This night could be said to be the "darkest" day in Mark Cuban's life. He felt as if the sky had fallen; he truly hadn't expected the Los Angeles Lakers, with Shaquille O'Neal back, to actually lose to the Washington Wizards. One should know that the Los Angeles Lakers had even won games without O'Neal.
And Mark Cuban would have to pay a "painful" price for his big mouth before the game.
Could he play dumb?
Of course he could!
But that would only make him a bigger laughingstock.
However, as an elite in the IT industry and a business genius, being shameless was a routine matter for Mark Cuban.
He was considering appearing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and fulfilling the bet in front of a national audience... he could even accept endorsing a certain brand of diapers.
Making money wasn't a shameful thing, after all.
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On the other hand, on the court.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards players were hugging and greeting each other.
"Kid, good job, but next time, 50 points..." Kobe said with an incredibly determined look and tone after hugging Link.
Holy crap, are you treating me like Iguodala?
Kobe had once made a bold claim to Iguodala that he would score 50 points under his defense. The result... Kobe didn't quite make it; with 6 minutes left in the game, Kobe had personally scored 49 points, and since the game had already turned into garbage time, Kobe simply sat out the rest of the game.
At this moment, Link immediately shouted to Michael Jordan, who was three meters away, "Michael, Kobe says he's going to score 50 points under your defense next game."
At that moment...
Both Michael Jordan and Kobe rolled their eyes.
The upset loss to the Washington Wizards left a fire burning in Kobe's heart. At the same time, he was reflecting inwardly; if he and O'Neal had cooperated tacitly from the start of the game, it would have been impossible to lose.
The Washington Wizards were able to win the game because, in addition to exploiting the rift in the OK combination during the first half, the role players performed exceptionally well tonight. Unlike previous games where the bench dug a hole and the starters filled it, even Washington Wizards fans wouldn't dare to expect role players to have such stunning performances throughout an entire series.
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Time passed quickly.
The first and second-year First-Year Playerss set to participate in the NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge needed to arrive at the First Union Center in Philadelphia 1-2 days in advance.
This year's All-Star Weekend was held in Philadelphia. The head coach for the Eastern Conference All-Stars was Philadelphia assistant coach Maurice Cheeks. After Link arrived, he practiced tactics with the first-year players.
Of course, since it was a team thrown together temporarily and the Rookie Challenge players had no "position requirements," it was easy for a backlog of guards or Centers to occur.
However, this year's situation was pretty good; whether it was the first-year or second-year team, suitable players could be arranged for every position.
"Wow, Link... I've noticed your height is about the same as mine, and even your wingspan is close..." said the first-year First-Year Players "Andrei Kirilenko," who was technically a repeater, with a smile.
Kirilenko, at 206cm tall, was indeed similar to Link, but the difference was that Link was 4kg heavier than him.
"Yeah, Link, you're not going to grow to 216cm, are you?" Shane Battier also joked at this time.
After he spoke, the teammates nearby also started laughing.
Although Link had just turned 18 and was the youngest player in NBA history—and the youngest among the first-year players—his fame and strength were the greatest among everyone. The 22-year-old Jason Richardson, 23-year-old Jamal Tinsley, 21-year-old Pau Gasol, 23-year-old Shane Battier, 20-year-old Joe Johnson, 20-year-old Tony Parker, and 21-year-old Andrei Kirilenko all followed his lead.
As for the former high school big three—Tyson Chandler, Kwame Brown, and Eddy Curry—they stood beside Link like underlings.
And the starting lineup for the first-year team in tomorrow's Rookie Challenge: Link, Jason Richardson, Shane Battier, Pau Gasol, and Brendan Haywood.
That's right.
Even though the high school big three were all drafted higher than Haywood, after entering the NBA, Haywood, who clung to Link's coattails, was not only hailed as the "Biscuit King" by fans but was also quite popular locally in the United States.
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After the team practice ended, the First-Year Playerss accepted a collective interview arranged by the league.
When the first and second-year First-Year Playerss gathered together...
The focus of the media's attention remained unchanged.
That was the 2001 NBA number one draft pick—Link.
"Man, Link... his light is just too dazzling..." Tyson Chandler said to his Bulls teammate Eddy Curry, his tone full of envy.
"Just get used to it. After all, this guy only spent a little over a month in high school to steal all of our thunder." Although Eddy Curry used to be unconvinced by Link, after several encounters in the regular season, he had gradually grown accustomed to it.
After all...
Every time they played against him, Eddy Curry felt as if the other man had become a different person.
Meanwhile, Kwame Brown, who was selected 7th overall by the New Jersey Nets—the "bust" number one pick from his previous life—looked at Link with a complex expression. Currently, his status with the Nets was not high; after all, the Nets had Kenyon Martin, the 2000 number one draft pick, in their frontcourt.
In addition, the arrogant Kwame Brown and Kenyon Martin did not get along, but with the Nets coaching staff and Jason Kidd keeping them in check, the two didn't dare to act up.
"Bastard... damn bastard, if you're really that strong, then lead us to defeat the Second-Year Playerss..." Kwame Brown thought to himself.
At this time, the biggest star of the Second-Year Players team, Kenyon Martin, was being interviewed by the media.
"Kenyon, what is your goal for tomorrow's game?" a media reporter asked.
"To defeat the opponent, of course..." Kenyon Martin said with full confidence.
But as soon as those words were spoken, the media reporters present couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Laughter comes in many forms. But at this moment, even a blind person could see that this was the sound of "mockery."
Although the second-year players had one more year of "seniority" than the first-year players, the overall strength of the second-year team was truly inferior to the first-year team.
The starting lineup the Second-Year Playerss could field: Quentin Richardson, Mike Miller, Darius Miles, Kenyon Martin, and Chris Mihm. The big names sitting on the bench were only the Turkish agent Hedo Turkoglu and the Slam Dunk Contest champion, Desmond Mason.
But on the first-year bench, setting aside the high school big three, there were AK47, Agent Zero, Joe Johnson, and Tony Parker—which one of them wasn't a tough character?
"We will definitely defeat those first-year rookies across from us!!!" Kenyon Martin declared through gritted teeth.