The longest river

Chapter 124 All-Star Deputy Voting King
In this era, NBA All-Star voting was divided by position: two guards, two forwards, and one center.

After O'Neal went to the Western Conference, the center position became vacant, and Mutombo ultimately beat Mourning and Ewing to be selected as the starting center for the Eastern Conference.

As for the remaining four positions, last year's voting results basically illustrate the situation in the East.

Jordan and Pippen took two spots, leaving Hill and Anfernee Hardaway, the two "Jordan successors," for the remaining two.

The remaining players like Miller, Tim Hardaway, Glen Rice, and Allan Houston would have a hard time competing with them.

After all, in terms of popularity, these four perimeter players are currently the most popular in the Eastern Conference and even the entire league.

But in the end, Yang Shuai not only became the starting point guard in the East this year, but his votes were even second only to Jordan!
The reason for this outcome is, of course, Stern's earlier announcement that All-Star voting would be open to overseas audiences.

Although computer penetration wasn't very high back then, especially in China, it was only available in some large cities.

But the sheer size of the domestic population is overwhelming.

Moreover, domestic fans voted for Yang Shuai not only because he is an Asian player, after all, there are some barriers to communication between countries these days.

This is mainly due to the previous summer league.

The national team's participation in the Summer League was also part of Stern's overseas market plan, and that game was broadcast live in China.

This was the first time many people had ever watched an NBA game, and it was in that game that Yang Shuai left a deep impression on them, as it was the first time they had ever seen an Asian player play in the NBA.

This means that Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi may enter the NBA in the future.

Yang Shuai's polite demeanor before and after the match touched their hearts.

We Chinese are all humble and polite, so we naturally like players who are polite.

So when the NBA first opened up voting rights to China, it was only natural to vote for Yang Shuai when you had a vote in your hand.

And don't forget the other two Asian markets that were opened at the same time; they have more voters, and they will also vote for Yang Shuai, an Asian player.

This immediately sparked fierce controversy from the outside world.

Because this made them feel that it was extremely unfair.

During his appearance on the latest episode of "NBA Insider," Abbott expressed strong protest against the result.

"The NBA's market is based in the United States. Their overseas expansion was only to broaden the league's influence. But now, the overseas market is determining the domestic results, which goes against the original intention."

"Furthermore, can we be sure how many people in overseas markets will watch our All-Star game? Do they have the capacity to do so? If people vote but don't watch, then the result is meaningless."

"And who would think that high schooler deserves to start more than Anfernee Hardaway, Scottie Pippen, or Grant Hill? He's not even the Pacers' franchise player. It's so unfair."

……

Albert's views were also agreed upon by many fans and players.

Fox Sports even conducted a survey on this, which showed that 74% of fans believed Yang Shuai did not deserve to be an All-Star starter.

Some even brought up Richmond's "businessman player" theory from last season, arguing that Yang Shuai's selection as an All-Star starter was part of the league's overseas business plan, which is business, not basketball.

It's unacceptable for a domestic league to be dictated by overseas fans, especially those living in the "beacon of hope."

The Pacers are about to face the Jazz. After the team arrived, Derek Fisher also came to Salt Lake City with his KFC endorsement contract.

Moreover, this is a huge endorsement contract with an annual salary of up to 200 million.

Although Yang Shuai's selection for the All-Star team has sparked huge controversy, for these brands, all they see is Yang Shuai's popularity and the enormous commercial potential behind him.

KFC had already entered Asia, including China in 1987, but the market had not been opened up. Yang Shuai was undoubtedly a huge breakthrough.

Paul came along with Ferrescher.

He learned very quickly, and in just over a year he had become one of Ferrescher's right-hand men.

Because of him, the contract included some sales incentive clauses, such as how much sales Yang Shuai would receive as a bonus if the sales in China reached a certain level.

After settling the contract, Paul also talked to Yang about his All-Star selection.

"You're probably not going to have a good season from now on."

Yang Shuai is currently enjoying immense popularity, and he is clearly "unworthy of his position." Anyone would probably want to bring him down.

"I've never been well."

Yang Shuai remained calm, though he was secretly overjoyed.

Just like the huge poster Reebok put up for him during the Summer League, this will save him a lot of criticism.

Hearing Yang Shuai say that, Paul couldn't help but laugh.

That statement is absolutely correct. Not to mention people like Albert, even Yang Shuai almost had his mentality blown off by Brown during his rookie season.

"But you still have to be careful. If they can't beat you in a head-on match, they might resort to some dirty tricks."

Paul was still very shrewd.

Yang Shuai can now make Jordan suffer on the defensive end, and there are very few players in the league who can score against him.

More often than not, we're investing heavily in defense to limit Yang Shuai's performance, just like we are now.

But if that doesn't work, it's hard to prevent them from having bad intentions.

