NBA: A collection of super busts

"I don't know." Faced with this question, Ye Feng spread his hands and said, "Because I don't know where to register, nor how to join the national team. I haven't been back to China for a long time, and I really know nothing about these things."

"So, if the national team extended an invitation to you to join the team and play for your country, you would agree, right?"

Ye Feng nodded and said, "Of course! Just one phone call, one email, or a word from an acquaintance and I'll be there immediately! I'll even send my resume as soon as I know where to register, and then start working hard from the selection team."

"Great! Chinese fans will be so happy!" The reporter laughed without any attempt to hide his joy. "It's a deal, see you in Athens next year!"

"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond." Ye Feng said this in Mandarin, and as he spoke, he reached out and patted the Chinese reporter on the shoulder.

Then, the somewhat thin Chinese reporter was pushed to the back, unable to ask any more questions. Ye Feng then realized he had even forgotten to ask the reporter's name...

But that's not important.

She's not a girl.

The tumultuous interviews lasted almost the entire morning before finally ending, but the players' nightmare wasn't over yet; they still had to take their official photos.

The whole team, individuals, two or three high-profile guys taking photos together, the players considered to be the starting five for the new season taking photos together, people of similar height taking photos together...

The photo session was even more despairing for Ye Feng than the interview session. When the reporters and photographers finally let the players leave, Ye Feng felt like he was about to burst out laughing.

This damn media day was exhausting!

The players then went to rest and eat. By the time they finally regrouped at the stadium, it was already 5 p.m.

Brown, standing in the middle, was clearly in a bad mood. The old man had just yelled at the photographers: "If my wife knew I'd been here taking pictures with you guys for three hours, she'd kill me."

"Our wedding photos only took an hour to take back then."

Now, his planned afternoon training session is obviously ruined and cannot proceed.

Brown, who is always meticulous, hates nothing more than having his plans disrupted.

"This damn media day!" Brown cursed, then quickly composed himself and swept his authoritative gaze over all the players in the room.

His imposing aura silenced James, Williams, and the others who had been whispering, and they waited for the old man to reprimand them.

"Anyway, the new season has begun." Brown's voice was hoarse but extremely penetrating. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear every word he said clearly: "This season will be a transformative one for us, a season that leads us to success."

"I'm 71 years old. I can't afford to be in the lottery or finish at the bottom. I'm here to lead everyone to victory and get the team back on track. So, I will be incredibly strict with the upcoming training camp! I demand this of everyone, everyone!"

"Play according to my tactics and instructions. I don't care if you're All-Stars or streetballers, I don't care if you're the MOP or the number one high school player in the nation. Here, you all have to behave and obey me, or you're fired!"

"Of course, maybe I'll be the one who gets kicked out, but as long as I'm here, everyone has to listen to me and do exactly what I say, understand?"

"Understood!" the players shouted in unison, expressing their determination.

Brown then looked at Gasol: "Gasol, you're the leader of this team. Tell me, what are your goals for this year?" After he finished speaking, the rest of the players chimed in. I wanted to hear everyone's answer.

"Win rate over 50%!" Gasol thought for a moment and gave an answer.

"Make it to the playoffs!" Seeing Brown's obvious dissatisfaction, Battier raised the bar.

"Win a round of the playoffs!" Davis is the most experienced player on the team in the playoffs.

"Make it to the Western Conference Finals!" Williams, the most arrogant player on the team, shouted an even more aggressive slogan.

At this point, it was James's turn, and he found himself speechless.

You guys keep pulling it up one after another, what am I supposed to do?

Then I go?

Should we still shout "Championship"?

That's outrageous.

The brutality of the West this year is epic.

The defending champion Spurs, the Timberwolves with their "Big Three," the Lakers with their new super team and "Super F4," plus the Kings, Mavericks, Rockets, Trail Blazers...

With this roster, do they even dare to call for the Western Conference Finals?

Are you crazy?

Anyway, if you ask LeBron James, he thinks Gasol's 50% winning percentage goal is reasonable. If he were to shout it out, he'd probably just say "make the playoffs" to show his ambition, but anything beyond that...

Anyway, a rational James can't talk nonsense with his eyes open.

Because of James's slump, a brief silence fell over the arena. Just as everyone was feeling a little awkward, Ye Feng suddenly shouted, "Championship!"

Overall champion?

Even Brown almost spat out the water he had just drunk.

This answer is indeed a bit outrageous.

He asked everyone to shout a slogan, just to see everyone's spirit and morale. He never expected that someone would actually shout out "championship".

But Brown couldn't sense any joking or teasing from Ye Feng's eyes and tone.

He is very serious.

This kid may be arrogant and overconfident, but at least he's got a lot of fighting spirit!

"Very good, very spirited." Brown nodded. "So, Ye, tell me, why do you think we can become champions?"

"There's no reason why," Ye Feng said matter-of-factly. "I'm just confident. Besides, we Chinese have an old saying: 'Aim high and you'll get average; aim average and you'll get low.' If you don't even dare to shout slogans, what's the difference between you and a salted fish?"

"My goal is the championship! Even if we don't achieve it this year, it won't change the fact that this is my goal! Every year, I aim for the championship and MVP, and I will always work hard and give it my all."

"Until it's done!"

"Very good!" Brown nodded again, this time he was truly satisfied with Ye Feng's statement.

It's not about making baseless accusations or shouting nonsense, but about having a clear understanding and a logical approach.

"Last season, we only had 20-something wins, it was terrible!" Brown paused, then looked at everyone again: "This year, my goal is 50 wins! I don't care where we are in the standings, I don't care who our competitors are."

"50 wins is my bottom line! If I can't achieve that, then this year will be my last year as a coach."

"But honestly, we are still a long way from this goal! So in the end, I'll say it again: the training camp will be boring, tedious, and even painful."

"But I believe that as long as we pull through, we will definitely become a strong team! 50 wins is not just talk!"

"So..."

Brown glanced at his watch, and just when everyone thought they could dismiss the group, he yelled, "Everyone, get into training mode! We need to make up for the time lost because of this damn media day and catch up on this afternoon's practice!"