Basketball miracles

Chapter 20 [Highly Recommended]

The following day, there were many sports news reports about Xiao Tu, most of which were positive. Only a few media outlets thought his basketball skills were rough and that it was too early to call him an All-Star level player.

There are always people who like to nitpick, but Lakers fans believe that Xiao Tu is very strong right now, and the data speaks for itself.

To put it bluntly, the NBA's interior players in the 80s were generally weak, and Xiao Tu only needed to master a few skills to make a name for himself.

With a physical strength as high as Xiao Tu's, he doesn't even need any skills.

Xiao Tu became even more confident after reading the news; this was just the beginning. His real moment would come when he, as a rookie, dominated the Celtics' star player, Larry Bird—that would be when all of America would recognize him.

Yes, Xiao Tu wants to crush Bird.

He was convinced he could do it; given his overwhelming physical superiority, he couldn't imagine how his opponent could defend against him.

In the NBA, physical attributes are always the most important, followed by skills.

Did Rodman have any skills? He only started playing basketball in high school, and with shoes on, he was 201cm tall and weighed less than 100kg. With that kind of physique, playing power forward, he relied on his speed and hustle to average 18.7 rebounds per game in his peak season.

Barkley, who is 198cm tall, played power forward and was a rebounding expert throughout his career, winning the regular season MVP award.

When Xiao Tu was researching in 2003, he discovered that none of the NBA players with good physical abilities in the 80s did poorly.

Leaving aside the few high-flying superstars, the overall physical attributes of NBA players are generally average; some are even like ordinary office workers.

It's not just fringe players, it's also core players. Even one of the league's current icons, Bird, wasn't fast or high-jumping, but his strengths lay in his accurate shooting, skillful technique, and basketball IQ.

Currently, Xiao Tu's physical attributes surpass those of Barkley, who is known as "Flying Pig," and his static talent is also better than Barkley's, making him a monster-like existence.

Next, the Lakers will face the Cavaliers, Spurs, Jazz, and Clippers, none of whom are particularly strong opponents.

The Lakers easily achieved an eight-game winning streak, and Xiao Tu's performance shocked the entire league, recording double-doubles in every game.

Xiao Tu didn't score much in three games, but he was really solid at rebounding. If he keeps this up, he can become the rebounding king in his rookie season.

Jazz center Mark Eaton, nicknamed "The Mammoth," is 224cm tall, weighs 132kg, and has a wingspan of 240cm. However, he repeatedly lost out to Xiao Tu in rebounding battles, and Xiao Tu performed better in their matchups for a period of time.

Simply being tall isn't enough to stop Xiao Tu; his mobility is terrifying. He can hold his own against Eaton even in a mismatch situation. Eaton is just tall, but lacks explosiveness and isn't good at dribbling and attacking with the ball.

Due to extensive media coverage, all teams have learned some information about Xiao Tu and have figured out his offensive tactics.

To limit Xiao Tu's performance, someone needs to closely guard him and prevent him from getting going. He has incredible power when facing the basket, and his drives to the rim, whether dunking or laying up, are difficult to defend. However, his catch-and-shoot percentage is somewhat lower.

Xiao Tu charged forward on the counterattack, and his opponents could only try their best to defend him, unable to stay close.

Another drawback of closely guarding Xiao Tu is that it's difficult for power forwards to switch onto pick-and-rolls, giving Magic Johnson many opportunities to drive and shoot.

Xiao Tu's weaknesses are equally apparent: he is not good at attacking with the ball, and he rarely plays face-up or back-to-the-basket. This greatly reduces his threat in half-court offense, making him reliant on passes from his teammates.

Xiao Tu scored 22 points against the Spurs because he grabbed 21 rebounds, including 10 offensive rebounds, and scored 12 points on second-chance opportunities.

The Spurs' weakness at the power forward position was obvious. The starting power forward who matched up against Xiao Tu, Jenner Banks, was only 201 cm tall and weighed 98 kg. He was selected by the Spurs in the second round, fifth overall pick in 1981.

Judging from his draft position, you could tell this black player's talent was average. Xiao Tu grabbed many offensive rebounds over him, and once even completed a two-handed putback dunk.

In just eight games during his rookie season, Xiao Tu had three double-double performances, making him the most eye-catching rookie.

Renowned stars like Moses Malone and Larry Bird have begun to take Xiao Tu seriously, recognizing him as an excellent challenger. In an interview, Moses Malone commented, "Sebatis Ann Shaw is the most competitive rookie this season, much like myself when I first started playing professionally. He's already a star inside player, and I'm looking forward to competing against him."

