Chapter 42: Go to TMD Zheng (Subscribe)

Xiao Ming is a high school student. After playing ball with his friends that evening, he hurried back home.

Just now when he was playing basketball, he heard from his friends that there is a Chinese player named Zheng Yang in the NBA who is very good at playing basketball.

CCTV Sports Channel will broadcast his exclusive interview video tonight.

This immediately aroused Xiao Ming's curiosity. He had always only known that Yao Ming was playing in the NBA and never knew there were other people.

With strong curiosity, Xiao Ming didn't even rush to eat dinner and quickly sat in front of the TV to watch.

At present, the Internet in China is not very developed, and people usually watch football on TV. Therefore, many people in other places are also paying attention to this interview program tonight.

The interview program started at 8:30 in the evening.

The program does not begin directly with the interview, but with a highlight clip consisting of many wonderful shots of Zheng Yang since he entered the NBA.

Not to mention, although Zheng Yang only played about twenty games, there were quite a few wonderful shots.

Like the world-famous 2+1 shot against the Sharks and Malone, the successive scores against the defense of Payton and Kobe, the block on Anthony, the steal from James, and of course the buzzer-beating three-pointer.

As soon as this clip was broadcast, Xiao Ming was immediately fascinated. He has not been watching the NBA for a long time, and only started paying attention after Yao Ming was elected the No. 1 pick last year.

Soon I was attracted to this league with the highest competitive level in the field of basketball. The players in it can fly into the sky, jump into the ground, and do all kinds of dunks. It was so exciting and exciting to watch.

Xiao Ming certainly has his favorite basketball stars, but he also hopes to see a Chinese player in the NBA who plays like other players.

That scene must be awesome!

Unfortunately, this dream has never been realized, which makes him feel very regretful.

But now he actually discovered that Zheng Yang was the player he had imagined. He had sharp breakthroughs, accurate shots, a gorgeous style of play, smooth movements, and extremely explosive physical fitness, and he could often deliver brutal dunks and blocks!

He is exactly what every boy who loves basketball imagines him to be.

Although Yao Ming's performance in the NBA is also quite good, his playing style is more plain and unpretentious, and he is also a center, which makes the fans feel less involved.

Based on just this short clip, Xiao Ming has already become Zheng Yang’s “ten-year old fan”.

He decided to wear the No. 19 jersey in his next high school game to express his love for Zheng Yang.

The interview program is still going on and now it has entered the main topic. In the conversation with Coach Zhang, Zheng Yang told many stories about him and basketball.

Xiao Ming stared at the TV intently, not wanting to miss a single word.

Another 20 minutes later, the talk show was about to end. At the end of the show, Zheng Yang expressed his hope that domestic fans would vote for him and help him sprint to the All-Star game.

As the show ended, Xiao Ming immediately found paper and pen and started sending letters according to the instructions on TV to cast a vote for Zheng Yang.

This is not an isolated case. Many fans who watched this interview program remembered the gorgeous figure on the court. His name is Zheng Yang, a Chinese player.

They are willing to vote for him!

Even fans who did not see the interview learned about it from newspapers, magazines, the Internet and other channels the next day or the day after.

They all know that there is a Chinese named Zheng Yang playing in the NBA!

It’s just a vote, no problem!

All-Star substitute?
I’ll put you directly in the All-Star starting lineup!

With so many people in this great country, they only support you and Yao Ming. Are you still afraid that you won't be able to get in?
Soon after, CCTV Sports Channel officially announced that it would broadcast the Mavericks' game next, presenting the wonderful performance of this young Chinese player to the fans.

……

Far away at the NBA headquarters on the other side of the ocean, David Stern, who had just come to work, was in a good mood today, or he had been in a good mood recently.

Why do you say this?
That's of course because James' performance during this period has finally been like a protagonist. After sending away "team boss" Ricky, James finally gained a foothold in the team and his number of shots is also increasing rapidly.

Coupled with the "fair and just" referees, his current average points per game are already 20+5+5. As long as he can keep it up, it will be easy to allocate more resources to him in the future.

Not only have his statistics improved, but with the help of the media, his fame and popularity are also increasing rapidly, and he has accumulated a large number of fans.

Look at this year's All-Star voting. He is currently ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference backcourt. Although he is not as good as Iverson and McGrady, he is only a freshman.

Don’t rush, take it step by step!

It doesn’t matter if you can’t make the All-Stars this year, you can try again next year!
Besides, except for him, the votes of other candidates in this election are lower now!
How could David Stern not be happy when he thought that his script was finally on the right track?

Just then, his assistant pushed open the door and walked in with a very complicated expression.

"Whitey, what's wrong? Why don't you look very happy?"

David Stern asked with a frown, and the latter said after hesitating for a moment.

