Chapter 1 After Sitting in Front of the Water Dispenser All Night

After sitting in front of the water dispenser all night, Kobe's mind was filled with images of Su Feng rolling around on the ground.

Just in case, Kobe turned off his cell phone.

Philadelphia.

After returning to his apartment from the press conference, Su Feng couldn't sleep.

He excitedly rolled around on the bed, even on the floor...

After all, it was his debut game, and he even pulled off a game-winning shot. For Su Feng, who had put in countless hours of sweat over the past two years, what was wrong with being happy?

After a long while, Su Feng picked up his phone to call Kobe.

"It's off?"

Su Feng was a little unhappy.

The fact that Kobe couldn't share in his joy made it feel less than perfect.

And so, after making a fuss until late at night, Su Feng finally drifted off to sleep, unable to resist the sleepiness.

The next day.

When Su Feng woke up groggily, he realized it was already morning.

Fortunately, the team didn't have practice scheduled for this morning because of yesterday's game.

After eating "breakfast" and fixing his hair, Su Feng hopped and skipped his way to the training facility.

"Su, did you see the TV? You and Allen took up three of the Top 5 plays."

As soon as Su Feng entered the training facility, assistant coach Jason greeted him.

"I saw it."

Su Feng's dunking game-winner was successfully at the top of the Top 5 plays. The other play he made the list for was his block on Robinson followed by an alley-oop with Iverson.

Iverson also made the list with a fast-break one-handed dunk.

Unfortunately, the English version of the Top 5 plays commentary was passionate, but it just didn't have the right feel.

It's worth mentioning that before practice started, Davis specifically praised Su Feng and Iverson.

Of course, Davis also emphasized the game against the Chicago Bulls tomorrow.

"Su, I'm thinking of having you guard Michael tomorrow. What are your thoughts on that?" Davis asked, looking at Su Feng.

Thoughts?

Su Feng's only thought at this moment was that Davis was simply his Xiao He!

Su Feng was worried that his defensive ability was hitting a bottleneck and needed to be beaten to improve... Ahem, facing Michael Jordan was Su Feng's long-cherished wish!

After all, having lived two lives, how could Su Feng not want to play against Jordan?

In his previous life, when Su Feng first started learning basketball, his favorite thing to do was to hang out with his friends and go to different courts, going wherever the level of basketball was high.

So without even thinking about it, Su Feng replied, "I have no problem with that, Coach!"

Davis nodded in satisfaction. "Guarding Michael Jordan isn't just Su's job.

I hope everyone on the court can learn from Su, helping each other, because we are a team!"

After winning the opening game, the 76ers' morale was boosted significantly.

But when it came to playing the Bulls...

Well, they might as well just wash up and go to sleep.

In '96, there were just too many people who had been scared out of their wits by Jordan.

Many rookies were even specifically instructed by their coaches before the game not to provoke the "Old Rogue."

Therefore, in Witherspoon and others' view, Su Feng and Iverson should change their names to the "Want-to-Die Duo."

Look, isn't Stackhouse, who was publicly executed by his senior last year, much more low-key now?

Meanwhile...

After hearing Witherspoon and others' private discussions about "Ai-Feng," Stackhouse ran to the other side to practice shooting without even thinking about it.

Because while his senior's temper was irritable...

He only beat himself up a few times a year at most.

But Su Feng...

*The Classic of New Mountains and Seas* says: There is an Iron Man named Su Feng, whose appearance resembles that of John Lone. He loves one-on-ones. When he meets Iverson, he immediately becomes a mooch, chanting: "Dribbling, assists, brothers!" His laughter is like a bronze gong.

His motto is: "No matter how good your skills are, stacking armor is the best. Being durable is invincible."

"Hey, Jerry, practicing your shooting?"

On the court, after the coach finished explaining the tactics, the players entered free practice time.

Seeing Stackhouse practicing three-pointers, Su Feng walked over and smiled.

Sure enough, I can't escape my fate of playing one-on-one with him?

Stackhouse looked up at the sky and then sadly threw the basketball in his hand to Su Feng.

"Let's go!"

