met free Chapter 414 A Brand New Record! Jordan Breaks Through!
Chapter 414 A Brand New Record! Jordan Breaks Through!
As for the final MVP of the Rising Stars Challenge, it was undoubtedly awarded to Gilbert Arenas, who scored 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists tonight!
He also became the second second-round pick, after Lin Tian, to win the Rookie Challenge MVP!
For the Pacers, this can be considered a kind of legacy!
Lin Tian, a second-round pick, led the team to glory and the top. With him likely to leave the team next year, can Arenas, another second-round pick, lead the team to another glory?
Of course, even if Arenas can't live up to the Pacers' new second-round pick's potential, he still has his teammates.
Although he was two years older than him, Ginobili entered the league a year later!
Ginobili's performance that night was equally outstanding!
He scored 29 points and 10 assists. Although he couldn't win the game in the end, the image of this Argentinian was once again imprinted in the hearts of every fan!
They also recalled how, just last summer, this guy had delivered an incredibly humiliating defeat to the American team with his breakthrough!
In fact, besides those two guys, the Pacers also have Tony Parker!
He scored 18 points tonight. He's a guy with great potential who will definitely become an All-Star in the future!
With these three young players, even if Lin Tian leaves the team after next season, the Pacers will definitely not fall into decline quickly. They will definitely continue to play influential and entertaining games in the East!
In short, everyone on the Pacers was incredibly happy that night! Even Ginobili, who unfortunately missed out on the Rising Stars MVP award, appeared very calm and happy. He has a good relationship with Arenas, and he was genuinely happy for his teammate.
Then came the highly anticipated Saturday night!
There are three individual events to be held tonight!
Traditional three-pointers, dunks, and a brand-new skills challenge!
To be honest, these three competitions are much more attractive than ever before!
The 3-point tournament has gathered top shooters from all walks of life, and Lin Tian, the most popular player, has also returned to the scene after many years to participate in the 3-point tournament again! Of course, compared to winning the championship, fans hope that Lin Tian can come up with some new tricks in the game.
For example, a dunk from the three-point line?
Lin Tian: I just have a cheat code, not wings!
Filled with anticipation, the fans at the scene kept chanting the names of their favorite strikers, expressing their excitement wildly.
Everything was the same old routine: light show, song and dance show, host's interludes, jokes, and the fans booing in good-natured way.
Then, the eight shooters entered the field one by one, ready for tonight's three-point showdown!
At this moment, the expressions of the eight people were all different!
Lin Tian and Nash stood together, chatting and laughing in a relaxed manner. Peja, the tallest of the two, stood next to them, but his eyes were slightly closed, as if he was about to fall asleep. Next to them were veterans Wesley and Barry, who were also chatting and laughing, talking about something.
Then there were Billups and Ray Allen, two assassins known for their cold-bloodedness. They both looked solemn and remained silent, as if they were about to participate in the finals, not a three-point contest.
It's worth mentioning that Allen's teammate, Bucks rookie Reed, didn't stand next to the team's veteran Allen, but instead stood next to Lin Tian. He and Allen were far apart on the left and right, respectively. Needless to say, these two definitely don't get along!
It's no wonder, given that the Bucks traded away Glenn Robinson, the team's veteran leader, during the offseason, after his growing feud with Ray Allen.
Their original goal was to promote Ray Allen and reunite the team, but they didn't expect that Ray Allen was not leadership material at all. The team's performance did not improve at all, and even making the playoffs was a problem.
The Bucks' lackluster performance has undoubtedly made their management anxious; their goal is to recreate the glory of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar era! Now that this seems a long way off, they've begun considering a complete rebuild!
At this crucial moment, on the Bucks' bench, the previously unremarkable Reed seized the opportunity and delivered an outstanding performance this year!
His three-point shooting percentage this season is an impressive 46%, ranking first in the league! He also averages 1.7 three-pointers per game, placing him among the top ten in the league! A top-tier shooter, both in quality and quantity, is rising!
