No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 178 - 105. Just secretly be happy about it_2

As per tradition, making it to the All-Stars meant it was time to treat everyone.

The TV in the locker room was broadcasting the program where the league’s vice president joked while announcing the starting lineup of the All-Star game. The Eastern Conference had already been announced, and the Western Conference lineup was unfolding.

Zhang Yang glanced at the posted top five vote-getters for each position in the East.

Center: O’Neal with 2.19 million votes in first place, Ben Wallace with 1.24 million votes in second...

Forward: James with 2.26 million votes was the top vote-getter in the East, Gerald Wallace with 1.33 million votes in second, Jermaine O’Neal with 1.24 million votes in third, Grant Hill with 1.06 million votes in fourth...

Guard: Iverson with 2.16 million votes in first, Zhang Yang with 1.93 million votes in second, Wade with 1.11 million votes in third, Carter with 1.03 million votes in fourth, Kidd with 760,000 votes in fifth, Marbury with 710,000 votes in sixth, Felton with 590,000...

Since being selected as an All-Star starter, which was expected, seeing the number of votes for the forwards, Zhang Yang exclaimed with surprise, "Gerald, you surpassed O’Neal to become an All-Star starter!"

Felton, who was originally excited about his little brother’s selection as an All-Star starter, instantly felt less excited upon hearing this and said sourly, "Yeah, not only did you make it, but Gerald also rode your coattails into the All-Star starting lineup."

His little brother actually had others riding his coattails, which felt a bit petty!

But Gerald Wallace was currently the strongest player on their team, and halfway through the season, Gerald Wallace had improved significantly compared to the start of the season. Even if Okafor came back, it was hard to say who was the strongest.

In terms of ability, Felton recognized Gerald Wallace’s, for if you don’t acknowledge the strength of your competitors, what exactly are you competing for? Comparing heights among those who are short?

Gerald Wallace, smiling, took over the conversation, "Yeah, Jack, I owe it to you. Without you, I would never have had the chance to be an All-Star starter in my life."

Zhang Yang responded, "The main thing is your strength, Gerald, and also the Pacers falling apart. If they didn’t have that fight last year, at least one between Artest and O’Neal would have made the All-Star starters. Even though I could bring you some votes, it would have been difficult to compete with them. Look, O’Neal only played over 30 games, and you only surpassed him in the last 10 days of voting. He was leading before that, mainly due to your own strength gaining the fans’ recognition at the last moment."

Felton retorted, "Jack, you are too calm, an All-Star Starter! You guys are All-Star starters!"

Zhang Yang said, "Of course I am very happy, but since the first release of the votes I was far ahead, and by the second, I was 700,000 votes ahead of the third-place Carter... I was already excited back then, now it’s better to think about how to face the media and the criticisms from the fans of competitors."

Felton said, "Oh right, I remember when Yao Ming was in his rookie year and surpassed O’Neal for the All-Star starter, he was severely criticized. Jack, stay strong."

Gerald Wallace analyzed, "There are already precedents; the media and fans have already set their psychological expectations. Jack, you certainly won’t be criticized as harshly as Yao was."

Anderson, who was smacking his lips on the side, didn’t speak. The big guys’ conversation topics often deviated, and he was already used to it.

After a while, the Western Conference All-Star starters were all announced.

Yao Ming earned the most votes this All-Star season with 2.56 million votes, beating the second-placed Camby in the Western Conference center position by 1.65 million votes.

Western forward: McGrady with 1.81 million votes, Duncan with 1.62 million votes, Garnett with 1.49 million votes...; Western guards: Kobe with 2.33 million votes, Nash with 1.95 million votes, Ginobili with 940,000 votes, Ray Allen with 790,000 votes, Parker with 710,000 votes...

Zhang Yang glanced at it, and it was just as he had expected; Kobe and Nash were dramatically ahead in the Western Conference guards in terms of popularity.

McGrady, already a king of popularity, paired with Yao Ming, remained the most popular among Western forwards even with lower attendance rates.

The only suspense was around the number 21, as since the All-Star weekend had been reinstated in the 99-00 season, out of the last six seasons, five had seen Duncan and Garnett competing for the top Western forward in votes. Except for the 00-01 season when Webber was selected as an All-Star starter once, the other five seasons had seen those two number 21s dominate the Western All-Star starting positions. This time it was Duncan who won.

Seeing Zhang Yang’s calm demeanor, Felton chased his little brother out of the locker room to train, finding him a bit annoying at the moment.

Felton turned his attention to teasing Gerald Wallace about treating, preparing to fleece him for a meal.

As for his little brother, Felton couldn’t bring himself to fleece him too hard; after all, the key was he couldn’t really do it. At most, he could have his little brother treat him to a meal. His little brother was too young, he couldn’t even go to high-class clubs.

...

After the announcement of the All-Star starters, Zhang Yang faced controversy again.

However, just as Gerald Wallace had analyzed, the media storm Zhang Yang faced was nowhere near as severe as Yao Ming’s in 2003 or Kobe’s in 1998.

When Zhang Yang entered the All-Star voting list, fans already had expectations. From the time the first period of voting was released, it was confirmed that Zhang Yang would be selected as an All-Star starter just like Yao Ming had been during his rookie year. Even the fans of Carter and Wade no longer struggled, focusing instead on comparing which other star’s fans were more impressive.

As for Gerald Wallace being selected as an All-Star starter, the fans didn’t have much of an issue with it.

There weren’t many popular forwards in the East; Grant Hill was injured again, little O’Neal was constantly out due to injuries, Yao Ming didn’t have much popularity, and Webber’s performance on the 76ers disappointed in terms of efficiency compared to the guards... there was no one else.

With a explosive style of play and an entertaining manner of playing, averaging 2 steals and 2 blocks per game, Gerald Wallace’s performance was eye-catching enough that fans could accept his All-Star starter selection.

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