Chapter 20 The 20th

On the night of the 20th, the Heat, sitting in their home at AmericanAirlines Arena, welcomed the Utah Jazz for their final regular-season game.

At the beginning of the season, when scheduling the Heat's nationally televised games, this particular matchup between the Heat and the Jazz wasn't originally on the radar of the major North American broadcasters.

However, a data analyst named Tyler Freeman suggested to the league that they should consider adding this game to the national broadcast schedule.

Because, according to the data model he built, Freeman discovered...

That Su Feng was likely to officially reach his "20,000-point milestone" on April 20, 2005.

Although Freeman's prediction was somewhat of a long shot in theory, the result...

After accepting Freeman's suggestion, North America's major broadcasters now had ample time to prepare Su Feng's 20,000-point career highlights.

AmericanAirlines Arena, as the number "20000" was projected onto the court, all Heat fans in attendance that night realized the significance of this game.

27 years and 14 days old.

As the holder of numerous NBA records...

The young King was about to embark on another milestone in his career tonight.

Oh... wait!

It should be *numerous* milestones.

On TNT, before the game started, Barkley explained to the world, "As of now, Su has a total of 799 blocks in his career.

Therefore, if he can record one more block in this game, he will become the youngest and fastest perimeter player in NBA history to reach 800 career blocks."

In this life, Jordan played one more season than Su Feng remembered, so upon retirement, Jordan had a total of 920 blocks.

That number ranked first among all NBA guards.

Of course, since Su Feng had been listed as a small forward since entering the NBA...

His competitors in this statistic, besides Jordan, also included shot-blocking experts like Pippen and Dr. J.

But even so...

In the face of Su Feng's terrifying chase-down block ability...

Even if you scoured NBA history, you wouldn't find anyone comparable. (Kirilenko: ?)

And, with Barkley's explanation, people also discovered...

If Su Feng could record four more steals in this game...

He would become the youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,600 career steals.

"Recently, I saw some comments online saying that Wilt Chamberlain took fewer games to reach 20,000 points than Su.

But in the history of the NBA, when have you ever seen a player like Su who dominates all the major statistical categories at the same time?" Smith added after Barkley finished his explanation.

Hearing this, Barkley smiled and said, "I don't mean to offend Wilt Chamberlain, but even if we don't consider that there were only a handful of teams in the NBA during his era...

Frankly, he can't compete with Su in the next statistic either.

Because, based on Su's current form, I have every reason to believe...

That in just three to four seasons, he will become the youngest player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points!"

Early in his career, Chamberlain relied on his unique physique and training methods to leave behind many incredible records in that ancient version of the NBA.

But...

Even if he's Godzilla on the NBA record charts, Su Feng is destined to be Taro, who will crush him.

Because, before this final game against the Jazz, Freeman predicted using his data model that Su Feng had a greater than 95% chance of becoming the NBA's first-ever 40,000-point scorer.

And, when he reaches that milestone, Su Feng will likely only be 35 years old.

Online, some people questioned whether Freeman's data model factored in objective factors such as injuries and declining performance.

But Freeman replied:

Since Jordan could maintain excellent athletic condition until the age of 36, why couldn't Su Feng, who is even stronger than him, still be the league's top player at 35?

And with that...

The Jordan fans were left speechless.

Because, up until now, apart from one suspension and one paternity leave, Su Feng hadn't missed a single game.

Moreover...

If the 98/99 season hadn't been a lockout season...

How could Su Feng have waited until the end of the 04/05 season to challenge his 20,000-point milestone?

Seriously...

Jordan fans...

It's already 2005, can you stop trying to compare your idol to Su Feng?

Have you forgotten how Rookie Su crushed Prime Jordan back then, and how your Prime Jordan went to be Rookie Su's second-in-command?

Well...

Because Su Feng was still on his last year of his rookie contract when he joined Jordan to win the championship, it seems correct to call him Rookie Su at that time.

AmericanAirlines Arena, after the Heat and Jazz lineups were announced, the big screen immediately showed the starting lineups for both teams tonight.

Jazz: Okur, Boozer, Kirilenko, Reed, Arroyo.

