Chapter 72 Scoring Championship

On December 12, the Mavericks welcomed a new opponent, or to be more precise, Zheng Yang welcomed a new opponent.

His name is Allen Iverson.

Why is "The Answer" said to be Zheng Yang's opponent?

Obviously, this is a scoring title battle between the two of them.

Currently, Zheng Yang ranks first in the scoring list with an average of 31.2 points per game, followed by Iverson with 30.1 points, and Kobe, who is third, has only 28.2 points.

Although the season has only been underway for over a month and many things remain uncertain, according to the current situation, Iverson and Zheng Yang are the most likely to compete for the scoring title this year.

In fact, the competition for the scoring title in the 04-05 season was not that fierce. The next season was the real battle between the dragons and the tigers.

Iverson's average score is 33 points per game, but he is only second in the scoring list. The first is the Black Mamba, who averages 35.4 points per game this season. The earth-shattering 81-point performance of the Dragon Slaying Game was created this season.

Due to the current rankings of Zheng Yang and Iverson on the scoring list, the 12ers' away game against the Mavericks on December 10th has turned into a direct dialogue between the two scoring champion contenders!

Everyone wants to know who will be the better performer in this match.

Let’s talk about Iverson first. As the shortest No. 1 pick in NBA history, his career is also very legendary.

毫无疑问，他的职业生涯巅峰在00-01赛季，那个赛季他常规赛场均能得到31.1分+3.8篮板+4.6助攻+2.5抢断，带领76人赢得56胜26负的东部第一战绩。

He also won the regular season MVP + scoring champion + steals champion + All-Star MVP, becoming the first player in NBA history to win these four honors in one season.

In the playoffs, he led the team into the NBA Finals with explosive stats of 32.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.

If this were in a novel, Iverson, as the protagonist of that season, would definitely win his first championship and the FMVP.

But this is reality, and regret is the norm.

In the finals, they met the Lakers, who were at the peak of their powers. How strong were the Lakers that season?
They were undefeated before entering the finals!
It feels like what Morant said, "There is no rival in the West."

The fans are aware of the gap in strength between the two teams, but they also fantasize that Iverson can come down from heaven and lead the team to win the championship.

But the reality is very harsh. Except for the first game where Iverson scored 48 points to help the team win, they lost four games in a row and then lost that series.

This was the peak of Iverson's career.

This year, although the team's record is average, Iverson's personal condition has warmed up again. After three consecutive seasons of decline, his scoring has soared to 30+ again, and he has once again become a strong contender for the scoring title.

Before the game started, facing the question from a reporter, "Who will score higher in this game, you or Zheng?" Iverson smiled, and then he said confidently.

"It is undeniable that this young man has made rapid progress. I remember that he only scored about 20 points last season. Sorry, I don't remember it clearly.

But now he has reached 30+.

I just think I'm better at scoring."

You can see how confident and arrogant Iverson is from his resistance to playing as a substitute at the end of his career.

Even though his current average points per game is still behind Zheng Yang, do you want him to admit that he is inferior in skills?
no way!

On the other hand, facing the same problem, Zheng Yang also showed his confidence.

“I like Allen a lot, he’s a great role model for a lot of smaller guys.

But if you ask who will score more points in this game?

Without a doubt, that person can only be me.”

These two answers immediately made the game more tense. Tickets for the game at the American Airlines Center were sold out in less than two hours, as everyone wanted to witness this scoring feast with their own eyes.

Not only fans but also many NBA superstars paid attention to this game, such as Drexler, Pippen, Olajuwon, etc.

And there is the basketball god Michael Jordan!
They all came to the sidelines to watch the game tonight.

This was also the first time Jordan watched Zheng Yang play a game live.

As for why he came?
In fact, it was not because of the so-called scoring championship battle, but because of what Pippen said before.

After the Mavericks' previous game against the Cavaliers, Pippen publicly stated in front of the media that Zheng Yang would be the next Michael Jordan.

There are many players in the league who have the title of "Jordan's successor". For example, Finley of the Mavericks was also regarded as "Jordan's successor" when he first entered the league.

Some of these players were named by the media, some were hand-picked by Jordan himself, but most of them were chosen for hype.

After all, the traffic of "Jordan's successor" is really too huge. For example, Penny Hardaway won the All-Star vote king in his rookie season with the title of "Jordan's successor"!

