Chapter 12

On the 12th, according to the team's schedule, there was a rest in the morning and training in the afternoon.

Su Feng, who was dunking on Kobe in his dreams, was woken up early in the morning by his phone.

Half asleep, Su Feng's first reaction was, did Kobe install surveillance cameras in his house and know that he was being lazy and not getting up early today?

However, when he heard Iverson's voice from the phone, Su Feng immediately sat up straight.

This is...

Is it the end of the world?

Or did Iverson party all night long?

"Su, the photo shoot is tomorrow. Should we do a cool combination?" Iverson said to Su Feng on the phone.

"Allen, what do you mean?" Su Feng asked.

"What do you say about us getting some 'free' hairstyles?" Iverson suggested.

"..."

Su Feng suddenly had a bad feeling.

And that feeling soon became a reality after Iverson picked up him and Ben Wallace in his car.

After a vacation, Iverson's hair had grown a lot.

The facts proved that Su Feng wasn't Duncan, so no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make Iverson bald.

The reason Iverson had the idea of changing his hairstyle was because Ben Wallace was showing off his afro in front of him every day, which could help him grow taller by 4 centimeters.

Well...

After a summer of growth, Ben Wallace's afro was getting closer and closer to its peak height of 10 centimeters.

As a remarkable man who carried out 'freedom' to the end, Iverson always felt that his crew cut was too ordinary when he saw Ben Wallace.

So, after being notified by his agent last night that he was going to have a core photo shoot, Iverson hugged his wife in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

"When it comes to hairstyles, I'm good at it."

Ben Wallace, who had worked as a barber as a child, was a completely different person when he talked about hairstyles.

After listening to Ben Wallace's explanation, Su Feng even regretted hooking up with Ben Wallace and bringing him to the 76ers...

Because this was obviously a Mr. Wallace who had been delayed by basketball and football!

"It seems like cornrows are going to be introduced in advance..."

Under Ben Wallace's suggestion, cornrows were the most suitable hairstyle for Iverson's face and head shape.

In his previous life, many fans thought that Iverson with "cornrows + headband" was the complete version.

At that time, Iverson attracted a lot of attention with this rebellious look.

Some people even complained that in the 00/01 season, Iverson's hairstyle gave him at least one-tenth of the votes in the regular season MVP voting.

If Kobe weren't absent today, Su Feng would definitely have recommended that Kobe grow out that fluffy afro in advance.

"By the way, Ben, what hairstyle do you think looks good on Su?"

After listening to Ben Wallace's introduction, Iverson had clearly regarded Ben Wallace as his hairstyle consultant.

"Well..."

Ben Wallace touched his chin and started thinking seriously as he looked at Su Feng.

Su Feng: "..."

Seriously, can't you just let me go?

Su Feng didn't want to leave any "black history" for himself.

You know, in the future, when Kobe went on TV shows, he would laugh every time he saw his afro hairstyle when he was young.

Su Feng wasn't interested in doing hair at all.

In his opinion, a neat and refreshing short haircut was the best.

However, Su Feng, who was flanked by Iverson and Ben Wallace, had no way to escape the fate of getting his hair done with his brothers...

And looking at Su Feng's unwilling face, Iverson also gave an impeccable reason:

"Su, I'm also doing this so it's easier to find you during the game and pass you the ball!"

You have to say, Su Feng initially thought Iverson's explanation was quite reasonable.

However, after arriving at the barbershop and being pressed into a chair by Ben Wallace, Su Feng felt that something was wrong.

Bah!

Damn it!

I'm the only Asian player in the entire NBA right now. Do you need to look at my hairstyle to find me?

Just like that, a few hours later, the Philadelphia Iron Triangle became the Philadelphia Hair Salon.

Fortunately, Ben Wallace still had some aesthetic sense when it came to hairstyles.

Under his instructions, the hairstylist didn't mess around and just gave Su Feng a hairstyle similar to David Beckham's mohawk.

With good looks to hold down the fort, how ugly could Su Feng be if it wasn't too exaggerated?

Of course, if Ben Wallace dared to let the hairstylist give him the hairstyle that Jeremy Lin would have in the future...

Su Feng swore that even if he couldn't beat Ben Wallace, he would still fight him.

"Cool!"

Looking at his new look, Iverson felt great as he walked out of the barbershop.

