NBA: LeBron James wants to team up with me

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After the Olympics, Wang Chong didn't stay in China for long and soon returned to the United States. It wasn't that he had nothing to do in China. On the contrary, as the world's most popular Chinese sports superstar, Wang Chong had accumulated many commitments. Several interviews on television stations and commercial sponsorship invitations had been scheduled until early the following year.

But no matter how much was going on, Wang Chong returned to Chicago as quickly as possible.

Because Jessica Alba was pregnant.

The two had been married for a year. According to the life of ordinary people, they should have had a baby by now.

However, Wang Chong and Jessica found themselves in special circumstances. Both were basketball players and movie stars. Both were busy individuals who needed to travel the country. Generally, they spent less time together and were apart more frequently. Having children at this point wasn't quite suitable.

However, in the second half of 2012, the movie "The Avengers" was released. The following year, Jessica didn't plan to make any more movies. Her next film was Captain America 2 for Marvel, where she played a black widow role. But the filming for this movie wouldn't begin until the second half of 2013, which gave them plenty of time.

So, during the few days off in early July, when Wang Chong wasn't reporting to the national team, he and Jessica basically worked hard to conceive a baby.

After confirming her pregnancy, Jessica moved directly from Los Angeles to Chicago to prepare for the pregnancy here for the next year. This was an unusual time to be with Wang Chong for such a long time.

In fact, thanks to Wang Chong, Jessica Alba's destiny had undergone profound changes.

Originally, she was supposed to marry in 2008 and give birth to her first child that same year, gradually fading from Hollywood.

By 2012, Jessica would have been a mother of two children.

But now, Jessica wouldn't give birth to her first child until 2013, and her fame and achievements in film and television had far surpassed her original self.

Wang Chong didn't know what kind of life would make Jessica happiest, but right now, both he and Jessica were happy, so there was no need to bother others.

During the following time, Wang Chong stayed with Jessica almost every day, living together in a sweet world.

Time flew by so quickly that it was already the beginning of October, and the Bulls were starting to gather players to prepare for the new season.

This was the first time Wang Chong felt so reluctant to play. He really felt that if the league was suspended this season, it would be great to resume it at the end of December or even next year.

But complaints were complaints, and there was still work to be done.

On October 1st, Media Day, all members of the Bulls gathered for their final photoshoots for the new season.

This season could be considered the season when the Bulls' lineup had changed the most in recent years. Many players had left the team, including former number 2 player Kevin Garnett.

The main photoshoots for the new season were taken by Wang Chong, Curry, and Gasol. These three were also the Three Bigs of the Bulls, as previously recognized by the media... Although the Heat's Big Three were a bit lower-profile than those of the Bulls, but with Wang Chong raising the upper limit, it wasn't presumptuous to call them the Three Bigs.

Looking at the current Bulls' lineup, Chicago fans felt their hearts bleed.

Indeed, it wasn't easy to maintain a championship team over the long term.

With this lineup, the Bulls might not have a chance to win the championship this season.

What fans could hope for now was that after the free agency market opened in the summer of 2013, the Bulls' management wouldn't make the same mistakes as this season. They hoped to actively trade for a top-tier All-Star to regain competitiveness at their peak.

But that was just wishful thinking. There weren't many decent big-name players in the free agent market in the summer of 2013. After Curry's rookie contract ended in 2013, the Bulls wouldn't have enough salary space to sign anyone in the free agency market.

What Bulls fans could hope for was that Wang Chong would be strong enough to lead this not-so-perfect Bulls team to a championship.

After the photoshoots, the press conference and media interviews took place as usual.

Immediately, the reporters eagerly asked Wang Chong questions.

"Mr. Wang Chong, the Bulls' lineup this season is considered the weakest since 2007. The team has suffered a severe loss of personnel, and no new blood has been added this summer. What do you think about this? What do you think of the Bulls this season? What kind of results will they produce? Do you still have a chance to compete for the championship?"

