Chapter 41 Sprint All-Star (Subscription Request)
After Christmas, the players' attention was focused on the All-Star Game. After all, this is a very valuable honor in their career.

He represents you as the best player that season.

This year's All-Star voting began on December 12th and the deadline is January 19st.

Originally, this matter had nothing to do with Zheng Yang. After all, with his current fame, it would be a disadvantage and very difficult for him to compete for the All-Star Game.

But Barkley expressed his support for Zheng Yang on the show.

"I think we should consider whether Zheng deserves an All-Star spot. Although this is only his first season, he has obviously played many games that impressed us.

Like the buzzer beater in the first game against the Lakers, he scored 53 points and led the team to another victory over the Lakers some time ago, and when facing the Spurs, he defended Parker...

When I mentioned these things, did you suddenly realize that he has become so excellent?

Yes, because too many media are biased against him, we mistakenly think that he is just an ordinary player. In fact, I think he has reached the All-Star level.

目前他场均能砍下18分9篮板1.8盖帽还有1.8抢断，他的命中率为48.2%，三分命中率为38.9%，罚球命中率为84.3%。

To be able to play like this on a team with four All-Stars, I think it's impeccable."

Barkley spoke passionately in the studio, calling on fans to vote for Zheng Yang. Now Barkley is really the "number one Zheng fan."

Zheng Yang originally just wanted to laugh it off, but after the game against the Rockets on the 28th, a chat with Yao Ming made him change his mind.

Maybe, he can really give it a try in this year's All-Star Game!
……

On December 12, the Mavericks played against the Houston Rockets away.

Last season, the Rockets ranked ninth in the Western Conference, just one win away from making the playoffs.

This season, with Yao Ming's growth and the team's tactical position leaning towards him, the Rockets should have a good chance of making the playoffs this year.

With Yao Ming's outburst, the Rockets won the game. After the game, Yao Ming invited Zheng Yang to have a midnight snack together.

"Brother Yao! I'm glad to meet you in a foreign country! It feels great to communicate in Chinese!"

Zheng Yang behaved very politely and he had great respect for Yao Ming in his heart. Or, it can be said that every Chinese fan would involuntarily feel respect for Yao Ming when mentioning him.

After all, his contribution to Chinese basketball is really huge!

"I'm glad to meet you, too, Zheng Yang! To be honest, I'm a little surprised by how good your Chinese is. I heard from others that you have lived in the United States for many years, and I was still worried about what language to use to communicate with you."

At this moment, Yao Ming is not yet a female Zhao Riyue. He is quite thin and has a young face, but his personality is very calm. He speaks appropriately and generously. It can be seen that he is a person with high emotional intelligence.

Why is Yao Ming the only Chinese player who can truly gain a foothold and make a name for himself in the NBA?
Apart from the factors on the court, another reason is personality. Yao Ming's high emotional intelligence allowed him to adapt to the NBA quickly, allowing him to play with peace of mind.

Others can't do this.

When you can't even handle off-field factors, how can you possibly devote yourself to training and competition?

Let me give you a simple example to show how high Yao Ming's emotional intelligence is.

Barkley once publicly challenged Yao Ming on the show: "If Yao Ming can score 19 points in the game, I will kiss the donkey's ass."

Yao Ming's initial response was: "Then I'll just score 18 points every day."

Later, when he easily scored 20+ and Barkley fulfilled his promise, his response was that it was just a joke and he liked and respected Barkley very much.

Yao Ming used his high emotional intelligence to resolve many off-court interferences.

"I grew up in China and later came to the United States with my mother, so I have no problem with Chinese."

"Yeah, by the way, how is it after entering the NBA? Are you used to life with the Mavericks?"

Yao Ming began to care about Zheng Yang's basic situation like an older brother. Of course, he also had a sense of propriety and did not ask too many questions about some sensitive topics.

After chatting for a while and both sides became familiar with each other, Yao Ming began to tell Zheng Yang the purpose of his visit.

He came today on behalf of the country to ask Zheng Yang whether he has any idea of ​​joining the national team and whether he is willing to cooperate with CCTV to record a simple interview program.

This interview will be broadcast in China, calling on domestic fans to help vote for his All-Star Game.

In fact, it sounds like two things, but in fact it is just one thing.

If you join the national team, the domestic media will help promote you, and it will be a win-win situation for everyone.

If you don't want to, even if I haven't mentioned this today, the so-called interview will depend on whether I have time later.

This is normal. After all, no one would do a thankless job that does not bring any benefits, but also requires them to help you do interviews, increase popularity, and improve your commercial value.

Do you think others are philanthropists?

Zheng Yang had already made a decision about the national team.

"Brother Yao, if I have the ability, I would definitely be willing to join the national team and play for my country.

But I feel that my current strength still needs to improve, and it may take a lot of time to complete training and improve myself.

