Chapter 1 The Ice Cola Incident

Pfft——!

You might not believe it, but Su Feng almost choked to death on his iced cola!

As a can of iced cola that had been enhanced with a nutrient solution, it was definitely a mature and sensible cola.

So, the reason Su Feng almost choked to death on his cola was because...

Kobe's poisonous predictions were truly terrifying!

In the decisive Game 7 between the Mosaic and the Jazz, during the final moments of the fourth quarter, Malone and Barkley engaged in a battle for a crucial rebound.

On the court, with Malone boxing him out, Barkley, having suppressed his anger since the semi-finals, finally exploded.

The "Flying Pig" used his buttocks and elbows, forcefully clearing Malone out of the way and executing a "Flying Pig Around the Pillar" maneuver to reclaim his position.

However, just as Barkley successfully secured the offensive rebound for the Mosaic, Malone spitefully elbowed Barkley in the chin.

Had it ended there, the referees would likely have only called a rebounding foul on Malone.

But, the problem was that Barkley's rebound could potentially change the course of the game.

With only 59 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the score tied at 89, either team could advance to the Finals.

Therefore, the ever-persistent Stockton was already waiting below Barkley to steal the ball.

However...

Malone's elbow not only caused Barkley to lose his balance but also sent him crashing into Stockton, who was attempting to steal the ball from below.

On the court, after regaining his senses, the enraged "Flying Pig" hurled the basketball at Malone's head.

At that moment, Malone, having been struck in the head, also saw Stockton, who had just been thrown out of bounds by Barkley.

Thus, Malone's composure and rationality vanished in an instant.

In the "Devil's Triangle," he and Barkley officially began a "King of Fighters '97" tournament!

In the white corner, was Karl Malone, a fighter known for his "Pirate Style."

And in the red corner, was Barkley, the "Sweet Donut Iron-Blooded Man."

Barkley, being slightly shorter, dodged Malone's swing and used a "Zhu Ba Dong Ba Tua" (Pig Overlord) to slam Malone to the ground.

However, as the two grappled, Malone retaliated with an iron elbow to Barkley's forehead.

As the saying goes, "For John, anger surges forth," and attacking Stockton was simply not allowed when playing against the Jazz!

Malone, abandoning his defensive posture, instantly transformed into a tank.

While Malone and Barkley were engaged in their fierce battle, only Olajuwon and the Big White Bear dared to step in and try to break it up...

The scene was so chaotic that even the referees were playing "yo-yo."

They didn't dare intervene!

Intervening in an ordinary fight would at most be considered a work injury.

But intervening in a fight between Barkley and Malone could very well result in their pictures ending up in the obituary section!

Eventually, both Barkley and Malone were ejected from the game.

Waiting for them...

Was undoubtedly Stern's fury.

With Malone and Barkley ejected, the game went into overtime.

In overtime, thanks to Hornacek's two three-pointers, the Jazz managed to win the Game 7...

However, Jerry Sloan wasn't happy at all after the game.

Because shortly after the Western Conference Finals Game 7, Stern responded from New York.

Malone and Barkley...

Would both be suspended for 5 games.

Considering that their fight hadn't escalated into a full-blown brawl, Stern didn't impose too harsh a penalty.

Watching TV, Su Feng felt that the various incidents occurring in this year's playoffs seemed to be related to the "phenomenon" he had created.

With the Bulls gone and the rain stopped, teams across the league felt like they were back in the game.

In Su Feng's previous life, fighting in the NBA during the '80s and '90s was commonplace. Barkley, when he played for the 76ers, had even been publicly supported by the team's owner, Harold Katz, who said:

"Anyone who dares to punch Laimbeer, I'll pay their fine."

After Stern took over, who knew how much effort and time he spent changing the NBA's image?

Therefore, Stern felt it was time to use the Malone-Barkley "King of Fighters" incident to warn all the teams in the NBA once again.

