parking spaces.

General Manager Ernie Grunfeld explained, "Don, we not only built a new training facility, but we also renovated the home team locker room at Madison Square Garden during the offseason. After visiting here, we can go there to take a look."

"OK."

Tang Bei nodded.

After the others left, he went to the owner Dolan's office on the 15th floor, followed by Dave Cecketts, Groenfeld, and head coach Jeff Van Gundy.

After the group sat down, Dolan's assistant brought them coffee.

"Tang, this is the list of twelve players." Little Van Gundy handed a piece of paper to Tang Bei, speaking somewhat reservedly.

As Pat Riley's protégé, his relationship with Tang Bei was just as awkward as that with his older brother, Da Fan.

It wasn't a matter of personal relationships; he was very clear about separating public and private matters, but he didn't know if Tang Bei could.

If Tang Bei targets him, he will definitely lose his job as head coach, and the Knicks' management will fire him in no time.

His brother was Pat Riley's puppet last season with the Heat. He should fare better with the Knicks this season, but there are concerns that he might become Tang Bei's puppet.

Tang Bei took it and looked at it. There was no change. The only difference from the list he had before was the addition of Wilkins.

President Dave Checkers said regretfully, "Don, not counting your contract, we still have more than ten million in salary cap space, but there are no more All-Stars in the free agent market."

"How can there still be so much space?"

Tang Bei was very surprised that his own contract was a renewal on the job and could be disregarded as a contract, but the remaining eleven players only had contracts worth tens of millions of yuan in total.

Dave Cecchers explained, "Wilkins only wanted a minimum salary of $25. All he wanted was a championship, but we still gave him $50 and signed him to a one-year contract."

"Only 25?"

Tang Bei was stunned. Even a veteran's minimum salary is more than 25. How much does Wilkins want a championship?

Grunfeld said, "The other players don't have high salaries. We wanted to build an All-Star roster, but all the All-Stars in free agency stayed with the team. The only one, Allan Houston, didn't want to be a substitute."

Looking at the roster in his hand, Tang Bei considered, "Me, Oakley, Mason, Starks, and Childs—the starting lineup has good defense both inside and outside."

“进攻端，我场均35到40分，其他四人加起来40至45应该没有问题，五大主力场均75到85分。”

As he spoke, Jeff Van Gundy's heart sank, feeling as if he were about to become Tang Bei's puppet.

Tang Bei continued, "The substitute lineup is a bit weak in positions five through three, but the guard line should be good."

"The bench unit should be able to score at least 20 to 25 points per game on offense. I think that should be no problem."

Xiao Fan seized the opportunity and followed Tang Bei's lead, saying, "It would be best if we could strengthen our bench in the frontcourt and small forward positions." Dave Checkertz nodded and said, "We are still working on it, hoping to trade our existing bench players for a good frontcourt player."

Gruenfeld said, "At the small forward position, hopefully we can develop rookie John Wallace; he still has potential."

Tang Bei nodded and said, "Then let's try to trade for a better backup center, someone who can play the four or five positions, even if he's strong on offense but weak on defense."

However, he felt there weren't many assets left in the bench, and he couldn't very well trade away Buck Williams, who was aiming for the championship.

As for the other one, Herb Williams, he's on the verge of retirement, has little skill left, and has almost no trade value.

Before training, Tang Bei looked around Madison Square Garden. The locker room was up to a luxurious seven-star standard, equipped with a gym and a physiotherapy room.

The huge oval-shaped locker room is divided into four arcs by the doors to the locker room, physiotherapy room, and gym. At the top of the oval on the right side of the entrance is a four- to five-meter-long independent area with only one wardrobe. The space is very large, with no doors on either side. The doors to the gym and physiotherapy room are on the opposite side.

From the entrance of the changing room, you can't see that separate area unless you go inside, so it's very private.

Clearly, this separate area was specially designed and is located in the best spot in the locker room.

He looked around and saw that the wardrobes were all empty and hadn't been used yet.

“Don, you pick out the wardrobe first,” Groenfeld said.

"OK."

He pointed to the independent wardrobe on the right and said, "This one will do."

Grunfeld nodded and smiled, "Don, do you have any other requests? We can renovate the wardrobe according to your wishes."

Tang Bei looked it over and shook his head, saying, "It's already very good. Let's leave it at that."

