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

Adidas made two series.

Adidas made a killing during the All-Star Game, so the designers at GG were really good at creating buzz, featuring Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and Kobe Bryant – three huge traffic magnets.

Both Yao Ming and Kobe Bryant signed contracts with Adidas.

McGrady was essentially forced into the game.

But who can blame them when McGrady is popular?

On the other side are Duncan, Garnett, and the newly signed Billups.

Garnett's shoe contract far exceeded those of Duncan and Billups. Without Yao Ming, Garnett's $19.7 million shoe contract over five years would have made him the number one center in the paint.

Compared to Garnett's huge contract, Duncan's shoe contract was practically child labor.

But what can you do when he doesn't sell shoes?

As for Billups, his situation was even worse; it was an insulting contract. It was $3.8 million over four years, with an additional $300,000 in bonuses, which was less than a fraction of what Kobe and McGrady earned.

Tracy McGrady's inclusion in the All-Star team triggered a shoe-related frenzy, resulting in a $70 bonus.

His lifetime profit-sharing contract, as long as he maintained a certain attendance rate and honors while he was still playing, was comparable to a printing press!

The photo studios on both sides, where three people take photos, were the ones Yao Ming and his team used first.

Filming is finally complete.

Kobe was at a Hollywood celebrity party, and I don't know how he got in, but McGrady was eager to go with him.

Watching a game featuring a star player makes him less inclined to sleep.

The current McGrady is quite restless, quite different from the model man he was during his Rockets days, which makes Yao Ming feel very disconnected.

In their past lives, neither of them went to nightclubs much.

Yao Ming's problem stemmed from his own upbringing, while Tracy McGrady was already married at the time. After being cheated out of millions once, he learned his lesson and his scandals were among the lowest of all NBA stars.

Kobe and McGrady are ready to go have fun, and they also plan to bring Yao Ming along.

Yao Ming refused.

The reason given was that he still had to play in the Rising Stars Challenge and wanted to familiarize himself with the venue.

Yes, McGrady looked extremely panicked at the time. He was genuinely afraid that Kobe would also start training during a brainstorming session, and even more afraid that he would be dragged down by these two training fanatics!

Fortunately, Kobe valued his promises, or perhaps he wasn't planning on doing anything serious.

Anyway, he took McGrady out to have some fun.

Bill Duffy will have to follow up on a lot of business activities and introduce a new manager to Yao Ming.

Now that Adiwang is becoming popular, the supporting system naturally needs to follow suit.

We can't have a situation like Arenas's, where star players want to sign but can't find a way to do so. By the way, Arenas's contract hasn't been finalized yet.

The reason given was that he demanded an exorbitant five-year, $42 million super sneaker contract.

They directly told the staff to stop replying after reading the message.

but!

Arenas was indeed worth the price, so Yao Ming had Bill Duffy negotiate a 7-year contract worth $4200 million plus $800 million in bonuses to lower the price.

If they agree, they'll sign the contract; if not, they'll negotiate again.

Anyway, Bill Duffy is an old fox.

Arenas doesn't even have an agent now, he's no match for Yao Ming. Yao Ming won't lose out.

Yao Ming's arrival at the training venue caused a sensation.

A large number of reporters crowded forward.

This also sparked jealousy among the second-year rookies. Zach Randolph no longer hates Pau Gasol, but his eyes are full of envy as he looks at Yao Ming surrounded by others!

The young woman wasn't exactly a saint either.

He had a long-standing feud with Randolph and directly stabbed him in the back: "He's an All-Star player, you can't be envious of him."

"He's just an All-Star! Humph, he's only popular!"

"Just popularity? I remember you got completely destroyed!"

"Damn it! Paul, do you think I'm that close to a spineless coward like you!?"

The volatile Randolph and the gentle Gasol successfully swayed the crowd, and when Yao Ming came down, they almost started arguing.

The young boxing champion is trying his best to act as a peacemaker.

01 is in dire straits over there, and 02 is no less so over there.

The eight players selected for the Rising Stars Challenge in 02 this season are: Yao Ming, Amar'e Stoudemire, Jay Williams, Drew Gooden, Nene Hilario, Carlos Boozer, Gordon Giricek, and Caron Butler.

These people all have some kind of grudge against each other.

In the early stages of their careers, a few people can put on a dramatic little show.

While they wouldn't completely cut off contact with each other, their relationship is definitely not great.