Su Feng gave Stackhouse a questioning look.

Because he originally just wanted to chat with Stackhouse for a bit...

"You didn't come to play one-on-one with me?" Stackhouse asked in surprise.

Su Feng shook his head. "We just played such a tough game yesterday, why would I be so crazy?"

So that's how it is...

Stackhouse breathed a sigh of relief, changing his tears to a smile. "I saw the Top 5 plays. Your two dunks were awesome."

"Ah, it's not really anything special."

Su Feng straightened his hair and looked at Stackhouse with anticipation.

Stackhouse nodded. "Yeah, it's good that you have that kind of attitude."

Su Feng: "???"

Su Feng suspected that Stackhouse didn't understand his look, so he increased his intensity, hinting, "But being on the Top 5 plays is definitely something to be happy about."

Stackhouse shrugged.

"I've been on the Top 5 plays a few times last year. Honestly, it's better not to take it too seriously. Playing well in the next game is the most important thing."

Although he knew that Stackhouse was telling the truth, after not hearing the answer he wanted twice in a row, Su Feng suddenly became serious.

"Let's play one-on-one, Jerry!"

"......"

Stackhouse's mentality collapsed.

He wanted to refuse.

But was that possible?

On the court, after hearing that Su Feng and Stackhouse were going to play one-on-one, the teammates started taking bets again.

"Perhaps, this is life?" Stackhouse thought to himself silently.

……

Philadelphia, while the 76ers were training, the Bulls players, who had flown to Philadelphia overnight after playing their game last night, also gradually woke up.

There was an unwritten rule in the NBA that after players finished their games, the team's coaching staff would never wake them up early the next morning.

The 82-game regular season tested not only strength but also willpower.

Of course, such unspoken rules were also to accommodate some "night owls."

After all, Harden was just inheriting the fine traditions of his predecessors.

In fact, a major source of fun for many NBA players was experiencing the different nightclub cultures in different places and helping the local fallen women improve their happiness index.

Like "Rain Man" Kemp, who was quite the player during this period, even he wouldn't know how many illegitimate children he had in a few more years.

There was a joke in the NBA that if you saw Kemp on a basketball show again, it was because he couldn't pay his high child support payments.

After the team arrived in Philadelphia, Phil Jackson did not reserve a gym with the 76ers for pre-game training.

Because unlike what outsiders thought, that the Bulls would be copying and pasting last year's success, Phil Jackson, who had been endorsing KFC for many years, had keenly noticed the problems within the team.

After achieving unprecedented success last year, it was an undeniable fact that the Bulls' motivation had declined.

Like Rodman, in order to prove himself last year, he would play outside the court, but he would still listen obediently during the game.

But this year was different.

In the summer, Rodman was busy filming movies and doing TV reality shows. His mind had gradually drifted away from the basketball court.

In Su Feng's previous life, in the 96/97 season, Pippen and Jordan even wanted to kick Rodman out of the team at one point.

The reason was that in a game against the Timberwolves in 1997, Rodman, who was going up against Garnett, flew off the court to save a rebound.

As a result, Rodman, who was tripped by a camera and fell to the ground, became furious. After getting up, he kicked that cameraman in the crotch.

During the time that Rodman was suspended, the Bulls' record wasn't bad, so many Bulls players believed that they could win without Rodman.

Moreover, unlike the first three-peat, in the second three-peat, the Bulls' roster was severely "aging."

On February 17th of next year, Jordan would be celebrating his 34th birthday.

Rodman was already 35 years old, and Pippen, Harper, and other key players were also over 30...

In addition, in the summer, in order to keep the championship core, the Bulls' total salary exceeded $58 million, setting a new NBA record.

Of course, a large part of this was paid to Jordan personally.

In the summer, Jordan's agent, Falk, originally proposed a two-year, $50 million offer to Bulls owner Reinsdorf, but Reinsdorf was only willing to sign for one year, and in the end, he offered Jordan a sky-high annual salary of $30 million.

