Chapter 36: Competitiveness between geniuses

Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi and Hara Sawa Katsu parted ways shortly after.

He didn't agree directly, but said he would consider it.

Hara Sawa Katsu looked at the now-empty seat in front of him, thought for a moment, and understood the meaning of Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi’s words.

"The mutual competitiveness between geniuses, huh?" He sighed.

He understood this way of thinking.

When he was selected for the national team, he had also had similar thoughts.

To outperform the other star players on the team and become the undisputed leader.

The world of basketball was actually a world with clear hierarchies.

There could only be one lead star, one second-in-command, and one third-in-command on a team.

Jordan and Pippen were, and Shaq and Kobe were the same.

Jordan could coexist with Pippen because Jordan was strong enough to suppress Pippen firmly.

Plus, Pippen was a person without much ambition and had some issues in his head.

During the Bulls’ consecutive championship years, Jordan was already receiving the league’s highest salary of 30 million dollars.

And as the undisputed second-in-command, the best small forward in the league at the time, Pippen’s annual salary was less than 3 million dollars.

Was this Pippen’s ability issue? Or the Bulls management’s issue?

Neither.

All of this could only be blamed on Pippen’s own short-sightedness!

Pippen’s rookie contract was 5 million for 6 years; by the 90-91 season, the Bulls had won their first championship.

Pippen had also just reached the time to renew his contract with the team.

And at that time, it happened to be the era when Jordan dominated the league, started his own era, and NBA ratings skyrocketed.

Anyone with vision could see that NBA salaries would likely undergo earth-shaking changes in the near future.

The Bulls’ general manager was actually quite nice and even advised him at the time that he could sign a short-term contract to facilitate future salary increases.

Who knew that Pippen had no ambition, plus back injuries were haunting him, and he was afraid that if he became paralyzed, the team wouldn't pay for his retirement.

After Jordan’s bitter persuasion failed, Pippen eventually signed a 7-year, 20-million-dollar contract with the Bulls.

As a result, less than two and a half years later, NBA salaries skyrocketed, and any rookie dared to demand a 100-million-dollar contract, refusing to sign with the team if not given the contract.

This made Pippen’s teeth ache so much he couldn't eat.

You have to know, at that time, Pippen was already one of the best small forwards in the league and had a championship, yet his salary was not even the remainder of a rookie’s contract.

It was simply ridiculous!

Getting off track.

Hara Sawa Katsu sorted out his thoughts and understood the meaning of Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi’s words.

Many combinations had been born in NBA history, but most would not be like Jordan and Pippen, who could still be of one mind after achieving success.

Shaq and Kobe were examples.

Two proud geniuses, for the sake of team status, ended up parting ways, which was common.

That was what Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi meant.

He and Midorima, Aomine, Akashi, and Murasakibara were all such geniuses.

And there was already competitiveness between them; by high school, it was absolutely impossible to play together again.

There would be a winner and a loser.

Including Nijimura Shuzo, it was the same.

Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi clearly didn't intend to cooperate with Nijimura Shuzo in high school.

If he were on the same team as Nijimura Shuzo in high school, with an old captain there, how could he be the boss of his team?

Thinking of this, Hara Sawa Katsu could only shake his head helplessly.

The next day.

Kubo Jun once again wrote at length about the focal battle between Teiko and Kaicheng Middle School.

Every year when the national tournament opened, the organizers would arrange some focal battles to attract the audience’s desire to watch.

As a seeded team in the Tokyo region, Teiko’s game against Kaicheng Middle School was undoubtedly the focal point of the day.

Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi successfully joined the ranks of the most popular middle schoolers in all of Tokyo with his performance in one game.

Not to mention his strength, his handsome appearance and flashy personality helped him attract a large number of fans.

It was said that girls at Teiko were already forming a Tian support group.

In the future, cheerleading squads like "Tian-fans" would likely appear at Teiko’s games.

Many high school head coaches in the Tokyo region also noticed this genius, as expected.

And so.

In Teiko’s second game, people found that many high school basketball coaches had come to the scene, including some coaches from powerhouses.

"Isn't that the head coach of the North’s King, Seiho High School?"

"Why is he here to watch this game too?"

"Of course, it’s to watch Tian."

"But he’s only a first-year; it’s still three years until he enters high school!"

"What’s strange about that? Didn't Nijimura Shuzo attract many high school coaches in his first year?"

"The coach of Zenjinkan is here too, and the head coach of Shutoku, the former national player Nakatani Nito!"

There were three kings in the Tokyo high school basketball world.

They were the North’s King, Seiho, the East’s King, Shutoku, and the West’s King, Zenjinkan.

Don't look at how, except for Shutoku where Midorima was stationed, the other two kings were beaten up in the show. At this time, the three kings were still very dominant in the Tokyo region.

As a result, today, their head coaches all put aside the tense preparation for the national tournament and took time to come watch a middle school game.

"It’s really lively today." Akashi faced all of this calmly, but his gaze toward Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi revealed a rare fighting spirit.

In the last game, Hara Sawa Katsu had only sought out Nijimura Shuzo and Tian.

The first-years all saw it, and even if it wasn't explicitly stated, they were already restless inside.

Hearing this, Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi looked at the cheerleading squad in the stands wearing uniform clothes, with "Tian-Crowd" headbands, surrounding Tenai Riko, and nodded, "It is quite lively."

His cheerleading squad was formed by the second game.

The scale was not small, with thirty or forty people.

Akashi didn't know if he was playing dumb or really hadn't noticed those high school coaches, and shook his head with a smile.

Midorima snorted coldly and habitually adjusted his glasses.

And then.

The game began.