Wang Chong raised his eyebrows slightly.

Good grief, how long have you been holding this question? The questions were like a barrage of fire.

Looking at the expectant eyes of the reporters in the audience, Wang Chong smiled and shook his head. "You're wrong. I don't think the current Bulls lineup is the weakest since 2007. On the contrary, I believe the current Bulls team is the strongest since 2007. The Bulls are no weaker than before."

As soon as Wang Chong said this, the reporters were stunned. They didn't expect Wang Chong to say this.

But this wasn't over yet.

"You've only seen some players on the Bulls getting older and others leaving the team, but you haven't noticed the rise of young players. Aside from everything else, it's absolutely true that Stephen Curry and Marc Gasol can be called the Bulls' Big Three with me. They deserve it."

"Stephen is recovering well after the surgery. He won't have concerns in the new season and will be able to fully showcase his super talent. And Marc now has the opportunity to fully demonstrate his skills after Garnett left. He can definitely replace Kevin and become the new pillar and core defensive player of the Bulls."

"Apart from these two, the other players on the Bulls are also very good. Danny Green, a high-quality 3-and-D player, Jimmy Butler, who works hard and can make up for his shortcomings, and Yi, who can compete in the league with a height of only 1.75 meters. Seiya Thomas, I'm sure the Bulls in the new season will never be weaker than the Bulls in the four consecutive championships."

Wang Chong's words were so passionate that the players whose names were called were so moved that they felt they had to give their all for their confident leader.

Although several didn't speak, they silently made a decision in their hearts. They would live up to Wang Chong's expectations. Even if it meant fighting with their lives, they would achieve good results and slap those who doubted them right in the face!

The reporter who had asked the question was stunned for a few seconds before recovering and asking again.

"Since you have such a high opinion of the current Bulls team, what is the goal for the Bulls this season? Win the championship?"

"Of course," Wang Chong immediately nodded without thinking: "The Bulls only have one goal this season: to regain the championship. We want to regain the championship we lost due to injuries last season—"

Bold words! For the new season! Wang Chong: "The Bulls will recover our championship!"

"Confidence like a king, the current Bulls are no worse than when we won four consecutive championships; we are very strong!"

"Is it confidence or blind confidence? His career, which had been too smooth in the past, may have turned Wang Chong into an arrogant and overconfident player, causing him to lose his judgment on the team's strength and his own abilities, leading to arrogance. Wang Chong, who is at fault, may face Waterloo this season."

"If this season fails, Wang Chong won't have excuses like injuries to use as a cover-up."

The media is like that. They won't spare any effort to praise someone, nor will they hesitate to crush them to death.

Wang Chong had been in a high position for too long. As the number one player in the league, there were too many people who wanted to see Wang Chong fall and have someone replace him, no matter who that person might be.

And one thing to mention, with the current lineup of the Bulls, it's hard to see why Wang Chong could say that the Bulls were no weaker than when they won four consecutive championships.

Amid all kinds of doubts, the preseason began.

During the preseason, Bulls fans still had a little bit of hope, hoping to see new changes in this Bulls team. But they were disappointed.

Wang Chong's usual routine was to take it easy during the preseason. Not only him, but also the main players of the Bulls didn't play much in the preseason. The bench players took up the majority of the playing time, leading to a poor performance from the Bulls. Their preseason win rate was just above 50%.

After the preseason, ESPN ranked the teams as usual for the new season.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who had just won the championship and introduced several capable players, firmly took the first spot in the rankings, closely followed by the Miami Heat, who also had their own Big Three.

The Boston Celtics took third place with a young and orderly lineup.

The San Antonio Spurs were ranked fourth due to their perfect team coordination.

In fifth place were the four-time consecutive champions, the Chicago Bulls.

This ranking caused discontent among many Bulls fans, and it was obviously low.

Fifth place in the league is certainly high among thirty teams, but it's low for the Bulls.

They weren't better than the Lakers and the Heat. Why were the Celtics and the Spurs ranked above the Bulls? Were they assuming that Wang Chong didn't exist?

