But with such a roster, when the performance is good, everybody is like brothers; when it’s bad, meeting each other feels like encountering enemies.
The Kings had a particularly poor season record, even worse than the Bobcats’ 6 wins and 10 losses before the game. After losing to the Bobcats, they fell to a dismal 5 wins and 13 losses.
The Kings’ group of impressive players, each with the air of a leader, displayed no actual leadership abilities, they were just a loose collection of individuals.
Playing against the 76ers, the Bobcats were missing both of their starting forwards. Brevin Knight and Iverson played a game of speed duel, ending in a high-scoring affair of 115 to 121, with the Bobcats losing by 6 points.
Zhang Yang reaped the benefits of the duel, scoring on fast breaks with 5 field goals and hitting two free throws. With just fast breaks, he scored 12 points, and adding his 9 points from set plays, Knight lifted him, allowing him to achieve his first career 20+, becoming the youngest player in history to score 20 points in a game, surpassing LeBron James. Although the milestone was bittersweet, it was James’ record minus one.
Brevin Knight racked up 17 assists in a single game, entering the top 10 of his personal best single-game assists... Yes, recording 17 assists wasn’t his limit, he had achieved 20 assists twice in a single game, while Kidd only did so once. His two 20-assist games came after the introduction of the NHC era.
In regular time, both teams were weak defensively, with Knight and Iverson battling back and forth, but when everyone was too tired to run, Iverson could still continue to attack, scoring 21 points in the final quarter alone and finishing the game with 42 points and 13 assists, showing Zhang Yang a taste of the might of one of the greatest number 3s in history.
The Bobcats won their next two games against the Warriors and the SuperSonics, despite being thin in the frontcourt.
The Warriors were brimming with talent, but so much so that it seemed to overwhelm themselves.
Jason Richardson, Baron Davis, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, Mickael Pietrus, Ike Diogu, Adonal Foyle, Andris Biedrins... Even the most marginal players were lottery picks, but none had fully tapped into their potential. Those whose names people remembered were the ones with the toughest fortunes; many more, not tough enough, had been forgotten.
Oh, and let’s not forget Monta Ellis.
Zhang Yang had the chance to match up against Ellis, who was averaging 15 minutes per game this season, scoring 6.1 points and dishing out 1.2 assists.
However, despite the modest stats, Ellis was the strongest high school perimeter player Zhang Yang had faced from his class. It was the first time Zhang Yang was at a disadvantage when matched up with a high school player from his year. Ellis’s unimpressive stats were simply due to the Warriors not giving him the opportunity; the Warriors head coach, Montgomery, didn’t like using high school players like Ellis and Biedrins.
Like tonight, Ellis had the upper hand against Zhang Yang, but Ellis only played 12 minutes and scored 8 points, while Zhang Yang played 27 minutes and scored 14 points.
Finding himself at a disadvantage, Zhang Yang started to reflect. He remembered that in his sophomore year, Ellis, under the guidance of the Crazy Scientist, became a frontline scorer, averaging over 15 points per game, mainly isolations. He knew he needed to catch up.
The Bobcats narrowly defeated the Warriors 107 to 102.
Next, they faced the Sonics, cruising to an easy 104 to 94 victory. Ray Allen was plagued by injuries this year and didn’t play in the game.
In these 4 games, the Bobcats won 3 and fought an evenly matched game that they ultimately lost to Iverson’s individual skill. The next 4 games against the Nets, Raptors, Nuggets, and Pistons all ended in losses.
The loss to the Pistons was the most devastating with a score of 78 to 103; it was a thorough defeat. Gerald Wallace made his comeback in that game but couldn’t save the team.
After beating the Bobcats, the Pistons’ record skyrocketed to a terrifying 20 wins and 3 losses.
It was December 19th, and the Bobcats had arrived in Los Angeles. Tomorrow would be the last of a brutal series of six consecutive away games, facing the Lakers on their home court.
This month, they had already played 9 games, winning 3 and losing 6, bringing the Bobcats’ record to 9 wins and 15 losses.
When they landed in Los Angeles at noon, Zhang Yang was promptly whisked away from the airport by Tellem.
Felton, watching his young brother depart, felt a pang of envy.
He had just signed a 4-year, 12 million US dollar shoe endorsement contract with Under Armour, gleefully sharing the good news with his young brother, only to find out that his brother’s shoe endorsement deal was more than double his own.
His agent told him that Under Armour had signed him because they couldn’t afford to compete with Nike and Reebok for Zhang Yang, so they went for him to ride the waves of popularity.
He didn’t envy this one bit; instead, he felt fortunate to have met Zhang Yang. Otherwise, with his performance, securing a shoe endorsement deal worth over ten million US dollars in total would have been impossible.
Of course, envy was inevitable...
At 3 PM, AJ held a signing press conference for Zhang Yang, formally reaching a 3-year, 21 million US dollar endorsement agreement, with bonus clauses for selections to the All-Star game, All-NBA teams, championship victories, etc. The total bonus payout over these three years could reach up to 5 million US dollars.
Both in terms of contract value and bonus potential, it was the highest the brand had offered since its establishment... not counting that one man who gets sales royalties.
The venue chosen was the Staples Center, with the largest scale of media invitation the brand had ever seen, surpassing even the signings of Anthony, Wade, and Ray Allen.
The grandeur was enough to ignite widespread attention in the sports circle, and even many entertainment media gave the press conference headlines, with television news programs broadcasting live.
Zhang Yang knew that this display was mainly for the fans back home in China. In the US, such fanfare could only result in targeted treatment when facing other stars signed by the same brand...
The media present also launched sharp questions, clearly trying to stir things up.