Chapter 835 - 261: Being Chased for Points Is Not Scary (6k)

Mr. Zhang got nearly 80 votes, while someone he expected to get high votes, Grant Hill, only got 11 votes...

Very unexpected, truly very unexpected!

Zhang Hao closed the webpage and opened the forum. In the afternoon when they were still training, the news and official website of the American Cable TV Sports Channel had already released the list. Both the media and fans were quite surprised.

O’Neal was quite pleased now, didn’t mind his computer being taken over, and he wouldn’t mind giving it to Zhang Hao if Zhang wanted it.

Seeing Zhang Hao still fiddling with the computer, O’Neal took his buddies out to have fun. Being in Seattle, of course, they had to go out and play.

The Magician noticed Zhang Hao’s confusion, smiled but said nothing, went back to his room, and planned to sleep early as he had to go to church and pray in the morning.

Players like Grant Hill, the Magician thought, if he were teammates with Grant Hill, it might not be very easy, but rather quite stressful.

Grant Hill is too perfect. Good family background, good upbringing, good personality, great at playing basketball, no negative news... everything is just too perfect.

People might not dislike him, but it’s difficult for them to feel close to him.

But Zhang Hao and O’Neal are different. Although both are geniuses, completely on par with Grant Hill, they have quite a few flaws. However, these flaws aren’t intolerable.

Even Zhang Hao, after playing for more than a year, has had teammates come and go, and teammates have friends on other teams.

Old teammates and friends on other teams of new teammates are certainly curious about teaming up with such a superstar as Zhang Hao. The feedback they get is generally quite positive.

For example, the Magician himself, when Byron Scott was traded back, he was also asked about Zhang Hao. The Magician gave quite a good evaluation, not just in terms of strength but also in terms of getting along.

...

On January 26, the Lakers came to KeyArena to challenge the SuperSonics.

After morning training, the Lakers opened up for interviews.

Zhang Hao was asked by a reporter, "Aix, Payton said you and O’Neal are popular just because you play in Los Angeles. Those people simply choose you two because they want to play in Los Angeles. Do you have any response to that?"

Zhang Hao casually replied, "There is some truth in what he says, but we do play in Los Angeles!"

"..."

The reporter was unsure how to continue asking. He was stirring things up! This guy actually admitted it just like that!

Even Jason Williams, who was trying to squeeze some screen time next to him, felt an urge to punch a teammate.

Truly infuriating!

By 6:40 PM, as the players from both teams entered the court at KeyArena, Payton was quite unhappy upon seeing Zhang Hao and O’Neal.

These two have become the most popular young players in the league!

While Payton himself only got 2 votes, one of which was cast by his little brother Kidd.

To his knowledge, even some of his teammates voted for Zhang Hao or O’Neal.

All media activities are driven by the angle of creating topics. Nothing is done without profit. This topic isn’t simply about selecting the most popular players; the fundamental aim is to use human psychology to create opposition among stars.

There are always people who care about these things, and Payton cares a lot.

Now, having entered the court and with the game against the Lakers about to begin, seeing Zhang Hao’s face, which he believes should appear in an adult theater rather than the NBA... it made him even more jealous!

After Zhang Hao entered the court, he went to the half-court to warm up with three-pointers, exercising his mental endurance while listening to the laughter of away fans at the baseline. Suddenly, the system prompt appeared.

"Taunt triggered, Gary Payton’s admiration, jealousy, and resentment towards special contracted player Zhang Hao reached an extreme, viewing Zhang Hao as a rival he must defeat."

Goodness, previously he just didn’t like Mr. Zhang, but now he’s full of admiration, jealousy, and resentment?

"The Lakers, with special contracted player Zhang Hao, have become the team Seattle’s Starduo wants to defeat the most. Task: Rain Stops First Stage target heavy rain tilts triggered."

"Rain Stops:

First Stage: Heavy Rain Tilts.

Target 1: Zhang Hao must limit Shawn Kemp’s scoring to less than 10 points when facing him.

Target 2: Zhang Hao’s scoring in post-up play must exceed Gary Payton’s.

Target 3: The Lakers’ score must be higher than the SuperSonics’ score when Zhang Hao is on the court.

Reward: One Shawn Kemp 1996-1997 Star Experience Card.

Failure Penalty: Tonight’s weather forecast predicts rain. The host must run through the streets of Seattle in the rain, shouting, ’Rainman is too strong, I can’t beat him.’"

"This... running in the rain will surely lead to catching a cold!"

...

The first two encounters with the SuperSonics were at home, but coming to the away game this time, Zhang Hao clearly noticed the atmosphere in the arena this year is completely different from last year.

Last year, even though the SuperSonics were at the top of the West for a long time and were overtaken by the Lakers mid-season only to temporarily reclaim the top spot, Seattle fans’ enthusiasm wasn’t very high.

In ’94, getting upset by the Nuggets, and in ’95, experiencing an upset by the Lakers. Last year’s playoffs began, and Seattle fans still lacked confidence until they reached the Finals, where they truly rid themselves of the shadow of being upset.

Payton, at 28, with a peak ability rating of 96, and Shawn Kemp, at 27, with a rating of 93, both of their scouting reports and evaluation analyses showed that they haven’t changed much since last year. Their defensive performance has improved while their offensive performance has declined, which is normal in this era.