No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 136: Clandestine Frenzy

Game-winner!

Game-winner!

Game-winner!

The moment the ball fell into the hoop, the fans at the site erupted into ecstatic cheers!

That 17-year-old rookie, picked 13th in the first round, had missed three consecutive shots.

But this 17-year-old rookie, picked 13th in the first round, made it!

Teammates rushed towards Zhang Yang, and Zhang Yang rushed towards his teammates, forming a circle to celebrate the victory.

When Zhang Yang took the jump shot, Jordan was still sitting on the bench, ready for Zhang Yang to miss and lose the victory.

No one expected the shot to go in!

The God of Basketball jumped up, punching the air in celebration!

The very first game of his career, ending with a game-winner, truly befitting his junior, so tough!

After the excitement, Jordan found himself slightly carried away, trying to control his expression... but he couldn’t suppress his smile!

No point in hiding it, he laughed, laughing wildly!

Yao Ming, watching Zhang Yang celebrating with his teammates, was completely overwhelmed.

Scoring 12 points in the first half of the quarter, 14 points in a single quarter, and finishing the half with 22 points, and the third quarter with 28 points... playing 45 minutes, making 12 out of 20 shots, along with 12 out of 14 free throws, totaling 36 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks.

This game was tough for him, offensively he had to sustain the scoring, his points accounted for more than 40% of the team’s total.

On defense, he had to be cautious, even when they had the initiative, they couldn’t widen the gap, constantly worried about being overturned by the opponent.

With a little more than 40 seconds left in the game, he thought they were finally going to make it through, Felton scored a three-pointer, he made a desperate effort, scored a crucial basket, thinking they would hold on... only to be overturned by the opponent with an 8-2 run!

That 17-year-old rookie came in with a buzzer-beating game-winner!

This was Yao Ming’s first time leading the team alone, and he felt it was incredibly tough, even losing to an underdog team!

In the first three years of his career, he’d always had someone leading the way.

In his freshman and sophomore years, his two perimeter teammates were iron men.

Before the Rockets let go and Francis went off the rails with drugs, he wasn’t that extreme, was physically great, played 81 games in the 02-03 season, and 79 in the 03-04 season, missing only 4 due to suspensions.

Old Cat Mobley, one of the NBA’s most disciplined players, always in good health, even managed an average of 13.7 points per game in the season he retired at 33 due to injuries.

And those two years still had Morris Taylor, Kevin Cato, Jim Jackson, Clarence Weatherspoon, Eric Piatkowski, Kenny Thomas, James Posey... and so on. Yao Ming had quite an easy time playing during his freshman and sophomore stages.

In the summer of ’04, to make room for McGrady, the Rockets dealt Francis, Mobley, and Cato, three of their starting players, also offloading other high-salary players, even though they acquired McGrady and significantly raised the team’s potential, the Rockets became a ’two-man team’.

Fortunately, last season both Yao and McGrady stayed healthy, both were almost always available, achieving a record far better than Yao Ming’s first two years, with 51 wins.

The last time the Rockets secured a 50+ win season was during the era of the ’old men’s group’ with Barkley, Olajuwon, and Drexler, where the 34-year-old ’young gun’ Barkley, dragging Olajuwon and Drexler, both slightly older, blasted out 57 wins, made it to the Western Finals... only for Barkley to wear himself out, breaking down from an MVP-level performance in ’96-’97 to a complete collapse in ’97-’98, not even making the All-Star team.

Just as Yao Ming was looking forward to soaring in the new season, McGrady got injured even before the regular season began.

The first game of the new season left him stunned—what were these teammates!

...

"I didn’t play a big role in this game, if my previous shots had gone in, one or two, maybe we wouldn’t have needed this game-winner, and our offensive spacing would have been much better. Emeka grabbed 12 rebounds and had 3 blocks, Gerald scored 19 points, Brevin dished out 9 assists, Karim hit two crucial three-pointers, and Raymond kept pushing hard, scoring and defending, even hitting the three-pointer that sparked the comeback... It was thanks to them that we were able to hold on until the end, and had the opportunity for this game-winner.

I just happened to be the one who went up and made the shot when we needed it."

Zhang Yang made headlines with his debut.

His post-game interview also became a topic for fans to discuss.

Some said he was incredibly humble for his age, others accused him of false humility, saying his last remark exposed the arrogance hidden beneath his modest facade.

But whether it was genuine humility or hidden arrogance, this game showed everyone Zhang Yang’s talent!

Originally, Zhang Yang struggled in set plays, making only 4 out of 5 on fast breaks to score 8 points, demonstrating only his speed and transition response, enough to keep him from being heavily criticized.

His performance was too poor, making none out of 5 in set situations.

Did others on the team perform just as poorly in mid-range shots? Was Yao Ming the only one who could consistently make mid-range shots and everyone else struggled?

That didn’t matter, as he took the most mid-range shots on the Bobcats, missing all four attempts.

But that buzzer-beater made up for everything!

In his first game, Zhang Yang broke many "records."

The youngest ever to play, at 17 years and 146 days.