Heat: O'Neal, Su Feng, Ariza, Butler, Payton.

This season, after acquiring Boozer and Okur, the "Sleeping Dragon and Young Phoenix," the Jazz had briefly reached sixth place in the Western Conference during the early part of the regular season.

But later, after watching a Deron Williams game at the University of Illinois, Coach Sloan immediately changed the Jazz's season goal for the 04/05 season.

Just like Su Feng remembered...

No matter how much the trajectory of history had changed, Sloan had never concealed his love for Deron.

Actually, Deron had clashed with Sloan once before their later falling out.

Because Deron ran into the rookie wall during his rookie season, Coach Sloan stripped him of his starting position and demoted him to the team's bench.

A similar example in soccer was when Manchester United manager Ferguson sent Cristiano Ronaldo back to his home in Portugal for a while because of his attitude problems early in his career.

But in stark contrast...

Not only did Ronaldo become the man who dominates the soccer world alongside Messi under Ferguson's strict demands, but in the future, when talking about Ferguson, he regarded Ferguson as a father figure.

Deron, on the other hand, ran back to his alma mater immediately after being demoted to the bench, complaining to his college coach that Sloan didn't understand basketball at all, and later had even greater conflicts with Sloan.

Perhaps, in the future, Deron regretted his ignorance when he was young.

But his personality dictated that no matter how many times he beat Chris Paul on the court, he would only be fit to eat dust behind Chris Paul when the seating arrangement was made in the future.

Deron and Sloan's grievances in this life will be temporarily set aside.

On CCTV, Zhang指导 also explained the background of this Jazz team to Chinese fans in front of the TV many times during the pre-game preview tonight.

Because this season, in addition to coveting Deron...

It was no longer a secret that the Jazz were trying to trade for a draft pick that could select Yi Jianlian in the upcoming draft.

As another talented Chinese basketball player after Yao Ming...

Sloan was fascinated by Yi Jianlian's muscles, which were cultivated by Su Feng's nutritional supplements and the training of top NBA nutritionists and trainers;

And he loved Yi Jianlian's quick-draw shooting skills, which were personally taught by Su Feng.

Although the current Jazz team already had Carlos Boozer...

This did not prevent Sloan from including Yi Jianlian in the Jazz's future team-building plans.

If missing out on Su Feng was Sloan's lifelong regret...

Then now...

Sloan really didn't want to miss out on Yi Jianlian again.

And if Su Feng's Brother Lian could really be selected by this Jazz team...

Then in Su Feng's opinion, Little Yi's career prospects in this life would only be "soaring to the sky."

Because Sloan, as a fanatic...

Loves players like Yi Jianlian who bury themselves in hard training.

Moreover, in today's league...

How many coaches understand the pick-and-roll better than Sloan?

And putting aside Deron's character...

With his pick-and-roll passing...

Wouldn't Yi be fed to the point of vomiting?

In addition, if Su Feng remembered correctly, after this year's NCAA Finals, Deron said in a post-game interview that the difference between Illinois and North Carolina was that Illinois didn't have Yi Jianlian.

In Su Feng's previous life, Yi Jianlian became the CBA Finals MVP in the 04/05 season.

Therefore, Deron wasn't just exaggerating Yi Jianlian.

The effect that Little Yi brought to this North Carolina team was completely incomparable to that of the Illinois team's garbage centers.

In the future, after fading out of the NBA for many years, Yi Jianlian could still get a rating of around 74 in 2k.

In short, ability and talent were never obstacles for Yi Jianlian to survive in the NBA.

His arrogant management team behind him, and the wrong positioning of himself, were the real problems.

On the court, an interesting scene also took place before the game tonight.

Before the game, Abbie Hornacek, who came to AmericanAirlines Arena with her father Jeff Hornacek, said to Su Feng, "My dad and I made a bet.

I said you could definitely win the jump ball against Mehmet (Okur), but my dad said I didn't understand basketball...

So, can you help me?"

This season, Hornacek became the Jazz's shooting coach two years earlier than Su Feng remembered.

