The longest river

Chapter 59 Eddie Johnson's Good Friday
"You mean you joined Reebok?!"

Yang Shuai's eyes widened in surprise. He had thought of everything Vaccaro might say, but this was the one thing he never expected.

However, upon further reflection, he felt that it made perfect sense.

Vaccaro designed a series of plans for him, but they came to an abrupt end due to the betrayal by Adidas headquarters. Now that Vaccaro has switched to Reebok, isn't that just a continuation of those plans?
Vaccaro smiled and nodded: "I'll be in charge of your project now."

"That's great!" Yang Shuai couldn't hide his joy when he heard this.

Ultimately, whether it's Nike, Adidas, or Reebok, it doesn't really make a difference to Yang Shuai; it's more about business.

The person he truly had a bond with was Vaccaro.

After all, if it weren't for Vaccaro's publicity and promotion, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to sign such a big endorsement contract with Reebok.

Now that Vaccaro has joined Reebok and is in charge of his projects, his previously suppressed emotions have been instantly released.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. No one is asking you to perform well in your rookie season. High school players need time to develop."

Seeing Yang Shuai's change in mood, Vaccaro tried to persuade him.

"To put it another way, this isn't your only place to stay. If it's really not suitable, we can always find another place."

He also reassured Yang Shuai.

This is also what makes Yang Shuai different from other rookies. After signing a big contract with Reebok, his team has a certain amount of influence over the team.

Yang Shuai nodded.

He hadn't considered the option of trading before, not because he hadn't thought about it, but because of the prevailing social norms of the time.

Having already decided to report here, the fact that they are now proactively requesting a trade will likely be seen as "disloyal" by the general managers.

So that's the last resort, and we won't choose it unless absolutely necessary.

However, Vaccaro mentioning this option now has indeed reassured him quite a bit.

Or rather, with Vaccaro helping him deal with off-field issues, he can focus his energy on the field.

The NBA schedule is very tight. The Pacers boarded a plane back to Indiana early the next morning. After a day of rest, they will have a back-to-back home game.

However, during the afternoon training session, Yang Shuai noticed that his teammates were looking at him in a strange way.

I felt a mixture of envy and jealousy.

During a break in training, he chatted with Scott and learned that several mainstream media outlets, including Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, and Newsweek, had published footage of him dunking over Rodman that day.

Furthermore, the Sports Illustrated article used the headline "Yellow People Can Fly Too," which was quite eye-catching.

Vaccaro has only just joined Reebok, yet he's already demonstrating his immense energy once again.

"Don't worry about what others think, you really did it."

Scott was happy for Yang Shuai.

Being dunked on is a common occurrence in the NBA, but only a handful of players have ever managed to dunk on Dennis Rodman.

It's worth noting that in addition to four rebounding titles and two championship rings, Rodman also had two Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Ultimately, publicity and hype are just a means to an end, just like when Vaccaro promoted Yang Shuai's supposed victory over Jim Jackson. The premise is that Yang Shuai could actually go toe-to-toe with Jackson.

The Pacers' home opener will be against the SuperSonics.

The SuperSonics have been a Western Conference powerhouse for years, led by a formidable trio of "The Glove" Payton, "The Rain Man" Kemp, and German legend Detlef Schremf.

The Pacers failed to secure a home win, being outplayed on both ends of the court and ultimately losing 84-95, suffering their second consecutive defeat to start the season.

They had no time to adjust, and immediately faced the Hawks in a back-to-back game.

Compared to their previous opponents, the Bulls and SuperSonics, the Hawks are clearly weaker.

However, the Pacers were in an unusually poor performance in this game, scoring only 73 points and ultimately losing to the Hawks.

They started the season with three consecutive losses, and to make matters worse, they will embark on a long six-game road trip in just two days.

Based on the current trend, they could easily suffer a four-game losing streak, a five-game losing streak, or even a longer losing streak if they are not careful.

This put the Pacers under unprecedented pressure.

Last season they were an Eastern Conference Finals team, and winning the championship is their goal this season. But with this kind of start, even they can't associate themselves with the word "championship".

Yang Shuai is also under considerable pressure.

After having a chance to play in the opening game, he did not get a chance to play in the two back-to-back home games.

Just like during the preseason, he still couldn't figure out Brown's rotation principles.

He could only interpret it as Brown "not liking to use rookies," since Best and Hoiberg didn't get any playing time either.

This also aligns with his stereotype: his father disliked Brown because he liked Iverson, and had shared classic stories about Brown and Milicic with him.

However, watching the team struggle while he could only sit on the bench was driving him crazy.

He can only vent his emotions through training.

Before the team's official morning training session began, he and Di Francesco went to the stadium for extra practice.

After training, Yang Shuai returned to the locker room to rest.

At this point, players began to enter the locker room one after another.

When they saw Yang Shuai, who was drenched in sweat, their eyes showed a look of surprise.