Yao Ming must be the Rookie MVP.

To win the MVP award, he needs to win the game first. The second-year students are not easy to deal with. Although their roster is not as star-studded as the first-year students, their configuration is obviously more reasonable.

In the first year, if we disregard tactics, the only players who can be considered as combat-ready are Yao Ming, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Jay Williams.

The other people are quite different.

Drew Guden averaged only 8.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and he was still a starter for the Magic.

The second-year roster is: Arenas, Tony Parker, Zach Randolph, Richard Jefferson, Andrei Kirilenko, Tyson Chandler, Jamal Tinsley, Pau Gasol, and Jason Richardson.

Regardless of their individual skill level, their structural integrity alone puts them far ahead of Yao Ming and his ilk.

With guards Parker and Arenas, forwards Kirilenko and his sister-in-law, and center Jesse James, they could make an All-Star starting lineup.

In a head-to-head battle, they would have a hard time beating the 01 generation. The combination of Little Boxing King, Big Black Bear, and Big Sister-in-law was so strong that even Yao Ming couldn't handle them.

So he planned to find a tactical solution.

The head coach for the Rising Stars Challenge differs from that of the main game; they are typically former NBA players, assistant coaches, or even former WNBA members.

Yao Ming has been quite lucky this season, as his head coach is Collins.

A retired star who at least understands some basketball tactics but doesn't get involved in anything.

His coaching style is similar to Tyronn Lue's.

Collins was quite surprised to see Yao Ming coming over.

He's just slacking off, watching the drama unfold, waiting to boost his team's performance so he can collect his paycheck if the team loses.

All I wanted to do was come here. Why would a player as famous as Yao Ming come here?

"Mr. Collins, I'm a fan of yours." Yao Ming first said politely, and he even looked up this guy during the All-Star Game in his previous life.

While not particularly strong, he has a decent presence: "I watched all the games you coached in the NCAA, and they were very memorable. But sir, don't you think you're still missing an opportunity?"

Collins is now an assistant coach in the NCAA.

He was temporarily filling in because the team's previous head coach was sick, and he's currently preparing for the crazy March.

He's coming to the NBA now to build up his resume. With this first year of coaching experience as a foundation, if he performs well during March Madness, he'll have a chance to be promoted to the permanent team!

"Tell me more about it?"

Yao Ming used an open strategy, as long as Collins didn't object immediately.

Then you can't escape.

After convincing the head coach, Yao Ming then set his sights on Jay Williams.

Jay Williams looked very bad.

He should have been a shining star, but because of Yao Ming, he's now almost a laughing stock in the NBA, with even his alma mater considering his potential Hall of Fame status.

They all wish they could bite Yao Ming to death.

However, Yao Ming remained relatively calm: "It's been a long time since I've seen you. I heard you scored 23 points a few days ago, that was really amazing."

"Are you here to cause trouble?" Jay Williams, sporting a newly tattooed arm with the number 23 on it, said, "I think you're the only one in our group who's ever scored 30 points, right? And you were an All-Star starter!"

Mentioning All-Star Jay Williams makes me grit my teeth.

He originally thought he could easily make it into the NBA, become famous, and make a lot of money, just like Duncan, and become an All-Star and then a member of the All-NBA Team in a year!

Unfortunately, Yao Ming's arrival disrupted everything!

As for Stoudemire's performance, it was better than his own... Who the hell cares who came in second?

Jay Williams is simply jealous of Yao Ming!

Yao Ming shrugged helplessly: "There's nothing I can do about the fans' votes, but Jay, do you want to win?"

"Win?" Jay Williams almost laughed. "Yao, do you even know what you're here for? Since the Rising Stars Challenge started, have you ever seen anyone win against a freshman? Oh, wait, you're an All-Star now, impressive, you even want to beat those sophomores!"

"Stop being so sarcastic." Yao Ming, thick-skinned as ever, sat down next to Jay Williams. "You're a genius, like you said, nobody's ever beaten them. And Paul and Tony, they're both really famous lately. What if we actually win? Besides, can you really stand Tony beating you?"

Jay Williams had to admit that he was petty.

Yao Ming's victory over him was already the limit of Jay Williams' patience.

If the opponent were a second-round pick like Tony Parker, Jay Williams would be absolutely furious. Besides, he's the most famous guard from the 02 draft class: "What are you going to do about it?"