It's worth mentioning that just as Su Feng was about to reach out and touch Iverson's head subconsciously...

Iverson quickly jumped away, then turned around and gave him a deadly glare.

"From now on, no one is allowed to touch my head!" Iverson said resentfully.

The hairstyle is the main body!

From this moment on, the head of Philadelphia's "183" and the future "183" had become a restricted area!

Sure enough, the 183 who "knows how" to pass the ball is the Philadelphia Cannon...

…

In the afternoon, when the Philadelphia Hair Salon arrived at the training hall, Iverson and Su Feng's new looks stunned their teammates.

Generally, teams wouldn't interfere with young players who liked to show off their personalities.

The colorful Dennis Rodman was an example. As long as you could play well, who would care what hairstyle you had?

However, when the new "Iron Triangle" stood together, the style was just like a bad boy band.

If Ben Wallace was given a machete, who would believe that he wasn't here to grab territory?

Jerry Stackhouse, who had been physically and mentally exhausted recently, had completely given up on the idea of suppressing Su Feng's arrogance.

Even when he saw Su Feng walking towards him with a smile, Jerry Stackhouse just wanted to shout:

"Don't come over!"

"Jerry, come on, even though I changed my hairstyle today, I lost 1 to 2 yesterday. Let's have another showdown!"

Ding! Your nemesis Su Feng has sent you another one-on-one challenge request.

"..."

Brother, what does me changing my hairstyle have to do with me playing one-on-one with you?

However, just as Jerry Stackhouse wanted to retreat, the bystanders wouldn't let him.

What a joke, many players lost money yesterday because they bet on Su Feng.

Everyone was counting on making a comeback today. You can't just say you're not going to play!

Several old schemers in the 76ers said, "That's right, some players may have high draft picks, but they don't have any backbone!"

"Let's go, let's go. Sigh, the Tar Heel探花郎, not all of them are called Michael Jordan."

"Hey, I used to think Jerry dared to confront his senior because he was full of passion, but now it seems..."

Fuck your mother!

You guys keep making fun of my brother Jerry. If you have the ability, you can go up and play with Su Feng!

Of course, that's what he thought in his heart, but Jerry Stackhouse wasn't stupid enough to fall out with his teammates.

"Can we just play one game today?" Jerry Stackhouse asked in a weak voice.

"One game to decide the winner? That's what college students do. We high school students don't do that. Best two out of three!" Su Feng said.

Jerry Stackhouse cursed an American curse in his heart...

Thinking to himself, did I not play in high school leagues before? Once you get into the state championships, it's still a single-elimination system, right?

And so, Jerry Stackhouse's "joyful" day began.

…

On the 13th, at the media open day, when the players arrived at the arena in the morning, the 76ers' boss Pat Croce was dumbfounded...

Good heavens, are these the two well-behaved and lovely rookies I picked?

But...

You have to say, the media really liked Su Feng and Iverson's new looks.

Because for reporters, hairstyles are also a hot topic!

What's the worst thing about writing news?

The worst thing is not having a hot topic.

Think about how the Philadelphia Evening News reporter Mark Heisler went from being a reporter to being an editor-in-chief.

It was because he dared to write about Su Feng back then, and he dared to hype Su Feng.

As a result, he hyped the right person and was called a great prophet in the industry.

When the Bulls swept the league last year, who do you think was the most reported player in the major newspapers?

The answer wasn't Jordan, it was Rodman.

Because the Bulls were too invincible, fans would get tired of reading about how strong the Bulls were every day.

So in the second half of the season, Rodman became the object of reporters' pursuit.

Pat Croce was a businessman, and he almost immediately saw the "business opportunities" in Su Feng and Iverson's new hairstyles.

Iverson's fame in the future would be inseparable from this 76ers boss.

Because even though this guy didn't understand basketball, he was very good at marketing.

In Su Feng's previous life, Iverson's unreasonable shots were portrayed by Croce as individual heroism;

Even some of his rebellious behaviors were promoted by Croce as a symbol of freedom.

And the image of the civilian hero that Croce created was also very satisfying to David Stern.

Therefore, even with constant "accidents" off the court, Stern was willing to support Iverson.

Unfortunately, after Croce failed to seek more shares in the 76ers in 2001, Iverson's career began to gradually decline...

