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"Why are there so many people?" Zhang Hao looked at the school team teammates and schoolmates filling up a bus, puzzled.
"Of course! Our school has a player going to participate in the dunk contest. Lots of people are definitely going to see it. That's the Great Western Forum! This year, the McDonald's All-Star is being held at the Lakers' home court. It's awesome. One day, I'll lead the Lakers back to glory! It'd be even cooler if we could beat the Celtics in the finals someday..."
When Zhang Hao heard Pierce's words, he thought, if nothing unexpected happens in more than ten years, this guy, who keeps saying "our Lakers," would be the one who turns the Lakers' three-peat into a two-peat during the Kobe + triple tower era, right?
"Paul, have you ever thought about how unpredictable life is?"
"What do you mean? I don't get it."
"..." Zhang Hao thought he should play less with English idioms, and directly said, "Have you ever thought that one day you might play for the Celtics? Maybe you'll even beat the Lakers in the finals..."
"Impossible! Even if I get stabbed to death, I won't become a Celtics player. Would I help the Celtics beat the Lakers in the finals? Not unless both World Trade Center towers fall!"
"..."
This time, Zhang Hao was also at a loss for words, not knowing where to start with his venomous tongue...
The group of people took the bus to the Great Western Forum, which is very close to Inglewood High School, where the Lakers currently play in Inglewood, Los Angeles County... In the United States, this city is basically a larger town. If placed in China, it would equate to a district, and not even a particularly large one. But due to Los Angeles' economic prosperity, it is already closely connected with surrounding counties and cities, with Inglewood's city area completely connected with Los Angeles city outskirts. The economic development there is very good, and Inglewood High School has thus become one of the top high schools in California. Ultimately, whether a school is good or not is directly related to whether it has money.
The more money, the better it gets; the better it gets, the more money it attracts...
Having loved hanging around outside the Great Western Forum since he was a child, Pierce naturally became a Lakers fan.
It's the hometown team; of course, when grown up, you have to beat them as hard as possible.
The classmates and teammates mainly came here to visit, as today was an open day at the Great Western Forum. Of course, one had to receive an invitation to visit. The Inglewood High School basketball team had naturally received an invitation, being the state high school league champions this year, led by the team's coach, Scott Collins.
The Lakers' Great Western Forum is not just a venue for Lakers games; it has many other functions: concerts, auctions... and so on.
On this occasion, McDonald's had rented the Great Western Forum, which is owned by Disney. This did not interfere with the Lakers' preparation for the playoffs starting on the 27th. While the Lakers' owner is not considered wealthy in the NBA, he has always been willing to spend money because the Lakers are very profitable. They have their own Verizon Center training facility, and word has it that Japan's Toyota is negotiating to invest in building a training facility for the Lakers, a real training facility with 5000 seats, comparable to an NCAA Division I university arena.
After entering the Great Western Forum, Scott Collins and the school team teammates and classmates toured places like the court, locker rooms, and training areas, while Pierce and Zhang Hao were taken by staff to register, fill out forms, and receive hotel room keys.
There were reporters too. As California's most famous high school basketball talent this year, Pierce was invited to an interview after collecting the room key, while Zhang Hao was simply overlooked.
Zhang Hao didn't find this surprising at all. After winning the championship, the local TV station had also conducted interviews, but Zhang Hao had only appeared briefly with the team, without being interviewed himself.
As for the talk of the Chinese market... apart from those far-sighted business moguls, most people in the United States truly don't care, like Los Angeles TV station. They're just a local TV station. Whether it's the Chinese market or not has nothing to do with them.
However, after this year's China Division league ended, NBA commissioner David Stern sent an invitation to the Chinese Basketball Association, inviting the Chinese Men's Basketball Team to participate in the Las Vegas Summer League, which was rejected. This led NBA commissioner to be ridiculed by American media, but also allowed some to see a trend -- with Michael Jordan's return and an overall positive situation, David Stern is increasing efforts to develop overseas markets.
However, Zhang Hao clearly hasn't reached a level that warrants the attention of those big shots. Actually, this is also due to that power forward who joined the University of Utah last year, who really screwed them over, and also made it harder for later juniors hoping to establish themselves in the U.S. basketball scene, including Wang Zhizhi, who was originally going to enter the draft in the next couple of years...
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First alliance leader of the new book~ Thanks to the generous Sheng Xia Da Da.