It was Reed's rise that made the Bucks consider Allen, a player who always had a bad relationship with his teammates and whose team's performance had never improved over the years.
They wanted to send him away!
It would be a win-win situation: it would allow the younger Reed to take the lead while also getting rid of the expensive Allen!
His position on the team is about to be taken away by someone else. Allen isn't exactly a magnanimous older brother type. It would be a miracle if he and Reed had a good relationship!
However, although everyone can see it, they won't go up and ask things like, "Little Reed, why aren't you standing with your team's star player?"
Yes, Lin Tian will ask even if others don't.
"Brave young man, why aren't you standing with your team's star player?"
"Huh? What? What?" Reed was clearly stunned. He really didn't expect that someone would ask such a question directly at the All-Star Game!
Are all these big shots this direct and provocative?
Of course not.
The only person who is direct and stimulating is Lin Tian!
Unfortunately, Reed left before he could answer the question.
The match is about to begin! He's the first one to take the court tonight.
The others returned to their seats after the host's introduction.
Perhaps because he was the first to go out, or perhaps because it was his first time participating in such a big game, Reed was a little nervous. The young man didn't make a single shot on his first attempt!
Despite a poor start, Reed only managed 14 points in the end, a score that would make it very difficult for him to reach the finals.
"It's okay." After Reed returned to his seat, Lin Tian patted him on the shoulder and said, "Michael has shot single digits before, and Gary has shot single digits before too. You're much better than both of them."
"Thank you." Reed nodded gratefully, clearly much more relaxed.
Next up was Barry, the son of a legend. After winning the Slam Dunk Contest with his "Whites Can Fly" slogan, he has basically stopped dunking in recent years and is a pure three-point shooter.
Unlike his father, he was just an ordinary role player, but he had a big heart and a lot of experience. He easily scored 18 points after coming on, which was a pretty good score and gave him a good chance of making it to the finals.
Then Wesley, Billups, Nash, Peja and others took to the court. Their scores were all average, ranging from 15 to 22 points, with none being particularly high or low.
"I told you, don't embarrass yourself as a second-round pick, you got last place, didn't you?" Allen's voice suddenly came from in front of Lin Tian and Reed. This guy was about to go on stage.
"I bet his score is lower than yours!" Lin Tian snorted. "He definitely can't do it."
"Thank you." Reed was still a little nervous, and had a habitual fear of the team's leader: "But Ray is amazing! I often lose to him when it comes to three-pointers in team games."
"But you're going to win tonight!" Lin Tian patted the guy again and then stopped talking, watching Allen go onto the court to shoot.
then
13 points!
This top shooter in the league, who is known as the best shooter since Miller, also lost his touch and actually scored even less than Reed!
"See? I told you. Be confident, you can do it!" Lin Tian stood up with a smile. "My turn."
"What are you laughing at?" Allen was clearly in a bad mood as he walked back to the court.
He dared not provoke others, but when it came to bullying Reed, he was incredibly adept at it.
"Laugh at you for being a point below me!" This time, Reed wasn't afraid. He snorted and retorted to Allen.
Allen was stunned for a moment; he hadn't expected this kid to dare to defy him!
After casually saying "We'll see," he quickly left the scene and sat down to the side!
Lin Tian was the last player to take the court tonight. Before him, the three highest scorers were Peja with 22 points, Nash with 20 points, and Barry with 18 points!
In other words, as long as Lin Tian gets 19 points, he can advance to the finals! If he gets 18 points, he will have to play a tiebreaker with Barry; if he gets less than 18 points, he will be eliminated.
disuse?
How is that possible!
Lin Tian shook his arms and fingers, concentrating intently, ready to shoot.
I told you, I came to Atlanta to win the championship!
A crisp "swish!" gave Lin Tian a good start in his first round of shooting.
Lin Tian scored 4 goals in a row at the first spot, but unfortunately the fancy ball didn't go in.
Then, Lin Tian scored 6 points on the second point!
