NABC Chapter 22 Easily Winning the Championship
Chapter 22 Easily Winning the Championship
Wang Kai's decision not to play in the Summer League displeased Warriors head coach Montgomery, but general manager Chris Mullin supported Wang Kai's choice.
The Warriors' attendance has been declining in recent years for a variety of reasons, but ultimately it comes down to the team's poor record and the unsafe conditions in Oakland.
Chris Mullin hopes to attract more Chinese-American and Chinese fans through Wang Kai. Look at Houston; a certain Houston team made a fortune through Yao Ming. Mullin has to consider the team's performance, but he also has to consider the owner's wallet.
Wang Kai originally planned to continue training this summer, hoping to improve his low-post ability and physical strength, but now that he has the opportunity to join the national team, he certainly won't miss it.
Wang Kai's father always hoped that his son could wear the national team jersey, which was also Wang Haijun's dream when he was young.
Moreover, Wang Kai isn't the kind of honest person who wouldn't show off. He's quite happy to have the opportunity to go back to China and show off a bit. After he was confirmed to be selected, Lao Ke reminded him that money from Chinese merchants is also very attractive, based on Lao Ke's personal experience.
After signing with the Warriors in early July, Wang Kai returned to China.
Wang Kai chose to go home as his first stop. By then, he was already a household name in his hometown, after all, the news of Wang Kai being selected by the Warriors had been broadcast on CCTV.
After returning to his hometown and relaxing for a week under the loving care of his parents, Wang Kai, accompanied by Pelinka, signed endorsement contracts with several domestic businesses.
Although Wang Kai's endorsement fees are not as high as Yao Ming's, they are enough for him to achieve basic financial freedom.
At Lao Ke's suggestion, Wang Kai did not sign long-term contracts with the merchants. The contracts were all for less than three years and there were only four or five of them. However, these four or five merchants were all large domestic enterprises and reliable businesses.
As for shoe endorsements, Wang Kai doesn't plan to sign any for the time being. His mentor, Kobe, reminded him that signing shoe endorsements now would be a bad deal, and that once Wang Kai has a stellar performance in his rookie season, those investors will come knocking with cash.
In late July 2005, Wang Kai officially joined the men's basketball training team.
At that time, the head coach of the men's basketball team was Jonas. He had repeatedly reminded the leaders of the Basketball Association to pay attention to Wang Kai's performance, but he had never received a response. This time, Wang Kai's successful joining of the men's basketball team made Jonas very happy, and he no longer worried about the team's outside offense.
For many years, the core of the men's basketball team's offense and defense has been the inside players, which has led to an imbalance in the national team's tactics.
The dogmatic tactical model of domestic coaches is completely outdated, and the management model of the Basketball Association also makes domestic coaches hesitant to use new players boldly, and no one dares to let the perimeter players take bold shots. In the game, they just keep throwing the ball to the inside and letting Yao Ming go inside to defend against several opponents.
Wang Kai was welcomed by Jonas upon arriving at the training center, but some players on the national team were not so welcoming of his arrival.
However, in the following two months, Wang Kai won everyone over with his performance.
In terms of training intensity, when Wang Kai was training three times a day, some people on the national team were struggling to even complete a normal one-time training session.
In terms of shooting ability, Wang Kai dominated everyone in private shooting competitions, including both veteran and new three-point shooters such as Zhu Fangyu and Li Nan.
In terms of physical intensity, only Yao Ming could hold off Wang Kai in the paint; other perimeter players simply couldn't keep up with Wang Kai's speed and physicality.
When it comes to dribbling, Wang Kai, who has grown to 2.04 meters tall, can shake off Liu Wei, the starting point guard of the national team, while dribbling.
When it comes to fighting, Wang Kai is still a bit lacking. The team has veterans like Li Xunhuan, who can throw a bench, and newcomers like Zhu Fangyu, who is a master of eight punches.
Young, capable, and not arrogant, Wang Kai has established his position in the team before the Asian Championships, despite sometimes being overly serious during matches.
