Chapter 64

This trip to New York with the team to play an away game made Lin Han extremely excited. Not only did he realize he had so many fans in this city, but he was even more excited to finally see New York and understand what Manhattan was like. In the past, whether it was New York or Manhattan, they were just part of Lin Han's dreams. In his American dream, one of the highest achievements was to buy a high-end apartment overlooking Central Park next to the Empire State Building on Fifth Avenue. Of course, Lin Han didn't know if there were any apartments as tall as the Empire State Building, but it was a dream of his.

So, as soon as Lin Han and the team arrived in Manhattan early in the morning, he almost immediately rushed out of the hotel to Fifth Avenue to pay homage. Although the prosperity of Fifth Avenue indeed dazzled Lin Han, a boy from Salt Lake City, after a round of sightseeing, he felt even more melancholic. The things were good, but none of them belonged to him.

"Too expensive, way too expensive. A four-bedroom apartment is priced at over three million dollars. This is highway robbery. Jordan's annual salary is only four million, and he only takes home a bit over two million. And even more outrageous, a thousand-square-meter apartment in Central Park with a view of the Statue of Liberty is priced at over ten million dollars? Over ten thousand dollars per square meter? Who can afford that?"

After circling Fifth Avenue in New York, Lin Han returned to the hotel where the team was staying, feeling somewhat indignant. At this point, Lin Han realized that entering the NBA would not immediately fulfill his American dream. The exorbitant housing prices in New York, ranging from several million to tens of millions of dollars, were completely beyond his reach. He might not even earn a million-dollar salary in his entire NBA career. After all, the greatest player in Lakers' history, Magic Johnson, earned only 25 million dollars over his entire career, and after taxes, he had just over 13 million, which wasn't enough to buy a thousand-square-meter high-end duplex in Central Park.

"What four-bedroom? What ten million? Lin, what are you talking about? Are you planning to buy a house in Manhattan? Everyone is practicing kickboxing and Wing Chun in the gym. You should come too, or you'll suffer in tonight's game."

When Lin Han returned to his room, he saw the team's star player, John Stockton, running out of his room in a familiar outfit, panting. Stockton, upon seeing Lin Han, greeted him and then headed straight for the hotel gym without looking back.

Practice clothes? What is Stockton doing in practice clothes? And practicing kickboxing and Wing Chun in the gym? What's going on? Are aliens attacking Earth? Besides, isn't tonight's game just a regular match against the New York Knicks? Is it necessary to do this?

Lin Han, slightly stunned, followed Stockton. When he arrived at the hotel gym, he was completely stunned by what he saw.

The entire gym was filled with the sounds of "huh, huh, huh, oh, hit, oh, hit, bang, bang." These sounds were very familiar. Even though Lin Han didn't particularly like watching Bruce Lee's kung fu movies, he had seen all of them. Clearly, the Jazz players were learning real Chinese kung fu under the guidance of the gym coach.

"Wh-what are you guys doing?"

At this moment, Lin Han, who had just entered the gym, was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Hey, Lin, you're back. Do you know Chinese kung fu? Let's practice."

Seeing Lin Han enter, Karl Malone, who was practicing with Chambers, immediately jumped down from the platform and hugged Lin Han. Lin Han was almost overwhelmed by the combination of sweat and cologne on Malone.

"Karl, you bastard, stay away from me. When did you start wearing cologne? It's suffocating."

Malone, who had intended to challenge Lin Han to a kung fu duel, was kicked away by Lin Han before he could even throw a punch. This made Malone grind his teeth in frustration: "Lin, you're a bad guy, you attacked me from behind."

I didn't attack you from behind. Looking at the crazy Malone, Lin Han rolled his eyes and cursed inwardly.

"Ha ha, Lin, I think it's quite interesting. Last year when we were here, there was no Chinese kung fu in the gym. It's a bit exaggerated, but it's necessary for tonight's game."

Just as Lin Han and Karl Malone were about to fight like children, Jeff Malone pulled Lin Han away. Although Jeff Malone and Lin Han were competitors and couldn't return to the relationship they had before the season started, their relationship had improved recently as Lin Han continued to prove himself.

"What does tonight's game have to do with Wing Chun or Chinese kung fu?"

Lin Han, watching his teammates return to their kung fu practice, was speechless.

"It's not necessary against other NBA teams, but our opponent tonight is the New York Knicks, one of the two major gangs in the NBA. You need to be prepared."

Two major gangs in the NBA? The New York gang? Lin Han was stunned by Jeff Malone's somewhat mysterious words.

"Hehe, Lin, you're the team's starter, and you're currently ranked first on the latest NBA MVP list. You're also the first player to win the weekly best player award twice in a row since Jordan, and you're even called the second coming of Jordan. But do you know that the second on the MVP list is Ewing, and the New York Knicks hate Michael Jordan the most. So you need to be extra careful in this game."

"You need to be mentally prepared for possibly 'deadly' defense. Don't look at me like that; I'm not lying. You'll see."

After saying this, Jeff Malone patted Lin Han on the shoulder and left, his sympathetic look almost making Lin Han want to cry.

...

"Coach, the latest issue of the New York Times criticized your team's style of play, saying it doesn't fit this great city. The owners want to see smooth and flowing offense, like when you were with the Lakers."

"Tell them to buy tickets to watch the Warriors' games. Nelson's team is beautiful, and they can even invite Nelson here. I'm ready to leave anytime."

"I understand, Coach. I'll convey your message to them word for word."

In the New York Knicks' training facility, assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy came and went in a hurry. As the team's head coach, Pat Riley continued to watch the Knicks players train as if nothing had happened.

"Want Lakers-style offense? With this bunch of butchers? Ha!"

Pat Riley thought to himself, scanning the Knicks players with disdain. To have smooth and flowing showtime, first get me a Magic.

"Boss, who are we going to take down in this game? Malone or Stockton? The Jazz have been getting a bit arrogant lately."

"Anthony, what do you know? Can you take down Malone and Stockton? Boss is going to take them down personally, right, boss?"

"Charles is right. After the Bulls' bastard left, the boss is ready to step up by stepping on the league's superstars. Malone and Stockton are good targets, better than David Robinson."

"John, you bastard, don't mention David Robinson. Just thinking about him makes me angry. He's too cowardly, not even daring to face us head-on. Too damn girly. Doug, Doug, say something. Who are we going to take down in this game?"

Doug Reeves, who had been hiding in the corner, sighed and said, "I think Lin Han is a good target."

After saying this, Doug Reeves almost wanted to cry. How did he end up on such a team? Was there no place for a decent person? He found himself becoming less and less pure, always feeling a strong urge to take down people on the court like these guys.

"Huh? Lin Han? The Chinese guy, the second coming of Jordan, who took the weekly best player and the top spot on the MVP list from the boss?"

"That's a good target, Doug. I knew you were smart. This is a good choice. We'll take him down in this game."

"Right, I think this kid is the most arrogant right now. Let him see the top-notch iron defense of the NBA."

Seeing his suddenly energized teammates, Reeves sneaked back to the corner, praying that Lin Han would never come after him, even in the afterlife.