Chapter 649: The Championship Parade, a Blockbuster Deal?
With 24 seconds left in the game, the score was 108 to 94, and Team USA had possession.
There would be no miracle.
Even McGrady's 13 points in 35 seconds would not be enough.
In front of their televisions, countless fans were already in tears.
The Chinese men's basketball team was about to stand at the top of the world.
"This is incredible! This is the most excited I have ever been in my life! I never thought the Chinese men's basketball team would one day win a World Championship. Thank you, Chen Yan. Thank you, Yao Ming. Thank you, Yi Jianlian. Thank you to every player on this team. You made every Chinese basketball fan's dream come true. Thank you!"
"We won! We beat Team USA! We beat the Dream Team!"
"Who still dares to say China can only play small ball? I will throw a Men's Basketball World Championship title right at him!"
"Chen Yan changed Chinese basketball. He is the God of Basketball in my heart!"
Barkley's voice was also filled with emotion.
"This Chinese team fulfilled the dreams of 3 generations. They can finally say it with their chests out. China is the champion!"
Even Van Gundy, commentating from the American side, could not help but exclaim, "Chen is not only the best player in the NBA right now. He is the best player in the world. He dominated tonight's game, captivated every fan watching, and now we congratulate Chen and the Chinese men's basketball team. This is a well deserved honor. They earned this championship."
Americans had always admired strength.
They would not hate Chen Yan for defeating Team USA. On the contrary, they would respect and admire him even more.
Team USA gave up on its final possession.
They also understood that there would be no miracle.
Time continued to tick away.
China's bench had long been unable to contain its excitement. Everyone was already standing, waiting for the clock to hit 0 so they could rush to center court and celebrate.
"Buzz!"
The moment the electronic buzzer sounded, the Chinese players charged onto the court like a pack of released beasts.
Chen Yan was at the front, looking the most excited.
He had won NBA championships and countless individual honors, but he had never been this emotional before.
Because tonight, he had represented his country and won a World Championship for his country.
That feeling was difficult for anyone else to truly understand.
The moment Chen Yan rushed onto the court, his eyes were already filled with tears.
At this moment, Chen Yan was not thinking about anything.
He did not want to think.
He only wanted to fully enjoy this moment.
Chen Yan rushed toward the stands and took a Five Star Red Flag.
It was Chen Yan's mother who handed him the flag.
Both of Chen Yan's parents were present tonight, and at this moment, they were also shedding tears of excitement.
Wrapped in the national flag, Chen Yan circled the court with Yi Jianlian and Yao Ming by his side.
Chen Yan had imagined this scene countless times.
Tonight, it had finally become reality.
"Xiao Yan, we did it!" Yao Ming shouted excitedly.
"Yes! Brother Yao, we did it! We are the champions!" Chen Yan replied.
"My professional career has no regrets now," Yao Ming said, wiping away a tear.
In recent years, Yao Ming had been struggling with injuries. The weight of his past experiences, combined with the joy of winning the championship, overwhelmed him until he cried so hard that he almost looked like a living meme.
"Brother Yao, there are more championships waiting for us to win!" Chen Yan said.
Then he turned to the other side.
"Yi Jianlian, you have to keep working hard too!"
Yi Jianlian nodded vigorously.
Winning championships could become addictive.
Before they had even touched this trophy, the 3 NBA players of the Chinese men's basketball team were already thinking about the next one.
Wang Zhizhi was also in tears.
He was at the end of his professional career, and winning a World Championship at this stage felt like a gift from heaven.
Chen Yan singlehandedly scored 55 points, setting a new record for individual scoring in a single World Championship game.
After the game, the silver medalists, Team USA, went up to receive their awards.
Every player wore a sour expression.
For the Dream Team, 2nd place was failure and humiliation.
Durant especially looked terrible.
Not only had he lost the game tonight, but his individual performance had also been inferior to Chen Yan's.