He then made a 4-pointer from the top of the arc.
Lin Tian continued his steady performance at the next two spots. Although he didn't hit both of his shots, he made both of his fancy balls. In the end, Lin Tian scored 9 points at the last two spots, for a total of 23 points.
They surpassed Peja's 22 points and advanced to the three-point finals as the top seed!
After the first round of voting, there was another cheerleading performance. Then the host came back on stage and brought over Lin Tian, Peja, and Nash, who had advanced to the finals, to ask them what their thoughts were on the finals.
"Relax and shoot, any number of points is fine," Nash said, maintaining his usual humility.
"I want to win the championship," Peja said, his voice carrying a distinctly Eastern European flavor. "I love the feeling of being number one."
"And what about Lin?" The host handed the microphone to Lin Tian.
After taking the microphone, Lin Tian didn't say anything. Instead, he turned around, took a step, and picked up the 3-point contest trophy that was already placed in the center of the court. Amidst the crazy and excited cheers of the fans, he walked with the trophy to Jordan's side.
"Michael, hold this for me, so I don't have to carry it later. It's heavy, but don't steal it, since you don't have any of these."
"Fuck you! Do you think I'm a waiter? You think I'm going to carry your trophy for you?"
Jordan's furrowed brow protest was completely drowned out by the frenzied and excited shouts of the fans. Apart from Lin Tian, no one heard his protest. All they saw was Lin Tian handing the trophy to Jordan and then swaggering back to his seat.
Arrogant!
Too embarrassing!
This kind of move—grabbing the trophy before even throwing—is unprecedented in NBA history!
Of course, they also took the opportunity to mock his embarrassing past of only scoring single digits in the 3-point contest.
But isn't this guy afraid of losing the championship and being embarrassed?
The host immediately posed this question to Lin Tian.
"There are no championships I can't win, only championships I don't want to win," Lin Tian shrugged. "It's easy."
Upon hearing Lin Tian's words, the fans at the scene immediately erupted in another round of celebration.
They love players who are so arrogant!
Or rather, aside from his defeated adversaries, who could dislike him?
Peja's expression became noticeably more serious, while Nash was still able to smile and high-five Lin Tian, saying, "I'm wondering if we should score two fewer, so you won't embarrass yourself and then retaliate against me."
"I'm the king's best friend!"
"Go ahead and vote for me!" Lin Tian waved his hand, and together with Peja, whose face had become even more gloomy, they turned around and returned to the rest area to wait for Nash's result.
1 minutes later.
24 points!
Nash in the final was completely different from what he said. This guy didn't hold back at all and scored a very high number of points!
In most years, this score would be enough to win the championship!
Next up was Peja.
Perhaps due to some changes in his homeland, this tall shooter has been quiet and reserved this season, far less interesting than he was last summer.
But when he took to the court, his shooting performance drove the fans wild!
27 points!
He achieved the highest score in the history of a 3-point tournament.
The previous highest score was 25 points, achieved by Hodges, a role player during the Bulls' first three-peat!
Yes, it's worth mentioning that the year Hodges set the NBA all-time high in field goal attempts was 1990, the same year Jordan scored 5 points.
When the leader picks up food, you turn the table; when the boss smokes, you blow on the breeze; when the leader forges iron, you break records.
Slapping the team leader in the face on the spot is practically suicidal!
Anyway, Lin Tian felt that, given Jordan's personality, he would probably have to challenge Hodges to at least 300 one-on-one matches after that season, and each match would have to score 100 points.
However, Hodges is also a legend. In his 11-year professional career, he participated in the Three-Point Contest for 8 years, and the reason he didn't participate for the 4 years was because there was no Three-Point Contest in the first four years of his career.
So, did you spot any blind spots?
Not bad!
Clever friends have surely noticed that 8 + 4 = 12, not 11.
Why is this happening?
It's time for Mr. Lin's lecture.
In the last three years of his career, from 1990 to 1992, Hodges won the Three-Point Contest three-peat, becoming the first player after Bird to achieve this feat, and also one of only two players in the league to win the Three-Point Contest three-peat.
