The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 20 I have no need to be humble to anyone

A private three-story apartment building near the Chinese Consulate in Chicago serves as the office and residence for Xinhua News Agency in Chicago.

Reporter Lin Xiaoyan got up early in the morning, made some breakfast, and ate with her colleagues while flipping through today's newspaper.

She has been in Chicago for several years, and because of the Chicago Bulls, she has developed a certain interest in basketball.

Of course, she is not a professional sports reporter; basketball is not her reporting topic, but merely a personal interest.

Xinhua News Agency's Chicago branch does not have dedicated sports reporters. Xinhua's sports reporters travel all over the world and are not stationed in any one place.

As far as she knew, the NBA Draft Combine was in Chicago, so after reading the other newspapers, she turned to the Chicago Sun-Times at the bottom.

Soon, she noticed the pinyin of Tang Bei, and upon looking at the accompanying picture, she realized it was definitely a Chinese person with the surname Tang.

"Does anyone know this person? His surname is Tang. He's participating in an NBA rookie camp. I don't know if he's an international student from China or of Chinese descent."

She handed the newspaper to several colleagues, and after looking at it, they all said they didn't recognize it.

"Yanzi, why don't you go do the interview this morning? We'll take care of your morning interview assignments," a colleague suggested.

"Okay, I'll go in a bit."

At 8 o'clock, Lin Xiaoyan arrived at the Chicago Stadium.

She first applied for an interview pass from the NBA as a Xinhua News Agency reporter, and also took the opportunity to learn about Tang Bei's situation.

This allowed her to learn that Tang Bei was from Tianjing, and she also obtained Eric Fleischer's and Tang Bei's contact information. Finally, she contacted Fleischer and conducted a brief telephone interview.

"Tang, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency wants to interview you. She's waiting for you at the stadium."

Eric Fleischer, who was about to leave the hotel, immediately called Tang Bei after finishing the interview.

"Really?"

Tang Bei was overjoyed.

At 9 o'clock, the bus carrying the rookies arrived at the stadium.

"Ms. Lin, that's Tang."

"Tang, come here quickly."

Eric Fleischer had already arrived at the stadium and met with Lin Xiaoyan. He then pointed to Tang Bei, who was getting out of the car, and said...

"Hello, Tang Bei, I am Lin Xiaoyan."

"Hello."

“I’m ten years older than you. I’m from Tongzhou, which is right next to Tianjing. Let’s not be too formal. Just call me Sister Lin.”

"Tongzhou, ah, it's right next to my Wuqing area, so I should call her 'sister'."

The two were practically from the same hometown, and their accents were similar, so they quickly became acquainted after just a few words.

"Tang Bei, how did you get into the NBA draft?"

"It's a long story..."

"Then let's make a long story short."

"Sister Lin, you're even more impatient than I am."

"Hehe, don't you even know what I do for a living? Let's keep it short today, and we can sit down and chat sometime."

"Alright, let's get straight to the point..."

Today's test was a skills assessment, including spot shooting and shooting while in motion, ball handling and passing skills—all fundamental skills.

This is Tang Bei's absolute weakness. Apart from passing, receiving the ball, making layups, dunking, and footwork being decent, his performance in other areas is a complete mess. Many general managers and scouts who were watching have left, and his popularity in the rookie camp has declined significantly.

The remaining general managers are from the Mavericks, Hornets, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Washington Bullets, Rockets, Heat, and Lakers.

As a center, Tang Bei's shooting tests were conducted near the basket and in the middle of the paint, both of which were spot-up shots.

15 hook shots, 15 floaters, 15 field goals, 15 free throws, making 5, 5, 7, and 5 respectively. Most of the shots were close to the basket, and he rarely made two-pointers.

"Ha ha……"

Christine Lightner squeezed into the crowd, letting out a gleeful, mocking laugh.

When Mourning saw Tang Bei shoot, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Even Shaquille O'Neal breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Tang Bei's two-point shooting and free throws were worse than his own, and his mid-range shot was just as bad.

But Eric Fleischer confidently told the general managers:
"Gentlemen, Tang has just started professional basketball training. This is the result of a month of training after the CBA finals. I believe that given one or two seasons, he will have excellent mid-range shooting ability."

