August 15, Athens.

The first game of Olympic men's basketball Group A, China VS Spain.

In the fourth quarter of the game, Yao Ming left the game with five fouls. After leaving the court, the live camera showed the leader of Chinese basketball.

Then, he was filmed throwing the towel to the ground angrily.

"Compared with the Busan Asian Games, our team has only changed its skin, but not its heart." Yao Ming shouted looking at his teammates who had no fighting spirit on the court.

At this time, the Chinese team was already more than 20 points behind Spain. Yao Ming committed another five fouls, and there was basically no possibility of recovery.

Spain is a strong team in the world, and to be honest, it is reasonable to lose to them. As long as China plays well in the next few games, it still has a chance to reach the quarterfinals.

But the fighting spirit and attitude shown by the Chinese team in the game made Yao Ming very angry.

He felt that no one wanted to fight at all, they just went up and died with peace of mind.

With this attitude, God knows whether we can win the next few games.

New Zealand, Serbia and Montenegro, Argentina, Italy... Can the Chinese team dare to say that they will definitely win against these opponents?

Yao Ming needs to see his fighting spirit. After returning from the NBA, he hopes to lead the national team to make a difference.

However, he didn't feel the fighting spirit he wanted.

So, this little giant who became the leader of the national team at the age of 24 got angry.

During the interview after the game, Yao Ming also said some angry words, which caused some bad effects.

At that time, the media immediately mentioned Wayne.

There is no doubt that as a Chinese player selected in the NBA draft lottery, fans were a little disappointed not to see Wayne selected for the national team.

Although there are many reasons why Wayne cannot participate in the Athens Olympics, this still cannot stop fans from having fantasies.

Does the Chinese team really need someone to help Yao Ming share the pressure?

Athens in 2004 has just begun, and China still has a chance to make a comeback.

But in Beijing in 2008, there was no room for error.

Regarding Wayne joining the national team, not only reporters, but many related people have begun to think about this issue.

The Chinese team's first defeat and Yao Ming's tantrum incident intensified in China.

At this time in Indianapolis, all basketball fans care about only one person - Wayne.

"It's great, great, Wayne's performance is really great!"

When Mike Brown reported to Bird on Wayne's summer league performance in his office, the bespectacled black coach was full of praise for Wayne.

Half a month ago, the Rocky Mountain Summer League ended, and the Pacers achieved an excellent record of 10 wins and 1 loss!

The only game I lost was at the hands of the Bulls.

On the Bulls' side, the British combination of Luol Deng + Ben Gordon has really strong firepower, and Wayne can't beat four hands with just one fist.

Except for this, Wayne led his team to victory in all other games.

Throughout the summer league, Wayne averaged 22.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.8 blocks per game, and his three-point shooting percentage was 40.2%, which was the best performance among all rookies participating.

This is why the current Rocky Mountain Summer League does not have a championship or MVP, it is just a training game.

Otherwise, Wayne would have to come back with two honors.

Wayne's performance not only made Mike Brown incoherent, but also made the Indiana fans extremely happy.

At first, when Bird traded Harrington and Tinsley for Wayne, Indiana fans were still a little worried.

This is because Bird is highly respected in Yincheng. If it had been anyone else who had made such a deal, he would probably have been criticized to the point of shutting himself down.

And Wayne's performance in the summer league proved the saying: "Believe in the big bird and you will have eternal life!"

So much so that at the end of July, when Wayne officially signed with the Pacers, the news about Wayne was on the front pages of many local newspapers.

Indianapolis fans' expectations for this No. 12 pick are comparable to those of the No. 1 overall pick.

"Well, then, do you think he can really make a difference at the third position?" Bird was very serious. He had watched all the game videos of the Wayne Summer League, but he still needed to listen to Mike Brown's opinion.

.

Speaking of which, Bird himself was a small forward under the guise of a power forward back then.

Therefore, he is still very confident in Wayne's transformation.

