In the lobby downstairs of the Hilton Hotel, the sound of the piano is soothing, and the air is filled with a faint fragrance.

Crowds of people mingled in twos and threes, and most of the people passing by were travelers coming and going. In the midst of this, Joe Thomas and Wesley Johnson were talking to each other, looking down at the watch in their hands from time to time, revealing a hint of anxiety.

"It's coming!"

Wesley Johnson whistled, "Wow, and his little girlfriend." ”

Tang Wenlong took Fang Chuxia's hand and walked in front of Joe Thomas and Wesley Johnson, Fang Chuxia's face was red and shy.

"Hello, beautiful lady, I'm Wesley Johnson, Don's college classmate." Wesley Johnson's eyes lit up, and he reached out to greet Fang Chuxia familiarly.

Fang Chuxia smiled generously and shook hands with Wesley Johnson, "Hello, Mr. Wesley, I know you, you are Tang Wenlong's best brother."

"I'm Joe Thomas, let's hurry, Dwyane Wade, they're all on their way." Joe Thomas interrupted the urge to continue chatting, and after a brief introduction to himself, beckoned everyone to leave the hotel.

So the four of them got up and walked to the main entrance of the hotel, with Joe Thomas and Wesley in front, and Tang Wenlong and Fang Chuxia behind.

"Let's drive a car, you call the next two to wait for me here." Wesley spoke, and walked to the parking lot alone.

Descending the steps, Fang Chuxia's five fingers tightly grasped Tang Wenlong's hand, and his body was next to Tang Wenlong's body.

"What's wrong?" Tang Wenlong asked softly.

Fang Chuxia shook his head, his face was still flushed, and his posture was very awkward.

Tang Wenlong said with concern: "If you don't feel well, don't go, I'll pick you up directly to watch the Rookie Challenge in the evening, and there is nothing fun about community activities." ”

Fang Chuxia rolled his eyes, are all NBA players livestock? But she was too embarrassed to say what was wrong with her, and explained in a red face and whispered, "I'm fine, I don't work anyway, I just want to see you." ”

Tang Wenlong was very moved in his heart, and lowered his head and kissed her cheek.

It didn't take long for Wesley Johnson to come in a wide SUV, and the three of them got into the car and immediately left the hotel

Since the Rookie Game was established in 1994, coaches have selected the best nine first-year and nine second-year students a month before All-Star Weekend begins.

But in fact, in the earliest days, the rookie game was only a rookie game, and the players selected by the coach were all rookies who had just entered the league, but like the All-Star Game, it was divided into East and West. It wasn't until the beginning of the new century, in 2000, that the format was changed to the current Year 1 Challenge 2nd Grade, and the name of the event was changed to the Rookie Challenge.

Speaking of which, although second-year players have more game experience than first-year players, the overall strength does not necessarily completely crush first-year players, because a player's growth cycle is very long, and many players only fully release their potential and reach the peak after a long period of training.

But it is undeniable that most of the sophomores who have played for an extra year have higher tactical literacy and cooperation. So to date, the first and second grades have played each other 11 times and lost 8 times.

And when it comes to the Most Valuable Player in the Rookie Game, many well-known names will be mentioned, and many of them are still active superstars. For example, the first Most Valuable Player winner of the last century, "Penny" Hardaway, such as Tang Wenlong's idol "Answer" Iverson, such as his senior brother "Melon" Carmelo Anthony, such as the 76ers who are most familiar to him and work with his colleague Iguodala every day.

For rookies who are new to the league, it is very commendable to get an honor to participate in the rookie game and an honor to win the title of Most Valuable Player, at least expose themselves, get a lot of opportunities to show their faces, and also prove their potential as a rookie.

But Tang Wenlong is very uninterested in this, he is a pragmatic person, he has made up his mind early on, and he will just play soy sauce.

When you land in Los Angeles at night, the true charm of the City of Angels comes out.

Bright lights illuminate the night, like day, and the Staples Center Arena is like a pearl in the night, dazzling, dazzling and eye-catching.

Although it is only a rookie competition for appetizers, the big and small stars in Los Angeles can't wait to show their style in front of the camera, and the lady-type and mature women have made a bunch of positions in the front rows. There are more, but the little stars who can't be named, but have delicate faces and hot bodies, when the camera switches, they will occasionally give a few shots, and fans ask the host who is this? The embarrassing thing is that the host doesn't know what the girl's name is

There are also loyal basketball fans who help the NBA, including stars such as boxing stars, film and television stars, pop stars, etc., and most of them are singing, such as Rihanna, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and even among them, there will be a few Chinese faces occasionally.

