Chapter 122: Sabonis

As the two poles of the world in the Cold War era, the Soviet Union and the United States have always been fighting openly and covertly. The ideological rivalry between the two peoples was never tired, and the Soviet Union was often used as an imaginary enemy in Hollywood films. Tough guy Stallone's "First Blood" is a product of catering to the Soviet-phobic psychology of the American people. Rambo, the lone hero described in it, has become a protector in the eyes of the American people and has aroused enthusiastic followers.

Therefore, the comparison between Sabonis and NBA stars has also been branded with a strong political imprint, but because it is located at opposite ends of the world, this comparison is only Guan Gong vs. Qin Qiong, and only exists in fantasy and tongue.

Soon, though, an opportunity came to spark people's ideas.

At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, in which both the Soviet Union and the United States participated, the time seemed to have come for the Soviet behemoth to unveil its horrors to everyone.

And the U.S. team is also very strong, two NBA champions, David Robinson and Danny Manning, and super scorer Mitch Richmond, and then they find out that this guy on the other side is a monster.

The Soviets faced the United States, and the 24-year-old Sabonis met the 23-year-old admiral. David Robinson found this guy to be so weird. He can jump behind him, grab a frontcourt rebound and dunk straight to the basket. Similarly, during his trademark shake-and-jump shots, Sabonis was able to catch up and slap the ball down. When he grabs a rebound in the backcourt, Sabonis will be the first to throw the ball to the frontcourt, looking for a fast-break teammate, like a quarterback in football.

The end result was bad news back to the United States, but the talented American team was defeated by the Soviet behemoth. The Americans failed to make it to the finals of the Seoul Olympics, and from that point of view, the formation of the 1992 Dream Team may have been the result of Baisabonis.

But genius is not always wishy, politics made Sabonis a hero in the eyes of the Soviets, but politics also made him stuck in the country, unable to travel, the basketball system behind closed doors, and years of unscientific training methods led to Sabonis being riddled with injuries.

Until Sabonis became the NBA, the highest basketball hall, it was already the 95-96 season, and it was 5 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

NBA viewers looked at this prehistoric monster from afar and didn't know what to think of him. On the one hand, all the veterans from Europe have 100% reverence for this guy, whose tall body is covered with countless glorious legends. On the other hand, this big guy's head is twice as big as the head of an average center, and the thick pads wrapped around his knees make his legs twice as thick as the others. With his speed, it's like a tractor entering F1.

The funny thing was All-Star Weekend in 1996. The 31-year-old Sabonis competed in the All-Star Rookie Game, becoming the oldest All-Star Rookie Game member in history. Compared to the McDyce and Stackhouse around him, he is like an unearthed artifact.

But the Trailblazers saw the energy in this Lithuanian, and at the age of 31, he could still defend Big Dream against Big Dream in the game. With him, the Trail Blazers entered the spring with a 38-22 record. With the thought of giving it a try, he was put in the starting line-up - and then what? At the end of spring, the Trail Blazers were 18-4. In five playoff games against the Utah Jazz, he averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds per game.

This is an amazing start. His golden years didn't have time to catch up with the glory days of the NBA. Therefore, people can imagine whether if he came to the NBA in his heyday, it would have a shocking impact on the world pattern similar to that of an extraterrestrial visitor.

But the 30-year-old Sabonis dragged two dead legs and still led the Trail Blazers all the way to the Western Conference Finals for two consecutive times, although they were ultimately defeated by the champion Spurs and Lakers that year, Sabonis is remembered as one of the greatest players on the planet.

When Hu Qingniu mentioned the name, the hearts of both Magic and Jordan beat extremely fast, and the choice between the two of them to give up their vacation in 1992 and go to Europe to compete in the Olympics was given by Baisabonis.

It took a long time for the magician to spit out a word.

"Sabonis, that's a bold choice."

"Sabonis is 39 and he has been injured so I can't get him back to 20, but with my exclusive rehabilitation, I can get him back to some of his body, which can be better stamina, or better speed."

Hu Qingniu's words made the two of them can't help but imagine that Sabonis, which is really a tempting choice.

Okay, Sabonis is a good option indeed, and he is already showing signs of retirement, and he will definitely be dropped by the Trail Blazers, who can now put him in the Bobcats' plans.

One for each person, one for the magician and one for Hu Qingniu, and now it's Jordan's turn.

Jordan came up with a constructive name, Gerard Wallace. Hu Qingniu also recognizes the name very much.

The future "Elvis" Gerald Wallace can only sit on the edge of the Kings bench, commonly known as the water cooler patron, responsible for waving a towel 10 times, handing water 10 times, plus an average triple-double per game with 10 applaudings.

Hu Qingniu spoke first and came up with his own opinions.

"Wallace is a fantastic player with a lot of physicality, but he's also aggressive and defensive that doesn't get out of position. With good tuning, he will be the team's outside gate and can share the pressure of Wade well. ”

The magician also said.

"Yes, Wade is just a rookie this season, and if he has to score and pick up the defensive duties, it may not work well. If we have a requirement for results next season, Wallace is a good choice, and he's still young, only a sophomore, which is also in line with the future development of the team. ”

Jordan concluded.

'I've spent a lot of time watching Wallace and I think he's very similar to Pippen, defensively good, the offense is still rough but there's potential to be tapped, he's physical. He can alternate with Luke Wharton and they complement each other well. ”

As a result of the discussion, Wallace voted three times, and he is now in the Bobcats' plan.

So then, it was Hu Qingniu's performance time, and Jordan and the magician had already poured out all the inventory they knew. Born superstars like them didn't pay much attention to the fringe players of each team, and now they have no choice but to nominate one each.

Hu Qingniu proudly took out the list he put in his bag, which was the player list he had carefully selected one by one against the player list of each team in the past few days.