To take a recent example, the "Bad Boys" were the only ones who could withstand Jordan's brilliance; otherwise, anyone else would have been ruined and disappeared from the NBA long ago.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Although it wasn't Yang Shuai's own idea, he's already become the nail.

Yang Shuai nodded.

Paul's reminder is not without merit.

Small actions are common in this day and age, but if these small actions are not controlled to a certain extent, they can become acts of violence.

This is also one of the reasons why players in this era generally have shorter careers than those in the era before Yang Shuai traveled back in time.

Actually, let's not even talk about this era. Back in 2000, Carter was brought down from his pedestal only after being hit three times by Bowen. And let's not talk about anyone being afraid of anything.

In terms of sheer scale, Carter was once known as "the man who saved the NBA," which was a much bigger scale than what he has now. He could even be considered the NBA's golden brand, but he still ended up in his twilight years.

People have their own agendas, and they don't care about the big picture or the big picture.

On the day of the game, the Jazz held an open practice at the arena in the morning.

After training, the team's leader, Karl Malone, known for his toughness, was asked by reporters about Yang Shuai's selection to the All-Star team.

"That's cheating."

Ma Long shouldn't be too direct.

“Our votes are earned one by one, but he’s taking shortcuts; he’s not a true All-Star.”

The Pacers' warm-up practice was in the afternoon.

As soon as Yang Shuai finished training, he was surrounded by reporters.

He is now like a firefly in the dark, attracting attention wherever he goes.

Then a reporter relayed Ma Long's words to him verbatim and asked him for his opinion.

How could he see that?
Of course, we'll watch it standing up!

However, Yang Shuai was indeed somewhat surprised.

If it were against the Heat, Mourning's complaints would be understandable.

After all, his starting position conflicts somewhat with Tim Hardaway's, so it's reasonable for Mourning to speak up for his teammate.

But you, Malone, are from the West, this has nothing to do with you, so why are you spouting nonsense?

He originally wanted to directly confront Malone about stealing Jordan's MVP award, but then he realized that the matter hadn't actually happened yet.

Was he questioning Mr. Stern's decision?

Yang Shuai's answer stunned the reporter.

"Remember to report the truth. Karl Malone believes the league's current decisions are helping players cheat."

Seeing the reporter's stunned expression, Yang Shuai thoughtfully reminded her to remember to take notes.

Yang Shuai's actions perfectly illustrate his current attitude towards this kind of thing.

If you're so capable, go to the New York headquarters and criticize Stern!

That night, the Delta Air Lines Center was packed to capacity.

The Jazz have been a Western Conference powerhouse since they formed the "Utah Twins" in the 80s, but they always seem to fall short.

In the 1994-1995 season, they achieved a franchise-best 60 wins, only to be upset by the Rockets in the first round, becoming the backdrop for the saying "Never underestimate the heart of a champion."

Last season they came back strong, but ultimately fell short in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, just before the NBA Finals.

However, this season is their best chance yet. They currently hold the top spot in the Western Conference, ahead of strong teams like the Rockets, SuperSonics, and Lakers.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, they should be able to reach the finals for the first time this year.

Moreover, Salt Lake City is a gathering place for the Mormon Church, and fans generally have a high level of loyalty to the team, resulting in consistently high attendance.

Given that it's the weekend, the packed house was to be expected.

When Yang Shuai entered the stadium, he quickly felt a sense of unease.

The Jazz's home arena is one of the most unique in the NBA.

One reason is that it is located at a high altitude, 1297 meters, which has a significant impact even on professional athletes.

Another aspect is the unique design of this stadium. Its slope is greater than other stadiums, creating a "canyon effect" that causes the fans' voices to continuously converge towards the court.

"Negative energy from Karl Malone +521".

While warming up, Yang Shuai suddenly heard a system notification in his mind.

He turned his head and saw that Malone in the next half of the court was staring at him.

How to describe that longing look in their eyes?

Yang Shuai had only ever seen such things in the perverted pedophiles in movies before.

He couldn't help but get goosebumps.

With his muscular physique, Ma Long looks like a bodybuilding champion. Could he actually be a pedophile in private?
If that were the case, it would be truly disgusting.

He recalled a news story he had seen in his past life about Karl Malone harassing Kobe's wife Vanessa, which caused discord among the F4.

This guy deserves to never win a championship in his life.

After venting a string of complaints filled with personal bias, Yang Shuai turned back around.

Objectively speaking, unlike O'Neal's actions which were driven by racial prejudice, Malone's feelings towards him stemmed from a deep-seated dislike.

It's worth noting that although Malone was selected for the All-Star team in the past two seasons, he was not a starting player.

Now that Yang Shuai has been selected for the starting lineup so easily, there's no way he can be at peace with himself.

However, this was exactly what Yang Shuai wanted.

This was the opportunity he had previously thought he could gain points without having to talk so much.

-Dividing line-

①: Jordan 245 million votes, Yang Shuai 178 million votes, Hill 135 million votes
(End of this chapter)