r18novel Chapter 9 Two Games Surpassing McGrady
Chapter 9 Two Games Surpassing McGrady
During garbage time, spectators on the sidelines waved makeshift letter signs and chanted Kevin Durant's name in unison, creating a deafening roar. But Blair, sitting on the coaching bench, remained unmoved, like a monk who had calmed down after a period of stagnation, ignoring the players' chaotic play on the court.
Du Xiaoshuai donned a thin training uniform, draped a white towel over his shoulders, and occasionally raised his hand to wave to the fans in all directions, exuding a distinctly Shaanxi-Gansu peasant-style idol vibe...
In the post-game interview, the first thing Durant handed over was ESPN's big microphone: "Kevin, please allow us to continue with the pre-game interview."
"OK, you've broken the flesh!" Du Xiaoshuai's tall and thin figure stood out among the surrounding media and fans.
Due to Durant's phenomenal performance yesterday, there were many media outlets present today. Summer League interviews have no set schedule, so enthusiastic media and excited fans swarmed around Durant almost immediately after the final whistle. Combined with recording equipment, sound systems, and props, the area around Durant was extremely crowded.
The 1.78-meter-tall Aunt Duo, as the first reporter to interview Du Xiaoshuai, was undoubtedly the first to get close to him. During the interview, she was pushed forward by the fans behind her and almost squeezed into Du Xiaoshuai's arms.
The perfume smells wonderful!
"Thank goodness! I used the deodorizing card out of curiosity this morning, and even though I'm covered in sweat, I'm still clean and refreshed!"
—Du Xiaoshuai, who was a little too concerned about his image, wiped his sweat, feeling a bit stuffy as his chest was pressed against by two muscular muscles.
Fortunately, Doris is a professional, and the temporary setbacks didn't affect her interview questions: "My last question before the game was how many points you planned to score in this game. You held up five fingers to the camera. Can you explain what that means? Is it a declaration that you plan to score 50 points in the game?"
"Yes, it means exactly what everyone guessed." Du Xiaoshuai, bracing himself against the pressure on his chest, took two deep breaths of his perfume and straightened up: "I said I would take the victory, whether it takes 50 points or 500 points."
—500 points, seriously!
Little Du! Little Du!
I am here.
He looked quite fierce.
"Hmm—so, you scored an incredible 55 points in the game just now?" Aunt Duo, who was a little out of breath from being squeezed, looked up at the ugly-handsome face that was not so popular these days and smiled casually.
Hmm—the young man has nice skin, smooth and blemish-free, with a healthy tanned look, a bronze complexion, and none of the body odor that Brother Ni usually has, which is a plus!
The aesthetic standards in Europe and America differ greatly from those in China, especially regarding Black people. In China, white is considered beautiful, and most people would reject Black people outright and find it unacceptable. However, in Europe and America, a uniform tan is considered a sign of fitness and beauty. I have a lot of contact with Black people, and whether I choose to accept it or not, I can accept some of the good qualities and strengths of Black people.
"Yes, because 50 points isn't enough to beat the opponent." Durant shrugged and said, "Aldridge and Roy are too strong. You know I'm a team player, and I'm willing to do anything to win..."
本场比赛杜小帅出场40分钟，29投20中，三分11投7中，罚球9中8，以近70%的命中率，拿下55分10个篮板12助攻7盖帽2抢断。
With an incredible 55 points, a well-rounded triple-double, and the team winning, whatever he says is right at this point.
"Cool! We've witnessed history!" Doris exclaimed excitedly.
......
Soon after, the stadium management noticed the chaos on the sidelines and quickly sent people to disperse the crowd and maintain order. Du Xiaoshuai regretfully ended his interview with Aunt Duo...
After dealing with all the media, it was already past midnight when I got back to the hotel.
Du Xiaoshuai took a shower, lay in bed and reflected on his performance that day for a while, then opened his fan panel to prepare for the lucky draw.
Because of the two consecutive abnormal data, the number of fans jumped very quickly, just breaking through 3, while the number of haters also gradually increased to 2.5.
"Let's draw a black card first to cool down."
The dark red card pool spun, and then a white card floated out.
[White-grade allergy relief card *2]
[White-level Stress-Awareness Card, Function: When the target is subjected to external impact or attack, their sense of touch increases by 1, making their body more sensitive. Exceeding a certain threshold will result in more pain, but the physical damage remains unchanged. Duration: 1 hour.]
Du Xiaoshuai looked at the force sensitivity card in the panel card library. It would be really interesting to use this on the opponent during a game.
After a defensive muscle collision, pain occurs if the threshold of sensory nerve stimulation is exceeded, instantly neutralizing the opponent and potentially making them a target for feigned injury...
As expected of something you get from drawing with haters' points, harmless but disgusting! You get two tickets for every draw!
It's utterly harmful to others and to oneself!
wrong
—If the occasion were different...
"Draw another red fan card."
[White-grade small balloon card *1]
[White-level Balloon Card, Function: Randomly obtains a disposable transparent small balloon with a fruit flavor; effect unknown]
What nonsense are you spouting, "unknown"? Unknown?
