In Christmas, an important holiday in the West, the NBA naturally will not let go of business opportunities. Every year, David. Stern would schedule a few eye-catching heavyweight bouts over the Christmas season to be broadcast live across the United States on Christmas Day. This is the Christmas game that the NBA has every year!

Of course, not all teams are eligible for the Christmas War. First of all, you have to be topical, and secondly, you have to have a strong team. Otherwise, how can it be called a blockbuster showdown?

For example, the highlight of this year's Christmas game, the Miami Heat, led by "Little Emperor" James, played against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers led by Kobe. The 23vs24 gimmick league started hyping up for several years, but it never really came to fruition. This year, James joined the Heat, and the 6vs24 situation may not be impossible to become a reality.

And Kobe Bryant and James, Lakers and Heat. The topicality of these two people and the two teams is definitely the top of the league! The teams that participate in the Christmas game have to meet such criteria in order to be selected.

Therefore, the Dallas Mavericks, who now have the best record in the league, are happy and relaxed. Because before the start of the season, no one expected them to be such a good team. No one is optimistic about the Mavericks, not even Stern. Yiyang's joining, although it also gave the low-key Dallas Mavericks a lot to discuss. But that's not enough to be a reason for the Mavericks to go into the Christmas game before the start of the season.

If David. Stern knows ahead of time that he's sure to get the Mavericks into the Christmas game. It's a pity that before that, no one was optimistic about them

The team that should be the most involved in the Christmas War is not on the list of Christmas Games. There is no doubt that many fans are very disappointed by this. If the battle between the Nuggets and the Thunder is replaced by the Mavericks vs. the Spurs, the ratings may be higher than Stern imagined.

For fans, the Mavericks' absence from the Christmas game is a loss. But for the Mavericks players, it's a treat.

Nobody wants to go to work on Christmas Day, and being able to take a break on holiday day is much better than taking part in some damn Christmas fight.

The Christmas War is just a cash cow in the league, and winning the Christmas War doesn't mean that your team will have smooth sailing in the future.

Although the Mavericks have no games to play in the past few days, the team's regular training will continue as usual.

On December 24, Christmas Eve, the team only trained in the morning, and officially closed from the afternoon. And tomorrow's Christmas, Cuban will speak in person, from the players to the coaches, even a day of training can be skipped. All that adds up, the players get a total of one and a half days off.

After all, Christmas is one of the most important festivals in the West, and it is equivalent to the Chinese New Year. The festive atmosphere is everywhere in Dallas, and a giant Christmas tree more than ten meters high has even been erected in front of the mall in the city center.

In the festive atmosphere of the whole city, no one wants to be with their families. Cuban also knows that the millionaires, who barely get any rest during the regular season, will also find it difficult to spend time with their families. So a day and a half of vacation without training is a benefit for everyone, the boss of Cuban.

Cuban is a human boss, and of course his human touch is not just about holidays.

On the morning of the 24th, when the players arrived at the Center Arena of the American Airlines, they all found that the entire outside of the stadium was covered with Christmas decorations. At the entrance of the arena, there is even a big Christmas tree.

And when Yiyang walked into the locker room and opened his locker, he was even more pleasantly surprised.

Inside each locker, there is a small gift prepared by Cuban for the players.

Looking at Yiyang's surprised expression, Nowitzki smiled. Nowitzki doesn't know about other teams, but at the Mavericks, it's something that happens every Christmas.

"It's not just the players, he's going to have gifts for all the staff. Gifts from the coaches are placed directly in the office, and even the cleaners can find beautifully packaged boxes in their break rooms. ”

Listening to Nowitzki say this, it seems that this is still a tradition for the Mavericks.

Although the gift is simple, when you open the box, you will usually only have a greeting card and a few different knick-knacks, which are not valuable. But the boss's heart still makes everyone, even multimillionaires like Nowitzki, feel warm in their hearts.

"By the way, we talked about it a month ago. Tomorrow night, come to my house for dinner, and bring your mother with you. Nowitzki said, and Chong Yiyang raised his eyebrows. I have Christmas presents for you and your mother. ”

"Don't worry, Dirk, I won't be late." Yiyang smiled at the Germans, anyway, there were only two people in the family, him and his mother. Taking advantage of the holidays, it is better to take my mother to a crowded place to be lively.

After the morning training, everyone went back to their respective homes. There are a lot of things to prepare for Christmas. It feels like preparing New Year's goods in China.

At this time, Dallas was already snowy. When Yiyang opened his mouth to speak and breathe, there was already a clear white gas spurting out. Even in Dallas, the temperature is starting to cool down, and the year-end feeling is getting stronger.

