Reborn in 96, I started by taking charge of the Dallas Mavericks.

Although he didn't manage to acquire Uncle Huo, Chen Fang successfully obtained Curry's father, Dell Curry, from the Hornets.

If he can find a way to improve his relationship with Curry in the future, he might be able to get a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

Only the Trail Blazers have yet to respond.

Two more days passed before news finally came from the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers agreed to trade Rasheed Wallace, but the Mavericks had to give up Zydrunas Ilgauskas and a first-round pick next year.

Chen Fang can afford to give up the first-round pick, since the Mavericks' record will be good for the next few years anyway, and their own first-round pick is not worth much.

But Chen Fang was unwilling to pay the price.

The Mavericks' bench strength was already weak, and if they traded Zydrunas Ilgauskas for Rasheed Wallace, it would be a one-for-one trade plus a first-round pick.

This deal was clearly a loss for the small bull, and Chen Fang was naturally not happy with a losing trade.

His original plan was to trade for Rasheed Wallace, have him and Ben Wallace form the starting frontcourt, and put Zydrunas Ilgauskas on the bench to replace Shawn Bradley.

If they trade away Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Mavericks' bench strength will not only not be improved, but may even be weakened.

After thinking it over, Chen Fang told Don Nelson, "Tang, tell the Trail Blazers that we can trade one of Shawn Bradley's first-round picks next year for Rasheed Wallace."

Although Sean Bradley is currently injured, the injury is not serious, and he can return to play after a month of rest.

Moreover, Shawn Bradley is fully capable of starting at center, and he has more experience than Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

After receiving Chen Fang's instructions, Nelson immediately called the Trail Blazers' general manager to convey Chen Fang's message.

After evaluation, the Trail Blazers ultimately agreed to the trade.

On January 7, after the trade was completed, Stephen Curry and Rasheed Wallace made their debuts with the Mavericks.

The Dallas Mavericks will play against the New York Knicks on the road.

Rasheed Wallace replaced Zydrunas Ilgauskas as the starting center, partnering with Ben Wallace in the paint.

Stephen Curry will play as the sixth man.

Both players delivered exceptionally efficient performances in their first game representing the Mavericks.

The Mavericks ultimately defeated the New York Knicks on the road, extending their winning streak to four games.

After that, the Mavericks gradually found their rhythm, defeating strong opponents on January 8, January 11, and January 13, achieving a seven-game winning streak.

And with this seven-game winning streak, the Mavericks have once again climbed to the top of the Western Conference.

In mid-January, the annual All-Star voting officially began!

Voting will begin on January 15th and continue until the end of the month, giving voters two weeks to vote.

The All-Star Game in the 1990s was different from later ones. Instead of voting for the two team captains and then having them choose their players, the voting was based on their positions on the court, and whoever received the most votes became the starter for the All-Star Game.

Based on on-court positions, the NBA officially defines three positions: center, forward, and guard.

One center will be selected, and the top two forwards and guards will be selected.

If a player is injured and unable to participate, the spot will be taken by the next player in line.

In his previous life, Kobe failed to make the All-Star team in his rookie season. After all, Kobe was just a bench player for the Lakers at the time, averaging only 7.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.

Such data is certainly not enough to sway fans to vote for him.

However, in this life, with Chen Fang's help, Kobe became the core of the team in his first season as a rookie and served as the team's starting shooting guard. He also had many 40+10 performances and even a highlight moment of scoring 75 points in a single game.

It can be said that from the start of the season, Kobe became an NBA superstar and a future superstar, with popularity no less than that of veteran stars.

Chen Fang believes that with Kobe's current strength and popularity, making it into the All-Star team is definitely not a problem, but whether he can make the starting lineup is another matter.

But that's okay.

Don't forget that Kobe's boss was Chen Fang, and behind Chen Fang stood hundreds of millions of Chinese compatriots.

To help Kobe secure a starting position in the Western Conference All-Star Game, Chen Fang specifically contacted CCTV Sports Channel.

Ask them to promote Kobe as much as possible during the broadcasts of Mavericks games, and incidentally, to help him garner votes.

In addition, Chen Fang also notified Anta.

Fans who voted for Kobe can enjoy a 85% discount when purchasing Anta products.

This move was incredibly effective; from the day All-Star voting began, Kobe's votes skyrocketed.

The only one who can rival him is the basketball god, Michael Jordan.

Chen Fang recalls that in the original timeline, this year's All-Star vote leader was Jordan.

But now that Kobe is an unpredictable factor, it's really hard to say who will be the top vote-getter this year.

……

While All-Star voting was in full swing, the NBA regular season continued as usual.

The Mavericks, riding a seven-game winning streak, continued their consistent performance in the following games, maintaining their winning streak.

January 19, US time.

Just as the Mavericks defeated the Nuggets to achieve their 10th consecutive win, the NBA officially announced the first round of voting results for the 1997 Cleveland All-Star Weekend on the same day.

Kobe Bryant holds a commanding lead in the Western Conference with 130 million votes, trailing Michael Jordan by less than 5 votes.

It's worth noting that last year's vote leader, Grant Hill, only received 135 votes to become the top vote-getter, while this year Kobe almost broke the record in just the first round of voting.

The All-Star voting has four rounds, and based on the current trend, it's a foregone conclusion that Kobe will be selected as the starting point guard for the Western Conference.

However, Chen Fang was not satisfied with this; he wanted to help Kobe win the vote leader title this year.

Chen Fang then continued his efforts, promoting a voting discount campaign worldwide.

Soon, Kobe's votes were skyrocketing at a visible rate.

By the end of the second round, Kobe's votes had surpassed 200 million, making him the first player in NBA history to reach 200 million votes.

At this point, Kobe's votes had surpassed Jordan's, leading by nearly 50 votes, and the gap was widening.

In the third and fourth rounds, Kobe's votes remained far ahead of all other players.

When the voting ended, Kobe's final vote count reached an astonishing 485 million, more than double that of second-place Jordan.

It's worth noting that Jordan received 234 million votes this year, which is already a record high.

But Kobe's vote count was even more terrifying: 485 million!!!

It has more than one more than Jordan's!!!

Absolutely terrifying!!!

All of this is thanks to Chen Fang. If it weren't for Chen Fang's secret help, Kobe probably wouldn't have been able to defeat Jordan.

Besides Kobe Bryant's overwhelming victory as this year's All-Star vote leader,

With 234 million votes, Jordan became the second player in NBA history to surpass 200 million votes, finishing second.

Third on the list is last year's Charles Barkley, but unfortunately he will miss All-Star Weekend due to injury.

Fourth is Grant Hill, last year's top vote-getter.

It's worth mentioning that with the end of All-Star voting, the coaching staff for the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star teams has also been finalized.

The coach of the Eastern Conference All-Stars is Phil Jackson, the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, who are currently ranked first in the Eastern Conference.

The coach of the Western All-Star team is none other than Chen Fang, the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks.