Barkley had a great personality and didn't shy away from the incident of "kissing a donkey's butt," instead being quite proud of it.
He snorted and said, "I'm willing to bet, who among you dares to bet with me?"
The others didn't have Barkley's flair for drama, so Bird changed the subject.
"To see Li Feng's future, we'll have to wait for this final. If he can play normally under the defense of the Dream Team's superstars, it will show he has the makings of a superstar."
The other three also felt Bird had a point.
While reaching the finals certainly showed some ability, Li Feng still needed to face the Dream Team's superstars to prove he would succeed in the NBA.
"Bird, well said. I think Li Feng will reveal his true colors in the finals!" Barkley still believed Li Feng had no future in the NBA.
...
China had a great harvest in this Olympics. Before the men's basketball final, other events had already concluded.
Currently, China stood at the top of the gold medal standings with 51 gold medals.
Team sports concluded later, so many fans focused their attention on the men's basketball final.
Tickets for this game were incredibly hard to come by, selling out long in advance.
It was rumored that scalpers on the black market were selling them for as high as 15,000 yuan per ticket, which was truly outrageous.
Younes and the coaching staff worked tirelessly. The day after China's men's basketball team defeated Croatia, they began studying game footage of the United States.
Of course, the US Dream Team didn't have many set plays; they mostly relied on their star players' individual offense and on-the-spot execution.
It couldn't be helped, when the individual talent gap was so large, tactics became less meaningful.
However, China's men's basketball team had to rely on effective tactics to strive for victory, even though the hope was slim.
After a day of rest, the players resumed intense training and preparation.
Due to the importance of the final, the head of the Chinese men's basketball delegation requested that the players and coaches would not accept any media interviews before this game.
This was to ensure the team's overall focus and maintain high concentration!
Yao Ming became the de facto coach of the team, as he was very familiar with these NBA superstars, both their individual characteristics and their tactical systems.
"Ah Lian, defend tighter when playing one-on-one, and keep your arms moving up and down to prevent passes!"
"Da Sheng, don't jump easily. Just establish position and use your lower body to hold off the opponent!"
"Zhu Fangyu, don't hesitate. If you have an open shot, take it. You're our best three-point shooter!"
...
Da Yao kept shouting, directing his teammates.
This was only part of Yao Ming's work; he also had an important task: practicing tactics with Li Feng.
Undoubtedly, these two were the only players who could match up against the Dream Team at the moment, so as the starting points for their tactics, they had to be as proficient as possible.
Only if these two played to their best level, and the Dream Team played poorly, would China have a chance to win!
Although the probability of these two conditions happening simultaneously was not high, they had to strive for it, because this was competitive sports, and anything was possible!
One of the important tactics for Li Feng and Yao Ming was the pick-and-roll.
Not only initiating the pick-and-roll on offense but also defending against it on defense was crucial.
The US team applied the pick-and-roll at a very high rate; it was the most basic yet most complex tactic in modern basketball.
Additionally, Yao Ming added tactics for his own outside shooting, as in NBA games, Da Yao rarely shot three-pointers.
But in this Olympics, Yao Ming had tasted success.
After Li Feng drove into the paint, he had more offensive options.
He could throw up his own shots, even dunk over opponents, or pass to Yao Ming for a three-pointer.
With Yao Ming's height, release point, and soft touch, no one could defend his three-pointers; it was unstoppable!
This move would play an important role in the final.
On defense, Li Feng would have to work harder.
As Yao Ming moved out to shoot three-pointers, the interior would inevitably be relatively empty, requiring Li Feng, Ah Lian, Sun Da Sheng, and others to provide quick help defense.
This was a test not only of stamina but also of willpower.
The Dream Team's superstars all possessed extremely strong individual scoring abilities, making defense incredibly difficult.
China could only fight for a slim chance through collective action, constant switching, help defense, rotation, and even sacrificing their bodies to block shots.
While China's players were intensely preparing, the Dream Team players were very relaxed.
The US superstars only gathered symbolically in the morning for some light activity, and then went about their own business.
For them, participating in the Olympics was like a vacation.
The gold medal seemed to be within their grasp.
Even though they lost the men's basketball gold medal in the previous Olympics, it didn't mean the US had lost its dominance in basketball.
Looking at the US men's basketball roster for this year, they had sent their best active superstars.
Kobe, LeBron, Howard, Wade, Anthony, Boozer, Bosh, Kidd, Paul, Deron, Prince!
Any one of them could be a dominant superstar, possessing frightening strength.
...
The final of the 2008 Olympic men's basketball tournament was about to begin!
At the pre-game press conference, Kobe and LeBron accepted media interviews.
As two epoch-making superstars, the two were arguably evenly matched. Currently, Kobe had more honors, but based on LeBron's demonstrated strength, collecting honors was only a matter of time.
The two also had comparable fan bases worldwide.
However, in terms of fan numbers in China, Kobe still had the edge.
Wade could relate to this deeply; he once shared a true anecdote.
He said that when being swarmed by crazy fans in China, all you had to do was say, "Kobe is behind you."
The fans would suddenly disappear, all running to find Kobe.
The reason for this was Kobe's aesthetically pleasing playing style, which had captured the hearts of countless fans.
Furthermore, many fans extended their admiration for Jordan to Kobe, as Kobe was the man closest to God in his style of play.
Although LeBron entered the league a few years later, his fan-attracting speed was also astonishing.
The "Little Emperor's" dominant playing style represented another school of thought, attracting countless fans.
Especially LeBron's ferocious offense was unstoppable, leading a trend of "violent aesthetics"!
As the two sat in front accepting interviews, before the reporters could even ask their questions, applause erupted.
"Mr. Kobe, with the powerful lineup of the Dream Team VI this Olympics, is it a must to win the gold medal?"
"Absolutely!" Kobe shrugged, a confident smile on his face. "We are here to bring back the gold medal, no doubt about it! This is the honor that belongs to our America!"