[{"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-1121":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},1444538,1896,"Chapter 1121 - 11 Shark Story_2","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1121",1121,"\u003Cp>At the time, they had a dedicated phone line at the arena leading to the draft venue, and Pat Williams had to call ahead and announce the team’s pick in front of all the screaming fans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But somehow, there was a malfunction with the phone connection, and the call couldn’t go through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The draft was getting closer, and time was running short. The management was sweating in anxiety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, it was the public relations director, Alex Martins, who used his cellphone to call Stern, stating that they chose Shaquille O’Neal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Stern announced the result, all of Orlando went wild. That’s the charm of being the first overall pick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I flew from Portland to Orlando, the scene was absolutely crazy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could hardly believe I was greeted with such a warm welcome as soon as I got off the plane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The airport terminal was packed with people, and the Magic mascot was present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a Dixie band playing, and on both sides were the most beautiful cheerleaders I’ve ever seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were banners welcoming me to Orlando, which read ’Shaquille is number one.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another one read, ’Shaquille, it’s time to end Ah Gan’s reign!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The banner startled me, and I glanced at Pat Williams beside me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Williams said, \"We always have to set some grand visions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides, Ah Gan is a very forgiving person; he won’t mind,\" he added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that time, Ah Gan truly dominated the league, his shadow everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since I decided to enter the NBA, comparisons between me and him never stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know Ah Gan is unparalleled; he might be the most perfect player in history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And me? Back then, I was very insecure. I didn’t even believe I could be the number one pick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought Reiner and Mourning were more likely to be selected first than me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that time, Reiner had it all: jump shots, footwork, rebounding, psychological edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many considered him Ah Gan’s successor. They were indeed quite alike (later on, I realized how vast their differences were, a world apart externally and internally).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As my career was about to take off, I still couldn’t be 100% sure about my abilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the draft, Mourning was second, and Reiner was third.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought they must have made a mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, I was more insecure than I appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thankfully, scouts and advertisers saw it differently; they valued me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just after becoming the first pick, I signed a series of endorsements:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PepsiCo, 13 million US Dollars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reebok, 15 million US Dollars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kenna, 20 million US Dollars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spalding, 25 million US Dollars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leonard was smart, placing me amidst the competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola, Reebok and Nike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This maximized my interests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, the one I most wanted to sign with was Avia; I always wore Ah Gan’s Skyscraper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the shoe that best suited big guys; I would buy each generation of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Avia didn’t extend a signing invitation to me. It’s said they didn’t want to anger Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They already had Ah Gan; they didn’t need someone looking to challenge him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But years later, I realized that was nonsense; Ah Gan wouldn’t be so petty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Avia didn’t approach me just for strategic reasons, that’s all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I visited Reebok and Nike; honestly, there’s no big difference between the two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, when I went to the Nike headquarters, I wore a T-shirt with the Reebok logo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leonard told me to take it off, saying it would anger Phil Knight, and he would go mad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alright, if they get angry, let them be angry. I chose Reebok.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That summer, I decided to go to Los Angeles to improve myself. Many players would go to Los Angeles for training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I met Olajuwon at the gym, who was caught in trade rumors, and we competed against each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a really good person, possessing amazing skills and flexibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That year, he was advancing towards his peak, and soon we would be competing in Florida State.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Exactly where Ah Gan was training in some small gym, no one knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the Summer Olympics, he performed exceptionally, leading the weak China Team to the finals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the inevitable matchup against the Dream Team, his play was epic, truly astonishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wanted to find him, but Leonard said that was impossible, saying meeting Ah Gan too early wasn’t a good thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Leonard managed to get me tickets to Magic Johnson’s games; after retiring, he often held small games at UCLA.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic was very nice to me; actually, we had a good chat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gave me some advice, though I didn’t play very aggressively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because I didn’t want to expose all my moves in such small games.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides basketball, I had a great time in Los Angeles, participating in various activities; the city was indeed diverse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I became hot in Los Angeles; I kept running into Arsenio Hall, who was hosting a hot talk show.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He invited me on his show, I said, \"If I’m going on the show, I need to do something special. I don’t want to be like other athletes, just gossiping about teams.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lives of most athletes are extremely dull and boring: training, playing, training, playing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m different; I like life off the court, I want to enjoy my life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hall said, \"So what ideas do you have?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought for a moment and said, \"Maybe... I could try releasing an album? Rap, I could be the best rapper among basketball players!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that time, I said it casually, but I didn’t expect it to come true later.\u003C\u002Fp>",930,"2026-06-06T01:41:50.199Z",1,"novelbin.me","ab20b4a54d932ce3e95189da99452099082fd594eab7ec388037d6ae0253549b","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1122","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1120",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]