"What do you say we let Allen and Su take the core photo shoot alone for a while?" Croce said to the other boss, Berlind Burggraf.

Berlind Burggraf's eyelids twitched and said, "They're just two rookies."

"But they're not ordinary rookies!" Croce added.

"What will players like Clarence and Jerry think if you do this?" Berlind Burggraf said.

"To be honest, I don't like Clarence and Jerry.

And what have the 76ers been like in the past few years?

What we need now is not performance, but hope!" Croce said.

"Hope?" Berlind Burggraf fell into deep thought.

"Let those so-called traditions go to hell!

Look how well our season tickets are selling because of one sentence from Allen?

Why don't we take this opportunity to create a 'maverick' team?

Led by Allen and Su, they're not afraid of any opponent.

And you also know how eager these two little guys are for victory.

So even if we can't achieve excellent results in the short term, they can still win praise with their tenacious fighting spirit!"

For Croce, who usually loved extreme sports, he liked this feeling of being different from other teams.

And in his opinion, Su Feng and Iverson were this different feel.

"Okay, I agree, but you have to let John do a good job of appeasing the players," Berlind Burggraf said.

Croce smiled, with an expression of 'leave it to me'.

A few minutes later...

It was John Davis's turn to be dumbfounded...

So you want me to take the blame?

Damn it, as a tool coach, Davis knew very well that this kind of core photo shoot wasn't a big deal...

But once he angered those old players, would he still be able to command this 76ers team in the future?

But looking at the boss's firm expression, Davis knew that the consequences of offending the boss were often worse than offending the players.

"Don't worry, if they dare to go against you, I'll find a way to trade for the players you like then," Croce comforted Davis.

"Okay." With this guarantee, Davis wasn't afraid anymore.

Coincidentally, Davis had always felt that the current 76ers lacked height.

So he took the opportunity to propose to Croce: "I think we need a center who can protect the paint."

Croce, who didn't know much about basketball, nodded. "I'll go back and discuss it with Berlind Burggraf."

Davis breathed a sigh of relief, then turned around and plunged into the great cause of taking the blame.

…

"What?"

When Clarence Weatherspoon and Jerry Stackhouse heard that they had been removed from the core photo shoot, the two of them were stunned...

"Is this the management's decision?" Jerry Stackhouse asked unconvinced.

Davis shook his head. "It's my decision."

Weatherspoon on the side saw the clue. As a veteran with four years of professional experience, he wouldn't be as stupid as Jerry Stackhouse to ask the coach.

Just wait, since the team doesn't need me anymore, then don't blame me for not putting in the effort next time.

"Coach, can I ask if I don't have much value in your future tactics?"

Jerry Stackhouse, who had been suffering fatal blows one after another recently, was not as forceful as he used to be.

Davis patted Jerry Stackhouse on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you're still our second offensive option."

Second offensive option?

Jerry Stackhouse smiled bitterly.

Then the first offensive option is that kid, right?

Yes...

That's right, in Jerry Stackhouse's opinion, only that kid was worthy of being the 76ers' first offensive option.

Well...

Probably Su Feng himself didn't know that he had inexplicably subdued a lost sheep.

…

"Yes, yes, yes, you two put one hand each on the ball together.

Yes, that's right, come on, smile!"

In the morning, after finishing the interview, Su Feng felt confused when he was taking the core photo shoot.

What's going on?

The 76ers are going to do something!

Are they really going to "hard" promote me and Iverson?

Only letting the two rookies take the core photo shoot, honestly, the 76ers' wave of operations can only be described as heavenly.

But as a "human-shaped Iverson encyclopedia", Su Feng knew very well that Pat Croce was the kind of person who could do this kind of thing.

Because the more people who don't understand basketball, the more likely they are to have some crazy operations.

Of course, if it succeeds, it's called heavenly, and if it fails, it's the fault of not understanding basketball.

"Little Su, you're really amazing!" Su Junyang, who also came to interview today, gave Su Feng a thumbs up after taking the core photo shoot.

"Old Su, don't tease me. I don't even know what my future is in the team right now," Su Feng said to Su Junyang, spreading his hands.

"How could that be? Didn't Iverson say that he's willing to assist you?

And your new nickname is now a hit in China.

By the way, we translated your nickname as 'Little Emperor' in China.

Because the King and the Kings team have the same name, do you mind?" Su Junyang looked up at Su Feng and said.