And then? He lost his job.
As for the reason for his unemployment, it really does have something to do with Jordan.
After the Bulls won the championship in 92, Hodges angrily criticized Jordan for not speaking up for black people, saying he was not a qualified leader and didn't even deserve to be a black person.
This accusation is quite serious!
But Jordan simply ignored him. Jordan never responded to his former teammate in any way or on any occasion.
Anyway, a year later, the Bulls did not re-sign Hodges, making him a free agent. No other team in the league signed him either, and he was completely unemployed.
Then, at the 93 All-Star Game, Hodges, as a free agent, used the media extensively to promote himself everywhere. In addition, fans were eager to see him win the Three-Point Contest for the fourth consecutive time, so they petitioned and wrote letters to the league, hoping to get Hodges to continue participating in this year's Three-Point Contest.
Hodges then became the only player in NBA history to participate in the Three-Point Contest as a free agent.
However, perhaps because he didn't train with the team that year, and didn't have systematic training, he shot terribly in the game and was eliminated before even passing the preliminaries.
This is also the last story he left behind in this league.
To get back to the point, Peja's 27 points and Nash's 24 points have set the stage for this year's three-point contest.
The most intense three-point contest in history! The highest level of three-point contest finals in history!
A brand new 3-point tournament record, so high it's almost absurd. If Lin Tian wants to beat Peja, he can only miss one money ball and one regular ball, or miss no more than three regular balls.
This is almost no different from being a top student!
Peja's skill level is truly impressive!
But what is Lin Tian here for tonight?
We're here to shock the world!
At that moment, he suddenly remembered what he had said on the track and field.
I came, I saw, I conquered!
Caesar is definitely something else; just thinking about what he said gets my blood pumping!
And so, Lin Tian began!
"Bang!"
The game got off to a bad start, with Lin Tian missing his first shot. The fans in the arena couldn't help but gasp in surprise. If he missed the first shot, the pressure on the remaining shots would be immense!
"Bang!"
Then there was another sound, and Lin Tian struck twice with iron bars.
"Lin is probably in a tough spot. This start has been terrible, but in the end, Peja's shots were just too good." Barkley in the commentary booth couldn't help but sigh. His little guy still couldn't hold on.
What a pity.
Then, Barkley got excited because Lin Tian had just taken away the trophy for the three-point contest!
If you lose, then you have to pay it back.
Wow, that's exciting!
This young man, you've never embarrassed yourself like this before, have you?
So, this is the time!
Lin, get back on track!
In his heart, Barkley was already raising his arms in celebration!
He hoped that Lin Tian would keep missing shots and score less than 27 points.
Many others share Barkley's views.
If the number of people were so large that they could be listed one by one, this chapter could easily reach two million words!
In short, everyone is incredibly excited now.
But Lin Tian's performance quickly disappointed all those who were eager to see him humiliated.
After missing his first two shots, Lin Tian didn't miss any more shots!
Three balls hit the first spot! Five balls hit the second spot!
The third and fourth points were also completely correct!
With a high score of 22 points, Lin Tian arrived at the last spot. If he made all three shots here, he would become the new champion of the three-point shooting contest. If he missed a regular shot, he would be tied with Peja. If he missed more than one, he would lose.
At this point, no one had time to think about winning or losing or gloating; everyone's emotions were stirred up.
Will they all go in?
meeting!
"Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!"
Five crisp, clean sounds rang out in succession as the basketball pierced the net time and again, creating waves in the net.
Lin Tian did it!
After he made the final shot, Lin Tian quickly ran to Jordan's side. Just as Jordan stood up with a smile, reached out a hand to give Lin Tian a high-five and a hug to celebrate his little brother winning the highest-scoring and most prestigious three-point contest in history.
Lin Tian didn't high-five Jordan. Instead, he reached out and snatched the trophy from Jordan's other hand before high-fiving him. Then, while Jordan was still completely stunned, Lin Tian quickly left him, took the trophy, and walked towards the host.