It was said that Durant initially did not even want to go up to receive the award, but Coach K spent a long time counseling him, telling him to show grace because the whole world was watching.
Only then did Durant reluctantly go up to accept the silver medal.
Then it was China's turn to receive the award.
Every player was beaming with joy, as if they had their own built in celebration music.
The FIBA president presented gold medals to each player, then handed the trophy to Yao Ming.
Yao Ming wanted Chen Yan, the greatest contributor to tonight's championship, to come up with him and lift it together.
But Chen Yan signaled for him to lift it alone.
It was not humility.
It was the height difference between them.
The composition of them raising the trophy together would indeed not look very beautiful.
The moment Yao Ming lifted the trophy above his head, the entire arena erupted.
Many Asian fans were present, along with neutral fans from other continents.
They all wanted to see China lift the trophy.
No one disliked watching an underdog win.
The louder the cheers became, the more embarrassed the Dream Team 9 players felt.
But since they were already on stage, they could not run away.
They could only grit their teeth and endure the torment.
Afterward, the official Best 5 of this World Championship was announced.
For the 1st time in history, 3 players from the Chinese men's basketball team were selected.
The 3 were Chen Yan, Yi Jianlian, and Yao Ming.
The remaining 2 spots went to Durant of Team USA and Turkoglu of host nation Turkey.
Chen Yan was still excited during the interview, until a reporter asked about his plans for next season.
At that moment, he fell silent.
Everyone knew that Chen Yan wanted to leave the Phoenix Suns, while the Suns wanted to keep him.
The 2 sides had been locked in a stalemate all summer with no resolution.
Chen Yan glanced at the reporter and said, "Next question."
The reporter asked, "Will you still be with the Phoenix Suns next season?"
"Next."
"Are you currently contacting other teams?"
"Next."
Chen Yan avoided every topic related to transfers.
He did not want those matters to ruin his mood tonight.
The new NBA season was about to begin, and Chen Yan tried his best not to think about those things.
He wanted to fully enjoy tonight's victory.
The Chinese players celebrated all night in Turkey.
Chen Yan also fulfilled the promise he had made to Zhu 8 2 years earlier and had a big drink with him.
Chen Yan rarely indulged like this, but the joy of winning the championship allowed him to let loose for once.
The next day, the Chinese men's basketball team took a special plane back to the capital.
Hundreds of thousands of fans had already gathered in the celebration square.
Troops were even dispatched to maintain order, and national level leaders were present to receive them.
The scene could only be described as unprecedented.
The Chinese men's basketball team had now become a national banner.
Many Beijingers cried tears of joy.
Basketball had finally brought honor.
Another group of football fans also cried, wondering when it would finally be their turn.
The celebration lasted from morning until afternoon, followed by a reporter interview session later in the day.
The 12 Chinese players were exhausted but happy.
They enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded by celebration.
For the next 2 or 3 days, everyone was discussing the men's basketball championship.
If someone did not know that the team had won the title, they would definitely be looked down upon by the people around them.
5 days later, CCTV5 conducted another exclusive interview with Chen Yan.
He was the core player of the championship team, and he fully deserved that treatment.
Before the interview, Chen Yan's agent had already instructed the reporters that Chen Yan did not want to hear questions about the Suns or transfers.
The interview team cooperated, and the process was relaxed and pleasant.
Chen Yan had been in a joyful mood these past few days since returning to his homeland.
However, that happiness did not last long.
Soon, Chen Yan departed again and returned to the United States.
Chen Yan did not go directly back to Phoenix.
He did not plan to play in the preseason.
He wanted to use his actions to pressure management and show them that he was determined to leave.
Chen Yan first went to New York to shoot an advertisement, then traveled to Los Angeles to spend some time with Taylor Swift.
While enjoying himself, Chen Yan did not forget to monitor the trade market.
During this period, many trades occurred around the league.
Among them was James's shocking blockbuster deal.
.....
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