I can't afford to buy disposable balloons!
Du Xiaoshuai got a little annoyed looking at the little balloons wrapped in candy on the panel and drew fan points again.
[White-grade decanter card *2]
[White-grade hangover remedy card, function: to rapidly metabolize and eliminate alcohol from the body, as well as all the negative effects of alcohol on the body, but the relaxing and numbing effects of alcohol on the nerves are positive and unaffected, lasting for 1 hour]
It has to be the Pink Card, the ultimate clubbing essential!
This hangover decanter card is totally to Du Xiaoshuai's liking!
And they even gave out two! It seems that drawing fan cards is not only a 100% chance of winning, but there's also a possibility of getting two cards, or even more!
However, the minimum age for drinking in the United States seems to be 21...
Bah! What a load of bull – a beacon of democracy!
You can freely smoke marijuana, so why can't you drink alcohol?
After playing the Trail Blazers, the SuperSonics' next league game is on July 10th, against the Grizzlies.
But by then, Du Xiaoshuai had already boarded a plane and left Las Vegas, heading home.
He received a telegram from the team's management informing him that he wouldn't have to play in the upcoming Summer League.
The team's official announcement stated that Du Xiaoshuai's competitive ability has fully surpassed the intensity of the Summer League, and there is no need to waste any more time. The team will give him a new training arrangement.
The announcement was correct, but the team did not give him any new training arrangements. This was mainly because the injury of the number one draft pick from Portland made the team's management more aware of protecting their own rookies.
Du Xiaoshuai, who is under 19 years old, is not yet fully developed physically.
Meanwhile, Du Xiaoshuai arrived in Portland.
Nike headquarters campus.
Du Xiaoshuai and his management team are preparing to sign the 5-year, 6 million yuan sneaker endorsement contract, which they have been negotiating in the last two days and includes incentive clauses.
Although this contract isn't the highest in terms of amount, its average annual salary exceeds ten million, surpassing Nike's record-breaking endorsement deal with LeBron James in 03, making it the highest in the league at the moment.
Nike's decision to offer Kevin Durant such a high contract was actually the result of intense internal debate, and they even spent a lot of time and effort to appease LeBron James' team.
Although LeBron James, who had just entered the Finals in the summer, was swept by Deng in the Finals, his future is bright.
Just like Duncan said, the future is definitely yours.
But a big company like Nike never puts all its eggs in one basket. It's not like they lack the resources; they have plenty of eggs to spare. Du Xiaoshuai's basket, on the other hand, looks too tempting.
Of course, it's almost impossible to get the full amount of such a high contract. It also includes incentive clauses worth more than ten million, such as Rookie of the Year, four All-Star appearances within five years, four All-NBA selections, regular season ranking, playoffs, scoring title, MVP and a series of other conditions that are unattainable for ordinary players.
But the contract itself is also for promotional purposes! How can Nike, a big company, show its financial strength and power if it doesn't quote a higher price?
Furthermore, even if Durant were to fulfill all the incentive clauses, resulting in a 5-year, $6000 million contract, that price wouldn't be a loss for someone aspiring to become a new generation of superstar; it would be a win-win situation!
The signing ceremony was a joyous occasion, with both sides showing mutual affection and sincerity.
In the past two days, agent Rich Kleiman has not only been negotiating with Nike, but also, at the behest of Kevin Durant, rejected Adidas's additional offer of 7300 million for 7 years. This is certainly against the logic of business operations and is disadvantageous to the other party, but it also reflects Durant's decisiveness and his pro-Nike brand stance. Therefore, the two sides had a harmonious conversation.
After signing the record-breaking contract, Nike planned to hold a press conference on July 15th, and posted the news on its official website in advance. They also bought press releases from many sports commentators and analysts, adding fuel to the fire while the excitement of Durant's incredible league statistics in the North American basketball community had not yet cooled down.
Durant has indeed made waves in the North American sports world these past few days.
He can feel it from the daily increase in his fan value; he's both gaining popularity and criticism!
In the NBA, the Summer League has always been an excellent stage to test a rookie. But no one's record has ever been as outstanding as Kevin Durant's this year.
Even for top draft picks like Duncan and James, who consistently won first place, their stats back then were only average; averaging 20+ points per game was almost overhyped.
This may be due to the roster and the fact that the rookies are holding back, but without a doubt, almost all veteran basketball experts share the same view: Durant will quickly get into form in the new season, and his immediate impact will be at least at the All-Star level.
Many fans online also dig up his previous draft templates and compare him to McGrady, saying he surpassed McGrady in two games.
This comparison left McGrady fans somewhat disheartened, as their previous boasts about their idol's historic basketball talent were clearly no match for Durant.
Regardless of height, armbands, speed, or dribbling and shooting skills.
Mai Mi usually likes to use her physical talent to bully the short-armed Little Flying Man next door.
Frankly, any comparison of the physical talents of the two stars at the beginning of the century was obviously a biased hype by seasoned fans.
Having a spinal problem is a defect in itself. It's obvious that the training attitude is wrong, yet they make up a story about having real combat talent without training.