Next, the official training camp opened, and Tang Bei also began his formal training for the new season.

The media has also begun to comment on the situation of the new NBA season.

In the Eastern Conference, there are two championship-caliber teams: the Knicks, who have the best player in the league, and the Heat, a three-time champion dynasty.

In the Western Conference, there are also two championship-caliber teams: the Lakers, with Jordan and O'Neal, and the Rockets, with their Big Three of Barkley, Olajuwon, and Drexler.

These four teams are recognized by most mainstream media as championship-caliber teams, and they are the focus of media coverage.

The Heat and the Knicks were already fierce rivals, and now that Tang Bei has been traded from the Heat to the Knicks, the relationship has become even more complicated, with the rivalry undoubtedly intensifying. The media has focused its commentary on these two teams.

ESPN reports: "The Heat have a Big Three lineup with full offensive and defensive capabilities, and a championship-winning coach like Pat Riley. We are very optimistic that the Heat will achieve an incredible four-peat."

"The Knicks are a team that relies heavily on one person to carry them, and at least 70% of their strength comes from Tang Bei alone."

"Although there are All-Stars like Starks, Buck Williams, and Wilkins, they are either too old or only at the level of role players."

"Therefore, we favor the Miami Heat over the Knicks, whose roster relies too heavily on the Knicks."

Tang Bei underwent a physical test at the beginning of the training camp.

I finished 500 bone-strengthening pills, and now I take one a week to maintain the effect. My weight has reached 145 kilograms.

The body doesn't appear to be bigger because the increase is in the weight of the bones.

His jumping ability, straight-line speed, shuttle run, and agility all decreased slightly, but the extent was very small and should not have a significant impact on the competition.

Van Gundy's tactics inherited Pat Riley's style, emphasizing defense. Centers are expected to focus on low-post offense, be able to create screens, and be able to defend out of position.

However, even his mentor Pat Riley was forced to leave his position as head coach by Tang Bei, and as a rookie head coach, he had no authority whatsoever in front of Tang Bei.

Tang Bei would discuss tactics with him every now and then, which made him very embarrassed. Like Mo Ning, he gradually developed signs of depression.

After training camp comes the preseason.

The Knicks have seven preseason games, and the league has arranged for them to play two preseason games overseas, this time in Hamburg, Germany.

David Stern was keen to organize a few preseason games in China, but after considering the options, he abandoned the idea.

Because of low consumer spending power, ticket prices are too low to recoup costs.

On the 25th, the preseason ended, and on the 26th, the Knicks had a day off. On October 27th, the Knicks held their new season media day.

Starting in July, sales of the Knicks' #88 jersey surpassed those of Michael Jordan's Lakers' #23 jersey for the first time.

With the Knicks' full support, all kinds of merchandise related to Tangbei sold like hotcakes and reached all over the world.

The Knicks' average ticket price last season was $70, but this season it has skyrocketed to $148, an increase of more than 110%.

Last season's season ticket price was $2350, and 10151 sets were sold. Madison Square Garden has a total of 19763 seats for basketball games, so the season ticket ownership rate reached 51.3%.

The season ticket price this season is $4700, which is exactly 100% higher than last season. As of the 27th, 17895 tickets have been sold, with a season ticket ownership rate of 90.5%.

The Knicks' revenue from just 42 regular season home games will increase by about $50 million compared to last season, far exceeding their investment in Tang Bei. This is one of the reasons why the Knicks were willing to offer Tang Bei that astronomical contract.

Tang Bei's arrival, even before playing a single game, caused the Knicks' operating revenue to skyrocket and their global influence to increase significantly.

"Tang, what are your expectations for this season?" a reporter asked.

"It's all about winning the championship." Tang Bei replied directly.

"What's your opinion on the Heat's Big Three?" the reporter asked again.

"I can crush Ewing and Mourning's combined strength, and the Knicks can beat the Heat," he said very bluntly.

"Oh!"

His answer drew gasps of surprise from the reporters.

"And what about the Lakers and the Rockets?" another reporter asked.

Tang Bei said, "The Rockets' roster is too old. They probably won't make it out of the Western Conference. The Lakers are the most likely team to make it to the Finals."

The reporter pointed out, "According to the latest news, O'Neal's weight has increased to 160 kilograms during the three months he has been recovering from his injury."

