The longest river

Chapter 128 Cleveland All-Star Game
Malone's injury has sparked a heated discussion within the league.

Those who are unhappy with Yang Shuai's selection as an All-Star starter, or who are envious of Yang Shuai's current status and want to sabotage him, should think twice before taking action, wondering if they are more resilient than Malone.

In the two weeks leading up to the All-Star Game in February, although many players still publicly questioned Yang Shuai's selection as an All-Star starter, Yang Shuai did not encounter any further bad actions on the court.

Ma Long has been made an example of.

When it was mid-February, Yang Shuai arrived at the All-Star Game venue a day early.

The biggest difference between this year's All-Star Game and last year's All-Star Game for Yang Shuai is that he's going home.

It's true that they're going home, because this year's All-Star Game is being held in Cleveland!
Just before Yang Shuai returned to Cleveland, the Cleveland Plain Dealer published an article.

That was an investigative article.

They obtained the categorized vote count from league staff, and Yang Shuai's percentage of paper votes ranked third among all Eastern Conference All-Stars.

Due to the distance, it is difficult for paper tickets from overseas markets to be sent to the United States, which means that Yang Shuai's votes in the United States are enough to secure his place in the Eastern Conference starting lineup.

This is a real slap in the face to all those who had doubts, using data to prove them wrong.

Those people's claims were ultimately proven to be nothing more than biased statements heavily influenced by their own subjective opinions.

In fact, anyone who uses their brain a little knows that the idea that "Yang Shuai was selected as an All-Star starter because of overseas votes" is unreliable.

Because if Yang Shuai is barely selected as an All-Star starter, then it's understandable, but Yang Shuai is second only to Jordan in the All-Star voting!
The overseas market is still in its early stages of development, so even if it gets votes, it won't be enough to warrant this outcome.

Moreover, even without knowing the detailed data, just look at the sales figures of Yang Shuai's signature sneakers.

Those who are willing to spend money on sneakers, wouldn't they also be willing to spend a little time casting a free All-Star vote?
Back in Cleveland, Yang Shuai simply went home for a quick meal before getting busy again.

As his fame grows and he endorses more brands, he will only be busier at All-Star Weekend than last year.

The day before All-Star Weekend, he was busy until late at night, and then went to a local restaurant for barbecue with Garnett.

Garnett was also selected for the All-Star Game this year.

Yang Shuai didn't expect this, because the Timberwolves' winning percentage is not even 50%, and Garnett's stats are only 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.1 blocks.

It can only be said that the overall strength of the West was too weak at that time.

像今年湖人队入选的埃迪·琼斯（17.2分4.1板3.4助攻2.4抢断）和德特雷夫·施拉姆夫（16.8分6.5板4.4助攻）数据也很一般。

Even players like Chris Gatlin, who have spent most of his career, including this season, as a substitute, were selected for the Western Conference All-Star team this year.

Moreover, Garnett was also lucky. This year, O'Neal was selected but was unable to participate due to injury, so Garnett filled in for him.

But regardless, they were all ultimately selected.

A year ago, who could have imagined that two high school students from a weak draft class would both be selected for the All-Star team the following year?
It's worth noting that last season, the biggest criticism they faced was from others.

This truly feels like the bittersweet feeling of finally getting better.

If they didn't have a ton of things to do tomorrow morning, they would probably sneak in another drink.

"Hansen, my agent told me that the league may face another lockout in the next one to two years."

During the conversation, Garnett brought up the topic again.

Having experienced that firsthand, Yang Shuai completely believed what Garnett's agent said.

When they talked about it in the summer, they were mostly fantasizing, since at that time they had absolutely no chance of getting a super contract.

But now that they've performed well and been selected for the All-Star team, they really have a chance.

Therefore, the safest plan is to negotiate a big contract with the team directly when extending the contract this summer.

It's best to secure the money now. If a big contract isn't signed this year, and the maximum salary rule comes into effect next year, like the rookie contracts before, then it'll be a loss.

No, it's a huge loss, probably tens of millions of dollars.

On the second day of All-Star Weekend, Yang Shuai appeared at Gund Arena along with the other All-Stars.

Before the All-Star Weekend Game, the players selected for the Game will have open practice sessions.

Yang Shuai was not selected for the main competition last year, so this year is a completely new experience for him.

However, before going to training, in the locker room, Yang Shuai felt that familiar sense of isolation again.

While the All-Stars were chatting and laughing together, he sat there all alone.

Just like when he first joined the Pacers, the current NBA has a strong Black culture. Yang Shuai is not part of their group, not to mention that he received so many votes this year, taking away the benefits of many people.

Yang Shuai remained indifferent. If he cared about these things, he might still be playing as McGee's backup under Brown.

Fortunately, just like when I was with the Pacers, it wasn't everyone.

"I heard you sent that guy Karl to the hospital?"