This time, Stern was willing to sacrifice Finals ratings to crack down hard.

Well... if it were any other year, Stern might have reduced Malone and Barkley's suspensions to protect the Finals' popularity, but this year...

The situation was different.

After the Bulls and 76ers played a sensational first-round series, did the Finals really matter as much?

Believe it or not, in many fans' minds, the NBA championship this year didn't hold much weight after the 76ers were eliminated.

So, Stern felt that this was a great opportunity.

An opportunity to use a "fair, open, and just" punishment to show the world that the NBA was about basketball, not fighting.

Under Stern's leadership, he could tolerate Finals like the Hawks-Jazz series this year, or even future Pistons-Spurs series, but he strongly disliked teams that made it to the Finals through fighting and dirty plays.

Therefore, unless the Jazz could push the Hawks to Game 6 without Malone...

Su Feng felt that the Hawks were about to make history.

If Su Feng remembered correctly, the Hawks last won a championship in 1958, back in Bob Pettit's era.

And thinking about Mutombo's words to him after the Eastern Conference semi-finals, "The future is yours," Su Feng felt that...

You really couldn't deny the power of metaphysics and poisonous predictions.

…

In a way, Stockton and Malone were two of the NBA's biggest tragedies.

In Su Feng's previous life, the former retired without a championship.

Perhaps the "best point guard in the league" title had used up all the good luck because Stockton was destined to be without a championship.

As for the latter, Su Feng remembered that in the future, he would go to Los Angeles to form the F4 in pursuit of a ring, only to meet a tragic end.

Fate... sometimes really liked to play jokes on people.

Compared to the exciting Bulls-76ers series, this year's Finals were sure to set a record low in viewership.

Because fans in both China and the United States were more interested in the upcoming showdown between "PS" and "A-Cone."

Also, after receiving the invitation letter from the Chinese Basketball Association on June 3rd, Su Feng "obediently and sensibly" responded:

He would return to China on July 2nd and report to the national team around July 7th.

As the saying goes, speak human language to humans and ghost language to ghosts. Su Feng knew that with his current reputation, the Chinese Basketball Association couldn't do anything to him.

Su Feng's return to China this time could be considered as him returning with an "imperial sword."

Because just two days ago, Qian Chenghai, the coach, publicly stated in an interview with the People's Daily:

The Chinese Basketball Association should make special arrangements for a national hero like Su Feng.

They should not hinder Su Feng's improvement and progress while also finding ways to let Su Feng bring advanced basketball concepts and techniques back to China.

1997 was a very important year for China because Hong Kong was about to return.

In the eyes of the officials, Su Feng's story of defeating Michael Jordan at this time was a godsend.

Even the official media was putting pressure on the Chinese Basketball Association. If the Chinese Basketball Association tried to outsmart Su Feng, wouldn't they be risking their jobs?

And Su Feng, who knew history well, was very clear that the Chinese Basketball Association at this time had limited influence. Only after the Chinese men's basketball team suffered a disastrous defeat in West Asia would the Basketball Management Center, which would truly have the power of life and death in the future, emerge.

Therefore, did you know why many fans in the future would scold the Chinese Basketball Association without it having any effect?

Because...

You should be scolding the Basketball Management Center!

Li Yuanwei and Xin Lancheng would only appear on the stage of history after the establishment of the Basketball Management Center in the second half of 1997.

So Su Feng was also curious, if the Chinese men's basketball team were to successfully win the championship in West Asia, what would become of the Chinese Basketball Association in the future after the catalyst for the emergence of the Basketball Management Center disappeared?

However, in Su Feng's view, the reform of Chinese basketball should be left to Yao Ming.

After all, he, Brother Feng, couldn't take on all the work.

"By the way, Xiao Yao should be 222 centimeters tall now, right?"

As a "Humanoid Encyclopedia of Xiao Yao," Su Feng felt that since Wang Fei would break the rules and select Xiao Yao into the national team next April anyway, it would be nice to have Xiao Yao call him Brother Feng a few months earlier...

