Coach, I don't want to retire yet

Chapter 587 It’s really a gold card!
At the Nuggets training ground, the team's rookie Kobe Bryant had just reported to the team and he challenged the team leader Hu Weidong, which really scared the Nuggets' other two rookies this year, Nash and Ben Wallace.

We were supposed to go to the training ground to practice after the signing ceremony, so how did it turn out like this?

Although Hu Weidong has not had a very good reputation in the NBA in recent years and is considered a regular season player who often performs poorly in the playoffs, no matter how badly he is a regular season player, he is still an NBA All-Star level player who is selected to the All-Star team every year, is selected to the All-NBA Team every year, and leads his team into the playoffs every year.

Kobe is just a rookie, but he dares to say that he can beat Hu Weidong. This is really too arrogant.

The final result, of course, was that Hu Weidong beat Kobe violently.

Kobe has great potential and will be very powerful in the future, but at this moment, Hu Weidong can still suppress Kobe.

After beating Kobe in a one-on-one duel, Thabeet was very happy.

In the real world, he wouldn't even dream of beating up Kobe.

But in his dream, he can bully Xiao Xiao Ke, how cool it is.

After beating up Kobe, Hu Weidong was not as angry as Nash and Ben Wallace thought.

On the contrary, I was very happy.

"Boy, I know you want to get my attention. Now I want to congratulate you. You have successfully attracted my attention. Next season, you will get the playing time you want."

Kobe was surprised to see Hu Weidong being so magnanimous. Nash and Ben Wallace were also a little envious of Kobe. If they had known this earlier, they would have also gone up and said that they would beat the Chinese Hu.

Later Kobe realized that the playing time was not what he had imagined, but rather it was beyond his imagination.

In the 96-97 season of the Nuggets, Nash, Ben Wallace and Kobe, three young rookies, all started.

With the support of Hu Weidong, the starting lineup of the Nuggets in the new season became center Mutombo, power forward Ben Wallace, small forward Hu Weidong, shooting guard Kobe, point guard Nash, and Sprewell came off the bench as the sixth man. Although he was called the sixth man, he actually had a lot of playing time.

Robert Horry and Van Exel were also on the bench.

Sprewell doesn't care about starting or being a substitute. What he cares about is the money. As long as the money is there, he will fight hard on the court.

After his rookie contract, Hu Weidong cut his own salary and gave the top salary to Sprewell. You really can't find a boss like him anywhere else.

With the departure of Alan Houston and Reggie Williams, the Nuggets are not favored in the new season.

In fact, the Nuggets' performance was indeed average. The team has three starting rookies, and it is almost impossible for them to make the playoffs.

If it weren't for the Nuggets' strong rotation lineup and powerful bench, plus the fact that Sprewell, Van Exel, Hu Weidong and Mutombo are indeed All-Star-level players, they would have barely made it to the playoffs with three rookies.

In the regular season, Hu Weidong almost failed to be selected into the best team, but this season was not without gains. In the All-Star Game, Hu Weidong unexpectedly won the All-Star MVP, unlocking a new achievement and increasing his potential by +1.

They entered the playoffs as the fifth team in the Western Conference, and then miraculously swept the fourth-placed Lakers team led by O'Neal 3-0 in the first round.

This result was indeed beyond everyone's expectations.

After a full regular season of training, Kobe, Nash and Ben Wallace did not show any fear in the playoffs. Kobe, in particular, had a strong influence and presence on both offense and defense.

Kobe provided the Nuggets' starting lineup with stable singles and stable perimeter defense in the playoffs, which gave Hu Weidong great help.

Because Ben Wallace and Mutombo started, the defense was maximized, but the offense was basically ruined in the interior.

Therefore, the Nuggets need an outside player with strong breakthrough ability to open up the inside offense. Hu Weidong and Nash are not enough, but Kobe can.

Moreover, Kobe can defend against outside attackers, freeing up Hu Weidong, who can then focus all his energy on running and shooting.

Mutombo and Ben Wallace on defense.

Kobe rushes.

Hu Weidong ran.

Nash control.

Plus Sprewell and Horry who stepped up from the bench as well as Van Exel and Brian Russell.

This Nuggets team is very willful and looks weaker than the past two seasons, but in fact it has no flaws and is more difficult to play against. In the playoffs, it is stronger and more stable.