"CEO, some time ago, China Central Television did an exclusive interview with Zheng from the Mavericks, and then..."

"And then what? That's a good thing. China is a huge market. The more fans there pay attention to the NBA, the greater the benefit to us."

David Stern didn't quite understand what he meant. "But during this period, the number of votes for Zheng Yang's All-Star Game seems to be... a bit high!"

"How many? Three hundred thousand? Five hundred thousand?"

"Currently, more than 1.3 million people have been counted, but there are still a large number that have not been counted. At the same time, people in China are still voting. Conservative estimates put the number at around 1.8 million."

"How much? One million and eight hundred thousand?"

David Stern is stupid, he is really stupid!

What is the concept of 1.8 million?
Currently, Garnett has the most votes in the Western Conference frontcourt, and it is expected that he will have around 21 million votes by the end of voting on the st. Duncan, who ranks second, only has more than million votes now. Given his fame, even if he waits until the end of voting, he will probably have at most million to million votes.

That is to say, if this development trend continues, Zheng Yang will at least secure a starting spot in the All-Star Game.

No, don’t Chinese fans like Zheng Yang so much?
How come so many people voted for him?

David Stern was a little confused. He thought that 700,000 or 800,000 was the highest. If it was higher, it would probably be about the same as Yao Ming, around 1.4 million.

Who knew that it would reach 1.8 million!

Is that crazy?

In fact, if you think about it carefully, this situation is normal. As mentioned before, everyone supports Yao Ming because he is the only candidate. Who else can they vote for if not him?

But to be honest, it is impossible for a center with a simple and unpretentious playing style to be widely popular among fans.

But small forwards are different. They can do an aerial pull-up, an alley-oop dunk, and a bunch of dazzling dribbling. This is what fans want to see more.

That's why Chinese fans voted for Zheng Yang so crazily!
But this is not the point now. The point is whether to give this All-Star position to Zheng Yang?
If it is given to him, his status will immediately be much higher than other rookies in 03. How can he still praise James? He is the new face he has established!
After hesitating for a long time, David Stern said to his assistant.

"Arrange the final voting data so that Zheng is not included in the All-Star starting lineup, and also raise LeBron's votes to a level similar to Zheng's.

I will give Zheng Yang an All-Star substitute position later."

NBA is a commercial league, and David Stern does not want to reject the Chinese market, so he can let Zheng Yang enter the All-Star stage.

But for the sake of James, Zheng Yang had to be kept on the bench, otherwise, this James would really be out of his league.

……

When the All-Star voting ended on the 21st, Zheng Yang did not appear in the starting position as expected. He was hundreds of thousands away from the first place Duncan!
Zheng Yang himself did not anticipate the enthusiasm of Chinese fans and thought he was eliminated because he did not get enough votes.

If you can't make the All-Star team by the fans' vote, forget about being an All-Star reserve selected by the team coach.

No matter what, he is just a rookie of the team. Although his statistics are okay and the team's record is also okay, he is too young. I guess not many coaches will choose him.

Let’s wait until next season to talk about being selected as an All-Star!
……

The All-Star reserve lineup was announced on February 2, and that day, a name on the list caught the attention of all the players and the media.

"Zheng! He was selected for this year's All-Stars?"

Zheng Yang himself was also very puzzled. How could he be selected?

How is this going?

Although he was able to get 18 points and 9 rebounds this year, and his statistics were no worse than those of other substitute players, everyone instinctively felt that he was still somewhat unqualified.

He's just a rookie!
Is he an All-Star?
Is this reasonable?

Zheng Yang himself was also puzzled. He certainly didn't think that he was unqualified, but he felt that the coaches and the media were biased against him. Unless he could perform at a crushing level, it would not be so easy for him to be selected into the All-Star team.

But since he was selected, it is a good thing, so when facing the media interview, Zheng Yang still said with a smile.

“It’s a nice experience to be an All-Star in your first year as a rookie.

Many people may find this unbelievable, but you know, my ability deserves this honor.

I was able to score 18 points and 9 rebounds with a very high shooting percentage. Our team is currently ranked fifth in the Western Conference, and we have defeated many strong opponents.

All in all, I am looking forward to this year's All-Star Tournament."

But Zheng Yang being happy doesn’t mean other players will be happy too.

Kings player Mike Bibby directly ranted during an interview with the media.

"Fuck Zheng, why on earth was he selected to the All-Star Game? There are so many better players in this league, but he was the one who got selected to the All-Star Game.

In my opinion, he is just an average rookie. Maybe he played some good games, but you know, basketball is accidental.

I don’t know whose spot he took away, but what I want to say is that because of his appearance, the All-Stars now seem to have no gold content at all.”

　After writing about the All-Star Game, I will immediately write about the playoffs. Which round do you think the Mavericks will reach?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)