Yiyang was driving his Ford pickup truck and was about to go home, but at the exit of the parking lot, he saw a little boy waving at his car.

Although the visitor wore a black woolen hat and tucked his neck into his old cotton coat, which did not look warm. But Yiyang still recognized him at a glance, and this kid seemed to have grown taller again.

"Hello Moody, Merry Christmas, is there anything you want me to do?" Yiyang parked, rolled down the window, and took the initiative to say hello to Moodier.

?“ Merry Christmas ......" Moodier's shabby cotton coat was heavily draped over his body, but this guy didn't feel bloated in the slightest. Yiyang smiled, he really had an enviable body.

"That...... Sir, if you have time tomorrow night...... My mom wants to invite you over for dinner at home. Moodier was slurking, obviously still a little nervous in front of Yiyang.

"Let's get in the car first, Moody, it's cold outside." Yiyang said and waved at Moodier, who obediently pulled the car door and got into the car.

"Why didn't you call and tell me earlier? Didn't I leave you a personal phone number? While driving the car, Yiyang talked to the strong black guy next to him.

"My mom said...... My mom said she was afraid to disturb you, and it would be more sincere to invite you in person. ”

"And what if you don't meet me today? Will you be freezing outside all day? After Yiyang finished speaking, he smiled. There's no need to be so restrained by Moody, I'm friends with you, aren't we? If anything, just call me. How's the school competition going? ”

"We've won eighteen in a row! I heard that our school has been invited to participate in the continental championships......" At the mention of basketball, Moodier suddenly became much more cheerful, this guy is really similar to Yiyang.

Later, Yiyang also told Moodier that he had promised Dirk a long time ago, so he couldn't make an appointment tomorrow night, and asked him to bring his own apologies.

But if you can, invite the Moodier family to dinner at their home tonight.

Moodier was too embarrassed to refuse, so he agreed. Of course, he didn't go home directly with Yiyang, but got out of the car first, first, to pick up his family, and second, to prepare Christmas gifts for Yiyang. Moodier was embarrassed to visit him empty-handed.

Yiyang didn't stop him, and after Ellington put down Moodier, he drove home alone.

As soon as the car was parked, Wen Xue, who heard the voice, pushed open the door.

"Also, we received a lot of packages at home today, all of which are Christmas gifts for you!"

"For me!?" Yiyang was a little surprised, before today, the only Christmas gift Yiyang received from his mother was the Lakers baseball cap that Stevens gave him.

Yiyang followed his mother and walked home quickly, and when he pushed the door open, he was startled by what he saw.

?? The table was piled with all kinds of gifts, large boxes, small boxes, long ones, flat ones...... The whole nine yards.

Seeing this scene, to be honest, Yiyang was a little moved. In Wood District, he and his mother are like forgotten people in the world every Christmas. In their hut, they spent this cold day miserably.

But now, countless people have begun to value Yiyang's existence and begin to recognize his importance.

You're an important member of the Dallas Mavericks, not some nobody!

This pile of gifts came from teammates, coaches, team doctors, Cuban and many fans or staff who like Yiyang. Of course, Hayward, Stevens and others also sent their gifts to Yiyang.

Yiyang didn't rush to open these gifts, but looked at the greeting cards tied to the outside of the gifts. Although they were written in some simple words, Yiyang saw that the corners of his mouth were slightly curled.

Hayward: Merry Christmas, too! We didn't play together this season, but the experience I had with you was one of my most precious moments! Hopefully, one day, we can still win the championship together.?? Remember, we're the best mates!

Cuban: Boy, don't forget our goal! Victory! Victory! We're going to be the best team in the whole league.?? Also, Merry Christmas!

Terry: Merry Christmas, and hopefully you'll find a girlfriend soon. By the way, don't forget about the bet we made with the Italian girl.

In the end, Yiyang found an unexpected name in this pile of greeting cards, Valentina. Vignary.

"Hey, Merry Christmas! Did you miss me? Hahaha, just kidding, but I can already imagine your shy expression. I wanted to go to Dallas during this year's winter break, but the manager told me there were a lot of business events to attend, so the plan had to go up the drain. It's okay, our league ends early, and when it's time for the playoffs, I'll be there to cheer you on. Keep up the good work! - Tina. ”

Yiyang looked at this somewhat special greeting card and couldn't help but open the gift box sent by Vignarie.

Inside, there is a pair of classic red and white Jordan generation basketball shoes. and a ...... and a personal portrait of Vignarie.

Yiyang shook his head and looked at the gifts and greetings on the table.

Outside the window, snow is falling in Dallas, and temperatures are at their lowest level of the year. But Yiyang felt as if he was in a warm spring day......