And if the team's junior brother is selected for the rookie game, as the team's big All-Star, maybe he will also go to the sidelines to watch and help, such as Thunder sophomore James Harden and Ibaka were selected to the sophomore team, then the team's Durant and Westbrook, who came to participate in the All-Star weekend as All-Stars, both appeared on the scene to cheer for the two younger brothers on the team.

In the pre-game locker room, the head coach was Lawrence Frank, an assistant coach from the Celtics.

"Let's just relax and play, it doesn't matter if you win or lose." Frank said something with a smile, and then threw the tactical board very unacceptably, not ready to draw some tactics or anything.

Everyone laughed as Tang Wenlong and Wesley Johnson sat together, playing together for the first time since they left college.

"But coach, you should always tell us where each is, there are a few swing people here!" I don't know who said such a sentence.

Frank was stunned for a moment, then he immediately returned a smile, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was my mistake." ”

"I think everyone should know the starting lineup, John (Wall), Don, Gordon (Hayward), Blake (Griffin), DeMarcus (Cousins). Frank said as he spoke, suddenly feeling that this position was not clear, Wall point guard, Tang Wenlong and Hayward front guard, Griffin and Cousins on the inside line, he said it again, and then in order to prevent someone from asking questions again, he simply reported the position of the bench.

"Wesley Johnson, Evan Turner, Greg Monroe, Derek Favors"

Hayward leaned over cheekily, "Hey, it's Don, what a coincidence." Your Axe King is a pretty slippery game! ”

Wesley Johnson didn't have a good face, snorted and twisted his head, and chatted with Greg Monroe on the side.

"This guy is so vindictive, I've forgotten about college." Hayward spread his hands, and then he changed the topic and chatted with Tang Wenlong about the game, "Tang, I recently played a new instant game, which is quite fun, do you want to do it together?" ”

"What game? I'm just getting started with Dota, okay? ”

"League of Legends, have you heard of it? Tsk,This game can be.,The picture is very good.,It's a lot higher than the resolution of Warcraft.,The key is-"

"What is it?" Tang Wenlong asked very cooperatively.

"It's because this game has just started not long ago, and the people in it are still quite vegetable, and they can't mend knives, can you imagine? Isn't it a killing spree when we go in? ”

Tang Wenlong was simply convinced, and unceremoniously refused, "Thank you for recommending, but I'm still playing my dota, I'm a person, it's like nostalgia"

"Hey, then again, this arm guard on your arm today is pretty cool, where did you buy it?" Hayward lowered his head and poked Tang Wenlong's left arm guard with his fingers.

"Oh, it's a gift from a sponsor with a dragon drawn on it." Tang Wenlong turned his arm over and gave Hayward a demonstration.

"Hey, you actually signed a sponsor? I haven't heard the media say it! Hayward's eyes twinkled, and he immediately caught an important piece of information.

"Shhh~ Quieter voice." Tang Wenlong said vigilantly.

Hayward: "Tell me, what's going on?" ”

Tang Wenlong waved his hand and said in a low voice, "Actually, it's not a big deal, I guess you will know the news after this game, you look at the shoes on my feet." He cocked his right leg and showed the side of his shoe.

It was a pair of high-top sneakers with red as the main color, the sneakers were specially customized at first glance, and the side was painted with a golden dragon, which was exactly the same as the arm guard on Tang Wenlong's arm. Red and gold have always been the favorite colors of Chinese, and Tang Wenlong is no exception, the style and color of this shoe design make him very happy, and in the middle of the side, there is a large hook carved with it.

"Oh, it's Nike, aren't they pretty picky!" Hayward was stunned.

Tang Wenlong, "It's okay, I was reluctant to pay a high price before, but after the All-Star Game list came out, I was willing to spend a lot of money, and I signed with them for 5 years." ”

"Hey, hey, how much is it, let's hear it!" Hayward asked, raising two eyebrows.

Tang Wenlong said modestly, "Actually, it's not much, it's about the same as Durant's sneaker contract at that time, only fifty or sixty million!" ”

"Groove"