He took a short break to eat, and at seven o'clock, he slowly left the office.
The office is on the third floor. When we went down to the ground floor, we happened to meet the Mosaic team in the corridor. Barkley and Kenny Smith, who we just met, were also together.
"What a coincidence. Hey, gentlemen, good evening." He greeted with a smile.
"Hey Iron Fist, good evening."
"Hello, Iron Fist King."
The Mosaic players responded quickly.
"snort!"
Dameng just snorted.
He didn't have any good impressions of Zhou Quan. When the NBA organization went to China a few months ago, Stern also had someone contact him, but he refused.
Zhou Quan glanced at Barkley, but said to Olaju: "Dream, Barkley has retired and will never win a championship. If you choose to stay in Mosaic, do you want to be like him and never win a championship?"
"prick!"
It felt like a knife was stabbed directly into his heart, and there was an obvious stinging sensation in his heart. Buckley's eyes immediately turned red and his breathing was suffocated.
Dameng's face turned red, and he said angrily: "What does it have to do with you?"
"I'm doing it for your own good. Look at your attitude. You deserve to be without a crown for the rest of your life. I take back what I said before. If you kneel down now, I won't hold you in my lap." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Who wants to hug your thigh?" He yelled angrily with his face red to the point of bleeding.
"Ha ha……"
Zhou Quan laughed, but Dameng and Buckley were so angry that they were panting like two old dogs.
"I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it, I didn't expect Olajuwon and Barkley to be like this in front of the Iron Fist King?"
Seeing the boss Dameng and Buckley being bullied and humiliated by the Iron Fist King in front of them, but not daring to fight back, Steve Francis, who was standing nearby, was stunned.
These are two old hooligans. They have been in the Megatron Alliance for more than ten years. They are fifty superstars. They beat whoever they see. How can they stand like this in front of the Iron Fist King?
He immediately thought of how before the draft, hundreds of people including the owners of all NBA teams, dozens of superstars, Stern and a large number of executives went to China to invite the Iron Fist King to come back, and he felt that Dameng and Barkley were being bullied. The final reaction was also correct.
He is going against someone like King of Iron Fist and is being bullied. Is there anyone else who can help him stand up? I'm afraid Mosaic's boss will also force Dameng to apologize to the Iron Fist King, right?
He was a newborn calf who was not afraid of tigers. He was supposed to be the second pick of the Grizzlies, but he didn't want to go to the Grizzlies in the ice and snow, so he refused to report and forced the Grizzlies to sell his signing rights to Mosaic at a bargain price. This also set a precedent for the alliance.
But now, he is extremely envious of the Iron Fist King. If one day he can be as majestic as the Iron Fist King, kicking Dreams and punching flying pigs, this life will be worth it.
"Fliggy, it's still too late to make a comeback, come here and help me, I'll help you win the championship." Zhou Quan said with a smile, turned around and left.
Although Buckley was panting with anger, these words made his heart beat faster.
Dameng was too familiar with Barkley, and he knew that Barkley was moved by his look, so he said angrily:
"Charles, do you listen to him? He just teases you and takes you as a joke. The SuperSonics' broken lineup now is the same as ours at that time. They are all players with minimum salary. Don't look at the number one in the league now. He is the only one. If we hold on and play serious games in the playoffs, the Sonics will probably not make it past the second round.
Didn't he himself say it at the Sonics' media day? The Sonics' goal this season is either to win the championship or reach the second round, and he knows it. "
"I know, what are you talking about? I'm doing my job as a good commentator, why is the genius coming back?" Barkley said angrily.
"Aren't I worried about you? If you really listen to his comeback, hug his thigh shamelessly, and then you haven't won the championship and your job as a commentator has been lost, how can you be laughed to death?" Dameng said.
"Who is shameless? Let's go, let's go." Buckley urged in anger.
…
At eight o'clock, ESPN's national live broadcast begins.
Barkley said: "Based on the lineup analysis, the two teams are about the same strength, so the outcome of this game is unpredictable. Kenny, what do you think?"
Kenny Smith wanted to facepalm, Charles, the lineup is almost the same, what do you think? The Iron Fist King alone is as strong as half of the Mosaic team. Otherwise, how could the Iron Fist King have the best record in the league with a bunch of rookies with minimum salaries?
"Are you talking?" Buckley urged.
"Charles, you, have you forgotten? Mosaic's current record is 1-9, last in the league, and SuperSonics is 9-1, first in the league." Kenny Smith said.
