The longest river

Chapter 75 "Yang Shuai Will Surpass Richmond"

After a brief silence, deafening cheers erupted from the crowd.

This time, it wasn't just James; a large number of fans stood up and cheered for Yang Shuai's shot.

After that one play, it no longer matters whether Yang Shuai truly dominated Jackson back then.

This round also broke Jackson's defense.

After getting up, he became enraged and rushed behind Yang Shuai, shoving him.

Fortunately, Yang Shuai landed from a dunk, his center of gravity was low, so he wasn't pushed over.

This move prompted players from both sides to rush forward, and the shouts of the fans in the stadium quickly rose, as if another brawl like the one in the past was about to unfold on the field.

However, the referees eventually separated the two teams.

Just as Yang Shuai was the one who turned that match into a brawl, he was also the one who prevented this match from turning into a brawl.

As the person who was pushed by Jackson, he did not show any anger. Instead, after being pulled to the sidelines by the referee, he smiled and reached out in Jackson's direction.

That smile, paired with that expression, was the most silent mockery, as if to say: Look, he's broken down.

Jackson was eventually substituted by Motta, and still fuming, he almost got into a fight with Motta.

This also meant that Motta did not arrange for him and Yang Shuai to play together again in the subsequent match schedule.

In the end, the Pacers defeated the Mavericks 98-81, securing their first win after Christmas.

吉姆·杰克逊全场比赛下来15投5中得到12分5板2助攻4失误。

杨帅则再次打出高光表现，出场了27分钟的他14投9中高效砍下20分4板2抢断2盖帽。

Yang Shuai's outstanding performance led to her attendance at the post-match press conference once again.

The reporter naturally brought up the question that everyone was concerned about again.

After tonight's game, almost everyone has already accepted the fact that high school player Yang Shuai dominated NBA player Jackson, but they still hope to get a positive answer from Yang Shuai himself.

"I'm not going to focus on that anymore. Tonight, I'm more focused on and excited about what I did on the defensive end."

Yang Shuai has also put an end to that incident, and the smile on his face at this moment shows that he is genuinely happy.

The problem of defending high pick-and-rolls had plagued him for most of the season, but tonight that problem was finally solved.

The feeling of being cured of a stubborn ailment overnight is incredibly pleasant.

When Yang Shuai came out of the press conference, he was surprised to find the team's general manager, Walsh, waiting for him outside.

"We are preparing to put you on the All-Star voting shortlist."

Walsh came specifically to inform him of the news, which surprised Yang Shuai greatly.

The All-Star Game won't be held until February next year, but the first round of voting for the All-Star Game will begin at the end of December this year.

Moreover, unlike the era before Yang Shuai traveled back in time, the 90s were limited by the voting methods (paper mail and telephone voting), so the total number of votes would not be too many. In order to concentrate the votes, not every player would be on the shortlist, but rather each team would nominate them.

Moreover, there is a limit to the number of nominees and the number varies from team to team. The Pacers are a strong team, but they only have 3 nominees.

The other two spots are undoubtedly Miller and Schmitz, but the third spot would normally go to either McGee or Dale Davis.

Although, in reality, whoever gets this spot has no chance of being selected for the starting lineup.

In fact, even Miller would have a hard time, as the East's flanks are ridiculously strong these days.

Leaving aside Jordan and Pippen, there are two other Jordan successors, Grant Hill and "Penny" Hardaway, who are all vote-getting machines.

As for substitutes, Yang Shuai's current performance is not enough to qualify him.

Whether or not he was selected is not the point; the point is that the spot was given to Yang Shuai.

From trading away Mark Jackson to now giving Yang Shuai an All-Star nomination, everything reveals the management's preference for him.

Yang Shuai was naturally pleased with the news, and he smiled as he thanked the management for their trust in him.

He didn't care if this might provoke jealousy or resentment from McGee or others.

It's as if those people had been so good to him before.

The next day, news of Yang Shuai's stunning victory over Jackson made headlines in major newspapers.

Although Yang Shuai said he wouldn't pay attention, the media wouldn't let such an opportunity pass.

In the latest episode of "NBA Insider," Ernie Johnson invited renowned draft expert Jay Bilas to review the 1995 NBA Draft.

Bilas, a graduate of Duke University, is known for his ability to assess rookies based on tactical fit and technical details. He is famous for his sharp commentary and analysis of competitive potential, and is particularly adept at analyzing "high-risk, high-reward" players.

They analyzed the top prospects in the draft and revealed a lot of inside information about the draft.