A year later, Reinsdorf, who realized his mistake, would offer Jordan an annual salary of $33 million. (Note 1)

With a total value of $63 million over two years, Reinsdorf's "amazing operation" meant that the Bulls had to pay far more than the $50 million over two years that Falk had originally proposed.

Behind Jordan's sky-high contract extension was Pippen's increasingly strong "jealousy."

In Pippen's view, Jordan had contributed a lot to the Bulls, so it was only right for him to get $30 million.

But like Rodman, who also got $9 million a year, but he...

Well, Pippen really couldn't blame anyone else.

Because before Pippen signed that 7-year, $20 million contract with the Bulls, everyone around him was advising him that NBA salaries would definitely rise in the future, so he shouldn't sign such a long contract.

However, at the time, Pippen firmly believed that these people who were advising him were trying to harm him.

So, he signed it, and then after a few years, looking at his teammates' salaries, he cried...

In the 96/97 season, Pippen's annual salary was only $2.25 million.

As the Bulls' second-in-command, his annual salary only ranked sixth on the team.

Pippen's "jealousy" would erupt completely in the 97/98 season.

At the time, in order to demand a high-paying contract extension and retaliate against the management, Pippen played two charity games with a foot injury before the start of the season, which resulted in him being out injured for nearly half the season.

If you looked at it from a higher perspective, the Bulls' second three-peat, especially the last two championships, were both precarious and extremely difficult.

In fact, they were no longer invincible.

It was precisely because of this that Phil Jackson never stopped Jordan from training rookies during the second three-peat, and he would even jokingly comment on some rookies in front of Michael Jordan.

Because Phil Jackson needed Jordan to have more motivation.

Just like Jordan said in the summer of 1997, when he was trying to get the Bulls to extend Phil Jackson's contract, that he only played for Phil Jackson, the only person that Phil Jackson truly trusted on this Bulls team was Michael Jordan.

Now, two more rookies had successfully triggered Jordan's "Seriousness Buff."

After arriving in Philadelphia, Jordan didn't go anywhere.

He locked himself in his hotel room.

In addition to finding the 76ers' game tape, Iverson's college tape, and Su Feng's high school tape, he also started watching the Top 5 plays that were playing on TV.

After some careful consideration, Jordan found Pippen.

It's worth mentioning that in the Bulls' second three-peat, in order to appease Pippen's emotions, Jordan rarely showed his emotional intelligence and often praised Pippen in public.

In short, Jordan was never a god.

He was also someone who could put everything aside in order to win a championship.

Otherwise, which "god" have you seen who parties harder than Jordan off the court?

Wait...

It seems that there really is a god named Zeus who loves to mess around...

Ahem, that's beside the point.

Let's get back to the main topic.

"Tomorrow, I want to guard that kid named 'The King,'" Jordan said, looking at Pippen.

Pippen nodded. He was all too aware of Jordan's hobby of toying with rookies.

But Pippen was also wondering, wasn't it the 76ers who produced a kid named Stackhouse last year, and now it's the 76ers again this year?

"Also, I want you to guard that kid named 'Answer,'" Jordan said to Pippen.

"......"

After a long while, Pippen looked at Jordan seriously. "You're not joking with me, are you?"

Jordan shrugged. "I want to bet with you."

Here we go again?

This wasn't the first time Pippen had been dragged into a bet by Jordan, and he had even been tricked by Jordan when it came to betting!

As everyone knows, the Bulls would play a video of Bulls racing on the big screen during home games. So, Jordan, who loved to bet on everything, found Pippen at the time and bet with him on which colored bull would win.

Since the video was recorded in advance, after quietly finding out from the management which bull would cross the finish line first, Jordan tricked Pippen for an entire season...

"Don't worry, this bet will be absolutely fair, open, and just," Jordan said, patting his conscience and swearing on it.

Pippen rolled his eyes. In Pippen's eyes, Jordan's conscience had already been donated to charity along with his money when he was gambling in Las Vegas.

However, being able to assist Jordan for so many years, Pippen wasn't stupid. He just looked at Jordan curiously. "What do you want to bet on this time?"

"Tomorrow's game, let's see who can defend those two little guys more miserably, for $5,000," Jordan said with a wicked smile.