But this was the result ESPN wanted. Sometimes, controversial rankings cause more buzz. That's the trick to traffic.

Besides, it's not that they didn't believe in Wang Chong; they just didn't believe that Curry and Gasol could maintain the Big Three title.

Amid all kinds of disturbances, Wang Chong remained very calm and wasn't anxious at all.

There really was no need to rush. As the regular season progressed, he and the Bulls would slap these people in the face with their actual performance.

The first game of the regular season 2012-13 for the Bulls was on October 31, 2012.

In the first game of the new season, as usual, the Bulls faced their formidable rivals, the Miami Heat.

Now, the relationship between the two teams had gone from strong rivals to mortal enemies.

The stunning move by James didn't allow the Heat to reverse the comeback but directly eliminated the Bulls' championship hopes. In the eyes of the Bulls, the Heat was their mortal enemy.

Stern understood the traffic code and knew what fans wanted to see, so he scheduled the game between the two teams.

But he also knew that due to the grudges in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, the two teams could have frictions in the new season, so he specifically told the referees to control the intensity of the fouls in this game and not give both sides a chance to escalate the conflict.

At the United Center in Chicago, home of the Bulls, the Heat were greeted with a loud chorus of boos as soon as they stepped onto the court.

Though the Bulls' home atmosphere wasn't exactly hellish, the fans were still quite aggressive when they were angry to a certain extent.

Faced with the overwhelming boos, James remained expressionless and acted as if no one was around.

Wade wore an ironic smile. He had a good relationship with both Wang Chong and James, but now it was really awkward to be caught in the middle.

In the end, he didn't take the initiative to greet Wang Chong, and Wang Chong also ignored Wade.

The tense atmosphere between the two teams was no less intense than when they argued on the court. Now, they were enemies.

Of course, off the court, they were still good friends and brothers.

In fact, Wade had already spoken to Wang Chong before the game. After the game, he would be a guest at Wang Chong's house to visit Jessica during her pregnancy.

With a tense atmosphere, the game began.

Looking at the starting lineup of the Bulls, Heat head coach Spoelstra frowned.

Point guard Curry, shooting guard Danny Green, small forward Jimmy Butler, power forward Wang Chong, and center Marc Gasol.

This lineup seemed a little mediocre, especially in the forward position. A relatively unknown second-year player was placed in the small forward position. There must have been a reason for this.

Spoelstra soon realized why.

At the jump ball session, the Bulls won the ball and took the lead.

Curry dribbled the ball across half-court and stood at the top of the three-point line. At the same time, all other Bulls players were really spread out, except for Gasol. The other four players were dispersed along the three-point line, with two players in the lower corners, one at the 45-degree angle to the right, and Curry at the top of the three-point arc.

This immediately evacuated the Heat's interior defense, leaving only Gasol and Bosh.

Curry immediately passed the ball into the paint. Gasol caught it, backed down against Bosh, easily drove to the basket, and made a layup.

"This move again... specializing in the interior."

The Heat, who specialized in small-ball tactics, feared interior big men attacks more than anything. Gasol was much heavier than Bosh and couldn't defend him at all.

In the past, when Garnett was still around, the Heat could help a little on defense. After all, though Garnett had the ability to shoot from a distance, his range and lethality were limited.

But Wang Chong was different. Last season, Wang Chong's three-point shooting percentage was close to 43%. You couldn't leave him open at all.

Curry and Danny Green also hit about 40% of their three-pointers. The only uncertain player was Jimmy Butler. Although Butler spent a lot of time on the bench last season, the Heat still didn't know how good his three-point ability was.

In fact, Butler wasn't great at three-pointers, and his career three-point shooting percentage was only 33%.

But even knowing that Butler wasn't a great shooter, as an outside player, he couldn't be left open to shoot carelessly.

The Bulls' movement actually felt a bit like the shooting style of a star player from the Magic.

End of this chapter

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