NBA: Yao Ming at his peak returns to his rookie season

"Get up, get up quickly, Yao, today is another day full of enthusiasm!"

Bert Caine Hotel.

A series of urgent knocks on the door woke Yao Ming from his sleep.

The first thing that catches the eye is the hotel's old but familiar ceiling.

It has a very Houston-esque feel.

The standard calendar provided by the hotel showed November 9, 2002. On the bedside table were the latest Nokia phones and a Blackberry SY that the team leader, Francis, had just bought for him, both with physical dual SIM dual standby.

Great, it's not a dream.

Feeling light and refreshed, Yao Ming quickly washed up, opened the door, and saw Francis standing there, his passion surging like he'd been injected with adrenaline.

Francis has not yet experienced the pain of being cyberbullied by journalists, going bankrupt, being insulted by fans, being unable to play, or going to jail.

He remains one of the best and most outstanding point guards in the league.

All-Star player.

Francis was riding high on his success.

"Hey Yao, bro, ignore that bigmouth Charles, he's washed up!"

Yao Ming greeted Francis as he entered the room.

He skillfully served him a cup of tea that Black people drink. This stuff is popular among Black people, but Yao Ming really couldn't appreciate the taste. It tasted like tea dust mixed with expired milk.

It's about as hard to accept as fermented mung bean juice and West Lake fish in vinegar sauce.

Francis was so moved he almost burst into tears.

There are very few people in the NBA who are this considerate.

Sitting opposite Francis, Yao Ming saw Francis in front of him, his dejected state and his spirited demeanor overlapping.

Those were his memories.

Yao Ming felt that his originally mature soul was gradually replacing the immature memories of his current body.

The process resembled a fierce confrontation between two sets of information.

But my body is still my own, and I haven't experienced any discomfort from the memory.

After all, our current bodies are all 'memories' of the past.

It will just take a little more time.

Francis continued his incessant "consolation": "Charles's gone too far! My God, you're just not used to it yet, bro. We've all been through this. You have to believe in yourself. You played exceptionally well in your practice matches!"

These days, Francis talks incessantly, much like a political commissar in the military.

But Yao Ming likes the current Francis.

"What Charles said isn't a big deal. After all, my stats in the last six games have been terrible. But it's okay, Steve, I'll get better. I'll fight back against Charles with my skills!"

"If you know Kenny, you could send him a special pair of underwear!"

"Well?"

Francis's rambling stopped abruptly.

He looked at Yao Ming in surprise.

As the current leader of the Rockets, Francis has high hopes for Yao Ming.

It's not just about personality.

Although Yao Ming's personality was indeed the best Francis had ever seen, he was an athlete, and he valued Yao Ming. Of course, the most important reason was Yao Ming's outstanding basketball skills.

They performed exceptionally well, at least in training matches.

He is 226 cm tall, can dribble, can pass, has excellent vision, and his mobility and shooting ability are simply not for someone his height.

For Francis, Yao Ming's poor performance on the court these days is simply because he's too shy.

His playing style is too gentle.

The NBA has never been a gentle place.

"That's right, bro!" Francis suddenly jumped up excitedly, grabbing Yao Ming's shoulder. "Don't hold back when you run into those bastards on the court. Don't care about their skin color. Let me tell you, those black guys love to bully rookies. Elbow them!"

When this person gets ruthless, even they curse themselves.

Yao Ming nodded with a smile.

After seeing off Francis, who had come specifically to "comfort" him, Yao Ming went into the bathroom and looked at his young face in the mirror.

The turning point of his rebirth was the beginning of his NBA career.

Yao Ming didn't perform well at the beginning of his career, and now the fans outside are just as resistant as they were to his expectations.

Many people on the streets of Houston were shouting that Yao Ming was a "useless person".

They were venting their anger, shouting that Yao Ming was a failed business.

Barkley even thought he was just another seemingly 'talented' but actually tall and thin guy.

"Big bamboo pole" is a derogatory term within the small circle of NBA stars.