"..."
Buckley's mouth opened wide and couldn't close. Damn it, how could I forget this?
"This idiot, he's been targeting King of Iron Fist."
"Barkley has been suppressed by the Iron Fist King, and he is still targeting the Iron Fist King. He deserves to be without a championship for the rest of his life."
"The Flying Pig in the Sky is also a fifty-star star. He is not objective when commenting. How can he be a commentator?"
"The league's top team versus the league's bottom team, Barkley actually thinks that the two teams have similar lineups. Does he have any professionalism at all?"
"ESPN is such an idiot for hiring Barkley as a commentator."
In front of the TV, countless fans became unhappy with Barkley. Many people called ESPN's complaint hotline to complain about Barkley.
"Charles, the entire NBA is pointing at Iron Fist King now. If you target Iron Fist King again in the commentary, get ready to leave."
"I?"
Soon, Barkley received an angry rebuke from ESPN headquarters, and his face turned the color of pig liver.
At half past eight, the game starts.
There is still a big dream of turning 40 in more than a month, but his running and jumping ability is no longer good, and he lost the jump ball to the 31-year-old Campbell.
Zhou Quan attacked with the ball and faced rookie Steve Francis.
"Rookie, do you want a preview?" he teased.
"What?"
Francis was stunned. He suddenly remembered the media reports about the preview of King of Iron Fist.
"The preview begins."
With a smile on Zhou Quan's face, he controlled the ball with his right hand, pointed to the right side of Francis with his left hand, and said: "There is no fake move, I will rush over from there, and then shoot at the top of the arc."
"..."
François Lang's mouth opened wide. Is this the preview of King of Iron Fist?
"Bang!"
While dribbling, Zhou Quan took a step to the right with his left foot. This step was huge and very fast. At the same time, he blocked Francis with his left hand.
Francis is the same height as Zhou Quan, but weighs only 88 kilograms, which is nearly 10 kilograms lighter. The competition is not at the same level, and his physique looks two times smaller than Zhou Quan.
But his physical fitness is very explosive. Although his defensive skills are average, his defensive attitude is very positive. And because he got the warning, he reacted a little faster, kept up with Zhou Quan's breakthrough rhythm, and completed his turn and defense in time.
However, he was blocked by Zhou Quan's left arm and was unable to engage in personal confrontation. He could only move downward and continue to pursue the defense.
Zhou Quan carried Francis to the top of the arc, suddenly stopped the ball, and then made a fadeaway jumper.
Francis was blocked half a step away, and he immediately took off half a step to block the shot. But even with an amazing bounce, how could he reach Zhou Quan's fadeaway jumper?
"brush!"
The water splashed and he hit a three-pointer.
"Oh ho!"
Warm cheers erupted in the New Center Gymnasium.
With his comeback, this stadium, which can accommodate 22,000 people, changed from the lack of attendance in the previous two seasons and began to fill up every game.
As the ball went in, he shook his hand and felt that his condition was almost back to the top level. He was also very happy that it only took such a short time to regain his condition.
Of course, there is still some distance between him and his true peak period, but it is enough now, and he should be able to reach his peak state before the All-Stars.
He smiled and said to Francis: "Rookie, welcome to the NBA. By the way, what's your name? What's your pick?"
"Steve, Steve Francis, the second pick in the first round." Steve Francis said with some frustration.
As far as he knew, before the Iron Fist King retired in the 1996 draft, the relationship between the rookies and the Iron Fist King was very good. A few days ago, the media even took photos of the Iron Fist King and Iverson having dinner together. It was his turn. know?
This made him somewhat angry, so he decided to show off his strength in front of the Iron Fist King and never let the Iron Fist King underestimate him.
After receiving the ball, he immediately started to advance quickly.
Preventing and retreating, Zhou Quan adjusted his pace from time to time, always blocking Francis in front of him. Francis, who wanted to advance quickly, turned around and dribbled past, hoping to break through.
At this moment, with accurate prediction, Zhou Quan quickly took a step back and blocked the opponent half a beat in advance. He stretched out his hand and poked the ball away. He immediately took a step forward and squeezed Francis away. Controlled the ball.
"Is this being discontinued?"
Francis was a little confused and quickly chased Zhou Quan who was about to get off.
Amid the huge cheers of more than 22,000 SuperSonics fans, Zhou Quan entered the paint area and performed a dunk with a change of hands.
