CHAPTER 1286: CHAPTER 520: DANCING WITH THE GODS (BEGINNING)

Madison Square Garden, ever since the inception of the NBA, has been a playground for visiting superstars.

In the 50s, when the Lakers played the Knicks on the road, New York media wrote the game slogan—Welcome Mikan to the Big Apple City.

Except for the brief few years from the late 60s to the early 70s when Willis Reed led the team to two championships, New York basketball fans could revel in their own glory at this basketball sanctuary. The rest of the time, the Knicks were more like a backdrop in this arena.

You can’t really blame early New York basketball fans for not having a sense of belonging with the Knicks. Save up for a rare chance to see a game live, and what you see is either Chamberlain’s double 30 or Jabbar’s 40+, if not the Magician’s big triple-double, then the Big Bird cursing out the entire Knicks team... Until 1989, everything was different...

When it was the home team’s turn to enter, as Ewing first ran out of the player tunnel, the fans immediately switched from boos to cheers. McDaniel, Oakley, and Mark Jackson ran out one after another, and the cheers grew louder and louder.

When Zhang Yang ran out of the player tunnel with his signature ’everything under control’ smile, the on-site fans’ cheers reached a fever pitch!

In 1989, while still with the Celtics, Zhang Yang conquered New York fans during the playoff matchup with the Knicks. That summer, the Knicks’ young general manager, only 36-year-old David Hamilton, made a big gamble by signing Zhang Yang with a staggering 3-year contract averaging 5 million per year.

How exaggerated did that contract seem back then? In the same summer, the newly joined Timberwolves and Magic Teams had total salaries of 3.96 million and 4.75 million for the 89-90 season, respectively; Zhang Yang alone topped their entire teams. The Magician and Jordan’s salary that season were both 2.5 million, adding up to equal Zhang Yang’s.

Facts proved it right, the daring thrive while the timid starve, this old saying holds true. This big gamble completely changed the Knicks’ fate; they won the championship that season and successfully defended the title last season.

This season is even more remarkable, achieving a glorious 70 wins, with a terrifying home record of 38 wins and 3 losses out of 41 home games, a home win rate of 92.7%, breaking the Lakers’ 35-6 home record and 85.3% win rate set in the 72-73 season!

Before Zhang Yang arrived, even with Ewing in, when New York basketball fans bought tickets to watch a game, they wondered, ’Which superstar will put on a show today?’ This year is different; it’s become ’How many points will we win by today?’

The ’Zhang Yang’ series of signature shoes also replaced the ’Air-Jordan’ series as the most popular basketball shoes among New York fans. Leveraging the influence of the Big Apple City, within just three years, they have already become an opponent to the ’Air-Jordan’ series across America.

In the New York area, Zhang Yang has earned the nickname ’Lord of New York’, a nickname that comes from Madison Square Garden’s alias, the basketball sanctuary.

After the entrance ceremony, Zhang Yang and Jordan instinctively approached the technical table, exchanged handshakes in front of the camera, and silently stared at each other for quite a while.

The big screen zoomed out for a panoramic shot, and the scene made the on-site fans start cheering frantically again.

Jordan couldn’t hold his composure and spoke first: "Jack, starting tonight, your era is coming to an end, just like you ended the era of the Magician and Big Bird, I will end yours."

Zhang Yang smiled again and replied: "Really? Why do I feel like my era has just begun?"

Jordan stalled for two seconds, left with a ’hmph’, and turned back to the bench.

This scene made TV commentators unanimously say that Jordan once again fell short in front of Zhang Yang.

Indeed, in the regular season, Jordan was full of glory, 2-time MVP, 1-time Best Defensive Player, 6-time first-team, 5-time first-team defense. After Magic Bird retired, he was the top in the regular season in terms of honors.

But in the playoffs, that was Zhang Yang’s domain, with 4 championships, 3 FMVPs, even if Magic Bird hadn’t retired, he was still tied for first!

...

After winning the pre-match confrontation, Zhang Yang swaggered back to the bench, greeted by his teammates’ cheers and coaxing, and a light-hearted tease from their head coach and general manager, Big Bird.

Seeing Jordan frustrated is always a pleasing thing for players of other teams, mainly because Jordan’s popularity is too high. Zhang Yang won so many championships, equally full of glory, and it wasn’t until this year’s 70 wins, Scoring King, and MVP sweep, that he first caught up with Jordan, and it happened on this biggest stage in New York.

After some commotion, Big Bird clapped his hands to gather the players, his expression serious as he began to emphasize the pre-match getting key.

Seeing this, the players also put away their playful thoughts and focused on the most critical game of the three years that was about to begin.

The pre-game preparation time flew by, and the referee informed the starters of both teams to take the court.

Zhang Yang came to the top of the three-point arc, lifted his head to look at the big screen, while opening the ’Gate of Trials’, he took a quick look at the tasks.

"Basic Task: You’re fighting against a god, win the Game 7 battle against Michael Jordan-led Bulls, Reward: 1 Jumping Talent Point, 1 Layup Talent Point.

Advanced Task: Dance with the god, achieve game victory against Michael Jordan in direct confrontation, while your stats are superior; Reward: if points or assists are higher than Michael Jordan’s, reward a random Shooting Talent Point; if rebounds or steals or blocks are higher than Michael Jordan’s, reward a random Physical Fitness Talent Point."

He just calculated, if during the offseason if he trains basic skills at full throttle, he could earn about 100,000 Shooting values in 30 days, after obtaining 28 Talent Points, the Shooting values required for Talent Points dropped to 100,000, but one task cycle became 3, which means he could get 1 Talent Point per offseason. During the season, the efficiency drops to 50-60%, and it takes about 50 days to acquire 100,000 Shooting values... Unless there are significant improvements in shooting ability or stamina, 3 Talent Points a year is the max, with this trial, if all tasks are completed, it could be regarded as ’farming’ Talent Points equivalent to a year and a half.