"Hahahaha! Michael! Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter! Michael, hahahaha, Michael! Who can save him? Who can get him out of this embarrassing situation? Who can bring his soul back from hell?"
Barkley couldn't hold back any longer and burst into huge laughter, instantly dispelling Lin Tian's regret at not being able to embarrass himself.
Compared to Michael's hand being ignored in front of fans across the US and even the world, and then being slapped after his trophy was snatched away, Lin Tian's embarrassing incident is nothing!
happy!
This year's All-Star Game was so much fun!
Lin Tian ignored Jordan, who was completely bewildered and embarrassed, and walked straight back to the center of the court to chat with the host.
"Lin, congratulations! The highest score in the history of the Three-Point Contest! You have set a new historical record!"
"Is this the only one?" Lin Tian asked the host with a smile.
The host slapped his forehead and immediately exclaimed, "You're still the player with the most consecutive three-pointers in the history of the Three-Point Contest! 23 consecutive shots! You broke Peja's record of 16 consecutive shots set just 3 minutes ago!"
What are your thoughts on this?
"There's one more," Lin Tian continued.
"Anything else? That's all." The host was genuinely confused. What other records were there?
"5 balls in a row?" The host tried guessing randomly, not knowing if anyone had ever hit 5 balls in a row before.
"No, what I mean is," Lin Tian stopped teasing the host, whose forehead was starting to sweat, and said with a mischievous grin, "This competition also produced the strongest runner-up and the strongest third-place winner in history, didn't it?"
"Huh? Ah! Oh, hahaha, Lin is really funny. So Lin, tell us your thoughts on winning the championship. Why did you go to get the trophy back just now? Didn't you say you were going to keep it safe?"
You, Mr. Lin, dare to mock Nash and Peja in this kind of setting? I, a mere host, would never dare to do that. I still need to make a living this way in the future. Although Nash and Peja are unlikely to take a joke at his expense.
But what if?
There was no need, absolutely no need to take the risk, so after awkwardly laughing twice, the host quickly changed the subject. Then, he regretted it. He wanted to slap himself, he wanted to circle the topic back, he wanted to mock Nash and Peja for a while.
As for the reason, it's Lin Tian, of course.
"Oh, I'm afraid Michael will take the trophy away. After all, he only has one all-time last place, sorry, second to last. He must have been dreaming about this three-point championship trophy for more than ten years! I think he probably fantasizes about having one every night."
"So, to prevent him from taking the things, to prevent him from sneaking away and not even participating in the All-Star Game, and running home overnight, I decided to take them back first. Yeah, it's that simple."
Is it really that simple?
The host felt sweat beading on his back; he could feel Jordan staring intently at him.
Jordan thought this damn host was asking for trouble; he was deliberately trying to steer the conversation toward himself.
Is this damn host someone Lin hired specifically to humiliate me?
Make fun of Nash and Peja! Please, make fun of them!
The host was already inwardly groaning; Jordan's deadly gaze was immense pressure!
So, this guy didn't dare to continue the interview. He said directly, "Well then, thank you Lin for his performance and for his hard work! Let's congratulate him on winning the 3-point tournament! Now let's take a short break, and then we'll start the second individual competition of the evening."
"This year's brand new program brings a fresh twist and incredibly fun competition from the league!"
"Skills Challenge!"
"The so-called Skills Challenge is designed to test the players' skills, so all participants are the most skilled guards in the league. The specific process of the competition is as follows..."
While quickly explaining the process and rules, the host also grabbed a basketball and started performing. Lin Tian, too lazy to go back to the locker room, sat down on the sidelines and waited for the host to finish his antics before Marbury, Kidd, and Payton came out to appear with him, and then they would prepare for the game.
Of course, there's also the final trash-talking session before each competition.