On September 8, 2005, the Chinese men's basketball team played their first game in the Asian Championship against Iran.
Iran is a long-time rival of the national team. In recent years, with the growth of Iranian center Haddadi, Iran's strength has improved rapidly.
However, facing the Chinese team with Wang Kai, this growing Iranian team was almost brought to a standstill by the Chinese team.
Wang Kai played small forward in this game, a position that has always been a weakness for the national team.
At the start of the game, Wang Kai frequently fired from beyond the three-point line.
Accustomed to the NBA's three-point line, Wang Kai showed no mercy against Iran's collapsing defense, hitting three consecutive three-pointers at the start of the game.
The Iranian team had to have their players press Wang Kai closely.
After Wang Kai created space on the outside, Yao Ming scored repeatedly inside. At this point, Haddadi was no match for Yao Ming at all. No, he had never been a match for Yao Ming.
On defense, Wang Kai used his physical advantages to shut down the opponent's strong points and even managed to deliver a big block to Haddadi, who was being attacked in the low post.
In the first quarter, Yao Ming played for six minutes before leaving the court to rest, as they were already leading Iran by 12 points.
The subsequent games turned into Wang Kai's exhibition and training sessions. He showed an extremely versatile performance, capable of driving inside and shooting outside, three-pointers, dunks, and low-post back-to-the-basket moves.
最终依靠王凯的36分、6篮板、7助攻、3抢断和4盖帽的表现，男篮以大比分109比63血虐了伊朗队46分。
The Chinese team shocked the entire Asian basketball world after their first game, especially Wang Kai's performance. Against Iran, he seemed to be channeling Jordan or Kobe Bryant.
South Korean media outlets are clamoring that the Chinese team is nothing special and only won because of the referees, since Haddadi fouled out in the third quarter.
Japanese media, on the other hand, conducted a detailed study of Wang Kai's high school career in the United States, loudly proclaiming that the future of Japanese basketball lies in American high schools.
In the next match against the provincial team, Wang Kai showed no mercy, scoring 40 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He single-handedly dominated the provincial team's backcourt rebounds, and the national team crushed the provincial team by a score of 65 points.
In the third group stage match against Uzbekistan, Wang Kai displayed his prowess, making 8 of 9 three-pointers and scoring a game-high 55 points, setting a new personal scoring record for the Asian Championship.
After entering the playoffs, Yao Ming rested and did not play against the Japanese team. Wang Kai scored 41 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists with a triple-double, once again making Asian basketball realize the gap between itself and the world basketball scene.
After this game, Yao Ming announced his withdrawal from the Asian Championships. His injury had not fully recovered, but the Chinese Basketball Association reluctantly agreed after Wang Kai's strong performance.
In the second match of the semi-finals, facing the Lebanese team, which has been quite strong in recent years, Wang Kai once again dominated the game.
After Yao Ming took a complete break, Wang Kai became the sole core player, and he began to adopt a ball-handling, dominant style of play.
Wang Kai scored 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 16 assists in the game, once again achieving a triple-double.
In the third game of the playoffs, Wang Kai played for five minutes before leaving the court to rest. In Wang Kai's opinion, the Saudi Arabian team was not as strong as the Hawks team when he first arrived in Montverde.
98 to 10. The national team achieved a stunning score difference.
In the semifinals against their old rivals, the South Korean team, who were quite confident, Wang Kai played the entire game and scored 32 points, while the South Korean team only scored 40 points. The national team crushed the South Korean team 98-40, a total of 58 points.
Another 58-point disaster.
In the final match, the opponent was still Lebanon. Wang Kai changed positions and took the lead in dribbling at the start of the game.
Throughout the game, Wang Kai only scored 22 points, but delivered 20 assists.
In previous games, Wang Kai had already honed the skills of the national team's pitchers, and they began to dare to pitch and were able to pitch.
In the slow-paced matches across Asia, Wang Kai's presence completely energized the national team players.
Ultimately, thanks to Wang Kai's double-double performance, the national team won the game 95-68 without much effort, and also won the championship of this Asian Championship.