Joe Dumas arrived late, and when he saw Yang Shuai sitting there alone, he smiled and came over to chat with him.

"It was an accident, just an accident," Yang Shuai said with a smile.

Dumas gave him a thumbs up.

As Thomas's backcourt partner, he also witnessed Thomas being elbowed back then. Malone can be considered one of the few people he didn't get along with in the NBA.

After chatting for a while, the staff came over and called them out to train.

As soon as they entered the stadium, the media swarmed around them.

It was called training, but it was really just the All-Stars meeting with the media and doing interviews.

Jordan was naturally the most watched.

Besides Jordan, it was Yang Shuai. He was also surrounded by a huge crowd.

As a Cleveland native playing in the All-Star Game in Cleveland, it's hard not to be the center of attention.

Not to mention that Yang Shuai saved both the All-Star Three-Point Contest and the Slam Dunk Contest last year.

At this moment, the All-Stars in the East were filled with envy and jealousy.

Their isolation of Yang Shuai was simply an attempt to make him uncomfortable, but in the end, it was they who were the ones who felt uncomfortable watching Yang Shuai enjoy the spotlight.

Reporters were most interested in Yang Shuai's outlook for the All-Star Game.

It was their first time participating in the All-Star Game, and they wanted to know if Yang Shuai had set any goals for herself.

Yang Shuai wanted to, but looking at the attitude of this group of people, he was afraid he could only participate for the sake of participation.

However, he does have a small goal.

"You will know then."

And he deliberately kept everyone in suspense.

He's really whetted the reporters' appetites!

After finishing the open practice, Yang Shuai and the other All-Stars sat on the sidelines to watch the upcoming individual events.

Because of Yang Shuai's outstanding performance last year, the attention given to these two events has increased significantly this year.

Because of the high level of attention, the players are highly enthusiastic about participating.

For example, Miller returned to the Three-Point Contest.

Miller, as the league's best three-point shooter, has participated in the Three-Point Contest four times, but has never won the championship.

He also stated that this would be his last time participating in this individual event.

Perhaps it was this do-or-die courage that allowed Miller to demonstrate remarkable consistency from the very beginning of the preliminaries.

In the final, he faced off against Kerr in a thrilling showdown, ultimately winning by a single point and claiming the Three-Point Contest title.

After sinking the final shot, he, who is known for his cold-bloodedness and big heart, felt a huge sense of relief and then lowered his head to kiss his right hand.

When he stepped onto the podium amidst the cheers of the fans, his face was beaming with joy.

He has no regrets about winning the All-Star game.

The focus of fans' attention during the subsequent Slam Dunk Contest was naturally Kobe.

Kobe and Yang Shuai have so many similarities, which makes fans wonder if he can make a name for himself like Yang Shuai did last year.

Kobe did not disappoint, winning the championship in the final with a between-the-legs windmill dunk.

It's worth mentioning that Yang Shuai presented the trophy to Kobe.

As a Cleveland native and last year's Slam Dunk Contest champion, this award presenter, while unusual, was perfectly acceptable.

Kobe was surprised and excited to see that Yang Shuai was presenting him with the award.

"Next year, I'll be an All-Star starter just like you!"

Thanks to Yang Shuai's efforts, Kobe no longer sees Yang Shuai as an idol, but rather as someone he wants to emulate.

Yang Shuai gave Kobe an encouraging hug.

Kobe, you'd better grow up quickly, so I can start racking up points sooner if you start fighting with Shaq.

The final day of All-Star Weekend is the main game.

There was a little incident that day: LeBron James showed up at the event.

This time he didn't come alone; he came with his mother and adoptive father.

However, because they were positioned relatively high up, Yang Shuai did not notice him.

There was an entrance ceremony for the main game, and the Cavaliers erected a huge silver hollow five-pointed star at the entrance to the player tunnel, which looked quite spectacular.

Because it was in Cleveland, the Western Army was the first to appear.

Just as Malone entered the game as the starting power forward for the Western Conference, a chorus of boos erupted from the crowd.

This made Malone's face look very ugly.

The Eastern team then took to the field, with Hill being the first starter, drawing considerable cheers from the fans.

Hill is now second only to Jordan in popularity in the league.

However, when Yang Shuai entered the game after Hill, the crowd erupted in thunderous cheers.

At this moment, we found out why Malone was booed earlier.

In Cleveland, Yang Shuai's popularity is comparable to that of Jordan!
It's a pity there are no shots of James right now, otherwise his fervent gaze would show how much he wants to become the next Yang Shuai.

Feeling the vibration coming from his eardrums, Yang Shuai couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Looking back on the enthusiastic cheers he received from fans every time he played here last season, he wonders if he will ever have the opportunity to play for his hometown in the future.

He made his signature "listen" gesture amidst cheers from the fans.

At that moment, the roar of the fans seemed to be able to lift the roof off the stadium.

(End of this chapter)