So, I promise you, no matter what happens in the 08 Olympics held at our doorstep, I will definitely take part.

But at other times, I may not be able to participate in some competitions.”

“Yeah, I understand what you mean, this is good enough, after all, the 08 game is our home game, that is the most important one.

As long as you can participate in the 08 Olympics, I will help you solve other problems. "Yao Ming nodded and said that he also valued the 08 Olympics the most. After all, it was a competition at home, and he also hoped to achieve the best results.

Judging from Zheng Yang's current strength and potential, he will definitely be able to help the national team reach a higher level.

After talking about the important things, both of them seemed a little more relaxed and then started chatting about family matters.

Zheng Yang admires Yao Ming very much, and the latter also likes Zheng Yang. After all, who would not like a player with outstanding strength and good personality?

……

The next day, Zheng Yang received a call from Yao Ming as soon as he got off the plane.

"The CCTV interview is conducted by Mr. Zhang Weiping?
Okay, don't worry, I will pick them up at the airport tomorrow morning.

"Okay, thanks, Brother Yao! That's all for now, I'm hanging up now!"

It seems that Yao Ming has already reached an agreement with the relevant departments over there, and once Coach Zhang arrives tomorrow, he can conduct an exclusive interview.

Once this interview is broadcast on CCTV, the media will guide public opinion...

Zheng Yang suddenly felt that his All-Star appearance seemed to have a real chance.

After all, Chinese fans have nothing else to offer but numbers!

Look at Yao Ming. In his first year in the league, he took away the Sharks' starting spot in the Western Conference. Yi Jianlian, who came in second, almost took away Garnett's starting spot with an average of 8.6 points per game and a 38.2% shooting rate...

It was from then on that rumors began to circulate that the votes from the Chinese region no longer counted. As to whether this was true or not, the official never responded.

The next morning, Zheng Yang drove to the airport early and waited. The other party came specifically to interview him, so he naturally had to show courtesy and respect.

Coach Zhang certainly didn't come alone. He was accompanied by two staff members, pulling a few large suitcases. As soon as he got out of the airport, he saw Zheng Yang and waved to him.

"Zheng Yang! Hello, I'm Zhang Weiping. I'm very happy to see you here. Chinese guys are really good. They look more energetic than others, haha."

Zhang Weiping seemed very enthusiastic. As soon as he saw Zheng Yang, he started chatting with him in his unique Beijing accent.

Zheng Yang also smiled and nodded.

"Thank you for coming all the way here to do this interview with me. Thank you for your hard work, both of you.

In this way, I will take you to the hotel first, and then take you to have a meal so that you can replenish your energy. "

"Look at this...how much trouble this is for you!"

"It's okay, it's okay. We are all family. There is no such thing as trouble or no trouble."

Zheng Yang played the role of a good host and first took them to the hotel that had been booked in advance to rest for a while, and then took them to a Chinese restaurant for dinner.

After returning to the hotel to rest at noon, the interview began at three o'clock in the afternoon.

The interview was conducted in the stadium and the content was very simple. Coach Zhang and Zheng Yang each sat in front of the camera, taking a chair, and chatted about some topics.

Some of Zheng Yang’s NBA highlights will be added to the later broadcasts to increase the interest of fans.

After all, Zheng Yang's style of play is quite popular.

"Hello, fans watching TV! Today we are in Dallas to interview a young Chinese player named Zheng Yang. Like Yao Ming, he is currently playing in the NBA.

Let's let Zheng Yang introduce himself to everyone first!"

Zheng Yang took over the conversation and waved towards the camera.

"Hello everyone! My name is Zheng Yang! I am 18 years old and currently playing as a small forward for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA."

"This young Chinese player is incredible. He beat LeBron James in the previous game.

Who is LeBron James? He is the No. 1 pick in the NBA this year, known as the Chosen One.

But guess what happened when he met Zheng Yang? He was beaten directly, scoring only 5 points in the whole game, and he never dared to say that he was the best rookie again.

And then there’s Carmelo Anthony…”

Coach Zhang started to brag, and it was all obviously true, but for some reason, Zheng Yang felt inexplicably embarrassed after hearing what Coach Zhang said.

After talking for two minutes, Coach Zhang started today's interview task.

"Zheng Yang, can you tell us about your basketball journey? When did you start to like playing basketball? When did you decide to play in the NBA?"

"Of course, I have had a strong interest in basketball since I was very young..."

The interview process went very smoothly. The questions were not tricky and Zheng Yang had read them beforehand so he could prepare for them.

The interview lasted about twenty minutes and ended.

Due to their busy schedule, Coach Zhang and his team left the next morning, and Zheng Yang also went to see them off.

After this interview video was transmitted to China, it was edited overtime immediately and was broadcast on CCTV Sports Channel within a few days.

　Today is the May Day holiday, so I'll update it earlier instead of delaying it until 6pm.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)