Chapter 38

"Hey, the ball is now in the hands of No. 23! A reverse shot, it's in, the ball is in!"

"Wow, No. 23 is doing great!"

"Truly worthy of being the third pick in this year's draft. Look at that spin in the air, it's just awesome!"

"But it seems No. 23 is still a bit nervous. He missed a few shots. Including this one, he has only made three out of ten attempts, clearly not in his best form!"

"Who cares, scoring can't measure everything about a player! Look at his rebounds, how smart and agile he is, it's like magic!"

"Hey, buddy, what do you think of No. 23?"

Hu Wenhai squinted his eyes and was slightly stunned. He shielded his eyes from the light and then turned to look at the two guys who had been chattering nonstop beside him.

"To me, the court lights are too glaring. It feels like a light is always shining on me from the opposite side..."

"Ha, buddy, you must not be from Chicago. Are you a fan of the Washington Bullets? Chicagoans know that this seat is not worth buying; it's always left empty."

"No, no, I'm not a fan of the Bullets." Hu Wenhai quickly waved his hands, jokingly. After all, everyone within ten meters around him was a Chicago Bulls fan. Although NBA fans were better than football fans in the UK, it was still best not to openly challenge their temper.

"I came to watch No. 23 play. He performed well in the Olympics."

"Oh, yes! No. 23 even won a gold medal for the U.S. in the Olympics!" The guy beside Hu Wenhai, who had popcorn all over, turned to look at him and asked, "Buddy, where are you from?"

"Me? I'm from China."

"From Hong Kong? Taiwan? Singapore?" It turned out this guy was quite familiar with the classification of Chinese people.

Hu Wenhai shook his head and smiled, "From mainland China."

"Mainland Chinese coming to watch the NBA? That's not common." The guy wiped his hands on his shirt and extended them, saying, "Nice to meet you, I'm Steve, you can call me Paul. Hey, want some popcorn?"

"Thanks, but I'll pass." Hu Wenhai looked at the popcorn that had been mauled by Steve's big hands and decisively shook his head, then introduced himself, "My name is Hu Wenhai, you can call me Hu."

"I know, your surname comes before your given name!" Steve smiled proudly and then said regretfully, "That's too bad, in our country, watching a game should be free and easy."

As they were talking, the arena suddenly erupted in a wave of enthusiastic cheers.

"No. 23, oh my God, it's No. 23 again! A beautiful layup, it's like he's flying!"

"Oh, my God, he scored again!" Steve stood up excitedly, waving his fists and shouting along with everyone else on the court.

"Hey, buddy, watching a game shouldn't be as calm as you are." After jumping and shouting for a while, Steve sat back down and turned to Hu Wenhai, who had shown little reaction, and said, "You Chinese are always too quiet. I have some Chinatown friends who wouldn't panic even if the sky fell."

"We cheer in our hearts, really." Hu Wenhai smiled sincerely and explained to Steve.

To be fair, the Americans' friendly nature made it easy to like them, but sometimes it could also be a bit troublesome. For instance, when Hu Wenhai spread his hands, Steve's sharp eyes caught the small piece of paper in his palm and immediately smiled knowingly, "Oh, I get it, you bought a lottery ticket for the Washington Bullets to win, right?"

"This?" Hu Wenhai opened the small piece of paper in his hand and smiled, "No way, I told you, I came for No. 23."

Hu Wenhai unfolded the lottery ticket and let Steve take a closer look. It showed his betting information from the Atlantic City Sports Lottery Center, but of course, Steve could only see that the winning team was the Chicago Bulls.

The attitude of the U.S. states toward the gambling industry varies, with Las Vegas being a world-renowned gambling city. However, there is another famous gambling city in the U.S., Atlantic City.

In Atlantic City, besides various casinos, the lottery industry is also very prosperous. The U.S. lottery is purely commercial, meaning the majority of the prize money is shared between the company and the winners, with no contributions to public welfare except for taxes. Of course, what the so-called charitable lotteries are all about, Hu Wenhai just laughed it off.

Due to this commercial operation, the U.S. lottery often offers very high prizes. Historically, it's not uncommon for lottery winners to take home several hundred million dollars, which is why many people are eager to try their luck. As a well-known domestic event, the NBA naturally has related lotteries.