Therefore, when Abbie, who had forged an indissoluble bond with Su Feng in her childhood, learned that her father would be traveling to Miami with the team, as the president of the "Salt Lake City Su Feng Fan Club," Abbie, who would be 11 years old in just five days, pestered her father to agree to take her to Miami to watch the game.

Compared to the wailing monster who could only cry in her father's arms back then...

Abbie, who had grown to nearly 160 centimeters tall, was already an innocent and lovely little beauty.

What Su Feng found strange was...

When chatting with him before the game, Abbie consistently refused to call him uncle.

And in this way...

Su Feng, who called Hornacek brother, felt very awkward.

Because your dad calls me brother, but you call me older brother...

Wouldn't that mess up the seniority?

"Heh... want me to call you uncle?

That's never gonna happen!"

Abbie muttered to herself on the sidelines after returning to the Jazz's bench.

On the court, in order to help Little Abbie, Su Feng also made a jump-ball exchange with O'Neal before the jump ball started.

"Hoo hoo! Although Mehmet's jump-ball success rate is among the worst this season...

But Su, are you sure you really want to jump against this 6-foot-11 giant?"

On TNT, Smith, watching Su Feng preparing to jump against Okur in the center circle, teased.

"That's why Su is so popular in other countries!"

On the sidelines, on the Jazz's bench, Coach Sloan sighed as he watched this scene.

In the NBA, most superstars like to put on airs.

But Su Feng was different.

In Sloan's view, his natural affinity was unmatched by anyone.

Tonight wasn't the first time that Abbie Hornacek had come to the stadium with Jeff Hornacek to cheer for the Jazz.

But how many players in the current league are willing to spend time playing with the children of these retired players before the game?

In Su Feng's memory, the reason why Carter became Stephen Curry's Uncle Carter...

Besides owing to his father Dell Curry, wasn't it also because Carter himself liked children very much?

In fact, in the NBA, stars like Anfernee Hardaway who put on airs are the norm.

As for people like Su Feng and Carter...

You can think of them as weirdos.

In the center of the court, using his speed advantage, Su Feng won the jump ball against Okur.

At this moment, on the Jazz's bench, Abbie waved her fist at her father with a smug look on her face, "Dad, I finally know why you never won a championship.

Because you don't understand basketball at all!"

Old Hornacek: "..."

And on the side, Coach Sloan, who hadn't lost his childlike innocence, turned his head and looked at Hornacek and said, "So Jeff... or maybe you should just go home and retire?

Because I feel like I've found the reason why we couldn't win a championship back then."

Old Hornacek: "..."

Originally, in Sloan's heart, the fact that the Jazz couldn't win a championship back then had always been his eternal pain.

But since Abbie became the Jazz's mascot, because this girl often used this to stimulate her father every now and then, Sloan had invisibly untied the knot in his heart.

On the court, the Heat's first offense.

In order to be the best partner on the night of Maple's milestone, Fathead Fish immediately set a screen for Su Feng at the high post.

Kirilenko, who was responsible for guarding Su Feng, couldn't get around O'Neal in time, so Okur had to switch with this "Ak47."

In Su Feng's previous life, after transforming into a low-post killer, because Alston could never get around the Jazz's pick-and-roll, Yao Ming suffered a lot from the Jazz's pick-and-roll on the court.

However, tonight...

In just the first possession, Okur felt like his knees were about to explode.

Left hand, right hand.

After that super-fast continuous switching of hands...

Accompanied by Mehmet Okur's collapse...

In that instant, all that Su Feng left behind was a legend of the wind.

That year, Su Feng was 18.

In the highlands of Salt Lake City...

In that hellish home court known to the world as the Devil's Triangle, he scored 31 points.

Jeff Hornacek would never forget the scene of Su Feng torturing him and his teammate Russell to the point of ecstasy back then.

And 9 years later...

This year, Su Feng is 27.

In Florida, at the AmericanAirlines Arena, known to the world as the "foundation of a dynasty"...

Su Feng no longer needed to constantly gain scoring opportunities through off-ball movement like he did back then.

When the king pulls out his battle-axe from behind...

Miami...

Are you ready to conquer the league with the King?

Clang——!

