am i proud?

Chapter 211 An Invitation From Jordan

Early in the morning of February 2th, David Stern arrived at his office at 9 o'clock as usual... It stands to reason that he would have to fly to Atlanta at noon today, so he could sleep in at home, but obviously he would not change his living and working habits because of this.

After arriving at the office, he first took a sip of steaming coffee, then picked up the newspaper on the table, and then... with a "poof", he sprayed the coffee as if he had spewed a mouthful of old blood.

"This King Darling... is too good at making troubles?" Stern couldn't help talking to himself.

On the coffee-tainted newspaper in his hand, the news headline on the front page reads such a big word—"Darling-Wang and his rumored girlfriend appear on the scene of the All-Star Weekend"!
"Good morning sir, may I come in?"

A voice came from the door, and Stern looked up and saw that it was Mark Tatum, so he beckoned, "Come in!"

"It seems that you already know!" Seeing that Tatum was holding the same newspaper in his hand, Stern frowned, "This kid is making such a big commotion now, do you think... will he affect Michael's All-Star farewell performance tonight?"

Tatum walked into the office and sat on the sofa, and said with a slight smile, "Sir, you can rest assured that Darling-Wang is a young man who knows how to advance and retreat, and he will not steal the show... This can be seen from the fact that he voluntarily gave way to Michael before."

Stern frowned slightly: "I hope so... By the way, are the halftime sessions tonight arranged?"

Tatum smiled and said, "It's been arranged, but..."

"But what?" Stern asked.

Tatum smiled and said: "Now I just have a problem with the arrangement of the camera position during Michael's speech at halftime... I think it is not appropriate for the camera to point at Kobe Bryant."

"Huh?" Stern frowned slightly again, "In your opinion, who should the camera be aimed at?"

Tatum smiled: "I think it should be Darling King!"

Stern thought for a moment, and said in a noncommittal tone: "Tell me your reason."

Tatum smiled and said: "Since Michael retired last time, the league has been in a state of competition. Among the many strong players, only four people stand out, namely Shaq O'Neal, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant. Sir, it is normal for you to choose Kobe before, because he is the youngest of these people, but now that Darling-Wang suddenly becomes strong, the situation is different..."

Stern nodded and said: "That's right, Darling-Wang's momentum in the past two years is indeed very strong, and he is younger, but he also has his own limitations... Well, go ahead!"

Tatum nodded and said: "Yes, Darling Wang does have his limitations. First of all, he is Chinese, so it is very difficult for North American fans to accept him; secondly, his sports brand endorsement is also a Chinese brand, 'Nike', 'Adidas' and the like will not like him... But the strength he has shown has gradually changed this situation!"

Stern nodded silently and smiled: "Yes...and his sneaker endorsement contract will expire at the end of June this year. It is estimated that 'Nike' and 'Adidas' don't want to offend this potential big customer, right?"

Tatum continued: "The most important reason why I value him is his unparalleled potential...Maybe everyone has seen Darling-Wang's phenomenal performance this season, but I think he is far from reaching his peak...Comprehensive evaluation, he is no longer inferior to Kobe, and he will definitely surpass Kobe in the future...And he is still the leader of the team, so, compared to Kobe, I think the title of 'Jordan successor' should belong to Darling-Wang!"

After listening to Stern, he fell into deep thought. Tatum was also very knowledgeable. He took a few sips of coffee and waited silently for the boss to make a final decision.

Finally, Stern raised his head and said, "Okay, let's do it according to your wishes... Just give the language of the camera, don't be too deliberate!"

Tatum stood up and said, "Don't worry, I'll do it right away!"

Stern suddenly stopped him and said, "By the way, you send someone to warn Darling-Wang... It's okay to fall in love, but you can't delay training because of falling in love, and you have to choose the right time. Tonight belongs to Michael. No one can change this!"

Tatum nodded and said, "Yes, I will arrange it!"

Stern smiled and said, "Go ahead, I'm still very relieved of your work!"

Tatum nodded, and then left the office.

Stern sat back in front of the office again, took a sip of coffee, and immediately frowned—"How did this coffee cool down so quickly?"

To be honest, Stern worked hard for Jordan's second comeback, and even his shadow was indispensable behind the trade between the Wizards and the Warriors in the offseason... I thought that after Arenas left, the Wizards would be able to change their strength. Who would have expected Arenas to be seriously injured and reimbursed so soon in Washington?
Now it seems that it is unlikely that the Wizards will make the playoffs this season. If this is the case, it is really a pity that Jordan could not even make the playoffs in the last season of his career.

