One Year Left to Play

Looking at Zhang Hao’s indifferent face, Kenny Anderson grunted in confusion.

Dare to argue with O’Neal like that, and win! Isn’t that scary?

Being able to train all day without speaking, progressing faster than anyone else, isn’t that scary?

For this little brother who seems to have no idea what’s going on, Kenny Anderson figured it’s better to quietly handle it himself, and asked, "What’s your ICQ number?"

"123456."

"?" Kenny Anderson was dumbfounded: "Aix, don’t mess with me, you don’t even have an account, do you? Beta testers only have 7-digit ICQ numbers, and now the accounts all have 8 digits! By January 1st next year, they will close the application for 8-digit accounts, so you better apply for one, or else you’ll be stuck as a 9-digit user."

Under Kenny Anderson’s watchful eye, Zhang Hao typed 123456 in the account box, then entered the password, clicked login, and an ’X’ icon appeared, with a few seconds of login time...

Just as Kenny Anderson was about to say something, he successfully logged in!

At that moment, Kenny Anderson suddenly realized, that login icon looked so familiar!

Seeing Kenny Anderson’s eyes widen in disbelief, Zhang Hao casually said, "I own this software company."

...

By dinner time, Kenny Anderson was showing off his 7-digit account in front of teammates Jason Williams, Doug Christie, George Lynch, James Robinson, and Fisher.

Originally, the usual dinner group was a familiar foursome, but Kenny Anderson called up the young teammates to show off the 7-digit account Zhang Hao had just made for him over the phone.

The company said that 6-digit numbers are internal numbers, and due to technical issues, numbers below 6 digits aren’t usable, so they gave Kenny Anderson a 7-digit beta tester number according to company policy.

Kenny Anderson was quite satisfied, not asking for much.

Men, happiness is just that simple.

Kenny Anderson didn’t go around telling people that the company belonged to Zhang Hao. When asked how he got it, he simply said, once back in Los Angeles he’ll help them get a beta account each, which Zhang Hao had promised.

The feeling of the approaching internet era was perceived by Zhang Hao, while the senior players weren’t much affected, the young teammates were often discussing things about the internet.

This also confirmed Zhang Hao’s impression that the dot-com bubble era was about to arrive...

After dinner, back at the hotel, Zhang Hao was watching last month’s game between the 76ers and Bulls, the one where Iverson shook off Jordan and made a mid-range jump shot.

Although Iverson was later defended by Jordan and went 4-for-13 in total, being forced to shoot threes, that one shot made Iverson an instant hit at the start of his rookie season.

Researching Iverson’s performance during his rookie season’s first month, Zhang Hao was surprised to find Iverson’s three-pointer was quite good!

A 35.6% three-point shooting percentage, averaging 1.8 made threes per game!

In terms of makes, Zhang Hao himself has been shooting recklessly this season, especially since O’Neal’s return, having shot 8-9 times continuously for several games, having played 19 games so far, averaging 5.9 attempts, making 1.9 per game, which is higher than Iverson, but his 32% shooting percentage is not as good as Iverson’s.

But Zhang Hao remembers Iverson often having seasons with shooting percentages below 30%...

"It’s just like the peak period of knowledge accumulation in high school, knowing astronomy and geography in freshman year, but then slipping in sophomore, junior, and senior years, isn’t it? Seems like Georgetown University is a good school!"

Just as Zhang Hao, for some reason, thought of Wang Zhizhi, a knock came at the door, and it was Jason Williams.

This guy coming over, Zhang Hao knew there would likely be some gossip news.

"Aix, the rookie from the 76ers said he wants to challenge you, claims to be stronger than you!"

...

Zhang Hao, the strongest rookie of ’95, and Allen Iverson of ’96, whose capabilities were obvious from the beginning of the rookie season, set to face off, was already a hot match.

On the afternoon of November 4th, while Zhang Hao was playing games with Kenny Anderson, Allen Iverson, during an interview when asked about his thoughts on Zhang Hao, the strongest of the ’95 batch, who made the first team in his rookie season, Iverson responded: "Zhang is one of the best rookies in NBA history, I also hope to receive such an assessment, I believe I’m not inferior to anyone."

When asked about the difference in rookie season performances between himself and Zhang Hao’s Lakers team, Iverson answered: "You must admit, our lineup is different from what was available in his rookie season, our team’s talents are still young."

Iverson wasn’t a fool, only a fool would intentionally offend someone they hadn’t met or have no connection with.

However, Iverson, being a rookie, unknowingly fell into the trap.

When asked if he could do better with a lineup as strong as Zhang Hao’s rookie season, Iverson confidently replied: "Certainly, if I have the opportunity, I believe I could definitely do better."

Humans, easily get excited, Iverson got carried away and added another line: "If I lead the team to 65 wins, then I think I won’t just stop in the second round."

...

After Iverson’s interview aired on the news programs on the night of the 4th, it immediately caused strong reactions.

By the next morning, media swarmed the 76ers’ home court, eager to get a response from Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao initially didn’t want to bother, but looking at last night’s triggered task "Welcome Ceremony for the Rookie Top Pick"...

After the morning’s pre-game prep and practice was over, Zhang Hao accepted an interview with the media, and under the relentless questioning, responded—

"I don’t understand why some rookies look so ordinary, yet can be so confident."

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