Chapter 871: The Diligent Shark!

The news was collected by assistant Aprile Clark, as the All-Star Weekend ended and the trade deadline approached, NBA trade rumors were flying everywhere. Some trades went through, but most didn’t, and some veterans successfully sought buyouts while certain teams stubbornly refused to let players go…

Aprile Clark loved watching Zhang Hao rant because no one else could see that side of him.

Once Zhang Hao finished reading the clipped newspaper articles, Aprile Clark said, “Aix, Mr. Thomas said Britney recently participated in a singing competition and became Whitney Houston’s student!”

“Oh! That little girl is quite lucky! Maybe she’ll really become a big star. How about it, Aprile, should I find you a theater master to be your teacher as well?”

“Wow… Forget it, I don’t have much talent for theater acting. As you said, I could only be a pretty face… Alas, I have no talent for tennis, singing, acting, or even car repair… What do you think I am good at?”

As Aprile Clark spoke, she became depressed.

Zhang Hao’s eyes twinkled as he smiled, “You do have one talent.”

“Hmm? What talent?”

“Being my girlfriend! You’re the most talented at it.”

Aprile Clark instantly beamed with joy, gave Zhang Hao a playful slap, and said, “Sweet talker…”

…

Over the past week, Jordan led his team to a 4-game winning streak, bringing their record to 46 wins and 8 losses, with one 40-plus point game and one triple-double.

But even with such performance, Jordan was unable to steal much of the spotlight…

On the afternoon of February 21st, the NBA officially announced that O’Neal was named the first Player of the Week following the All-Star Weekend.

By February 22nd, the New York Knicks arrived in Los Angeles.

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Patrick Ewing went straight to the Great Western Forum.

Looking at the poster above the Lakers’ arena, thinking of how O’Neal had edged out Jordan to win Player of the Week recently, Ewing felt that the young were truly formidable!

It’s overwhelming. He watched the Lakers’ two games broadcast after the All-Star Weekend, and O’Neal’s performance made him feel incredulous—there was actually a center who could play like O’Neal.

Without a doubt, O’Neal was stronger than he had been in the past few years!

Thinking back to his own days, when he was a starter in the All-Star Game for three consecutive years, and then O’Neal entered the NBA and snatched the starting spot away… Now he’s taken it back.

However, what he cares most about isn’t O’Neal, but that second-year guy standing on the sidelines…

He doesn’t know if what that second-year guy said last year was true or false, but originally, next summer they had a chance to compete for this talent. However, last year, during his birthday, he wanted tickets but the Knicks management refused, completely severing the possibility of the guy coming to New York to play.

Thinking of this made Ewing’s expression increasingly sorrowful. He wondered who the Knicks would rely on when he got old.

Zhang Hao’s learning talent, Ewing had witnessed it. During their first match last year, Zhang Hao could only shoot and charge. Now, he’s got several offensive maneuvers.

Though not comprehensive, with this learning speed, Ewing felt Zhang Hao was the best successor to inherit his versatile center skills in the current league.

But things had come to this point, and there was no way to turn back.

Putting this aside, Ewing was very excited to face the Lakers!

The “Five-Star” Lakers, five All-Stars, strong enough to explode.

But at the age of 34, Ewing was still a strong contender, with teammates like Alan Houston, Larry Johnson, Charles Oakley, John Starks, Chris Childs, Buck Williams, Charlie Ward…

At his age, to still have such enthusiasm to lose weight over the summer and adjust his playing style, there were only two reasons.

One, definitely the championship.

And the other, is wanting to still have the strength to fight against those young superstars!

This year, Ewing’s goal was naturally the championship. If they reached the end, their most likely opponent would be this absurdly strong five-person team in front of him!

…

…

On the afternoon of February 23rd, the Lakers began warming up for the game against the Knicks.

Zhang Hao once again started warming up early; he never missed a chance to utilize Jabbar’s health medal.

Look at Malone, Zhang Hao also hoped that at that age he could still be an MVP contender.

This year, Malone had won Player of the Week 4 times, ranked first, surpassing Jordan’s 3 times and Zhang Hao’s 2 times, with Jordan, Zhang Hao, and Malone each having won Player of the Month once.

Currently, Zhang Hao’s MVP odds were declining, the reason being the one in the training ground shooting a documentary invited by Sports Illustrated.

After the All-Star Weekend, O’Neal had played 3 games, and Sports Illustrated started shooting a documentary on his current stage.

Star-player documentaries are usually not shot only after retirement but at key moments in their careers, and it’s not just the independently shot material; game footage, news information, and magazine content can also become part of the documentary.

He, Mr. Zhang, also had a documentary shot; it started from the training camp with the Brooklyn Nets, except he authorized the Imperial Channel’s shoot. He couldn’t control how it was shot; the other party requested exclusive documentary filming rights, which he could only grant.

It seemed as if to compete with Zhang Hao. Usually, O’Neal’s warmups were just under an hour, but recently during the documentary shoots, his warmup time almost doubled. Zhang Hao practiced for a while, and then O’Neal started warming up and preparing.

O’Neal cared greatly about his body; his warmups were truly professional…

Partnering with O’Neal this season, Zhang Hao discovered many things he didn’t know before.

For instance, that O’Neal’s technical skills were really good, his defensive talent and ability were truly excellent, and there were many fundamental aspects and unseen qualities that were also quite formidable.

Except for being lazy…

Finally, he had become diligent now!

…

Quickly, by evening 6:40, the Lakers and the Knicks entered the court.

When Knicks players entered the court, they were met with quite intense boos from the crowd.

After all, the Knicks had offended the fans’ beloved Gentleman.

However, now, O’Neal had become a darling of Los Angeles fans with his recent performances.

When the home team players were introduced, O’Neal was the first to run out, receiving cheers from the fans.

Fans felt O’Neal’s effort and genuinely saw the sacrifice O’Neal made!

Previously, fans only cheered for O’Neal due to his strength. Now, they truly felt O’Neal was integrating into their team.

Barkley and the Magician were no longer starters, but during the Lakers’ introduction, the order was still O’Neal, Zhang Hao, Kenny Anderson, Barkley, and the Magician.

This was rare and unique in the NBA, but the crowd loved it.

The fans were so excited for a regular-season game because… their defense had improved!

Previously, Lakers fans also had doubts; in an era where defense prevailed, the Lakers took an unconventional approach focusing on offense. Though their offense was fierce, averaging over 110 points per game, how far could they go in the playoffs?

Halfway through the season, the team’s defense was still lacking, at a below-average league level.

Finally, after the All-Star Weekend, they underwent a transformation!

Tonight’s game against the Knicks was the best moment to prove it!

After entering the court, the two teams’ top 50 centers led their teammates in pregame pleasantries.

When O’Neal and Ewing embraced, Zhang Hao standing nearby only felt one adjective—surface-friendly.

Larry Johnson was more direct. When looking at Mr. Zhang, he seemed rather displeased.

It was said to be friendly, but observing fans felt no friendliness as they watched the two teams’ array of stars exchange pleasantries. Instead, it was more like tensions rising, a battle about to begin!