One Year Left to Play-Chapter 159 - 51: Teammates’ Changes

"A young lad becomes a father," and with an adopted son of a different ethnicity at that—Zhang Hao found it quite fascinating.

On his walk back to the apartment, Zhang Hao noticed some changes...

As he walked, passersby kept greeting him, and some even ran up to ask for his autograph!

During last night’s preseason game, although it wasn’t broadcasted live—neither on state nor city channels—all 19,000 seats in the arena were packed. The ticket prices for the preseason were low... but that’s not the point. What matters is that most of the fans were from Rutherford Town, and many from the town center went to watch the game live and witnessed Zhang Hao’s undeniable talent.

When a rookie plays well, it’s easy to gain fans, and overnight, Zhang Hao had won over quite a few local supporters.

Not just locally; through last night’s game, Zhang Hao also gained a bit of fame in the NBA fan circles!

When he got back to his apartment, Zhang Hao took out the newspaper he had subscribed to. In the basketball section, there’s a column for rookies.

Top pick Joe Smith played for 27 minutes in his first game, scoring 13 points and grabbing 8 rebounds—not great but not bad either, just so-so.

Second pick Antonio McDyess seemed more impressive with 9 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, making a strong defensive impact. It’s rumored that during the lockout, Mutombo has been guiding this defensively talented rookie.

Garnett put up 10 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in 29 minutes, which is just extraordinary!

Damon Stoudamire, in the first preseason game, scored 18 points with 9 assists, showcasing excellent talent.

During the first day of the preseason, these were the only games for the hyped rookies.

However, these popular rookies didn’t occupy the largest space in the rookie section’s reports.

When Zhang Hao saw the performance in the rookie section, the first thing he noticed was his own name!

His 31 points last night were the highest single-game score among all the games played yesterday!

Zhang Hao looked at his evaluation—"Even though the overall competition level of the preseason isn’t high, scoring a lot doesn’t necessarily mean much. There are often Development League players who play very well in the preseason yet fail to get formal contracts in the end. But for a rookie, it’s different.

It’s Zhang Hao’s first appearance on the professional stage; he wasn’t nervous and may adapt to NBA-level competition!"

It’s a small section but with a decent review!

"No, no, I can’t get carried away, the media always acts like this—praise when you do well, criticize when you don’t... I need to keep working hard, go for it!"

As Zhang Hao was repeatedly checking out the news about rookies’ performances in their first preseason games, he received a call from Xu Jicheng. Tonight, US Time, noon Beijing Time, the Imperial Sports Channel will broadcast the recording of his first preseason game last night!

This was different from the occasional news reports about him or the newspaper occasionally posting a photo of him. Previously, his fame in China was mainly limited to sports enthusiasts, far from the level of national athletes being known to the public.

Nowadays, only by appearing on TV can one truly expand their popularity and promote themselves to a wider audience.

However, for now, Zhang Hao had a rather laid-back attitude towards this aspect. He thought it would be great if it happened, but it’s okay if not.

After reading the newspaper for a while more and realizing he’d gained some attention, he rested until noon. Zhang Hao then headed to the gym to have lunch and do some light training to help his body eliminate the aftereffects of alcohol.

In the morning, he ran into Kenny Anderson again. Originally, Zhang Hao thought the boss had given up on losing weight, planning to naturally slim down when the season started. But after a practice game, the boss started working hard to lose weight again.

Zhang Hao had looked at Kenny Anderson’s data—he had been around 77 or 78 kilograms the past two years, a weight that suited him best.

It was almost noon; Kenny Anderson had just finished his training. Zhang Hao handed him a towel, and Kenny Anderson wiped his sweat with it, smiling, "Didn’t you sneak off to drink last night? I’m surprised you came for training today. I thought you’d sleep in."

"Boss, how did you know I went drinking?"

"We also went to the nightclub for a drink last night. I was even thinking of sneaking some liquor to you, but when I got to your place, I saw you being carried home, drunk."

"Didn’t you still train after drinking? It’s okay, I’m in good health."

"I only had two glasses of red wine to indulge a bit. Drinking too much really isn’t good. This summer, I drank every day and got my body into trouble. You’re still young, but you need to pay attention early. Coleman often gets drunk and misses out on training. Despite his talent, he hasn’t improved at all since his rookie year."

Was he advising this rookie not to become an alcoholic?

The way he put it was really gentle... and he even took a jab at the team’s former leader along the way.

A bit moved, Zhang Hao sincerely replied, "I rarely drink... The last time I drank was when I graduated middle school and came to the United States, so no worries.

Besides, I’m tall, the news always talks about how I’m too skinny. Don’t worry, even if I bulk up, I won’t turn into a chubby like you."

Oops, Zhang Hao’s sharp tongue slipped out, leaving Kenny Anderson feeling struck!

Can you not say such things so seriously!

If it were a joke, Kenny Anderson would feel better, but with Zhang Hao’s serious demeanor, he felt like punching the guy!

But, he’s our team’s treasure after all! Kenny Anderson could only silently lick his wounds—Zhang Hao is still young, so he has to let him be.