"If Mark were still on the team, that would be great." As more and more players entered the locker room, some people started chatting.

"Isn't it all because of that high school student? If it weren't for him, Mark would have been sent away?" A harsh voice entered Yang Shuai's ears.

Yang Shuai looked up and saw Johnson's smug face.

"He gets hyped up by the media just for dunking, but he can't help at all. He's really useless."

Johnson noticed Yang Shuai's gaze, but continued speaking while still looking at Yang Shuai. Yang Shuai immediately stood up and walked towards Johnson.

"What do you want to do?" Johnson's eyes widened.

"I know you've been looking down on me ever since the opening banquet. Coincidentally, I feel the same way. How about we have a fight?"

"Negative energy from Eddie Johnson +444".

Johnson's expression changed drastically.

He's played in the league for over ten years and has never seen anyone do it this way.

However, in all his years playing in the league, he had never encountered a high school rookie before.

Of course, more importantly, Yang Shuai is a ruthless guy who dares to directly take down Rodman, so you really have to think twice before fighting him.

Seeing this, the others in the locker room stood up and gathered around, ready to break up the fight if it broke out.

"Or, let's go to the training facility right now and have a one-on-one match. The loser will shut up forever." Seeing that Johnson was hesitant, Yang Shuai offered another suggestion.

"Who's as childish as a high school student?"

Johnson had also heard the story of Yang Shuai beating Jim Jackson back in high school.

"You're too scared to fight, you're too scared to duel one-on-one, so what are you doing here spouting nonsense!"

Yang Shuai sprayed Johnson's face with spittle.

"Negative energy from Eddie Johnson +478".

“You!” Johnson’s face flushed red.

Everyone else in the locker room was dumbfounded. Is this what high school students are like?
After they came to their senses, they quickly came over and separated the two, mainly to give Johnson a way out.

"Be a coward and hide, or I'll beat you up next time!"

Yang Shuai was indeed fed up with Johnson. Although the other party could provide him with some points from time to time, no one likes having a fly constantly buzzing around.

"One-on-one! Let's go have a one-on-one fight right now!"

Johnson also stood up, slapping his chair. The atmosphere had reached a point where he had no choice but to vote.

Yang Shuai gave Johnson the middle finger, then shook off his hand and walked out of the locker room.

Soon after, the others also arrived at the training hall.

Even Scott came.

He tried to step forward to persuade them, but was held back by the others.

The one-on-one match between the two began quickly, with Johnson winning the first possession with a free throw.

He scored his first basket with a layup after a drive and then followed it up with a pull-up mid-range jumper.

"Screw the high schoolers!" Johnson shouted excitedly after scoring two goals in a row.

He now thinks that Yang Shuai beating Jim Jackson is completely fake.

Some players on the sidelines were also jeering.

From the previous conversation, it's clear that many of them, like Scott initially said, believe that Yang Shuai is the one who caused the team to become what it is today.

However, the sidelines quickly quieted down as Yang Shuai began to guard Johnson closely.

Johnson tried to force a change of direction to get past Yang Shuai, but Yang Shuai seized the opportunity and stole the ball the moment he started moving.

"You can't even beat a high school student?!"

Yang Shuai bumped into Johnson after getting the ball.

The two had barely started their one-on-one duel when it was already brimming with tension.

The ball possession changed hands, and it was at this moment that Yang Shuai showed Johnson what a devastating attack was all about.

He used a convincing three-point shot fake to force Johnson to move forward, then used a crossover to easily break through Johnson and score a layup to open the scoring.

In the very next possession, he used a fake drive to hit a three-pointer.

Then came another three-pointer.

After Johnson was forced to defend, he spun around and violently passed the ball over Johnson, delivering a tomahawk dunk right before Johnson's eyes.

In fact, it was evident from the previous training camp scrimmage that Yang Shuai outpaced the veteran Johnson in terms of physical talent, and his speed was a level faster than Johnson's.

Moreover, so much time has passed since training camp, and he has basically adapted to the level of competition in the NBA.

Not to mention one-on-one fights, he's been fighting ever since he transmigrated.

Especially in high school games, where there are few tactics, it's impossible to become the core of a team if you're not strong in one-on-one situations.

Therefore, whether in terms of experience or skills in one-on-one matches, Yang Shuai is in no way inferior to Johnson.

Even in a one-on-one situation, no one on the Pacers team is confident of beating Yang Shuai.

Johnson couldn't stop Yang Shuai, and he lost face in front of his teammates, so his defensive actions became increasingly aggressive.

In the end, he forcefully ripped Yang Shuai's jersey from behind as Yang Shuai was making a layup.

The blow was very strong, not only tearing Yang Shuai's jersey but also nearly knocking him over.

Yang Shuai was already seething with anger, so he turned around and delivered a hook punch to Johnson's left cheek.

"boom!"

Johnson couldn't dodge in time and was knocked to the ground with a single punch.

(End of this chapter)