The common misconception among fans is that the leader has average physical abilities.
Compared to Jordan, he's just average. But compared to other shooting guards, in what way is he lacking?
Aside from being a few centimeters shorter, Durant's endurance, coordination, jumping ability, and stamina are all far superior to T-McGrady's. Even with Durant's system badge bonus, the difference is negligible.
However, in 07, Cui Qian still had a large fan base, and fans on the other side of the strait were quite fond of her. The team was on track to win the championship every year, which made Du Xiaoshuai feel embarrassed for Xiao Ming in his previous life.
Therefore, while Durant's incredible stats in the last two games have attracted many casual fans online, they have also earned him a lot of haters.
However, none of these are the biggest reasons why Du Xiaoshuai has broken into the mainstream.
What truly propelled Du Xiaoshuai into the basketball world was a series of photos that went viral online, showing Aunt Duo, dressed in a revealing blazer, conducting a close-up interview with him.
From the angle of the photo, the two are facing each other with a microphone that looks like a lollipop between them, and their eyes are practically glued together.
This photo has been pinned to the top of the R/NBA fan forum again, with the title "The most sizzling interview in the league," and has received over 10,000 replies and over 100,000 likes.
It's almost turned into an "interview scandal"!
On TNT's "Inside the NBA," the duo of Sir Charles Barkley and Chris Smith, two irresponsible scoundrels, argued logically and with evidence about whether the topic was "Inside," causing the audience to burst into laughter and filling the studio with a joyful atmosphere.
Pah! How vulgar!
On ESPN's side, Doris Burke returned to the television station and joined Steven Smith on the "First Take" program to analyze Durant's data and performance in the two games.
As a former WNBA legendary point guard, Doris used advanced stats, which are not so common now, to illustrate the incredible performance of Durant in these two games.
However, many audience members were not paying attention to these things. A fat white man was holding up a spray-painted poster of the interview, and the audience shook every time the camera turned to him.
The mischievous director replayed Steven's joke from two days ago, in the live broadcast, that the Trail Blazers had given up a number one draft pick. This made Steven feel embarrassed and he became quite angry.
Therefore, at the end of the program, he pretended to have thought things through and said, "I admit that Kevin did get into the game faster in these two games and showed the level of a rookie with a gap in talent. But, it is obvious that he still has many fatal weaknesses, such as being too thin and needing to build muscle, but this will affect his speed, poor physicality, and injury-prone nature, which can be proven by his absence from the next league season. His stamina is poor, his reliance on three-pointers is too high, and his playing style is too soft. The low intensity of the Summer League masked many of his disadvantages. Perhaps we can call him the king of the Summer League, but he still has a lot to overcome in the regular season..."
Doris was quite indignant about Steven's arrogance and prejudice. How could Durant's playing style be soft? She was the one who had the deepest experience of Durant's toughness. Her colleague's nonsense comments were completely unfounded.
"Steven, you didn't experience the thrill and magic of the game in person. You don't know how passionate the more than 20,000 fans were. I firmly believe that Kevin will redefine the upper limit of basketball players' abilities in the new season. He will bring an unparalleled impact to everyone."
"Is that so?" Steven Smith replied nonchalantly. "He may have won you over, but I remain cautious."
Her unintentional remark elicited a burst of laughter from the audience. Aunt Duo's deep eyes caught sight of a poster of herself in the audience, and her face instantly flushed...
Many media outlets showed up uninvited at the Nike and Kevin Durant endorsement signing press conference.
Inside the lobby of the Beaverton headquarters campus, Vice President Howard White loudly promised on the stage that the company's chief designer, Eric Eibar, would be appointed to design and release Durant's signature sneakers as soon as possible, that Lynn Merritt would provide top-tier promotional and sales resources, and that once sales reached a certain amount, Durant would have an independent production line and receive a higher sales commission.
In short, all operational steps will be handled with top-level authority and resources. As long as Du Xiaoshuai performs well, he will surely become another rising star for Nike.
Du Xiaoshuai, holding a large poster of the 6000 million yuan knife, smiled shyly and allowed the media to pose for photos.
Go ahead and take pictures! My figure and face are flawless from every angle!
During the Q&A session, after asking a few formulaic questions about the details of the signed contract, the media brought up Barkley and Smith, pressing Durant for his thoughts.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Du Xiaoshuai patted the microphone, adopting a serious expression as he spoke with political correctness: "I know that interviews and questions are your rights as media people, but I hope everyone will report on and pay more attention to my basketball story. I love basketball; it's my everything. I just finished my freshman year of college and came to the NBA. I hope the media will give me more positive coverage. After all, I'm still a naive kid, and I hope everyone will give me more love and tolerance..."
......
Has anyone ever seen a child who's over 2 meters tall?
Besides, which innocent child would specifically remind everyone of their innocence?
The uncrowned king of America didn't buy it. Some experienced media professionals immediately deduced Du Xiaoshuai's reserved and stoic personality from his interview rhetoric and ruthlessly exposed him.
Taking things out of context is their instinct; "I'm still a naive kid" quickly became a catchphrase, appearing in sports media headlines...