Since this scene is very likely to be staged, then prepare a grand farewell performance for him during the All-Star Weekend, which is also worthy of his great contributions to the NBA over the years... Maybe this is Stern's real idea?
……

Also on the morning of February 2, Wang Dalin got up early, and after breakfast, he went to the hotel gym to start working out. It wasn't until half an hour later that he saw the sleepy-eyed Da Ben and Hamilton walking in.

Hamilton had a pair of dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes were dull. It was obvious that the "battle" with his girlfriend last night was quite intense. Da Ben was in a slightly better condition, probably because he got up too early and was out of spirits.

Hamilton stepped onto the treadmill, and his workouts always started with jogging.

Daben did stretching exercises directly on the spot. His training volume is much greater than that of Hamilton, so he must warm up well, otherwise the loss outweighs the gain in case of injury.

"Fourth brother, you are really hardworking!" Da Ben couldn't help admiring, "Didn't you go out with your girlfriend last night?"

"You mean Zilin? It's an appointment. After the competition, we went out to eat something, and then I sent her back to the hotel!" Wang Dalin was lying on the bench while talking, and at the same time completed another press... Now he can challenge to do 120KG bench press continuously.

Da Ben laughed and said, "You mean you two didn't do anything last night?"

Wang Dalin smiled and said, "Brother, do you mean that I have to do something?"

Da Ben smiled and said, "Of course... Look at your third brother, he must have been working until the early morning last night, otherwise how could he be in such a bad mood?"

Hamilton ran and said, "Where is my spirit? It's just that I didn't sleep well. Don't talk nonsense!"

Da Ben smiled and said: "Okay, you are very energetic...I advise you to take a nap at noon today, otherwise at night, I am afraid that you will be exhausted and paralyzed on the court!"

Wang Dalin was almost done practicing, so he got up and said, "Okay, see you in the arena later!"

After speaking, he went back to the room first.

There was a training session at 2:9 am on February 9th. This was the only joint training session for the All-Star players this weekend, so Wang Dalin and the others did not stay in the gym for too long. After all, there was still training in the morning.

The head coach of the Eastern All-Star team is Larry Brown... According to the record, of course the Pistons coach Rick Carlisle should be the head coach, but the NBA rule is that the All-Star team cannot be the head coach for two consecutive years, so the 76ers who currently have the second record in the Eastern Conference will be the head coach.

In the original time and space, the head coach of this All-Star Game should have been Isiah Thomas of the Pacers, but history has clearly changed a little bit.

Although the Pacers had a good record in the first half of the season, they were still one game behind the 76ers, so the old man Larry Brown came.

This training session was actually very simple. The players just moved their bodies, and then they played a 20-minute match in groups. Most of the rest of the time was spent chatting.

It was originally... the All-Star Game, who would take it so seriously?
After the training, Jordan suddenly walked up to Wang Dalin and said, "I would like to invite you to dinner at noon, and call your girlfriend too!"

Wang Dalin was a little surprised, but the "old hooligan" invited him, he still had to give this face, so he nodded and said: "Okay, just send me the address later, I will definitely be there on time!"

After returning to the hotel room and taking a shower, Wang Dalin called Zhang Zilin.

Hearing that he could actually meet the "God of Basketball" at lunch, Zhang Zilin seemed quite excited, and hung up the phone before saying a few words, and went to put on makeup again.

Wang Dalin changed into a "Versace" casual attire, first went to pick up Zhang Zilin, and then they came to the "Hand in Hand" restaurant together... As expected, it is indeed the most famous restaurant in Atlanta, and Jordan also chose this restaurant for his treats.

As soon as Zhang Zilin saw Jordan, he couldn't help but took out his notebook and asked for his autograph. Jordan laughed and signed for her, and then led them to the private room he had reserved.

Since the game was going to be played in the evening, they didn't drink, but just ordered some fruit drinks.

The main course was fried venison, baked pie and veal steak, as well as various snacks and mushroom cream soup. For Wang Dalin, who is used to eating nutritious meals, it was so delicious that he almost devoured it.

Zhang Zilin couldn't help eating too much, but beauties have this advantage... Even though she has no scruples about her image at all, her eating is still very elegant.

The three of them ate more than half of it, and Jordan suddenly said, "Thank you, Darling!"

Wang Dalin froze for a moment, then smiled and said, "Michael, you know I did it voluntarily, so you don't need to thank me for that!"

Jordan smiled and said: "No matter what, you gave me the starting position and allowed me to participate in the last All-Star Game in the most decent way. I must be grateful to you!"

Seeing what Wang Dalin wanted to say, Qiao Dan raised his hand to stop him, and continued, "So I have one more thing to ask for your help tonight, and I hope you can do your best to help me!"

Wang Dalin seemed to have guessed something, so he asked, "Is it about AMVP?"