History is full of tall, seemingly great guys who ended up poorly.

For example, former prodigies like Olowokandi and Kwame Brown.

Yao Ming's performance seems to be even worse than when they were rookies.

It is November now.

大姚已经打了六场比赛，而六场比赛他的得分是0分、2分、8分、3分、7分、0分！

The performance was, to put it mildly, terrible.

最惨的是刚刚结束的第六战由于主力弗朗西斯伤病缺席，导致大姚打了17分钟却只有0分3篮板3失误1盖帽。

This completely ignited the fan community.

If you play poorly, you'll get criticized, but it's nothing serious; that's just how the NBA is.

Yao Ming gradually accepted the reality that he had simply taken a plane and returned to this point in time.

He no longer considered that his present memories were dreams of the future.

Or perhaps it's my future self who has traveled back to the present.

All Yao Ming knows is that he exists right here.

I looked at the calendar provided by the hotel.

The next game was four days later, and this was Yao Ming's first time scoring in double figures in the NBA.

Francis strongly supported Yao Ming in this game.

大姚已经沦为彻底的替补，但是非垃圾时间，弗朗西斯传了7个球，大姚成功转换其中的4个为得分，最后数据是6投5中拿到了10分4篮板2盖帽2助攻。

Yao Ming remembers that this game was against the Suns, and it was also the first time in his career that he faced Stoudemire.

"Oh, my dear sun!"

Yao Ming kissed the calendar, which showed November 13th, the first snow!

The Suns may not have Nash now, but they do have Stoudemire!

These are Yao Ming's dearest friends and family!

The 2002 NBA draft was definitely an underrated season.

Besides Yao Ming, 2002 also featured outstanding rookies such as Boozer, Nene, Stoudemire, Prince, and Jay Williams, making it a team with excellent value for money.

Among them, the one with the biggest complaints about Yao Ming was Stoudemire.

This guy always believed he was more suitable to be the number one draft pick than Yao Ming.

If Jay Williams, the original favorite for the number one draft pick, is not selected, then Amar'e Stoudemire should be the number one pick.

Yao Ming doesn't know if it was Fish Leong who gave Stoudemire the courage.

After all, even if we don't mention Nene, there's also Drew Gooden ahead of him. They're all inside players, so it's not Stoudemire's turn to take over.

But this guy is the only one who's so stubborn!

They remained stubbornly self-righteous.

Stoudemire is now Yao Ming's control group.

In his rookie season, he played 6 games as a substitute for the Suns, averaging 17 minutes per game, scoring 7.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.3 assists.

Stoudemire's outstanding athleticism makes his playing style very explosive.

Moreover, due to the Suns' collapse in both strength and winning percentage, Stoudemire's performance looked better than his actual ability!

……

After having breakfast in the room, it was past 9 o'clock.

Yao picked up his backpack and went downstairs.

There have been no matches for the past four days, so Coach Tang has arranged a private training facility for him.

It will not be held in the stadium.

This made Yao Ming very grateful.

The arena is now swarming with reporters waiting to ambush Yao Ming, who have prepared all sorts of pointed questions.

They treat rookies more cruelly than the thugs on the court.

Yao Ming's ability to quickly establish himself in the NBA was truly inseparable from Coach Tomjanovich's meticulous support.

If it weren't for Tomás's physical problems in the second half of the season...

Yao Ming's stats may need to be increased.

As soon as he arrived at the training hall, the weight on his shoulders suddenly lightened. Yao Ming turned around and saw it was Francis's prank.

He took Yao Ming's backpack.

Young Francis was truly a great jumper, and he loved to jump.

He was very enthusiastic towards Yao Ming.

"Hey bro, let's train! Your footwork has a lot of room for improvement! Learn my footwork, and I guarantee you'll teach that high school kid a lesson!"

"Steve, don't mess up my plans!" With unsteady steps, Tang Shuai, with his silver hair, stood in front of Francis.

The guy immediately became obedient.