Chapter 62

"Ah Ming, what are you looking at? So engrossed? Hey, can you actually read the English newspaper now? And it’s even The New York Times, impressive!"

On November 20, 1993, in Manhattan's Chinatown, one of the largest Chinese communities in the United States, the number of Chinese gold-seekers coming to New York from the other side of the Pacific has been increasing with the reform and opening up. The population of Chinatown, which originally had only tens of thousands of residents, has now exceeded 500,000 and is approaching one million.

Even these Chinese in Manhattan have gradually driven out many European immigrants and Jews who originally lived here, turning the entire Lower Manhattan into a true Chinatown. If there is any race in the world that has the strongest social survival and competitiveness, it can be seen from the changes in Manhattan's Chinatown. As long as the Chinese are given an opportunity, they can thrive in any harsh competitive environment, as they have done throughout history.

Although the Chinese who have just arrived from the other side of the Pacific are still in the middle to lower economic strata of New York, it is clear that, like many other Americans, these new immigrants have quickly integrated into the life of this land.

Especially in recent times, for the Chinese in Chinatown, the name "Lin Han" can always be found in major American newspapers. This Chinese NBA player has almost become the pride of all the Chinese in Chinatown.

For these people, surviving in a difficult place is not hard, and creating and finding wealth in a place with no wealth is also not hard. They can change what they lack materially, but some things at the spiritual level are not so easy to create.

Especially in the United States, where the Chinese Exclusion Act has not yet been repealed, a truly successful Chinese person who can appear at the center of public opinion is extremely rare. Lin Han, the NBA player who, like them, fled to this place from the other side, has become a寄托, a spiritual寄托.

Lin Han's recent success in the NBA is like a testament to their own success, as if telling the whole of America that in the future, more and more Chinese will appear in all fields of this country.

"Has the NBA's Player of the Week been announced this week? Let me see. My God, Lin Han actually won the Player of the Week again. It's unbelievable. Three games, all wins, averaging 41 points, 46.2% shooting. Lin Han actually beat Barkley to retain the Player of the Week. It's unbelievable."

In a Chinese restaurant called Fugui Restaurant, two young Chinese men were loudly cheering with a newspaper, as if Lin Han's retention of the Player of the Week was their own.

"Ah Ming, Ah Hui, stop shouting. Get back to picking the vegetables. Do you want to get paid? You can shout tonight."

"Hehe, Uncle Wang, I heard that Ah Wen and the others went to greet the Utah Jazz. Do you think they can get a photo and an autograph? If Lin Han knew we started a fan club here, it would be official."

"You two, what's the rush? There are plenty of opportunities. You have to cheer for me tonight. Recently, Lin Han has been criticized and mocked by American media. We need to show him our support."

"Don't worry, the New York Knicks' home court will be our home court."

......

It was crazy, really crazy. Since entering the NBA, Lin Han had never felt the sensation of being surrounded by fans. Although there were many Jazz fans who would seek his autograph after each game at the Jazz's home court, Lin Han never imagined that when he and the team walked out of the airport, Stockton and Malone would become the supporting cast, and thousands of fans at the airport, all wearing Jazz No. 8 jerseys, would be holding signs written in Chinese.

When all the Chinese fans in New York shouted Lin Han's name, Lin Han and the entire Jazz team were stunned. For the Jazz players, they were not inexperienced. Both Malone and Stockton were stars of the Dream Team and regulars in the NBA All-Star Game. They had seen it all.

When they traveled with the Dream Team around the world, the entire world went crazy. But even so, both Malone and Stockton were extremely shocked.

As they put it, when they played in Europe with the Dream Team, it was no different.

Moreover, when they learned that the fans who came to greet the team were all members of Lin Han's fan club, they were envious and jealous. Although they also had fan clubs, most of these fan clubs were in Utah. In the United States, regionalism is very strong, and not many New Yorkers would like the Jazz. Malone and Stockton couldn't have a large fan club in New York.

So when Lin Han and the Jazz returned to their hotel in a state of shock, both Malone and Stockton couldn't help but tease Lin Han, which made Lin Han feel both happy and embarrassed.

Perhaps because he had been criticized a lot, or because of his selfish nature, Lin Han was very indifferent about whether people liked him. At least, he thought he didn't care. It was better if people liked him, but it didn't matter if they didn't. After all, he played basketball not to be liked, and maybe being disliked could even increase his character value, which might be better.

But when he saw the sea of fans shouting his name today, Lin Han changed his view for the first time. It turned out that being supported and loved was a very pleasant thing, making him feel that everything he did was recognized, and the sense of confusion and helplessness in his heart instantly disappeared.

"Today, you not only won your second Player of the Week trophy but also gained a large group of fans. You are really lucky."

Finally, in Lin Han's room, Malone lay on the bed enviously and sighed.

"Just a bunch of fans, your fans should be more. And it's just a Player of the Week trophy, is it worth envying? It's not the Player of the Month."

Lin Han threw his bag at Malone in a huff and gave him a fake angry look.

"Ha ha ha, Lin, you're wrong. Fans, Karl might not envy, but retaining the Player of the Week is something Karl envies a lot."

Stockton, who had been watching the commotion, smiled and continued, "Do you know, the last player to retain the Player of the Week was in the 1988-89 season. That season, Jordan averaged 32+8+8. He set a record by winning the Player of the Week four times that season. When he won the third Player of the Week, his average was a near triple-double over four games. I remember he was just one rebound short of a triple-double. When he won the fourth Player of the Week, his average was a 30+10+10 triple-double. If Jordan hadn't averaged a triple-double, the league wouldn't have given him the Player of the Week again. So after winning two consecutive Player of the Week awards, Jordan had another week where he averaged 30+11+11, an even more terrifying triple-double, but the league didn't give him the third consecutive Player of the Week."

"You have to understand, although winning the Player of the Week is hard, retaining it is even harder. I remember in NBA history, since the Player of the Week award was established, only a few players have retained it. In my memory, only Jordan has retained it twice, and you are the second. Shouldn't you be envied and jealous? It's not just about the stats; it's also about luck. So even if you average 60 points next week, if there's no significant breakthrough in your performance, the league won't give you the third consecutive Player of the Week. Unless you stop scoring and average a triple-double like Jordan. I remember in the 1988-89 season, Michael regretted that week for not going for a triple-double instead of scoring."

After Stockton explained, Lin Han was stunned. At this moment, Stockton was very satisfied. "Little guy, you're stunned, right? The NBA is deep, you have a lot to learn."

Just brush a triple-double if you want to, or score if you want to. What kind of realm did Jordan reach? How can others live? This guy must have some kind of basketball system cheat.

Lin Han instantly lost the sense of superiority he had over Malone in the previous game. Although Malone had been brushing stats for years under Stockton's shadow, he was still inferior to Lin Han in terms of level and was completely looked down upon by Lin Han. But Lin Han suddenly felt no superiority at all in front of the greatest stat brusher in history, Jordan.

If Stockton knew that Lin Han's focus was on this, he would certainly be speechless, kick him, and shout, "This kid is really not on the right path."