Jordan smiled slightly and said, "It's easy to talk to smart people... Yes, I hope to get the AMVP in the last All-Star Game, can you help me do it?"

Wang Dalin said with a smile: "During training today, everyone said that they would try to pass the ball to you as much as possible during the game, but I think that alone is not enough!"

Jordan's expression was a little dignified, and he asked, "Are you afraid that someone in the west will disrupt the situation?"

Wang Dalin said with a smile: "Isn't this obvious? I dare not say anything about the other people in the west, but the guy most like you will definitely not let you get away with it easily!"

Jordan couldn't help laughing and said, "You mean Kobe? Well...that's right, with his temperament, he will definitely think that going all out on the court is the greatest respect for me...Hahaha...that brat! I'm already 40 years old, and he wants to go all out. My old bones can't stand his toss!"

Wang Dalin said with a smile: "So, I think we should settle him first, otherwise we can't win the game. AMVP must be on the opposite side."

Jordan couldn't help frowning and said: "That kid Kobe is very stubborn, and he wants me to beg him... I really can't do such a thing!"

Wang Dalin smiled and said, "Who told you to beg him? I mean... I'll settle him!"

Jordan wondered: "How do you deal with him? Enrage him...and then fight him one-on-one?"

Wang Dalin said with a smile: "He made it clear that he will challenge you tonight. I don't have the face to let him turn his firepower to me... I mean, as long as I play, I will defend him. You just need to score as much as possible, and leave the rest to me!"

Jordan nodded and said, "Okay, with your strength, as long as you defend carefully, it will be much more difficult for him to score!"

……

In the afternoon, Wang Dalin and Zhang Zilin came to the fashion show together. A middle-aged man of medium build immediately greeted Zhang Zilin, and said in his mouth: "My aunt, you are here... Don't you want to see what time it is? Go and put on makeup!"

Zhang Zilin gave Wang Dalin a sweet smile: "I'm going to put on makeup, see you on the runway later!"

Wang Dalin said with a smile: "You go, people are waiting impatiently!"

As soon as Zhang Zilin walked into the backstage dressing room, a large group of Yingying and Yanyan immediately surrounded her and "tortured" her with long guns and short cannons.

"Wow, you little girl, you usually keep quiet, but you suddenly found an NBA star as your boyfriend!"

"Tell me, you came back so late last night, what did you two do?"

"How did you know Wang Dalin?"

……

The beautiful female models of this group of model teams look more beautiful than the other, but their gossip temperament is no different from that of ordinary women, especially the non-stop chattering, Zhang Zilin suddenly feels like he has fallen into a group of ducks.

"Hey... can you be quiet, I haven't put on makeup yet!"

"Oh... I beg you, I'll tell you about it after the show is over, okay?"

"Ah... I'm going crazy..."

In the process of "magic sound filling ears", Zhang Zilin actually finished her makeup, and then quickly changed into the sportswear for the first match. She really deserves to be the champion of Miss World in later generations, and her professional quality is strong!
The show went very smoothly and attracted media coverage from all over the world.

In fact, the main reason is that Wang Dalin appeared on the stage, maybe he didn't even know it, but his popularity is already so strong...

In the last show, when Wang Dalin and Zhang Zilin walked side by side to the front of the runway, the thousands of people on the scene shouted in unison: "KISS...KISS...KISS..."

This scene was very similar to the scene in the arena last night, Zhang Zilin couldn't help blushing, and Wang Dalin also felt a little hot on his face.

Originally, according to the prescribed action, Wang Dalin had to hug Zhang Zilin's waist, and then Zhang Zilin posed in a pose similar to that of a small bird, but the two of them forgot about it because of their embarrassment...

At 20:00 that night, the All-Star Game finally came as scheduled.

When Jordan made his debut, all the audience stood up and applauded for him. The applause lasted for a long time, which directly caused the opening whistle to be delayed by a full minute.

Big Ben also tried his best when jumping the ball, and actually won Yao Ming, and then McGrady dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Jordan immediately.

Kobe really posted it, and the "Black Mamba" was doing his best to show off all his skills in Jordan's last All-Star Game... He didn't want to humiliate Jordan, but wanted to give Jordan the greatest respect in this way.

And Jordan didn't back down either, he turned his back two steps, then turned around and immediately made a fallback jumper, and hit the first goal of this All-Star Game under Kobe's close defense...

　Thank you "Rexxxx" for rewarding 2000 starting coins, and write more about this brother's support for Lao Wang all the time!
　　Thanks to "Rexxxx", "Tang Banxian", "Ming Yu", "Ant Principal", "Life is like a dream" and "Zihuo 999" for their encouragement!Write more about your support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)