After sweeping the Lakers, the Nuggets met Malone, who was ranked first in the Western Conference, in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Nuggets played better in the second round than in the first round, and it seemed like they were getting stronger as the game went on.

The game went all the way to Game 4 with the Jazz, and in the end, thanks to Hu Weidong's buzzer-beating three-pointer from Stockton, the team defeated the Jazz 3-.

After reaching the Western Conference Finals, Thabeet and the Nuggets faced the Rockets and Olajuwon, whom they had never been able to overcome.

And this time, the Nuggets finally got over it.

Another 4-3 victory, the Nuggets finally avenged the Rockets, won the Western Conference championship, and made it to the finals.

The Nuggets, who were originally not optimistic about the team, made it to the finals, making all the criticisms Hu Weidong had received over the years disappear.

"Hu! Beat the Bulls and Jordan in the finals to avenge me!"

Mourning, who had already run from the Hornets to the Heat, was defeated by Jordan in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Seeing Hu Weidong and Mutombo make it to the finals, he was happier than Hu Weidong.

Tabit was also very happy.

He felt that he had no potential to move for more than two years.

Maybe it's moving again!
Leading the team to the finals is definitely a huge achievement
"There is still a week left before the finals. I can still improve. I wonder if this time my potential will be in shooting, defense, physical fitness or technique?"

Try each one.

Finally, when he was practicing movement control, Hu Weidong felt a change.

"This time, we're going to add some points to the operation control!"

The finals are coming soon, and it is truly admirable that Hu Weidong, as the team leader, is working so hard.

“89, finally 89!”

Hu Weidong's efforts also inspired the young players of the Nuggets.

However, in the finals, the Nuggets' boss Hu Weidong and young players were all beaten.

The Nuggets rely on interior defense and outside offense.

The Bulls' strength lies in their perimeter defense, with Jordan and Pippen personally locking down Hu Weidong and Kobe.

In the end, the Bulls easily defeated the Nuggets 4-1 in the finals, and Jordan's return started the first of three consecutive championships.

Although he lost in the finals, Thabeet was not discouraged. He used his abilities that had not been used for more than two years. The team's strength was finally formed, and he was just a little bit away from becoming a superstar.

"It doesn't matter, we lost. In the future, we will become stronger and stronger!" Hu Weidong trained these young people in the NBA team, especially the golden generation trio in 1996.

In the national team, Hu Weidong also began to train Wang Zhizhi and the fledgling Yao Ming.

At the 1997 draft, Hu Weidong encouraged Wang Zhizhi to participate. He performed well in last year's Olympics. At the age of 19, he blocked a shot by the Admiral, which was the peak of his popularity.

In addition, he has already helped the Bayi team win the championship. Now is the best time for him to come to the NBA while he is still young and the market is good.

In Tabit's opinion, Wang Zhizhi is much better than similar players such as Adonal Foyle in the lottery zone.

Even if other teams don't choose him, the Nuggets still need players like Wang Zhizhi to increase their inside offense.

The Nuggets play a run-and-gun game. Mutombo and Ben Wallace can both run, but their offense is lacking. Having more Wang Zhizhi is very important.

Wang Zhizhi himself also wanted to participate in the draft, but the Chinese team would not release him. It was only through Tabit’s personal coordination and help that the Chinese team was reluctantly released.

In the end, Wang Zhizhi was selected by the Nuggets with the 26th pick in the first round.

Everything is moving in a very good direction.

In the 1997-1998 season, Hu Weidong once again led the Nuggets to the finals in the Eastern Conference.

This year, the Nuggets are stronger.

Especially with the three young players, Kobe, Nash and Ben Wallace, there is absolutely no team in the West that can be a match for the Nuggets.

This season, Hu Weidong wanted to compete for the MVP, but Jordan returned and won his first championship. Jordan's momentum was too great and no one could match him.

In the end, Hu Weidong still made it to the finals with an ability of 89, and then he and the outside stars consisting of Nash, Kobe, Sprewell, Van Exel and Brian Russell once again lost to Jordan and Pippen.

But this time it was not a crushing defeat, but a regrettable defeat of 3 to 4.

"If I can be a little stronger, just a little stronger, we can win!"

The gap is really very small!

If only he could become a superstar!

If only his ability could reach 90 points!
For the first time after his rebirth, Tabit fell into mental exhaustion.

"Hu, you are already good enough. Without you, there would be no team. You are already good enough."