In the restricted area, after scoring the first points for the Heat with a one-handed dunk, Su Feng quickly ignited the atmosphere of the entire arena.

"Do you know what the biggest difference between you and Michael Jordan is?" On the court, while retreating, O'Neal said while slapping hands with Su Feng.

Hearing this, Su Feng shook his head.

After sighing, O'Neal continued, "Because even if my life restarted 10,000 times, I would still think that Michael Jordan is only fit to tie my shoes.

But you...

Deserve Shaquille O'Neal's loyalty!"

On the court, the game continued, and it was the Jazz's turn to attack.

Before Deron joined this Jazz team, Arroyo's pick-and-roll power was limited.

In the restricted area, Boozer called for the ball in the low post, trying to post up Su Feng.

But compared to "The Mailman" Malone back then...

With Boozer's slender arms...

Why did he dare to post up Su Feng in the low post?

On the court, just as Boozer was about to turn around, Su Feng cut the basketball out of his arms with a hand knife!

Immediately afterwards, the Heat launched a fast break.

A full meter away from the three-point line...

Su Feng pulled his trigger.

Bang!

Swish!

AmericanAirlines Arena, Su Feng made his 402nd three-pointer of the season!

On the sidelines, Coach Sloan sighed, "If Andrei is an Ak47...

Then Su, in my eyes, is an m82A1."

"What about my dad?

A revolver?" On the side, Little Abbie blinked her eyes and asked.

Old Hornacek: "..."

Hey...

Your father, I, was also a famous "Death Ray" back then, okay?

How did it get to your mouth...

And I became a revolver?

On the court, the Jazz attacked, and Reed hit a three-pointer from outside the three-point line with the help of a screen.

This season, Reed averaged 20.1 points for the Jazz, making him the team's leading scorer.

It's really amazing...

If Yi Jianlian is really selected by the Jazz in this life, then he and Reed will really be connected.

Back on the other end, the Heat had possession.

Fun fact.

In the 04/05 season, the current leader in the block rankings is not Camby, who is good at stat-padding, nor is it the familiar names like Ratliff and Ben Wallace.

But it is Andrei Kirilenko, who is currently responsible for guarding Su Feng.

Kirilenko, who is 208 centimeters tall, has a wingspan of nearly 230 centimeters.

At the peak of his career, he had a myth in the NBA for two consecutive seasons, averaging more than 3 blocks per game.

And he is also the only one...

A player who is likely to break the record held by Su Feng for the youngest perimeter player to reach various block milestones.

It's a pity that, in the late stages of his career, after experiencing several injuries, Kirilenko faded out of the league.

On the court, looking at Kirilenko with his arms outstretched, Su Feng called for his beloved Shaq to come over and set a screen for him without even thinking about it.

Against players like Kirilenko, even Su Feng couldn't guarantee his shooting percentage when playing one-on-one.

Therefore...

When he should call for a screen, Su Feng would never be like his good buddy Kobe, who would rather be blocked n times than stubbornly rush in.

Among perimeter players over 205 centimeters tall, Kirilenko's lateral movement wasn't considered slow.

But...

On the premise of having to get around O'Neal's screen, and also having to catch up with Su Feng...

Even if you installed rocket boosters like Astro Boy on Kirilenko's feet, he wouldn't be able to do it.

In addition, this season, in order to tank, Sloan relaxed his requirements for Jazz players during daily training...

Therefore, in this instant, after Su Feng broke through Kirilenko's defense...

On the court, where else could the Jazz find a way to deal with Su Feng?

On TV, Kobe, who had just been blocked by Kirilenko in a game against the Jazz before, decisively turned off the TV at this moment.

Because even though he had reconciled with O'Neal...

Kobe couldn't stand the way this guy was simping for Su Feng on the court.

Swish!

Near the free-throw line, after making a pull-up jumper to score his 7th point tonight, Su Feng was one step closer to his 20,000-point milestone.

Tonight, every point scored by Su Feng could trigger a tsunami-like cheer in AmericanAirlines Arena.

On the bench, Mourning also took the lead in leading the Heat's bench players to cheer for Su Feng as cheerleaders.

