bull

Chapter 855

With the third pick, the Grizzlies decisively chose the best one-OJ Mayo.

This immortal genius who was once known as having "Wade's lightning speed, James' strong body, Kobe's dexterity, Nash's vision and Iverson's breakthrough" stopped developing after entering college.

That made many scouts who thought he was a multi-superstar fusion cast doubts on his prospects: Perhaps, his high school career was so dominant only because he developed earlier than others?
Apart from Zhao Li, about the 2008 rookies, Bai Jidong heard the name of Mayo the most.

In high school, Mayo was a well-known figure in the United States, known as the super giant of the next era.

It's a pity that time is fate, and Mayo finally fell from the altar to the mortal world.

There were basically no surprises in the subsequent drafts. For Bai Jidong and Zhao Li, the only important thing tonight was who the Timberwolves chose with the [-]th pick.

When the Bucks selected Bruce Lopez with the tenth pick, Zhao Li clenched his fists.

"Don't be nervous." Bai Jidong smiled.

Zhao Li nodded lightly. Over the years, strong winds and waves have come, and he has already cultivated a big heart that remains calm.

About 10 minutes later, Stern stood on the front desk again.

"In the 2008 NBA draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Zhao Li with the No.11 pick in the first round, from the University of Kansas!"

Zhao Li let out a breath, and finally he let go of his hanging heart.

"Little Li, how does it feel to have your dream come true?" Bai Jidong gave Zhao Li a hug.

Zhao Li tried his best to control his emotions: "We will be teammates in the future?"

Bai Jidong laughed. "Go, don't make Mr. President wait in a hurry."

"The Minnesota Timberwolves are going farther and farther on the way to become the Minnesota China team." - "Boston Defender Hug" reported with a slight sarcasm.

"Zhao Li, White Wolf, China Yi, all current NBA Chinese players have gone to the Timberwolves. This feeling is really strange." Bill Simmons said.

"Let's welcome Zhao Li together! # Timberwolves Country" — Timberwolves official.

On the day of the draft, Bai Jidong brought Zhao Li to many events.

Today's rookies are no different from Bai Jidong's time. Everyone is a sweet mom in the eyes of the media, and there are endless media interviews.

Zhao Li behaved gracefully, like an elegant son-in-law.

Bai Jidong acted as a distraction, the reporter often asked Zhao Li a question, and then asked Bai Jidong another question.

Such alternating interviews gave Zhao Li room to relax.

"How familiar you are, you may have to stay here for a long, long time." After the noisy interview, Bai Jidong brought Zhao Li to St. Olaf Center.

Zhao Li wanted to take every corner of the training hall into his eyes.

"Dwyane, do you really think he's the player we need?" Willis Sr. asked.

Casey said: "Zhao is like a lottery ticket that hasn't been opened yet. Whether this lottery ticket is a jackpot or a scrap of paper has yet to be tested."

"But we can't stop trying because we're worried about drawing a piece of paper," Casey said.

After a few weeks of training, Zhao Li will represent the Timberwolves in the summer league.

"Olo, I think you can still fight." Bai Jidong said.

In the past few days, Bai Jidong has been persuading Olowokandi, hoping that he will change his mind and fight for another year to increase the depth of the team's bench.

Olowokandi said: "White Wolf, if the team really needs me to stay, I will stay, but I don't see the need to stay."

Bai Jidong asked: "Why not? Apart from you, we don't have a serious backup center. Do you want Byrne to play 40 minutes per game?"

"Bourne is young, and he can play for a long time in each game. You just need to find a substitute in the free market who can replace him for a few minutes." Olowokandi has seen through the world and is determined to retire.

Bai Jidong was extremely helpless, no matter how eloquent he was, he couldn't find a suitable excuse to persuade Olowokandi to stay.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, you have done enough, you took me to get four championship rings, you let me witness the greatest individual performance in the history of the finals, I can leave without regret." Olovo Candy said emotionally.

Bai Jidong sighed. As soon as Olowokandi left, there was not a single player from the 90s in the team except Joe Smith, a student of the same level.

This is the scene that Bai Jidong doesn't want to face the most. At a glance, he doesn't even have a heart-to-heart friend.

"What do you plan to do after you retire?" Bai Jidong asked.

Olowokandi is still unclear, "It hasn't been decided yet, let's take one step at a time."

This summer, the Timberwolves have a lot to work on.

The first is that Hardaway and Olowokandi announced their retirement. The retirement of the two veterans is bound to affect the team.

Hardaway is the leader of the locker room, while Olowokandi is a good inside substitute. The departure of the two is not a small loss for the team.

Bai Jidong calculated the date, he still has one month to rest.

One month later, in August, he will return to China with Zhao Li to participate in the BJ Olympics.

In order to participate in the Olympic Games, Bai Jidong specially customized a finger protector specially used to protect his fingers.

The United States was puzzled by Bai Jidong's decision: Why must he participate in the Olympics?
Bai Jidong didn't give any explanation for this. In other people's eyes, doing so is stupid, but in his view, being able to participate in the local Olympic Games is a rare opportunity for any athlete.