But when these words came from Pippen, Jordan's former teammate, something was wrong. Jordan, who was familiar with Pippen, knew that Pippen was sincere in his words, that is, he actually thought that someone could be the next him!

But this is really funny, becoming the next basketball god?
How can this be?

Jordan didn't believe anyone could catch up with him. In his 15-year career, he created the Bulls dynasty twice, won the scoring title 10 times, and won 6 MVPs...

Every bit of honor that flows through his fingers can help other players enter the Hall of Fame.

With all he had accomplished, Pippen actually thought someone would catch up with him. Was he knocked unconscious by an elbow to the head during the game?
But it must be said that Pippen's words left Jordan with a thorn in his heart, so he wanted to come to the scene to watch the young man's game, to see what abilities he had that made Pippen think he could catch up with him!

So during this visit to Dallas, he went to the stadium to watch the game and happened to witness this scoring title battle.

……

Zheng Yang didn't expect that Jordan would be attracted to this game, but he didn't think much about it. If he was playing against Jordan, it would make him excited.

However, if he was just watching the game, as someone who had seen many big scenes, Zheng Yang would not feel any waves in his heart.

But this is just Zheng Yang. For other players in the team, the fact that the God of Basketball is watching them play the game is definitely something that can make them so excited that they can't sleep all night.

Jordan's influence is huge, both in the 90s and 00s.

After all, his performance on the basketball court is really like God.

One of the reasons why Kobe skipped college and went directly to the NBA was to be able to play against Jordan earlier.

Even many stars in later generations considered playing for the Bulls because that was the team Michael Jordan had played for.

Before the game, the media's focus was not on today's game, but on Jordan.

Although the scoring title battle is very popular, it is nothing compared to Jordan.

The cover of tomorrow's newspaper will only show that big boiled egg sitting on the sidelines watching the game expressionlessly, and the headline above will be "Basketball God Watches the Scoring Championship Battle Live."

This is Jordan, this is the influence of the God of Basketball!
When the players were warming up, Iverson went to the bench to say hello to Jordan. The two of them left many stories for the fans on the court.

Seeing that this young man who once dazzled him had now become mature, Jordan truly realized that he was really old. He smiled and said to him.

"Perform well in this game and let those young people know that it is not their turn to be the masters of this league yet."

Compared to Zheng Yang, Jordan obviously hopes that Iverson can perform better.

One reason is because of the closeness of their relationship, and the other is that he wants everyone to know that it is impossible for anyone to catch up with him, Michael Jordan, and it is a luxury for others to even see his back.

As Iverson looked at the once invincible basketball god who had now become fat, he felt a little sad that time flies and things have changed!
"Don't worry Michael, I will do it!"

The conversation between the two was also recorded by the media, and this photo can be used to appeal to the fans' feelings tomorrow.

Although Zheng Yang didn't know what the two people were talking about, given Jordan's personality, he must have been telling Iverson to "beat that rookie."

But he doesn't care about this. The God of Basketball is indeed very strong, but his vision has always been poor!

……

CCTV Sports also broadcast this game today, and Coach Zhang, who had not been seen for a long time, appeared in the studio again.

Seeing the camera repeatedly focusing on Michael Jordan on the sidelines, Coach Zhang also felt a little emotional.

"Many fans today have never seen Jordan play. Hey, that's really amazing..."

He began to talk in a rambling way.

Yu Jia, who was standing by, originally nodded in agreement, but when he saw that Coach Zhang couldn't stop talking about Jordan, he quickly interrupted him.

Although Jordan has a great influence, today is the 76ers playing against the Mavericks, not Jordan's memorial service. Just mention it casually, there is no need to talk about it in detail!
“Today’s game is the 76ers away game against the Mavericks.

Since Zheng Yang currently ranks first on the scoring list and Iverson ranks second, this game is also regarded as a battle for the scoring champion, and many fans are looking forward to seeing who will score more points today.

Many NBA superstars also came to the game today. From the footage just now, we can also see Olajuwon, Pippen...

And the greatest player in basketball history - Michael Jordan.

In such a highly anticipated game, who will perform better, Zheng Yang or Allen Iverson?
The game starts now!
The current starting lineup of the Mavericks is Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Zheng Yang, Dirk Nowitzki, and Dampier.

The 76ers include Allen Iverson, Andre Iguodala, Kyle Korver, Josh Davis, and Mark Jackson.

The referee has already started signaling the players from both sides to come on the court and prepare for the jump ball! "

(End of this chapter)