"boom!"
First, he dunked with the ball in his left hand. Francis flew from behind to block the shot. Zhou Quan immediately took back his left hand, switched to his right hand, and then smashed the ball into the basket.
"Oh ho!"
When the basket trembled, the cheers of the audience suddenly rose.
"Francis was fooled by King of Iron Fist's fake moves!" Kenny Smith shook his head and laughed.
"Rookie, don't be discouraged, try again."
Zhou Quan grabbed the bouncing basketball and threw it to Francis.
Francis angrily smashed the ball on the floor and bounced high.
"Shh!"
There was a burst of boos in the Central Gymnasium.
"Beep!"
The referee immediately ran over, pointed at the rookie, and then gave him a T.
"Rookie, calm down." Dameng ran over and shouted.
"Young rookie, you have quite a temper." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
Looking at Zhou Quan walking towards the free throw line, Dameng said to Francis: "Rookie, he might be targeting you, be careful."
"I'm not afraid of him." Francis said coldly, glancing at the cowardly Da Meng.
Dameng secretly cursed, "Damn it, you really have a bad temper. I'm just worried that you will be killed by that guy tonight. If you want to die, just go ahead and do it."
"brush!"
Zhou Quan made a free throw and Mosaic attacked.
This time Francis used the cover of teammate shooting guard Shanton Anderson to temporarily get rid of Zhou Quan and quickly passed the center line with the ball from the right wing.
But just after crossing the center line, Zhou Quan caught up again and blocked the front.
He immediately pulled to the center, and Zhou Quan caught up again, pulling to the left wing. Once again, with the help of small forward Walter Williams' screen, he changed direction downwards and headed towards the paint area.
But Zhou Quan bypassed Williams and took a shortcut to block the front again.
Francis had no choice but to make a sudden jump shot and force the shot over Zhou Quan's head.
Although he is a point guard, his style of play is very unique. He focuses on offense and supplements by passing. If there is no other way, shooting is his first choice.
And he also wants to perform in front of Zhou Quan, so that he can get the greatest attention. If he can hit a few good shots in front of the Iron Fist King, he might be able to rise to the top.
The idea is good, but the reality is also very skinny.
"Snapped!"
When he just released the ball, a big hand came over and confiscated the ball.
"Oh ho!"
At the moment of catching the hat, the whole audience was in an uproar.
"What?"
The shot was blocked, and Francis was stunned again.
"Hey, these young people all want to show off their skills in front of the Iron Fist King." Kenny Smith sighed.
"Young man, who doesn't want to stand out?" Barkley said.
"As a rookie, you still have to be humble in front of the Iron Fist King." Kenny Smith said.
Buckley played the opposite tune and said: "If you have character, maybe he will even look at you, but you don't even have character, and he has no interest in abusing you.
So I support Francis’s idea of showing off his skills in front of the Iron Fist King. Young people should be like this, don’t be afraid of failure, and face failure bravely.
Steve, challenge the Iron Fist King. Even if he scores 60 points on your head, it's natural. But if you score 20+ points on his head, you will become famous. "
"..."
Kenny Smith was a little dumbfounded because he felt that what Barkley said really made sense.
Francis really did what Barkley said. In the next game, he began to challenge Zhou Quan again and again.
Zhou Quan made 11 steals in the game, 7 of which were given to Francis, and he also blocked 3 shots, scoring 42 points on Francis' head.
Francis made 4 of 21 shots, with a poor shooting percentage of only 19%. He made 11 personal mistakes and only sent 3 assists.
After the game, Francis was in a state of despair.
The SuperSonics have 10 wins and 1 loss, continuing to rank first in the league.
After the game, the team went to Phoenix overnight, where a back-to-back game awaited them.
The Suns were seventh in the Western Conference last season and were swept by the Trail Blazers in the first round. Since the new season, they have 6 wins and 4 losses, so their strength is still good.
The core of the team, Kevin Johnson, is approaching retirement. The main point guard is Jason Kidd, who was traded from the Mavericks in 1996, and Payton is younger.
In 1997, All-Star center Clifford Robinson was introduced. This year, Penny Hardaway was introduced. There are also a bunch of capable players such as Rodney Rogers and Tom Gugliotta, and rookie Sean Marion. His talent has also begun to show. After trading Barkley, the Suns have become a strong team in the Western Conference again.
(End of chapter)