"160?"

Tang Bei's expression became cautious.

It weighs 15 kilograms more than him, and this weight could really hinder his offense, making it difficult for him to bump into O'Neal.

Of course, he can use speed to beat slowness, and O'Neal himself doesn't like to play defense. After gaining weight, his physical fitness will be worse, and he will dislike playing defense even more.

As for Shaquille O'Neal, it's still unknown what kind of destructive power his 160-kilogram weight can bring on the offensive end.

However, if O'Neal and Jordan form a coordinated inside-outside partnership, the destructive power will be enormous, and the pressure on him will far exceed that of dealing with O'Neal plus Anfernee Hardaway.

He thought for a moment and said, "With the Lakers' current roster, we will focus on double-teaming Jordan on the perimeter. O'Neal doesn't need to be double-teamed, and we still have a great chance to beat them."

"Do you think Shaquille O'Neal can guard you?" the reporter pressed.

"Although he might pose some obstacles for me, he can't stop me," Tang Bei said with certainty.

"Tang, can you defend against a 160-kilogram shark?" the next reporter asked.

Tang Bei frankly said, "The pressure of defending him might be quite high, and the possibility of him going to the deep post has increased, but since we haven't played against him, I can't really assess his current strength."

"Tang, the list of the top 50 superstars will be announced tomorrow. Do you think you deserve to be included?" the next reporter asked.

Tang Bei perked up and said, "I think I still have a good chance, unless all the centers choose to retire and there are no active centers left."

The 28th is the Heat's media day for the new season.

The management invited a large number of media outlets. As the only team to win three consecutive championships in the modern basketball era, even though Tang Bei is no longer with the team, the Big Three are still very powerful, attracting a lot of attention, and many media outlets came to attend.

"Coach Riley, are you confident you can defend your title for the fourth consecutive season?" a reporter from the Miami Daily asked.

In the past few months, following the trade to Tang Bei, Pat Riley has been relentlessly criticized by Miami residents and the media, so he has been keeping a low profile.

He humbly said, "Given the uncertainty of the competition, it's hard to say whether we can defend our title, but we will do our best to do so."

The reporter bluntly stated, "You've played three and a half seasons here, reached the Eastern Conference Finals four times, and won three consecutive championships. If you can't defend your title this season, do you consider it a failure?"

Pat Riley's expression darkened, and he said with a sullen face, "I don't think he can guarantee a title defense even if he's here."

The reporter asked, "You mean, failing to defend your title is a failure?"

"Ha ha……"

Many of the reporters below laughed; most of them were local reporters.

Pat Riley's face turned ashen, and he stopped talking.

The next reporter asked, "Coach Riley, you offered Mourning a $1500 million annual contract, the same contract you gave to Severe Fear. Do you consider them to be players of the same caliber, or is it because you want to humiliate Severe Fear?"

"No, I had no intention of humiliating Tang."

Pat Riley quickly denied it, but did not explain why he offered such a contract.

In fact, Mourning was his only confidant on the Heat and the only player who supported him last season, which was his reward to Mourning.

That contract was both a means for him to eliminate Tang Bei's influence in the Heat's locker room and a way to make other players, including Ewing and Tim Hardaway, understand that Mourning, the highest-paid player, was the core of the Heat's future.

Ewing is already 34 years old, has many injuries, and his strength has begun to decline from its peak. In fact, once injuries flare up, the decline will be very rapid. He does not believe that Ewing is the future of the Heat.

Now, with Mourning, Ewing, and Tim Hardaway, whom he personally acquired through a trade, all three core players are his trusted confidants, and he has essentially gained control of the team.

"So Coach Riley, do you think the Heat or the Knicks are stronger?" another reporter asked.

Having just learned his lesson about humility, Pat Riley confidently declared, "We are the strongest team in the entire league."

"You just said you weren't confident about defending your title," the reporter reminded him.

"Haha..." Many reporters laughed.

Pat Riley is in a terrible mood. Since arriving in Miami last season, his reputation in the NBA has been steadily declining, and it hit rock bottom after the trade to Tang Bei.

He knew very well that even if he didn't win the championship this season, he had to defeat the Knicks. If he lost, he would be ridiculed by the media and cursed by the people of Miami.

Therefore, this season, he can only succeed, not fail.

(End of this chapter)