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Chapter 371 - 171. The Wild Mid-Season_4

Chapter 371: 171. The Wild Mid-Season_4

Zhang Yang felt how high his popularity was in the California region!

No wonder every time fans quarreled because of him, he would always see fans with California IP addresses speaking up for him and cursing back at the others.

He liked all those cheers, except for one—who the hell was calling him Yangyang?

This nickname, when used by his parents or relatives, he was used to, but when others used it, he felt a shameful sense of grandeur as if donning a king’s robe.

After the DJ called out the Bobcats’ starting players with a deep voice, Felton, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, Jumaine Jones, and Okafor entered one after another.

On the other side, Warriors players listening to the cheers for Zhang Yang from the home crowd were very annoyed.

Of course, they knew about Zhang Yang’s popularity in California, after all, he was the ’California’s Best Mr. Basketball’.

Staying local, they heard even more, wilder legends about Zhang Yang!

For example: In the summer of 2003, a 15-year-old Zhang Yang played basketball for the first time after being provoked by a group of people who said he was so tall yet couldn’t play basketball. Without ever touching a basketball before, he went on the court and blasted the ’Little Iverson’ from Santa Barbara High School who had dropped out. From then on, he fell in love with basketball and even chose to wear the number 3 jersey that the ’Little Iverson’ wore, after which he began dominating the California high school basketball scene. From the first time he touched a basketball until the winter of 2005 when he stepped onto the NBA court and hit a game-winner against the "Little Giant" Yao Ming, it took only two and a half years...

The Warrior players had already guessed that when the Bobcats visited, the fans would definitely cheer for Zhang Yang, but when they actually heard those cheers, they were still very angry and upset.

The most upset were Monta Ellis, from the same draft class as Zhang Yang, and Al Harrington, who always envied and despised Zhang Yang.

After the starting ceremony ended, Zhang Yang and Ellis, as high school players from the same draft class, were invited by the court station to take a photo together.

Normally, in front of the camera, no matter the relationship, one would always save face and flash a smile, but not Ellis! His expression was foul, looking like someone who was forced to be there.

Because, at this stage, the opponent he most wanted to defeat was Zhang Yang!

Ellis was the Warriors’ most surprising player this season. Before the great trade for Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson, he averaged 19.1 points per game, overtaking Dunk King Richardson to become the team’s second scorer, just behind Baron Davis.

After the big trade, Ellis was more often placed on the bench by Coach Nelson, and his scoring dropped quite a bit, currently averaging 17.6 points and still declining. However, his shooting percentage has greatly improved; before the trade, he only had a 42% shooting percentage, and now his season percentage has increased to 44.9% and continues to rise.

From averaging 6.8 points a game in his rookie year to a high of 19.1 points this season, Ellis’s already confident personality became even more arrogant, and his envy of Zhang Yang grew even stronger.

In his view, Zhang Yang’s average of 25.7 points this season was only because Zhang Yang received more attention and cultivation from the team. If he were in the Bobcats, he could play even better!

The other side didn’t give face, and with a sour expression, Zhang Yang also put away his smile when taking the photo, his face expressionless, and he walked off immediately after the picture was taken.

Messing with the opponent’s mentality, affecting their mood—as if he wouldn’t know how to do that.

Zhang Yang didn’t know if Ellis was intentionally making a face to mess with his mentality, but he responded in kind.

Just as he had expected...

Ellis: I gave him face by posing for a photo with their country’s media, and he couldn’t even greet me, tonight I’m going to destroy him! Definitely!