[Chapter 1133] There is no suspense (ask for subscription!) )
At a press conference before the start of the Western Conference semifinals between the Lakers and Thunder, Xiao Feng personally admitted to the media and fans that he will retire after this season.
"In the three years since I joined the NBA, I have only a handful of days with my children, and I have missed many important moments in my children's lives, and I feel that now is the time for change!" Facing the cameras of hundreds of international media, Xiao Feng told the reason why he chose to retire, saying: "Three consecutive years of games have made me tired of basketball, which is not conducive to the operation of the team; What's more, I believe that Mark, UAE and others can keep the team competitive enough! ”
After Xiao Feng's statement was announced, people realized that Xiao Feng was not an ordinary basketball star, as the 'richest man in China', he did not rely on playing basketball to make a living. Moreover, because the owner of the Xiaofeng Lakers is a superstar in China, even if he suddenly announces that he will not play, you will not have any contract disputes, which is quite free.
After knowing that Xiao Feng's retirement was irretrievable, the eyes of the media and fans focused on Xiao Feng's next game, which may be the last time everyone saw Xiao Feng on the basketball court.
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In the first game of the Western Conference semifinals when the Lakers hosted the Thunder, more than 500 reporters from more than 300 media outlets in 150 countries submitted interviews to the Lakers, but less than 200 major media outlets were qualified to enter.
Xiao Feng's multiple identities have determined that the news of his retirement is not only limited to the basketball and sports circles, but also the entertainment industry, financial circles and even the mainstream media are quite interested.
In the face of the influx of media, the Lakers did not give the green light, and only the media with great international influence, at least in the region, were eligible to enter the Staples Arena to cover the news.
You know, the average ticket price at Staples Arena has reached $1,500 now, and putting in 10 more reporters means that the Lakers will lose $15,000.
Therefore, the Lakers' public relations department can only carefully review the interview applications submitted by various media outlets, and only qualified media can obtain interview permission.
In this link, the media from Huaxia received more preferential treatment, and the reason is self-evident, which is also a microcosm of the interview of Huaxia media in the NBA.
With Xiao Feng and the United Arab Emirates and others calling for wind and rain in the NBA, the attitude of the NBA league and various teams towards Chinese reporters has undergone a huge change, and arrogance and snubbing have long been swept away.
In the words of Huaxia's "Sports Weekly", the world is cruel and realistic, especially in competitive sports, only strength can win respect.
It's not just the NBA that has this phenomenon, in European football, because of Li Yan's strong rise, the resistance encountered by Chinese reporters in Europe has become very small, and in the eyes of Europeans, Huaxia is no longer a football desert. It is foreseeable that as more and more Chinese players have better performances in the international arena, the waist of Chinese media reporters can stand straighter!
Of course, all this is directly related to the continuous growth of the comprehensive national strength of the Chinese Empire, and the prosperity of the country has a more direct feeling overseas.
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At the opening ceremony, the 20,000 spectators cheered and cheered, making Staples Arena lose its former mild-mannered temperament and become extremely fanatical.
Especially when Xiao Feng walked out of the players' tunnel, everyone stood up and shouted 'MVP' with the loudest voice to pay tribute to the hero in their hearts!
Before the game, NBA League President Silva presented Xiao Feng with the 2017-18 regular season MVP trophy, which is Xiao Feng's second regular season MVP and will be the last.
Last season, Xiao Feng and Kobe Bryant shared the regular season MVP and Finals MVP, which was also the first time in NBA history that this situation occurred.
This season, without the cover of Kobe's brilliance, Xiao Feng's personal ability has been vividly brought into play on the court, setting a series of records. Xiao Feng is the first superstar in the NBA's 60-year history to win scoring, assists, steals and triple-doubles in one season, and he also led the Lakers to a terrifying 74-8 record, and deservedly won the MVP.