"Of course, I can't let you suffer. How about this, every time that guy named 'Answer' misses a shot in front of you, I'll add $500 to the bet?" Jordan added.

Pippen thought for a while. Although defending Allen Iverson was more difficult, this addition...

Hmm...

Hmm!

Anyway, wasn't Jordan donating to charity no matter where he went?

In Pippen's view, instead of letting those evil capitalists take away Jordan's money, it was better to use that money to help himself, this "poor man."

So, Pippen readily agreed.

"It's settled then. I'll go talk to Phil about it."

Seeing Pippen agree, Jordan was extremely happy at this moment. He felt that his "Seriousness Mode" had switched to the second level.

Don't ask, it's just that torturing rookies is a lot of fun.

……

On the 3rd, Su Feng woke up from a nightmare.

He dreamed that in a game against the Lakers, just as he was about to dunk on Kobe, O'Neal's body suddenly grew countless times larger, and then he slapped him unconscious on the ground.

"Phew, it was just a dream."

With Kobe's playing time in his rookie season, Su Feng even suspected that he wouldn't be able to play against Kobe at all this season.

Sigh, my opponent is already Michael Jordan, Little Kobe.

Originally, Su Feng was reluctant to be dragged off to fight the dragon just after leaving the novice village.

But whenever he thought of Kobe's envious and jealous expression, Su Feng felt so happy.

There was no way around it, a man's fun was sometimes so boring.

"That's right, according to the time, the sports drink I sent to Kobe should be almost finished. I'll send him another batch in a few days," Su Feng thought to himself silently as he opened the refrigerator after being awakened by the nightmare.

Because today was the game day against the Bulls, the whole of Philadelphia was as lively as if it were a festival.

NBC would be broadcasting the Bulls' visit to Philadelphia, so this was also the "Golden Double Gun's" national broadcast debut.

In addition, NBC decided to insert an interview with Su Feng during halftime.

It had to be said that these American media really knew how to seize hot spots to attract viewers.

After pulling off a dunking game-winner in his debut, Su Feng's name wasn't exactly a household name, but his popularity had been炒(chao -炒作, to hype) up.

Many North American Chinese fans had taken Su Feng as their idol, because who could relate to watching a bunch of blacks and whites playing all day long?

Nike and Adidas couldn't sit still, and the two giants both saw potential in Su Feng.

But if Adidas and Nike couldn't sit still, Bill Duffy would have something to say.

Duffy provided Su Feng with two options: one was to immediately start negotiating a shoe endorsement deal with the two giants and then make a decision based on the offers.

And the other was to wait.

After discussing it, Su Feng and Duffy chose to wait.

The reason was simple: giants like Nike and Adidas weren't fools. Su Feng's shoe endorsement contract would have to be at least five years to start.

And these long-term contracts had to be approached with the utmost caution.

Su Feng was willing to wait another half a year because he knew that, given the opportunities he was getting with the 76ers, he could wait another half a year and his stats would be even better, and the contract he signed at that time would be even bigger.

And once negotiations started, there wouldn't be so much room for bargaining.

Su Feng didn't usually go to any "Golden Clubs." His happiness was playing basketball, and that was it.

After signing with McDonald's, Su Feng wasn't short of money for the time being. Even if he wanted to make investments, there was no rush.

Therefore, the most important thing in Su Feng's eyes was to play well in every game.

The better he played, the more bargaining chips Duffy would have.

Only then would the two giants treat you like a treasure.

In short, either don't talk, or talk about a big deal.

"The Bulls..."

After checking his armory, on the way to the arena, Su Feng could already feel the extraordinary nature of this upcoming regular season game...

The biggest Boss of the 90s.

The Chicago Bulls.

Damn it!

……

ps: Note 1, before the CBA negotiations in the 98/99 season, the NBA did not have a maximum salary, so Jordan could use Bird rights to sign that contract with the Bulls. In theory, it depended on whether the boss was willing to spend money. Ewing's $18 million in the 95/96 season and $20 million in the 97/98 season are also examples of this.