Multiple media outlets immediately began hyping up the matchup between the two, much like Moses Malone's challenge to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar years ago. While the Lakers won't be facing the 76ers in the East for the time being, Xiao Tu is being compared to a superstar.

Both Xiao Tu and Moses Malone entered the professional league after graduating from high school, but Xiao Tu is now receiving far more attention than Moses Malone did back then. Malone initially played two seasons in the ABA league before finally joining the Rockets in the 1976-77 season after the two leagues merged.

Moses Malone has won the rebounding title for four consecutive seasons and five times in his career, with a peak season of 1978-79 where he averaged 17.6 rebounds per game.

Since the start of this season, Xiao Tu has averaged 16 rebounds per game, surpassing Malone's 13.5. He certainly has the qualifications to challenge superstars; even Malone back in the day wasn't known for his ball-handling offense.

Born in 1955, Malone is 29 years old this year and is still in his prime. The rookie challenging Malone is very eye-catching for fans.

The media gave it extensive coverage, with CEO David Stern pulling the strings behind the scenes. He was extremely optimistic about Xiao Tu's future, mainly because Xiao Tu had an outstanding appearance and a celebrity-like face.

Judging solely by appearance, Xiao Tu is in a league of his own in the NBA; there's no one currently active who can be compared to him. The other stars are a bunch of oddballs; there are some handsome ones, but their skills are only those of role players.

Among this year's rookies, Stern tends to favor Shawn Tu, followed by Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.

Jordan's leading position in shoe endorsement contracts was a key reason why Stern favored him.

Previously, both Converse and Adidas, the two giants, showed no interest in rookie Jordan and were unwilling to offer him a shoe contract. Nike, on the verge of bankruptcy, surprisingly offered Jordan a five-year, $2.5 million endorsement deal, which was widely ridiculed. It's worth noting that endorsement deals for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird typically cost only two or three hundred thousand dollars.

In addition, Jordan's playing style is captivating, and he is currently the highest scorer among the three rookies.

Hakeem Olajuwon, the number one draft pick, has the lowest popularity among the three. His strengths are consistent performance and being a double-double machine. Stern doesn't see any appealing qualities in him for fans at the moment, and his personality is somewhat boring.

The three rookies shared the common trait of exceptional physical abilities, far surpassing those of ordinary players. Stern aimed to promote the NBA as an extreme sport by making them famous.

American fans love individual heroism and enjoy watching physically outstanding stars. Stern will continue to uphold this vision, firmly believing that the NBA will become a super sports league in the future.

Xiao Tu opened all four winning bronze treasure chests, obtaining two intermediate physical fitness training halos, one dribbling skills training halo, and a watermelon.

He trains very hard and usually uses his fame to his advantage.

He knew the treasure chest could be taken to other worlds, but he was too lazy to save it. He wanted to use the rewards as soon as they came, hoping to quickly improve his strength and achieve better stats.

Once the regular season started, he didn't want to repeat the 2003 approach of using a much weaker small forward to improve his physical attributes and maximize his potential. Playing the entire season consecutively would be beneficial for him, allowing him to accumulate a wealth of game experience.

If he wins a championship with the Lakers, he will be a star player with championship experience, and his mentality will undergo a transformation.

Xiao Tu's popularity continues to rise, with multiple media outlets predicting that he will be selected for the Western Conference All-Star team in his rookie season and will be voted by fans to be the starting forward.

The inclusion of the Rockets' two interior stars in the All-Star voting has sparked controversy. Hakeem Olajuwon, officially listed at 213cm, is nominated as a center, while Ralph Sampson, at 224cm, is nominated as a forward.

Players over 2.2 meters tall are considered giants even in the NBA, a league full of tall players. It's absurd to classify Sampson, the second tallest player in the league, as a power forward.

Lakers fans suspect that the Rockets' decision to register Sampson in this way is intended to suppress Xiao Tu and prevent him from becoming a starter in the Western Conference.

Sampson, the number one draft pick in 1983, was very popular after entering the league. Last season, his popularity at the center position was only slightly less than that of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and he was selected as a Western Conference All-Star as a reserve.

This seems a bit redundant. As this year's number one draft pick, Hakeem Olajuwon will inevitably be compared to Xiao Tu no matter what. And it seems unlikely that he could beat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the Western Conference starter in the center selection.

Regardless, Xiao Tu's popularity is the envy of many rookies. Many businesses want to have him shoot commercials, and one company even contacted him through the Lakers' management.

(End of this chapter)