Wei Shao and Durant looked at Xiao Feng, who was speaking in the spotlight, and naturally had all kinds of envy in their hearts, when it came to NBA qualifications, the two of them were much more senior than Xiao Feng, who had just joined for 3 years. But as soon as Xiao Feng entered the NBA, he achieved a series of dazzling results, both in terms of personal data and collective honors, which have made people embarrassed.
Now, a superstar like Xiao Feng has announced that he is leaving, Wei Shao and others have complicated feelings, on the one hand, they envy Xiao Feng's free and easy, and on the other hand, they are glad that they don't have to live in the shadow of Xiao Feng in the future, of course, there must be some sour feelings.
The goal that many NBA players have fought for all their lives Xiao Feng easily achieved in just three years, which is embarrassing.
Many NBA celebrities, represented by CNN basketball commentator Barkley, expressed all kinds of envy and jealousy for Xiao Feng for achieving a series of goals in a very short period of time.
Barkley, Payton, Malone and Stockton were all inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in the 80s and 90s, but they have been missing out on NBA championships. Now seeing Xiao Feng leaving his own legend in the NBA so freely, it would be false to say that several of them are not depressed.
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After the game started, Xiao Feng led the Lakers to launch a fierce attack on the Thunder, and the smooth coordination and mercury attack made the scene extremely beautiful.
Xiao Feng also knows that he has now entered the countdown to his basketball career, so he naturally cherishes every opportunity to play and focuses on the game itself.
When Xiao Feng, who was fully engaged in the game, appeared on the court, it naturally became a nightmare for opponents, and they finally saw the true strength of the NBA's number one star.
At the end of the half, relying on Xiao Feng's all-round performance of scoring 20+, assists 15+, rebounding 6 and 3 steals, the Lakers led the Thunder into the second half with a score of 58:42.
Rao is Wei Shao and Durant tried their best, but in the face of Xiao Feng's almost buggy performance and the unity of the entire Lakers team, the Thunder was still unstoppable.
In fact, this is also a microcosm of the regular season this season, almost no team can resist three quarters in front of a serious Lakers, and often everyone is on the verge of collapse at halftime!
Since the beginning of this season, there are only a handful of teams willing to fight the Lakers in the regular season, and most of the games the Lakers have lost have been due to Xiao Feng's absence or the opponent's madness.
Successive seasons of invincibility not only gave the Lakers a good mentality, but also made them more relaxed when playing downwind, and rarely capsized in the gutter.
After the start of the second half, the head coach of the Thunder adjusted the tactical plan, arranging two players to wrap Xiao Feng when necessary, in order to limit the MVP play.
However, even if Xiao Feng was caught and couldn't face the basket directly, he played another specialty of his own, that is, pervasive passing.
Among the various votes among NBA players, the most threatening is Xiao Feng, because a well-rounded player like Xiao Feng can do more harm than good, whether it is one-on-one defense or packing!
If you are against Xiao Feng, he will definitely be able to pass the ball to his teammates in the open position in a positive and hostile environment; If he doesn't trap Xiao Feng, he can easily score or break through the ball; The existence of Xiao Feng has made the Lakers' tactical changes more flexible!
Therefore, after Xiao Feng calmly resolved several bags after the start of the second half, the Thunder soldiers immediately fell into contradictions, and the emotional fluctuations were soon reflected in the score.
The biggest taboo in basketball, football and other sports is that the team is not unified in thinking, one side wants to defend, the other side needs to attack, which will also inadvertently form the opposite effect.
In the face of the near-perfect Lakers, the performance of the Thunder team was quickly reflected in the score, trailing the Lakers by 26 points in the first three quarters, and digging a huge hole for themselves.
In the end, the Thunder still couldn't get up from the pit and lost 96-128 away, casting a thick shadow on their road to promotion.
Although Xiao Feng did not score a shocking quadruple-double, his performance of 33 points, 21 assists, 12 rebounds, and 5 steals was still amazing, which also made fans and the media more reluctant to let him go.