"This is not a question of whether he fits or not! He is really that kind, that rare kind. He has excellent courage. Although he is thin, he is not afraid of confrontation. The key is that he is reliable in three-pointers, much more reliable than Artest.

Got it!"

Artest on vacation: "Meow meow meow?"

"It's a pity that the opponents in the summer league are too weak to see his true strength clearly."

Bird smiled when he saw Mike Brown complimenting him.

Is summer league weak?

Compared with the NBA, it's really nothing.

But compared with the NCAA, it is not simple at all.

In the first 11 games of my transition from amateur to professional, it’s really great to be able to play like this.

After all, from a global perspective, the level of the Summer League is not low to be honest.

Many talents who are doing great work in the European leagues may not be able to play in the summer league.

Bird did not continue to ask, but looked away from Mike Brown and looked at head coach Rick Carlisle.

Khalil and Bird also had an old revolutionary friendship. He knew it with just one look, so he immediately said: "I will use him, but I won't have too much time at the beginning.

If he proves he can, I'm willing to let him take Harrington's sixth man spot."

"Well, the sixth man, if possible, I hope he can serve as the sixth man next season. At critical moments, you might as well let him try."

At the critical moment, when Bird mentioned this word, the three old men in the office fell silent.

"Of course, I will give him a chance to prove his ability at critical moments." Carlisle nodded. This kind of test is very costly, because if you can't make a shot, you lose.

But by the same token, if Wayne can really do that and be a really big-hearted player, the Pacers will have another major shortcoming.

"Very good, then, Wayne will swing between the third and fourth positions next season. We have to see how much weight he will gain in the summer and then decide the direction of his development."

"Gain weight? Aren't we helping Wayne gain weight?" Carlisle looked confused. Wayne should be on vacation now.

"As far as I know, Wayne is training on his own in a training hall on the outskirts of Indianapolis. Of course, he has hired a professional trainer, so don't worry. When we see him at the end of September...

"

Bird looked at the ceiling and raised the corners of his mouth slightly: "He might be even stronger than he was in the summer league."

"By the way, Larry, about that transaction..." Carlisle looked at Bird and asked about the recent transaction.

Like Wayne's trade, the player Bird has been talking about recently, if he can come, will definitely be a huge addition to the Pacers next season.

"Oh, that's it. It should be almost done. They probably won't be able to hold it on for long. We'll have results after waiting for another 24 hours at most."

Bird nodded confidently. After a disappointing season, Bird was suddenly full of expectations for the new season.

※※※

Wayne was pounding iron like crazy in the training hall. Because of the "Man of Steel" badge, he began to ask Mancias to increase his efforts to gain weight.

Of course Mancias wouldn't agree, and Wayne couldn't just tell them, "It's okay, you can just pretend that I have a plug-in."

Therefore, under Wayne's persuasion, the two decided that they could only gain weight up to 105 kilograms before the new season.

About 3 kilograms more than expected.

One summer is equivalent to Wayne gaining 20 pounds!

While gaining weight, Wayne's strength is also increasing. Before the start of the new season, it will definitely not be a problem to reach the passing line of 60.

When the time comes, when you level up, use growth points to add some strength, and then add the "Strong Defense" badge, you should not be overwhelmed in a confrontation.

While gaining weight, Wayne was also very careful to protect his hand.

He is afraid that if he hangs too much, his shooting will be affected.

Fortunately, Wayne's shooting has not declined, whether looking at the shooting training shooting percentage or the attribute interface.

Perhaps, once attributes are added, they will not be affected by changes in weight and other factors.

But Wayne doesn't know whether physical attributes will be affected.

It seems to have no impact at present, but will the speed of weight gain decrease if I continue to gain weight in the future?

After all, his strength has always been limited by the "weight limit". This means that physical attributes may not be able to be increased as desired.

At noon, Wayne completed his strength training and walked out of the gym dripping with sweat.

Schwartz was envious when he saw Wayne.

This young man is prone to developing lumps.
To be continued...