…

In June, Su Feng and Kobe weren't too enthusiastic about the upcoming Finals.

Instead, the various embarrassing incidents that happened during McGrady's workouts became the main topic of conversation between Su Feng and Kobe recently.

To avoid being arranged to play inside after entering the league because of his height, it was one thing for McGrady to wear flat shoes to his workouts, but it was said that McGrady's back never straightened when they measured his height.

The result was shocking.

McGrady's height with shoes on was only "201" centimeters, the same as Su Feng. Could you believe it?

"Tracy said... he's also going to China this summer," Kobe said to Su Feng that day.

Su Feng: "..."

So you and McGrady are going to stick to me, aren't you?

There was no way around it. Su Feng's training team was too strong. McGrady had experienced it once in Orlando, and because of Su Feng's influence in this life, Kobe and McGrady both wanted to go to China to see what it was like.

"What about a beach vacation in Florida?" Su Feng asked curiously.

"We'll go after we get back from China. Besides, aren't you going to play in West Asia in August?

It just so happens that Tracy and I are going to Germany in August for an Adidas promotional event," Kobe said to Su Feng.

So you two have already arranged my schedule?

In Su Feng's view, it was just that Iverson wanted to stay in Philadelphia to party, otherwise, the Big Four would have reunited this time.

But despite saying they weren't too enthusiastic about the Finals, Su Feng and Kobe still watched the upcoming Hawks-Jazz series.

With Malone absent, the Hawks led the Jazz 3-1 in the first four games.

Without Malone, the Jazz couldn't attack effectively. The only game the Hawks lost was because Steve Smith and Blaylock's ability to seize opportunities was too tragic.

The fifth game of the Finals became the focus of attention because if the Jazz could win this game, they could welcome Malone back in Game 6, and who knew, they might be able to complete the comeback in one go.

So, in Salt Lake City, Mutombo said to his teammates before the game started: "You all know that if Karl comes back, we're definitely done for.

So... this game is our last game!"

The Hawks, determined to win it all in one battle, didn't let the script that Jazz fans were most looking forward to happen.

Laettner became the key player. This "mama's boy general," who had performed poorly in the first four games, helped the Hawks conquer Salt Lake City with eleven high-post jump shots.

And the Hawks successfully won the NBA championship of the 96/97 season, historically known as:

—"The Atlanta Miracle."

Looking back at the Hawks' championship journey, against the Pistons, Witherspoon was unable to play in Game 5 due to injury;

Against the 76ers, Iverson missed the entire series;

Against the Heat, the Heat were missing half their team due to suspensions;

And against the Jazz, in the Finals, the Jazz weren't able to hold out until Malone was released from suspension...

Mutombo's career peak had arrived because in this era dominated by Jordan, he became another big center who successfully broke through after Olajuwon.

However, this year's Finals MVP... was not Mutombo, who averaged 10.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks in the Finals.

The person who ultimately won the MVP was... Laettner, who scored 32 points in Game 5 of the Finals.

As for the reason...

Who told Laettner to wear Nike?

Logically speaking, it was justifiable for Laettner to win the MVP. After all, on average, he was able to score nearly 19 points per game in this year's playoffs.

However, compared to those past legends, Laettner's identity as a "white player + Nike player" always made people feel that there was a conspiracy behind it.

The Hawks, who had successfully won the championship, didn't care who the MVP was after the game.

Mutombo, who was crying his eyes out, said that he would use all of his salary this year (nearly 4 million before taxes) to build schools and hospitals to commemorate this championship.

Laettner also publicly stated that, in terms of strength, he really didn't deserve this MVP. In his opinion, he was able to win the MVP because of the team's efforts.

And behind the Hawks' championship was the silence of the Jazz players.

Stockton's scene of kneeling on one knee in Game 5 pained countless Jazz fans.