"Be sure to protect yourself, don't force yourself."

Chu Meng opposed Bai Jidong's return to the country to compete from the very beginning, but no one could make him change his mind.

Therefore, Bai Jidong returned to China and reported to the national team.

"Xiaobai, does the fracture affect you a lot?" The first interview I received back in China was directed by Taishan Beidou Zhang Lizhang of the Chinese men's basketball team.

Don't look at Director Zhang who can only talk about reason and reason now, but he was a ruthless character when he was young.

Bai Jidong smiled for a while. Nowadays, there are only a few old people including Zhang Lili who can call him "Xiaobai" in China.

"There will definitely be some impact, but since I'm here, it means that I'm prepared to deal with difficulties." Bai Jidong said.

Zhang Lili asked: "Our Chinese team was the champion of the World Championships last year. What do you want to achieve in this Olympics?"

"I don't want to be anything other than the champion." Bai Jidong's answer is enough to occupy tomorrow's headlines.

Zhang Lili secretly sighed, if Bai Jidong didn't have a broken bone, he could still think about the championship. Now, he only hopes that the Chinese team can reach the top four.

The Chinese men's basketball team is ushering in the best era, look at these names, Bai Jidong, Yao Yueban, Yi Jianlian, Wang Zhizhi, Zhao Li...

These people could stand alone in any era in the past and hold up the banner of the Chinese team. However, it was like fate that they gathered in the same era.

Jonas felt regretful in his heart. He watched this year's NBA Finals and witnessed Bai Jidong's performance like a god.

If Bai Jidong is not injured, he believes that the Chinese team has a chance to beat the dream team again.

It's a pity that the chance of defeating the dream team disappeared with Bai Weidong's injury.

There is less than half a month before the start of the Olympic Games, Bai Jidong and Zhao Li have to get used to the team's tactics as soon as possible.

Jonas is assured of their ability to adapt.

"White Wolf, be careful."

Bai Jidong smiled and said, "Don't worry, coach, I will pay attention."

"Old Bai, are you a nine-fingered piano demon?" As he got older, Wang Zhizhi lost his competitiveness in the NBA. He returned to the Bayi team last summer and snatched the championship from Yi Jianlian.

Bai Jidong smiled wryly, "Forget it."

"I really don't know how to play with only nine fingers." Wang Zhizhi couldn't understand.

"I hope you never have this kind of experience, it's too painful." Bai Jidong sighed. "It's like I have [-] successes, because I can only use nine fingers, and I can only use [-] successes in the end."

"Are you trying to say that you beat the Big Four of the Celtics with [-]% power?" Wang Zhizhi laughed.

Bai Jidong pretended to be a coward invisibly, and after Wang Zhizhi said it, he couldn't help laughing himself.

"Comrade Xiao Wang's comprehension ability has improved a lot." Bai Jidong said appreciatively.

On the other side, Zhao Li was going head-to-head with several other defenders of the national team.

When it comes to heads-up, Zhao Li may be the best in technique, but heads-up is not just about skills.

Liu Wei's technique is not as good as Zhao Li's, but his confrontation is much stronger. At the moment, Liu Wei used his strong body to win a few shots in a row.

"It's too shameless!" Zhao Li shouted.

Others saw that Liu Wei used his body to bully Zhao Li, but what Yunus saw was the Olympic Games, Zhao Li may encounter the same situation.

On the field of real swords and guns, the opponent's confrontation will only be stronger. At that time, can Zhao Li adapt to the confrontation?
The White Wolf was as stable as ever. After several intra-team matches, Jonas once suspected that the broken news was fake.

The broken white wolf is still dominant.

If White Wolf can maintain this performance, coupled with Yao Yueban, China may not be able to fight the United States.

Fantasies arose in Yunas's heart again.

Ten days later, Bai Jidong entered the Olympic Village as the flag bearer of the Chinese delegation.

In the first match of the Olympic men's basketball group stage, the Chinese team played against the American dream team.

Facing this dream team that brought together Kobe, James, Wade, Anthony, Paul, Howard, Kidd and other superstars, the Chinese team persisted until the last quarter.

In front of this group of enemies, Bai Jidong scored 35 points, and was suppressed by Yunus in the fourth quarter.

"White Wolf, I know you want to fight, but now is not the time for a showdown." Yunas persuaded.

"So you have to admit defeat halfway? Is the game over?"

No matter how long it takes, Bai Jidong will never accept the so-called strategic failure.

He was dissatisfied with this strategy when he played in the Olympic Games for the first time, and now he is here again!
This was only the first match of the group stage, out of respect for the head coach, Bai Jidong didn't disobey the order, so he sat down.

In the end, in the first game of the group stage, the Chinese team defeated the US team by 20 points.

After the game, Bai Jidong refused to be interviewed by the reporter and left the game directly.

　A book friend is asking a few children of Dream Academy, Zhao Li, you have already seen the setting, the previous Wang Yang, my setting is Shang Zhongyong, as for Butu, look at the follow-up, and as for Jing Qi, In fact, the prototype is Zhou Qi.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)