Chapter 646: Chapter 200: This Is Fate, Unavoidable
Unwilling! Extreme grief and indignation!
Chicago’s weather was getting cooler, so Jordan bought a new pair of leather pants to keep warm and went to the training camp. After training until 10 o’clock, he specially went to the lounge to watch the Lakers’ media day broadcast.
Being a defending champion was not new to Jordan, but it was the first time he felt so invisible as a defending champion.
Actually, it’s not that there were no interviews; in fact, more reporters came than in previous years.
But the most frequently asked questions this year were all about the Lakers!
Anyone would think the Lakers were the defending champions!
Is this really a basketball team? They’re simply not doing their job! Day after day...
Thus, when Jordan turned off the TV and returned to the training field, he was asked by a reporter filming them training, "Who do you think is the best young player in your mind?" Jordan decisively answered, "Penny..."
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Someone at the live broadcast was also extremely indignant.
But O’Neal’s aggrieved expression received much interpretation — he wanted to prove himself in the new season, break those rumors questioning his $127 million contract, and counter the Orlando media’s claims of "the worst contract in history."
The truth was that O’Neal looked on as Zhang Hao stole the spotlight, full of envy and jealousy!
He can sing too! He can also rap and dance. He’s also a starting NBA All-Star player and amazing at basketball.
But when Zhang Hao performed the opening song, he knew that tonight, the spotlight wouldn’t be on him at the center stage; it would definitely be on Zhang Hao.
The cheers from the fans, standing at the center stage, felt so good... Zhang Hao stood at a corner.
O’Neal’s anger and unwillingness were because he didn’t think about preparing a song to sing today!
Originally, Zhang Hao wanted to keep a low profile, thinking of letting O’Neal sing here, but when Jeanie Buss named him in the morning to sing, he remembered that he said he was preparing a song when he sent Jeanie Buss home yesterday.
Unfortunately, last night on his way home, he thought of a rather niche rap song for the future, from which he took a section describing the Lakers’ founding to the Showtime era.
Regrettably, he forgot to inform his teammates that he was going to sing.
And so, he went on stage to perform...
He felt that in O’Neal’s roar, it wasn’t all about expressing the desire to prove himself, but also envy and jealousy. Yet given another choice, he would still sing instead of just showing up on stage with a lift.
In the near year since coming to Los Angeles, his hobbies also changed significantly—playing ball in Los Angeles, how can one not enjoy the spotlight?
When surviving is no longer a problem, he enjoys the other things basketball brings, like showing off.
Having made it to the NBA, he now just wants to be a superstar!
However, he can’t do things beyond his ability, like how he isn’t the strongest on the team right now. After his appearance, he quietly stood aside, leaving the stage to O’Neal, Barkley, Magician, Kenny Anderson.
His hobbies changed, habits were formed, he just likes to maintain a poker face in public, but only relaxes in private with a few select people.
During the interview segment, the guest host DJ knows Zhang Hao doesn’t like "showing off," so when interviewing the five stars, it’s one by one. First was Zhang Hao, and after two questions, the host quickly switched to Kenny Anderson for the reporters to ask.
Then it’s Barkley, then Magician, and finally, as the highlight, is O’Neal at the center stage.
No one really challenges O’Neal’s center stage role, whether it’s in yesterday’s group photo or today’s highlight role, everyone tacitly lets it go to O’Neal.
During the interviews with the five stars, the questions ranged from light-hearted to sharp ones, and there were ways to answer them all, quickly moving on. Then the introduction of the other dozen or so players happened before the official training camp time, the Lakers signed 3 more training camp contract players, completing the preseason 20-man roster.
The next 4-day training camp will be all team-oriented confrontational training.
Regarding media day, except for Fisher the rookie, everyone else had experience. Although today’s opening appearance method was very special, with live broadcasting and fans on site, the media presence was overwhelming for the newcomers to the Lakers, but overall it’s just media day.
Morning interviews, afternoon portrait shoots, and solo interviews all went smoothly.
Moreover, because of the half-hour morning broadcast, everyone was excited and humorously dealt with some negative questions.
Overall, including O’Neal who was always at the center stage, everyone found this media day unprecedentedly enjoyable!
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The Lakers’ media day played out so intensely, grabbing the spotlight, indeed allowed the Lakers players and management to let off some steam.
Whether it’s psychological fatigue brought by the early start of training camp or the unavoidable negative reports and nitpicking from the media, it’s all well vented emotionally.
By October 4th, training camp continued, and the Lakers began a 4-day team training before the preseason, with the players’ training enthusiasm even higher.
Even the six training camp contract players wanted to perform well, striving for the Lakers’ final official roster spot. Although the hope was slim, since they signed the training camp contracts, these players were just fighting for one last chance.
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