"I'm the best in the world, I'm the most skilled person in this league." Marbury still had that 'bandit Marbury' look. Lin Tian even felt that if he were told now that he would become 'Commissar Marbury' in the future, Marbury himself would be the first to not believe it.
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
"If I win, I'm number one in the world." If Marbury is a bandit, then Payton is a robber. These two guys seem to be competing to see who is more difficult to deal with and who is more arrogant. One has his nose in the air, and the other has his mouth in the air.
"Just do your best, have some fun." Kidd looked like he was putting on a show.
Lin Tian saw this guy secretly practicing his high-post jump shot this morning!
Clearly, this guy has absolutely no confidence!
Shooting from a point one step inside the three-point line is widely recognized as the area with the worst consistency, lowest efficiency, and most difficult to practice.
A guy like Kidd probably won't take more than 5 shots in this area in a whole season.
Lin Tian understood Kidd's current thoughts very well.
If you don't embarrass yourself and don't score a 5-point game like Jordan did, you've won!
And Kidd must have mentally greeted all of Stern's female relatives within 18 generations, and at the same time, on behalf of the Eastern Lowland Gorilla, greeted all of Stern's male relatives within 18 generations.
The main principle is to kill the innocent and let the guilty go free, and to ensure that everyone is treated equally and no one escapes!
"You guys hid the trophy? Why didn't you put it in the center of the court beforehand? I was thinking of taking it earlier." Lin Tian looked around and realized that these NBA guys were really wicked.
This time they actually hid the trophy.
This is definitely not a game we can afford to play!
Do you think it's easy for me? All I wanted was to get a trophy early and have some fun with it, right?
Lin Tian's words naturally drew another burst of laughter from the fans in the stadium.
Marbury added, "I was just about to take it away, but I couldn't find it."
"Find the basket first. If you take that thing away, you'll have to bring it back later, right? Why bother?" Payton wasn't going to put up with Marbury and immediately retorted.
"Alright, alright, Gary, Lin wants to take him too. You're the senior, why don't you put in a word with him?" Kidd said with a smile, acting like a peacemaker and stirring things up.
"I can't beat him, but I can kill this kid." Payton shrugged, his face full of honesty.
"You old dog who's about to retire, what did you say?" Marbury's eyes widened as he sneered, "You're trash who can't even make the All-Star team, and you dare to yell at me?"
"You win a series first, kid. Have you ever won even one series in your life?" Payton scoffed. "I can win a series in a year, enough for you to chase for a lifetime! All-Star? Hmph, you're making me laugh."
"I'll show you what a champion I'll do this year! You're just a lottery-winning piece of trash!"
"Have you forgotten we still have games to play this season?" Payton glanced at Marbury. "I could crush you with one hand."
"The match begins! The match begins!"
Seeing the two arguing more and more fiercely, looking like they were about to come to blows, the host scratched his head, which was already covered in sweat. He had only one thought in his mind.
Add money, damn it, add money!
Is an All-Star individual competition really that difficult?
"Just wait to die!" Marbury cursed, and was the first to walk towards the game area.
"I bet you can't finish it in 30 seconds." Payton sneered and walked towards the waiting area. "If you can finish it in 30 seconds, I'll apologize to you."
"30 seconds? You think I'm like you? Old and unable to move? 30 seconds? I'll finish in 27 seconds!" Marbury said, ignoring Payton, and walked straight to the game area to wait for the game to start.
"You're really wicked," Lin Tian said, looking at Payton. "30 seconds? Can you even last 30 seconds, you old bastard?"
"Basically not." Payton said with a smug look. "I'd be considered good if I could last 30 seconds 5 out of 10 times, and that's during training. Right now, this kid is restless, eager to prove himself, and under the gaze of 20,000 people and the spotlight."
"30 seconds? 40 seconds would be amazing!"
No wonder these old men are all so wicked!
They're all dirtier and more insidious than the last!
It would be a miracle if a young man like Marbury, who's all about competitiveness, could get anything from a cunning old fox like Payton!
"3, 2, 1, GO!"
The match begins! (End of Chapter)