The youngest ever to score in double digits in a game, also at 17 years and 146 days.

The youngest ever to make a game-winning shot, still at 17 years and 146 days.

According to ESPN’s "record" reporting style, there are also the youngest dunk and the youngest goal...

Unless one day the NBA reinstates accepting high school students into the draft, these records will never be broken!

This game-winning shot boosted Zhang Yang’s previously declining evaluations during the preseason, alleviating his media pressure.

It saved face for Jordan, who had been criticized by the media for months for picking a 17-year-old Chinese high school student, as if obsessed with finding another Kobe.

But none of this mattered to Zhang Yang—pressure from public opinion was manageable if he simply ignored the news; it wasn’t him who was losing face when Jordan was criticized... This game-winning shot brought direct benefits!

The next morning, Tellem excitedly ran to Zhang Yang’s house, bringing great news—the sneaker sponsors he had been in contact with had finally made offers he was satisfied with.

Zhang Yang called out to the kitchen, "Dad."

Zhang Chen, the tactical guru dad, took off his apron and came to the living room, joining the discussion. After catching up, he asked, "What are their specific offers?"

Tellem: "Adidas has the highest average annual price, but it’s for the longest duration. They want to sign for 10 years, a total of 80 million; Reebok is the most enthusiastic, wanting to monopolize the commercial value brought by Chinese basketball players, both duration and price are very suitable, 3 years for 20 million; Nike said they would match whatever Reebok offers, and Jordan called me this morning..."

Zhang Chen: "Adidas’s offer is very tempting. I think most players faced with such an offer would choose them."

Tellem: "Indeed, if it were any other player under me, I would have rejected other offers by now. Even for All-Stars, most can’t maintain their commercial value for 10 years. It’s a sure win with no risk; choosing shorter contracts carries a big risk, like Steve Francis, who nobody thought would almost lose all his sponsors after being the capital’s darling in ’03."

Zhang Chen: "Do you think there’s more room for Jack’s sneaker endorsement fees to rise?"

Tellem: "At least in terms of sneaker endorsements, I believe his future value will be higher than Yao’s. Right now, as Jack has just demonstrated his talent and they are so eager, as long as he can play well, it’s bound to go higher."

Zhang Chen: "Then let’s not consider Adidas. Reebok should also be a later option. I remember Yao Ming signed with Reebok. With two Chinese players, their treatment will definitely differ, and Jack will definitely be put in the back."

Tellem: "I think so too. Nike and AJ, I suggest prioritizing AJ. Jack’s boss, Jordan, is a minor shareholder in AJ, which helps to foster their relationship and provide Jack with a better team environment."

Zhang Chen nodded in agreement with this choice and turned to his son, "Yangyang, ultimately this is up to you. Which one do you want to pick?"

Zhang Yang: "You all finished talking... As long as AJ’s offer is right, and the duration is suitable, they indeed are a great choice, but I have one requirement."

Tellem: "What is the requirement? I will try my best to negotiate it for you."

Zhang Yang: "Make the sneaker designs cooler and more attractive!"

Tellem: "Ah?"

Zhang Chen, Yang Jing: "..."

Hearing his older son’s request, the couple looked at their younger son lying on the ’Somersault Cloud’, wearing a ’Four-Star Dragon Ball’ hat, and hugging the ’Jingu Bang’, and fell silent once again.

...

Having made their choice, Tellem started to get to work with even more drive.

The commission percentage for the endorsement fee was much higher than the team contract.

He engaged in negotiation battles with Jordan, AJ’s North America and Asia-Pacific representatives.

This would take some time, involving discussions about the intensity of marketing, whether there would be signature shoes, the speed of production for signature shoes, and the face of the contract signing press conference—all these factors involved interests. Zhang Yang’s side striving for more resources would inevitably dominate resources over AJ’s other stars, which was also why Zhang Yang’s family and Tellem were reluctant to choose Reebok, as Reebok had been investing in Yao Ming for three years. Zhang Yang joining might benefit from the exposure brought by Yao Ming, but could likely always be overshadowed by Yao’s presence.

But Zhang Yang didn’t have to worry about this, his dealings were handled by his dad, since he was under 18 and didn’t have independent signing authority.

His parents went back to Hidden Mountain early for this reason, saying it was to discuss the sneaker endorsement with lawyers, to avoid pitfalls, as it’s always best to be cautious.

But Zhang Yang thought his parents had another reason for leaving early—he had seen the Jingu Bang, Somersault Cloud, and Dragon Ball hat thrown on top of the wardrobe in the guest room...

He let out a cold laugh, hmph, he had anticipated this situation. When he had these items made earlier, he had made two extra sets, which he had already sent to the restaurant and villa in Hidden Mountain before his parents arrived.

Now that his parents had returned, they were about to receive the gifts he prepared for his little brother!

...

...

Slept too late last night, overslept and was late to work today o(╥﹏╥)o. Wrote 3000 words before 2 PM, concise and potent. Will update a Chapter of at least 7000 words before midnight. Need votes!

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