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Chapter 611 - 265. Opening match massacre!

Chapter 611: 265. Opening match massacre!

Zhang Yang was the last one to enter, and no one among the TV commentators, the live audience, or players from both teams was surprised.

If Okafor or Felton had been the last to enter, no one would have found it strange either.

But when fans heard the DJ announce Zhang Yang’s name last and saw him come out last, everyone also felt it was as it should be.

It was something bound to happen sooner or later, only the future had arrived sooner than they’d originally anticipated.

Zhang Yang himself was quite surprised; he didn’t care much about this, but now that it was happening, he would go along with it!

Felton felt much more relaxed.

He wasn’t clever, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew his place on the team depended largely on his "little brother," valued by the management and coaching staff.

He didn’t refuse to be the leader and was actually very willing, actively taking on the responsibilities off the court.

But he always wanted to pass on-court leadership to his "little brother," knowing his own limitations in this area.

This intention could be seen from his playing style, as he actively took on the unwelcome, tiring task of chasing down off-ball shooters and helping out on the flanks. Of course, it hadn’t always been this way. The change started during the last two months of his rookie season, and from then on, he was no longer playing like the boss.

Ignoring Gerald Wallace, Okafor demanded the ball, and directed Zhang Yang to take the first shot, which was actually Felton’s initial course of action, and he continued it, making everyone accustomed to it.

The only issue before was that he had no opportunity to ’transfer power,’ since Gerald Wallace was still competing for the role of team leader. Felton wanted to completely defeat Gerald Wallace and make him submit before taking this step.

Now, with Gerald Wallace admitting defeat and preferring to be a big fish in a small pond rather than the opposite, and with the "little brother" having won the FMVP, the time had come.

Felton made the choice he wanted to make and transitioned naturally.

Fat Joe didn’t say it outright but showed his "little brother" through actions—off the court, he would handle the tedious leadership work, while you enjoy flying high on the court!

Zhang Yang didn’t ask questions, reveling in the unique romance between men...

...

Today, they entered the court earlier than usual. After the entrance ceremony, there was a series of tedious formalities. As the defending champions, they had to raise the championship banner and distribute championship rings, which brought many legends to watch.

The legends who came didn’t have much connection with the Knight, to put it mildly, actually had no relation at all.

As a team only in its fourth year, the Knight’s future legends took the stage as starters tonight.

Jordan had invited his available teammates and friends to boast about the first championship of his ownership career.

James, the opponent, also extended his congratulations to the "new Knight’s four young lords" in front of the cameras, with the one hyping them up, of course, being Rondo.

That Eastern Conference Finals triple-double solidified Rondo’s nickname "Little Kidd." With regular-season and postseason triple-doubles in his rookie year, he became perceived as a top-tier talent.

Just that... after the stage of receiving congratulations ended, Rondo rarely gossiped behind people’s backs: "James acts all high and mighty, as though he’s already achieved some great feat like a superstar."

The teammates agreed with Rondo’s comment, finding it somewhat irksome.

Felton said magnanimously, "He’s come to offer congratulations, let him be."

Zhang Yang: "He’s pretty interesting. If he had shown a look of envy and dissatisfaction at a time like this, I certainly would have admired him."

Teammates: Is that really a compliment?

Rondo continued to grumble: "His fans are interesting, too. When they talk about us alone, they say we’re not that strong, but when they mention that the Cavaliers have never beaten us, they refer to us as champions, saying that losing to us is not shameful."

With that, the teammates burst out laughing.

During the upcoming championship banner raising and ring distribution ceremony, this laughter was normal, and the onlookers did not associate it with James.

Soon, the championship banner raising ceremony began.

The process was similar to other defending champions’ banner raising and ring presentations.

Jordan, with ample experience in this area, supervised the ceremony, ensuring no mistakes occurred.

During the ring presentation, there were several interesting points that the commentators mentioned.

One was that during the coaches’ ring presentations, Bickerstaff was the first to receive one, and, when giving the ring to Carlisle, the advisor to last season’s coaching staff and the new head coach, it was Bickerstaff who took the ring from Jordan and personally placed it on Carlisle’s finger.

This act countered the recent rampant rumors of discord between Bickerstaff and Carlisle.

Many people didn’t believe these rumors since authoritative media had clarified that Carlisle disagreed with firing Little Bickerstaff, stating that it was Bickerstaff himself who decided to dismiss his son to assert his authority as head coach.

Given Bickerstaff’s nearly forty years of unconventional public personality, this move was indeed within his capabilities.

However, some people firmly believed in the discord between Carlisle and Bickerstaff, or rather hoped for such a scenario to unfold.

Another interesting point was that Felton, the player assisting Jordan, was the one presenting the rings.

As a winner, and the biggest winner of last season, the Knight received praise for everything they did. Some exaggerated by saying Zhang Yang cared only about basketball itself and was indifferent to anything else; others praised the camaraderie between Zhang Yang and Felton from the same class...

Then there was Hill, standing enviously on the bench, watching his young teammates receive their rings.