"A month?"

The general managers appeared calm on the surface, but each had their own thoughts.

Rockets general manager Steve Patterson asked, "Mr. Fleischer, Tang has very thick wrists and his free throws are terrible. Why do you think he can develop a mid-range shot?"

When this question was raised, the other general managers immediately looked over, clearly concerned as well. Insufficient wrist flexibility and agility affects passing accuracy, makes it difficult to precisely control passing power, and limits passing techniques.

Secondly, it affects shooting, resulting in slower release speed, less ideal shooting arc, and poor shooting feel.

Third, it affects dribbling, resulting in poor dribbling rhythm, poor ability to change direction while dribbling, and poor coordination between the player and the ball.

Fourth, it may affect the defense, such as blocking shots and making it difficult to block the opponent's passing lanes.

These effects are all important, so general managers pay close attention to them.

Fleischer smiled and said, "I thought so too when I did his physical test, but he immediately demonstrated the flexibility and agility of his wrists. How about I have him demonstrate it later?"

"OK."

The general managers nodded in agreement with great interest.

“Jerry, it’s nice to see you here,” Eric Fleischer said as he walked up to Jerry West.

He actually noticed it yesterday, but didn't say hello. Today, many general managers left, but West stayed, so he said hello.

Jerry West said somewhat awkwardly, "Hey, Eric."

At this moment, Tang Bei, who had finished the test, walked over and, at Fleischer's request, performed some flexible hand movements. He even made a gesture of bending his wrist towards his forearm, which surprised the onlookers.

"It's 100 degrees."

"For a center to have this angle is excellent."

Seeing the wrist bend towards the forearm, the general managers' eyes lit up.

For most people, this movement is between 90 and 100 degrees. People with insufficient flexibility may not even reach 90 degrees. Excellent basketball perimeter players can reach 110 degrees or even more.

Tang Bei, a heavy center weighing 135 kilograms, can achieve a 100-degree angle, which is extremely rare.

Jerry West then said, "Actually, Tang's passing accuracy is quite good, which shows that his wrist is indeed very flexible."

After saying that, he extended his right hand and said, "Hey, Tang, hello, I'm Jerry West, the Lakers' general manager."

He had strained his relationship with Tang last time, but he was very confident because no player could refuse the Lakers' overtures.

Tang Bei was somewhat surprised. This person had been hostile to him before, but now he was running to his side again. What was he trying to do?
Eric later spoke about this person, who was a very influential NBA legend.

He didn't really want to pay attention to it, but publicly antagonizing such a person would definitely have a huge negative impact on his audition.

Based on these complex feelings, he said somewhat coldly, "Hello, Mr. Jerry West."

Jerry West was very perceptive and immediately sensed Tang Bei's coldness. His deep-seated hatred for China surged up instantly, suppressing his rationality as a professional manager.

His expression turned cold, and he said unhappily, "Young man, you should be more humble."

Eric Fleischer's eyes flashed with displeasure, feeling that West's public suppression of his players was going too far.

John Liu glanced at Tang Bei with concern and translated, "Tang, he said you should be more humble."

Feeling the malice emanating from Jerry West, and after listening to John Liu's translation, Tang Bei's expression turned cold.

He learned martial arts from a young age, and his three true masters only taught him to take the straight path rather than the crooked one. They never taught him humility.

The nature bestowed upon him by Chinese civilization is one of neither arrogance nor servility; it has never taught him to be humble.

He stared intently at Jerry West, his energy and spirit surging, his aura powerful and sharp.

"What does this kid want to do?"

Jerry West's eyes narrowed involuntarily, and he unconsciously took a step back.

"humble?"

"I, Tang Bei, am upright and have no need to be humble to anyone."

As Tang Bei's thunderous voice rang out, everyone in the stadium turned to look.

"Well said, Tang Bei."

Lin Xiaoyan gave a thumbs up.

"Crack, click, click..."

Several general managers and scouts around them curiously observed the two, while some reporters kept pressing the shutter of their cameras.

John Liu was sweating profusely, very nervous, but he still managed to translate Tang Bei's words.

"Humph!"

Jerry West snorted and turned to leave.

"That's wonderful!"

Christine Lightner was delighted and particularly excited to see this.

(End of this chapter)