[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1120":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1444537,1896,"Chapter 1120 - 11 Shark Story","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1120",1120,"\u003Cp>[A few weeks before the draft, I met with NBA chairman Mr. David Stern, and he asked me, \"Where would you like to play?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t want to create any conspiracy theories, but he really did ask me that, and I told him, \"Of course, wherever it’s hottest, that’s where I’ll go.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Orlando is very hot, and so am I.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the 1992 draft, I was incredibly hot. Everyone knew I would be the first pick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was very eager to join the NBA, but I still considered staying at Louisiana University for another year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was worried about my future, which is understandable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I called Coach Dale Brown and told him I was leaving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said, \"I know why you’re calling. You’re right; you have to leave. They’ve hurt you too much in college games. You should leave before you get injured.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coach Brown’s words relieved me, so I asked, \"But the NBA isn’t necessarily safe either.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, the NBA is much safer, as long as you don’t deliberately stir up trouble. Besides, Ah Gan doesn’t hit people as much now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brown mentioned Ah Gan, a name that was both exciting and intimidating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This summer, he would win his sixth championship trophy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Achieving a second three-peat is an incredible feat. I practically grew up listening to his basketball legends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know all about his classic battles; I’ve watched some live and they really got my blood pumping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In high school, I was determined to become a center like him, to maximize my strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I won’t let you down, Coach. I will carve out my own path.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s what I told Coach Brown, then I quietly left campus without telling anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at the military base in San Antonio, I started reaching out to agents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coach Brown introduced me to Leonard Amato.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He handed me a business card and said, \"Sign with me, and I can get you whatever you want. Let’s start with earning a $250,000.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, I was shocked at the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>$250,000 was an astronomical figure for me then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But half a month later, in April 1992, I hadn’t even been drafted yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had already landed a $1,000,000 endorsement deal for a car ad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t believe it, $1,000,000!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I spent all that money in two days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first thing I did was help my parents settle their debt problems and pay off what they owed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second thing was to immediately go to a Mercedes-Benz dealership and buy a car.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I got home, my dad asked, \"Where’s my car?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I promptly went out and bought him one too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I thought, my mom should also have a Mercedes to cruise around the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, within a week, I bought three Mercedes cars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The result was that the Mercedes dealer called me, saying I still owed them $90,000.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said that’s impossible, I had $1,000,000, more than enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later I found out that after taxes were deducted from the $1,000,000 endorsement fee, over $400,000 was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I actually only received just over $500,000, damn it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I told my mom I needed an accountant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among all the interviewees, I chose Lester Konispeier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was conservative, not flashy, but very sincere. He didn’t boast about \"I can handle everything\" but said \"You can check my work anytime, and I’ll answer any questions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This attitude won my mom’s approval, and I hired him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t just work for me; he also represented some rappers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hiring Lester initiated a beautiful friendship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lester is my confidant, and when I have crazy ideas, he stops me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when I bought too many cars, gave too much money to relatives, and everything started getting out of hand, he would bring me back to reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’s very successful, saved a lot of money. I asked him how he did it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He told me, \"I bought annuities.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s that?\" I asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You pay a fixed insurance fee to a life insurance company, and years later they return it to you in fixed amounts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sounded like what I needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I started making big money, when I had more money than I could spend, I invested most of it in annuities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I bought one for myself, my parents, and my siblings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant when I turned 40 (which then seemed like a far-off future), I’d receive a nice income.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This would ensure a good financial situation for the rest of my life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thank you, Lester.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, sometimes Lester worries about me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know it, he says that one shouldn’t be overly generous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My thought is that you can’t take money with you when you go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My parents don’t ask for much. I want them to be happy and enjoy their retirement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same goes for my siblings. Family means everything to me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s not to say a distant cousin from Georgia could claim we have the same hairline and end up on my payroll.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m not that foolish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In May, in the draft lottery, the Orlando Magic indeed got the first pick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were really hot, just like me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the draft day approached, Orlando people were getting more and more nervous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because in public, I never mentioned this city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rumors circulated that Leonard was trying to trade me to the Lakers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Leonard might have been happy to, that wasn’t true, and we didn’t do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m a bit superstitious, and I won’t comment on anything until it’s actually happening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Including being the first pick to enter the NBA and winning the NBA championship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the night of the draft, the Orlando Magic invited over ten thousand spectators to the arena to announce in person that they chose Shaquille O’Neal.\u003C\u002Fp>",948,"2026-06-06T01:41:50.199Z",1,"novelbin.me","3f5d3c89e3ff35a8afba21cde1a5132de56356b0804190b25f7d234620efb719","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1121","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1119",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]