NBA: Crazy Little Giant

October 26, 2016.

The opening game of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2016-17 NBA season was against the Philadelphia 76ers.

This game was broadcast live across the United States.

The focus of American fans was Joel Embiid, who had just returned after two years of illness. He had the size of a super center and learned 80% of his footwork skills by watching videos of Hakeem Olajuwon.

American fans wanted to see whether this super center, who was praised by the media and carefully cultivated by the 76ers, lived up to his name.

But for the fans of the United States, what they were paying attention to was the player from the United States, Chen Cheng, who was warming up in the gym at this time.

Chen Cheng was a rookie this year and was selected by the Magic with the 11th pick in the first round, but was immediately traded by the Magic, who exchanged him and Oladipo for the Thunder's defensive gate, Ibaka.

This game was also broadcast live on the Tianchao Sports Channel.

"Haha, I see Chen Cheng." Commentator Yu Jia said excitedly

"It seems that Chen Cheng has learned English well and is now warming up with his teammates." Another commentator Su Qun said with a smile

��After Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, our country finally has another inside player entering the NBA"

"Yes, and the town is this year's lottery pick."

"I hope Xiaocheng can make a name for himself in the NBA like Yao Ming did."

"I hope so."

When talking about the comparison with Yao Ming, both commentators were a little unsure.

Although Chen Cheng is the same height as Yao Ming, both are 226cm, and his wingspan is a little better than Yao Ming, but only a little bit. Chen Cheng's wingspan is as long as 230cm.

But the era of center glory is over....

Can the small city cope with the pace of the small ball era?

Will it be disciplined by smaller players in the pick-and-roll?.......

On the other hand, inside the Thunder's home stadium, players from both teams were warming up.

Some players were practicing shooting, while others were practicing layups....

Russell Westbrook, the star player of the Thunder, who was practicing spot-up three-pointers, rushed to the basket at lightning speed and completed a very smooth tomahawk dunk after several three-pointers were missed.

After the dunk, Westbrook received a lot of praise from his teammates.

Among them, he also received praise from the team's rookie"Chen Cheng"

"Haha." Westbrook laughed happily.

"Victor, you come too."Westbrook said to Oladipo

"Yeah." Victor Oladipo nodded.

As the former core of the Orlando Magic, he was more or less depressed after learning that he was traded to the Thunder to help Westbrook.

But in order to quickly integrate into the team, the best way is naturally to get the approval of the team leader.

As the future Mamba, Oladipo's physical fitness is very good. After taking a step inside the free throw line, he completed a crotch-changing dunk that shocked everyone.

"Wow"

""Dude, your dunk is awesome."

The team's leader Westbrook praised him generously after seeing this.

"Thank you. Oladipo nodded with a smile.

Although Westbrook's playing style has been criticized by fans, as a teammate, he is nothing to say.

Soon, Westbrook noticed Chen Cheng practicing shooting at the free throw line.

Before the start of the NBA regular season, although he had experienced the summer league and preseason, Chen Cheng played for the Xiaguo men's basketball team and did not participate in the Thunder's official games.

Even the number of times he practiced with the team was very few.

Today is Chen Cheng's first official game in the NBA

"Big guy, you should dunk one too." Westbrook said to Chen Cheng with a smile.

"Yeah, big guy, look at the guy on the other side, he's already playing, you can't lose to him."At this time, a player wearing a No. 21 jersey and a stubby face glanced at the talented inside player Joel Embiid who was showing off his dribbling in the next field and said.

This guy is the Thunder's front line gate - Andre Robertson.

A single-defense pioneer who can lock up opponents and put teammates in jail at the same time.’

""Haha, big guy, come show off your skills too." Another hearty laugh sounded behind Chen Cheng.

'Steven Adams', also known as 'Sea King'.

When he first entered the league, Adams was still a handsome guy, but now he has a messy beard. People who don't know him would think he is a middle-aged man in his forties, but in fact, Adams was born in 1993. This year, that is, 2016, he is only 23 years old.

Only 3 years older than Chen Cheng........

Although Chen Cheng is a rookie on the team, he is very popular because of his giant-like height.

Both the team boss and the veteran players have shown full goodwill to Chen Cheng.

"OK"

"Then I'll perform a windmill slam dunk."

Chen Cheng didn't want to spoil everyone's fun, so he said with a playful smile.

"Wow?"

"oh-my-god!"

"Windmill?"

"No way"

"Chen, you are not kidding."

"Is it really a windmill?"

The teammates were stunned at first, and then looked at Chen Cheng in disbelief.

You know, Chen Cheng is a player with a height of 226cm. Although the physical test data shows that Chen Cheng has good athletic ability, it is only relative to a big man of his size and height.

In order to complete a windmill slam dunk, in addition to jumping height, body coordination is also very important.

A 226cm player wants to complete a windmill slam dunk, this can only be done in the game!!!.......

For a moment, the Thunder players all looked at Chen Cheng, waiting for his windmill dunk.

This scene was also noticed by the commentators Yu Jia and Su Qun in front of the live broadcast room.

"Oh? Is Xiaocheng going to perform a slam dunk?"

"Yeah, that should be it. My teammates seem to like Xiaocheng very much and want to see his performance."

"Haha, yes, it seems that communication is not a problem for Xiaocheng."

The two commentators said happily. For foreign players to play in the NBA, communication skills are very important. The reason why the space player did not play well in those days was not only because of injuries, but also because of communication.

At present, Chen Cheng has no big problem.

At this time, Chen Cheng held the ball at the free throw line, took two big steps, and then stepped into the reasonable collision zone. He exerted force with both feet and swung his right hand....

The teammates had already raised their hands, ready to applaud.

But they found that Chen Cheng's feet seemed to be glued to the floor, and he did not jump up.

His right hand holding the ball swung 360 degrees in the air.

It didn't even touch the rim.

Ugh....

This scene made the teammates and the two commentators in front of the live broadcast room burst into laughter.

"All right"

"It turned out to be a windmill on the spot."

Teacher Suqun said with a smile.

At the same time, Westbrook and his teammates were all laughing so hard that they couldn't close their mouths. Even Oladipo, who was traded and was a little depressed, showed a smile on his face.

"Ha ha"

"Big guy, you almost made me laugh at the steak I ate last night."

"Big guy, I give you 10 points for this dunk, hahahaha."

Westbrook and others started to joke.

Westbrook and others laughed at Chen Cheng's"windmill dunk", but they didn't make fun of him. On the contrary, they thought this big guy was quite humorous and a good person to get along with, at least, as a teammate. On the other hand

, in the live broadcast room, when netizens saw Chen Cheng's warm-up picture, the barrage of comments covered the live broadcast room for a while.

"Phew!"

"Chen Cheng, are you trying to make me laugh to death so that you can inherit my 'Hua Bei'?"

"Oh my god, the dentures I got yesterday fell off today because of laughter, haha"

"Haha, now I have one more reason to watch the NBA."