"That's right, the Chicago Bulls will never lose to the Washington Bullets at home!" Steve beamed, praising Hu Wenhai for his good judgment.

Satisfied, Steve sat back down and continued to watch the game intently. A basketball game lasts 48 minutes, and with the halftime break, it's just over an hour. No. 23 had several impressive performances, especially with his remarkable jumping ability, frequently securing rebounds and creating excellent opportunities for his teammates.

However, perhaps due to some nervousness, his own offensive attempts were not many. In the entire game, No. 23 had 16 offensive attempts, scoring a total of 16 points, which was somewhat disappointing.

In the lively and fast-paced basketball arena, time seemed to fly by. With the final whistle, the referee announced the end of the game, and the arena erupted in cheers.

In this game, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Washington Bullets 109-93, securing their first victory of the 1984 NBA season. However, no one on the court at that moment knew that they would soon witness the birth of a legend.

The year 1984 would be etched in NBA history. The draft's top pick, Hakeem Olajuwon, would lead the Houston Rockets to two NBA championships, while Charles Barkley and John Stockton would enter the Hall of Fame. Players like Otis Thorpe, Kevin Willis, Michael Cage, Sam Perkins, and Alvin Robertson also left a significant mark on the NBA.

Oh, and the 208th pick, Carl Lewis, would also leave his mark on the world. Yes, that American track and field superstar, Carl Lewis.

However, all these combined might not have been as dazzling as the underperforming No. 23 today.

"Hey, Chinese Hu, what do you think of our American basketball?" Steve pulled Hu Wenhai, looking extremely proud, as if he had won the championship today, not the Chicago Bulls.

Hu Wenhai's eyes twinkled, and he suddenly beckoned to him with a mysterious smile, "Hey, Steve, want to earn some extra cash?"

Steve's spirits lifted, and he smiled flatteringly, "What? What can I do for you? Rest assured, there's nothing I can't do in Chicago!"

"That's good. My request is simple. See the No. 23 on the Chicago Bulls?" Hu Wenhai pointed to the player in the white jersey who was leaving the court.

"Of course, he's a rookie, but his performance today wasn't great." Steve pursed his lips and said, "He only scored 16 points; the Bulls' manager must be in a terrible mood."

"I want the shoes he wore today. I'll give you $1,000. You can keep whatever you want, but the shoes must have No. 23's signature."

"OK, no problem!" Steve's eyes lit up at Hu Wenhai's offer. This was $1,000 in 1984, more valuable than $10,000 thirty years later! In 2014, $10,000 couldn't start a company, but in 1984, Michael Dell used $1,000 to build the future Dell Empire.

As the saying goes, when gold coins jingle, the soul can ascend to heaven. Even God can be bought, showing the immense power of money.

Ten minutes later, Steve, who had rushed off, returned, drenched in sweat, with a pair of white Nike shoes in his arms.

"Chinese Hu, you have a good eye!" Steve gave a thumbs up and said excitedly, "These are the shoes No. 23 wore in his first NBA game. If he becomes a big star, these shoes might be worth tens of thousands of dollars!"

Well, Steve had completely forgotten his previous words, as if No. 23 was no longer the mediocre rookie he had described but a star with an infinite future.

But from a certain perspective, what he said wasn't wrong. Steve himself probably couldn't believe the future value of the shoes in his arms, which would far exceed tens of thousands of dollars.

Not to mention tens of thousands of dollars; with the historical significance of these shoes, even $100,000 would be sought after.

But of course, Hu Wenhai would never lack $100,000. However, as a small hobby that had accompanied him for over a decade, he was delighted to have another precious collectible, as a memento of his years of hard work.

Hu Wenhai generously counted out $1,000 from his wallet and handed it to Steve, then happily took the shoes.

Steve looked enviously at the seemingly endless supply of bills in Hu Wenhai's wallet, while Hu Wenhai enthusiastically examined the shoes. These were Nike's latest model for the year, probably custom-made, and quite large.

But it was precisely because of the large size that the signature on the shoes could be written casually and clearly. On the shoe, in oil-based pen, it read: "First NBA game by Michael Jordan."

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