Among them, Yang Shuai, who has recently become very popular, became the focus of their discussion.

Based on the information he had, Johnson compiled a list of teams that should be "extremely regretful" at this moment.

The Cavaliers, Heat, Mavericks, 76ers, and Kings are all on the list. The Cavaliers are at the top of this list, and if they had selected Young, Cleveland's basketball market would have exploded.

The Heat are ranked second because Riley's attempt to steal the player's signature was exposed and he was the one who was stolen from the team.

Furthermore, the Heat have a strong interior presence after acquiring Mourning this season, but their backcourt is weak because they traded Glen Rice in the Mourning deal.

If they had chosen Yang Shuai back then, the "MY combination" of Yang Shuai and Mourning would have sparked endless imagination.

The Mavericks and 76ers made the list for similar reasons: one's key player, whom they were focusing on developing, was outplayed by Yang Shuai, even though they could have used their 12th pick to acquire Yang Shuai.

The 76ers' third overall pick was completely outplayed by the 13th overall pick, making it hard not to wonder what would have happened if they had traded down the draft pick.

The most surprising team might be the Kings.

Although Yang Shuai was nominally drafted by the Kings, they had already made a trade with the Pacers before selecting him.

But Johnson and Billas still included the Kings on this list.

Among them, Bilas made a bold prediction.

"Five years from now, Hansen will be the best player in this year's draft, and the Kings will be remembered with shame because of this trade they made."

Even Johnson, who was standing next to him, seemed somewhat surprised by these remarks.

But what surprised him even more was Bilas's next statement.

"The Kings should have canceled the trade with the Pacers after drafting Hansen."

Since NBA trades require league approval before they can be officially completed, Bilas's statement is plausible.

“They already have an All-Star wing, Mitch Richmond,” Johnson reminded him.

"The Pacers also have Reggie Miller, and I think Richmond is a seriously overrated player. He was traded to the Kings in 1991 and has never led a team to the playoffs. Hansen's future achievements will be greater than his."

Johnson was genuinely shocked, considering that Richmond had been praised by Jordan as "the best shooting guard in the league besides me" during his rookie season.

Moreover, Richmond, who was at his peak, not only made the All-NBA Team last season but also won the All-Star Game MVP.

Because of Bilas's bold remarks, this episode has attracted strong attention from the outside world.

Vaccaro saw another opportunity and used his connections to promote the program extensively in the newspapers.

Yang Shuai's future achievements will surpass Richmond's, which has become a hot topic among fans after "Yang Shuai beat Jackson".

Even Richmond himself was asked about it by reporters after the match.

Vaccaro's move will undoubtedly put enormous pressure on Yang Shuai, after all, Richmond is an All-Star player, much stronger than the likes of Jim Jackson and Stackhouse.

However, Yang Shuai didn't care. After all, he had already played against Jordan, so why would he be afraid of Richmond?

Moreover, he still remembered the boos from the Kings fans when he was drafted by the team.

However, the Pacers' game against the Kings isn't until early February, so Yang Shuai still has time to continue improving his defensive skills.

It was around this time that Fisher arrived in Indianapolis.

Paul, who had always been by Ferrescher's side, also came along.

Ferreira brought two new endorsement contracts with him this time, and both of them were big deals.

The first contract was a beverage contract.

The largest portion of NBA players' off-court income naturally comes from shoe contracts, and the second largest source is beverages.

Jordan, for example, signed a 10-year, $1400 million endorsement deal with Gatorade in 1991.

Gatorade's "Be Like Mike" campaign for Jordan later became a huge hit, and in a sense, it also inspired young people to "become the next Jordan".

The contract that Fisher brought this time is from Sprite, a brand under Coca-Cola.

They offered a 5-year, $400 million contract, which, while smaller than Jordan's, was still an astronomical sum for a rookie.

More importantly, Sprite is the official soft drink of the NBA, so the risk for Yang Shuai is very small.

In choosing sponsors, Fisher, like his personality, prioritizes stability.

The other contract is with a car brand.

Just like with beverages, Fisher chose a very reliable brand: Ford Mustang.

The Mustang is a classic model series from Ford, and it sells well in the United States.

Ford offered a very good contract: a 5-year, $300 million endorsement deal.

Yang Shuai didn't have any major objections, but just as he was about to make a decision, Paul spoke up.

He didn't mean for Yang Shuai not to sign the two contracts, but rather he offered a suggestion.

"Compared to signing an endorsement contract directly, I think it would be better to take less money and get some sales commission or shares instead."

(End of this chapter)