Karl Malone's scene of constantly slapping his cheeks made Jazz fans shed tears in Salt Lake City.

We were only one game away...

And we could have waited for Malone to return.

But fate...

Played a huge joke on Salt Lake City.

Twenty years in the future, the Hawks' championship would be criticized as the "least valuable" championship.

But no matter what, in this summer, they reached the top of the NBA.

Chicago, no matter how angry, the "Old Rogue" had to suppress the fire in his heart first.

And in Philadelphia, Su Feng was once again filled with emotion.

Under Stern's leadership, the NBA was indeed the place where miracles happened.

The Hawks' championship could be said to be the inevitability accumulated from countless coincidences.

After the Bulls were eliminated, those dizzy teams had obviously forgotten that they should never provoke Stern's wrath.

Su Feng felt that the NBA next season... would definitely be much quieter.

At least, those teams aiming for the championship would restrain themselves a bit.

Because Stern had used his actions to tell the teams that if they didn't follow the rules, they shouldn't blame him for using the rules to punish those disobedient teams.

At this point, the 1996/1997 NBA season had come to an end.

After returning to Atlanta, the Hawks held an unprecedented championship parade.

This city, which had just hosted the Olympics last year, once again became lively because of the NBA championship.

And after the Finals ended, people were now most concerned about the draft that would be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, in a week.

In addition, with the Hawks' championship, the conflict between the NBA's labor and management sides was becoming increasingly serious.

Now, all it needed was Garnett's contract to ignite this powder keg that was about to explode.

If Su Feng remembered correctly, the NBA would also cancel the dunk contest next season due to labor negotiations.

In Su Feng's view, this saved him the excuse of using "now is not the time" to decline participating in the dunk contest.

After all, after the NBA lockout ended, the shortened season of 98/99 would not have an All-Star Game.

And after more than a month of weight gain, Su Feng's current weight had reached 96.5 kilograms.

According to Mancias's plan, after Su Feng returned to China, the training team would return to China with him.

Initially, Mancias was very worried about Su Feng's knees and ankles because of Su Feng's rapid weight gain.

But...

"This time we go to China, we must study why Chinese players are so durable," Mancias said to Frazier and Alan Stein.

…

Before the start of the draft, Su Feng continued to take Kobe to the 76ers' training facility to freeload on their training facilities.

On June 24th, under McGrady's threat of breaking off their friendship, Su Feng and Kobe flew to Charlotte together.

There was no way around it...

Although he had performed decently in his workouts, McGrady was very nervous now!

In McGrady's view, he would rather be stabbed in the heart by Su Feng and Kobe than have them not come to accompany him.

And compared to his previous naivety, Su Feng and Kobe almost burst out laughing when they saw McGrady wearing a suit and pretending to be an adult.

"I say, Tracy, why didn't you ask Vince to come with you?

Do you know that Kobe and I are in special training, and we don't have a minute to spare," Su Feng, whose elbows were the thickest, put his arm around McGrady and said.

"That's right, Tracy, you don't know, in Philadelphia, I can beat Su over a hundred times every day in one-on-one," Kobe, whose elbows were the second thickest, put his arm around McGrady from the other side and said.

McGrady, sandwiched in the middle, slightly opened his sleepy eyes. As expected...

After being mocked by these two guys, the feeling of nervousness disappeared.

"Wait, next season, it will be my era!" McGrady said to Su Feng and Kobe with a smile.

Bang!

Bang!

"Kobe, don't you think that young people nowadays are too ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth?" After beating up McGrady, Su Feng looked at Kobe and said.

"Yeah... they haven't even entered the NBA yet, and they're already starting to show off," Kobe echoed from the side.

Speaking of which...

There was another reason why Su Feng agreed to come and watch McGrady's draft...

He really wanted to know, with the draft picks changing so much, where would Duncan end up in this life?

…

Fa Biao De Wo Niu