Last year, Kobe Bryant, the scoring champion who averaged 36 points per game, retired to make fans regret, and now such a triple-double king who is at his peak is also retiring, which naturally completely subverts the cognition of fans and the media!
After the game, all major media invariably gave the conclusion that the Lakers were about to sweep the promotion, because judging from the process of the first game, even if they moved to the Thunder's home court, the Lakers would still have no obstacles to winning.
Major European and American companies have stopped all kinds of markets related to the Lakers' advancement to the Finals, believing that the Lakers' entry into the Finals is a sure thing.
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The Lakers continued to meet the Thunder at Staples Arena the next day, and the game still attracted the attention of global media and fans.
As top basketball stars, Wei Shao and Durant were naturally unwilling to fail, and after regrouping, they led their teammates to continue to launch a counter-charge against the Lakers.
However, the Lakers led by Xiao Feng will not have any light on the enemy, and the Lakers will naturally not leave any chance for the opponent to turn the tables.
Although the Thunder duo combined to score 68 points, Xiao Feng's quadruple-double still extinguished the momentum of the Thunder's counterattack, and finally won the second game with a 12-point advantage.
After the game, the major media rated the Thunder Shuangshao quite highly, but it was a pity that they met the Lakers who were completely inexplicable, and they felt a little unlucky.
With a 2-0 scoreline, the Lakers could easily rest at home in Los Angeles for two days before flying to Oklahoma City to continue their journey to the Western Conference semifinals.
Although the Western Conference semifinals are not over yet, anyone with a discerning eye already knows that the Lakers' advance to the Western Conference Finals is a sure thing, and the Lakers' logistics staff has even begun to set up the Staples Arena to prepare for the Western Conference Finals.
In the other Western Conference semifinals, the Warriors have already led the Mavericks 2-0, and if nothing else, the other Western Conference Finals team will be the Warriors.
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At the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, although there is the enthusiastic support of nearly 20,000 fans, the difference in strength still makes the Thunder powerless to stop the Lakers.
continued to lose 2 home games in three days, even if the Thunder scored 70 points per game, but in the face of Xiao Feng's average triple-double per game and the Lakers' five-player double-double, the Thunder could only reluctantly accept the reality of defeat.
After the game, the major media outlets ran the headline 'Who Can Stop Them?' that the Lakers had lost just one game in 41 playoff games over the past three seasons, and it was a rumored voluntary loss.
The amazing win rate makes the Lakers in the playoffs even more terrifying than in the regular season, they are truly invincible!
Many NBA stars should be glad that the horror king that hangs over the NBA has finally announced that he is leaving, or else they will all have to continue to live in his shadow! ’
This is the New York Times' summary report on the NBA Western Conference semifinals, and for serious mainstream media like the New York Times, the game itself doesn't matter, but Xiao Feng himself is the focus of the news.
Because of Xiao Feng, the world's major mainstream media and financial media are hyping up this year's NBA playoffs, which has made more and more people pay attention to it, and the popularity and influence of the NBA have skyrocketed.
In the face of this situation, NBA league president Silva has mixed feelings, and he hopes that Xiao Feng's retirement can return the NBA game to a normal trajectory and have more fierce competition; But Xiao Feng's own huge influence is irreplaceable.
If Silva is familiar with Chinese culture, he will naturally understand that there is a saying that 'you can't have both fish and bear's paws'.
Two days after the Lakers won the Western Conference Semifinals, the Warriors also defeated the Mavericks with a score of 4-1 to become another Western Conference Finals team.
These two teams have dominated the Western Conference season for the past three years, and they have met in the Western Conference Finals for the third year in a row.
Before the game, major media and fans around the world have expressed their opinions, but the Lakers are still favored by more people with an absolute advantage. Many pro-Lakers media have begun to look ahead to the Lakers' opponent in the Finals, perhaps for the most part, the Cavaliers, who have been the old opponents for three years in a row!
In front of the strong strength of the Lakers, it seems that everything has lost its suspense! (To be continued.) )