On CCTV, Zhang指导 smiled as he saw this scene, "Tonight, the whole world is looking forward to Su being able to create history!"

Unfortunately.

If the "Old Rogue" who was scattering money in the casino heard Zhang指导's commentary...

Then he would be the first to come out and say that he was the one who didn't expect Su Feng to reach his 20,000-point milestone tonight...

The NBA's former "God of Basketball."

Are you kidding me!

If Jordan knew that Su Feng would break records as easily as drinking soup in the future...

Then even if you broke his leg, he wouldn't choose to play that sandstorm baseball.

It's a pity...

Where can you find a regret medicine in this world?

Therefore, even if his chest hurt...

Jordan also knew that it was time for him to prepare a 500-word congratulatory speech for Su Feng.

AmericanAirlines Arena, in the first quarter, Su Feng, who felt good tonight, scored 16 points.

In the second quarter, after the two teams adjusted their lineups, the Heat continued to extend their lead on the court.

At this point in the season, Sloan wouldn't be foolish enough to choose to let the Jazz's players play their lives in order to snipe Su Feng.

Without playoff pressure, it was most important to Sloan to let these players finish the game healthy.

However...

After the Jazz's defensive intensity decreased, Su Feng missed some easy scoring opportunities on the court.

On TNT, Barkley joked, "Is Su trying to prove that every point in his career is worth its weight in gold?"

On the side, Smith said, "It seems that even the King will be nervous at this milestone."

In the second quarter, Su Feng, who only made 4 of 11 shots, only scored 12 points in a single quarter including free throws.

In fact, after seeing a lot of "big stir-fries," a game like tonight was just a "small stir-fry" for Su Feng.

But...

Sometimes, that feeling is just so mysterious.

In the second half, Su Feng, who was no longer obsessed with increasing the difficulty for his Stephen nephew, soon joined the NBA's "20,000-point club" with two dunks after increasing his breakthroughs.

To this day, only 29 players in the history of the NBA have reached the 20,000-point milestone.

And among the current active NBA players...

Su Feng and O'Neal are the only two players who have reached the 20,000-point milestone.

AmericanAirlines Arena, after Su Feng scored his 32nd point of the game, Coach Sloan politely requested a timeout on the sidelines so that Su Feng could enjoy the cheers from the entire arena.

At this time, the big screen also showed the words "20001."

On TNT, Barkley immediately announced to the entire North America in his hoarse voice:

"Ladies and gentlemen.

Congratulations, you have witnessed history with us.

The great King has officially become the 30th member of the '20,000-point club' in NBA history tonight!"

30...

It has to be said that this is also a magical number.

Because in Su Feng's memory, after entering the league, Curry chose the jersey number 30.

Of course, the reason why Curry chose the number 30 jersey...

It was mainly because his father Dell Curry wore the number 30 jersey when he played in the NBA back then.

On the court, the host immediately pulled Su Feng in front of the camera, intending to ask him how he felt at this moment.

After thinking for a while, pointing to the slightly empty dome of AmericanAirlines Arena, Su Feng said with a smile, "Compared to me getting 20,000 points...

I'm more looking forward to seeing championship banners rising here in the near future."

On the scene, after Su Feng made such a championship declaration before the start of the playoffs...

The atmosphere of AmericanAirlines Arena was ignited to the highest point again.

For the people of Miami who have never tasted the taste of a championship...

At this moment, Su Feng is the god of this city.

In the end, the score of the game between the two teams was 104 to 127.

In the game, Su Feng, who played the entire first three quarters, made 16 of 30 shots, including 3 of 9 three-pointers, 14 of 14 free throws, for a total of 49 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks.

And after this night, in addition to becoming the youngest 20,000-point scorer in NBA history, Su Feng also increased the NBA's single-season three-point record to 404.

And, just as Barkley explained before the game...

He also became the youngest perimeter player in NBA history to reach 1,600 steals and 800 blocks on this night.

At the same time, the record of 69 wins and 13 losses...

Also broke the Heat's franchise record for the best regular-season record.

At this point, the Heat's regular-season games for the 04/05 season are over.

And now...

It's time to go to the playoffs to test the championship quality of this Heat team.

……