No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 1433: Epilogue 4

For Jack, the Bobcats were an ideal team. Although he was from Ohio, he grew up in Charlotte. After high school, he was rejected by Duke University, didn’t go to the University of Arizona, and instead stayed in North Carolina, attending the lesser-known Davidson College just to be closer to home.

But his performance was average. Having been a follower for too long and without experiencing the Warriors’ fostering approach, he was eager to take on the role of the top scorer but was not good at competing for team status. It required Felton, Okafor, Millsap, and Ibaka to forcibly crown him.

The Bobcats initially thought Zhang Yang’s comment that "Curry’s talent is no less than mine" was to comfort them, but they didn’t expect Curry’s shooting talent to be so strong.

In the 13-14 season, Curry finally took off, leading the team to 58 wins and finishing second in the East.

The Knicks and the Bobcats fought a seven-game series in the East Final. The three-point showdown between Zhang Yang and Curry shook the league. In the end, the Knicks relied on Harden’s successive cuts for scores in the last quarter of Game 7 and Zhang Yang’s continued high-difficulty mid-range shots to feed Harden for easy baskets, narrowly defeating the Bobcats 122-115 and advancing to the Finals with a 4-3 series victory.

Breaking through in the West was... LeBron James! The Rockets had a regular-season record of 64-18, the best in the league, and James won his third career MVP award.

After 11 years in the NBA, James finally reached the Finals. Facing Zhang Yang, against whom he had a 27 straight regular-season losing streak and 12 straight playoff losses, he exploded for 53 points to win the first Finals game, marking the first victory against Zhang Yang in 9 years and refusing to accept a 40-game losing streak!

But in Game 2, Zhang Yang stole the home advantage, and after that, the Rockets lost four straight games to the overwhelmingly strong Zhang Yang.

The Knicks win the championship 4-1.

Zhang Yang won the championship in his second year, and the name "Saint Jack" resonated throughout the greater New York area.

During the championship parade, Zhang Yang shouted the slogan — "Make New York Great Again!"

Trump, who was planning his campaign: ???

During the offseason, Zhang Yang opted out of his third-year contract and signed a new two-year contract to extend until 2016, securing more power from James Dolan, specifically avoiding interference from the owner and Donnie Walsh.

James Dolan, the second-generation wealthy owner, had one advantage — if you can make me money and create buzz for the TV networks, you can do anything.

This trait could be seen with the past "Assassin" and later the Zen Master, whose poor operations were appalling, yet they stayed as Knicks general managers for four or five years because there was talk and profit to be made.

Conversely, some general managers with decent performances but unable to generate buzz were unreasonably fired by Dolan.

For instance, the general manager who nearly robbed the Phoenix Suns in a trade for Marbury, bringing the Knicks back to the playoffs, was forgotten. Instead, Isaiah Thomas, who led the Knicks into becoming a retirement home, is remembered profoundly and held his position longer than the previous GM.

It wasn’t until New Yorkers got fed up and thoroughly lost patience with Isaiah Thomas and Phil Jackson, unwilling to even see their related topics, and the impact on team and TV revenues led to their dismissal.

If you can both make money and win... Dolan: The team is yours!

That summer, both Kidd and Nash, who had finally won the championship, retired, and after collaborating with Zhang Yang at the World Championship for the first time, Yao Ming decided to retire.

Wade had apparently gotten this news from Yao Ming early. Before the free agency started, he opted out of his contract and signed a 4-year, $96 million designated veteran max contract with the Bulls. Having won championships and lacking the body to compete for another MVP at 32, it was time for retirement.

In 2015 and 2016, Zhang Yang led the team to successive victories over the Spurs and Lakers and in the summer of 2016, witnessed the retirement of the last old veterans from the 90s: Kobe, Garnett, and Duncan.

Also retired was Bosh, who was diagnosed with a condition in 2015, but chose to delay retirement until his 6-year contract ended, trying to win more championships until doctors warned that continuing high-intensity sports would be life-threatening, prompting him to retire.

As New Yorkers were filled with concerns about the Knicks’ future after Bosh’s retirement, and worried about Zhang Yang’s expiring contract and Harden’s opting out, both renewed their contracts, and even recruited a Los Angeles native back to the team.

Zhang Yang renewed for 3 years at $100 million, Harden for 3 years at $86 million, with DeRozan joining for 3 years at $80 million — the Compton brothers reunited!

At the contract signing press conference, Zhang Yang once again shouted the slogan — "Keep New York Great!"

Trump, campaigning in New York: "..."

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Line 80.

The last time Zhang Yang came here was in 1996, meeting Jordan in a regular-season finale.

The Bulls had assembled the super combo of Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman with their "Triple Threat Defense".

The Knicks, in the summer of 1995, signed Charles Barkley to a one-year, $2.25 million contract, and Barkley’s departure was earlier than Zhang Yang remembered by a year.

In the summer of 1995, under the efforts of Knicks owner Charles Dolan, the NBA passed a temporary clause — allowing each team to sign one player outside the salary cap.

After Barkley opted out of his contract with the Phoenix Suns early, the Suns offered him a one-year, $14 million renewal contract, which was higher than Zhang Yang’s salary in the just-ended 94-95 season, but Barkley refused and chose to join the Knicks.