Su Feng: "..."

Mind!

I mind very much!

Why do you guys have to pick on an elementary school student?

Su Feng decided that he had to get rid of this nickname as soon as possible, otherwise, he couldn't run to Akron in the future and name that kid the Duke of Cleveland, right?

"Old Su, I don't care how the American media hypes me, but you must give me objective and fair coverage," Su Feng knew very well that the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment.

At this time, Chinese fans' understanding of the NBA was still very vague.

In the future, when Yao Ming averaged more than 20 points per game, many people would think it was a "very normal" thing.

What the hell is normal about that!

Yao Ming's data was the kind of data that only a super center could produce!

Sometimes, people only know how to cherish things when they lose them.

Su Feng still remembered that in his previous life, he was so happy when Ding Yanyuhang scored 10+ points in the Summer League that he looked like a monkey who had just eaten a peach.

"Don't worry, Little Su, my coverage will definitely be objective and fair," Su Junyang said with a smile.

Seeing Su Junyang agree, Su Feng was relieved.

But...

Just as Su Feng turned to leave, Su Junyang looked at Su Feng's back and sighed: "What a good kid, even in a high position, he's not arrogant or impetuous!"

Su Junyang was determined that he would use the most gorgeous writing to record this passionate youth!

Su Feng, although he hadn't played a single NBA game, was already the number one person in Chinese basketball in Su Junyang's mind.

…

After taking a break at noon, in the afternoon, on the day of the media open day, Davis also arranged a five-on-five exhibition match for the fans.

There was nothing to say about this kind of exhibition match. The only thing worth mentioning was that the fans in the audience were attracted by Su Feng and Iverson's hairstyles.

In the stands, Mark Heisler, who had been promoted to editor-in-chief of the Philadelphia Evening News, smiled:

"Following Su and Kobe's Philadelphia Twin Stars, I think we should now call Allen and Su the 'Golden Double Guns'!"

Because 1996 happened to be the Golden Generation, and Su Feng and Iverson were playing as guards, in Mark Heisler's opinion, "Golden Double Guns" was the most suitable nickname for Su Feng and Iverson.

It was a pity that Su Feng, who was showing off with Iverson on the court, didn't know the name of the combination that Mark Heisler had given him and Iverson...

Otherwise, Su Feng would definitely feel sorry for the 03 Golden Generation in the future.

Is this really going to block the path of the kids from the 03 generation?

…

In Chicago, at the Bulls' media open day, Michael Jordan was in a very good mood.

Because he had just glanced at the schedule.

Huh?

The second game of the regular season is against the 76ers?

In Jordan's opinion, it was time for him to adjust his state and teach the youngsters how to behave.

…

In Los Angeles, at the Lakers' media open day, Kobe still seemed a little shy in the team's five-on-five exhibition match.

According to Jerry West's instructions, Silver Fox Del Harris hadn't instilled too many tactical ideas into Kobe.

Because the Logo Man didn't want to change Kobe's style.

West knew better than anyone else that tactics were something you would understand once you reached a certain level of strength.

But style was the most precious thing, and it was something that no one could teach you.

In Su Feng's previous life, Kobe and Curry were both lucky because the Logo Man would never restrict their talent.

Let the tactics serve your talent and style!

And on the court, because West had praised him for being a good passer before, Kobe looked at his teammates who were constantly running after receiving the ball...

He wanted to prove his ability to organize by finding opportunities.

Unfortunately, his pass was seen through by Eddie Jones on the other side.

Just as Kobe was retreating on defense with some frustration, suddenly, Shaquille O'Neal, who was on his team, patted him on the back. "Hey, Kobe, you're a shooting guard, be bold, take the shot when you should!"

Kobe looked at O'Neal, who was encouraging him, first with some surprise, then with some emotion.

Because he suddenly remembered the scene when O'Neal gave him an autograph back then.

"I will," Kobe looked up at O'Neal and said.

O'Neal smiled. "Keep it up, you're our future."

Future?

On the court, Kobe completely relaxed. In the next defense, he actually gave Eddie Jones a big block.

On the sidelines, Harris nodded in satisfaction.

"They will be a great combination."

At this moment, seeing Kobe, who was overflowing with talent, and O'Neal, who could easily dominate the paint, Harris made such an assessment...