The team's head coach Westhead hopes Hu Weidong can get out of this dilemma.

In 1998, at the World Championships, the Chinese team started again, led by Thabeet, who was reluctant, but this reluctance disappeared after watching a basketball training.

Yao Ming, who was selected for the national team for the first time, beat other American geniuses of the same age in a training camp organized by Nike, including Tyson Chandler, whom Thabeet was very familiar with.

The NBA is mired in labor disputes this year and may be suspended next season. The U.S. team is the weakest in history at the World Championships.

The Chinese team has a chance to compete for the World Championship!
"World Championship MVP plus World Championship Champion!"

Thabeet feels that as long as he can achieve this kind of achievement after this World Championship, he will once again have the potential to break through to become a superstar and avenge Jordan in the finals next season!
Opening match of the World Championships in Greece.

The Palais des Sports in Maroussi, which was originally capable of accommodating 18000 spectators, had only a few thousand people watching the first game. Greek officials gave a large number of tickets to the American team, but the American team had few spectators to watch the game.

Brad Miller, Jimmy King, David Wood, Wendell Alexis, William Edwards, Andrew Amaya, Chivan Garris, Steve Hawkins, Gerard King, Trajan Langton, Jimmy Oliver, Jason Sather.

I guess NBA fans wouldn’t be able to recognize many of the names of the players on the American team.

The thousands of spectators at the scene were all Chinese fans, Chinese in Europe.

Olajuwon was there, but the embarrassing thing was that he came to Greece not to support the American team, but to support his country - Nigeria.

In the end, Olajuwon witnessed the Chinese team defeat the United States for the first time in team history, 90 to 83. The United States lost the first game of the World Championships, and this was definitely not the first time the United States lost.

In the group stage, after defeating the United States, the Chinese team successfully defeated Brazil and Nigeria, winning all three games and advancing as the first in the group.

In this World Championships, after losing to the Chinese team, the US team lost to Lithuania and Spain in succession.

After successfully defeating Australia 98-78 in the last game of the second stage, the Chinese team eliminated Italy 87-77 in the quarterfinals. After finishing third in the previous session, they once again made it to the semifinals this time.

Moreover, the opponent is Russia.

It was also Russia that eliminated the Chinese team in the last World Championships.

The Russian team has the famous player Sega Baberkov, who scored 30 points alone to help the team eliminate the United States, giving the United States its fourth defeat in this World Championships.

This time, facing the old rival, the powerful Russia, Hu Weidong finally led the team to victory, 76 to 70. It was a difficult win, but they still won, thanks to the US team for exhausting Russia in the quarterfinals.

On the other hand, the semi-final between Yugoslavia and host Greece was also very exciting. The main reason was that Greece had three very tall inside players, while Yugoslavia played on the outside. It is difficult for outside players to play against inside players in FIBA.

Yugoslavia has Bodiroga, who is Thabit's biggest rival in the competition for MVP in the World Championships. Whoever wins the championship will be the MVP.

Only one person can have the championship and MVP.

In addition, Bodiroga's substitute, Peja of the Kings, is also very strong.

"Yao, basically, three-pointers. The only way we can win this game is if you can lock the inside and I can shoot three-pointers. In this game, we need to set more screens and cooperate more. Yugoslavia is a team with only a team and superstars, and we only have the three of us. If we play the cooperation we want, we can win. Otherwise, we will lose."

Because he came from the future, Hu Weidong attached great importance to the three-pointer and knew the role of the three-pointer.

In theory, Yugoslavia and China are two very close teams.

In the final, Yugoslavia and China showed the world the current strong strength of Asian basketball and European basketball.

In the end, the Chinese team defeated Yugoslavia 66-64 and won its first world championship.

Although Yugoslavia lost, the excellent performance of the young players made people forget the absence of veterans such as Divac.

The Chinese team is younger and Hu Weidong is more eye-catching. With his outstanding performance, Hu Weidong won the MVP as he wished.

World Championship champion + MVP, directly defeated the competitors!

After the game, Thabeet cried excitedly while holding the championship trophy.

It’s too difficult, it’s really too difficult!
It’s so hard to become a superstar!

"Ding, your player has changed his fate, potential +1."

"Ding, your player has changed his fate, potential +1."

Gold card!

The card is really gold!
Du Kang was shocked!
(End of this chapter)