He Ximeng clearly realized the problem in his logic and chuckled, "I'm talking nonsense! Actually, I'm just optimistic about O'Neal and not about Ceballos! The future of the league, with centers like O'Neal who can dominate the paint, will become fewer and fewer! We must seize this opportunity, cling to O'Neal's coattails, and sweep the league together..."
"What about the future?"
"Things about the future can wait until we get the championship trophy..."
As He Ximeng finally said, Kobe at this time could hardly threaten O'Neal's position. When Kobe could threaten O'Neal's position, then they could talk...
From a personal perspective, Kobe and He Ximeng had fought side by side from the Nike Peak Summit, team tryouts, summer leagues... Kobe believed that He Ximeng would definitely stand with him.
But from the team's positioning and tactical coordination, He Ximeng, who came from a point guard background, was indeed a perfect match for the inside dominance of O'Neal in terms of lineup!
A center and a point guard as the core combination was the most popular playing style among active players in the league!
Instead, a backcourt duo was not mainstream in the 1996 league. It was not as popular as an inside-outside combination.
Kobe, who primarily played shooting guard, often occupied He Ximeng's ball-handling duties, forcing He Ximeng to play off-ball in the corner... Fortunately, He Ximeng's off-ball three-pointers were quite excellent, otherwise, Kobe and He Ximeng would have compatibility issues themselves...
In the following period, the conflict between O'Neal and Ceballos became increasingly public. Head coach Del Harris attempted mediation, but it failed.
This was a battle of kings! As long as one party refused to back down, it was either you die or I live, a situation of irreconcilable conflict...
The Lakers management had remained silent, but He Ximeng knew that Ceballos's time with the Lakers was running out...
Kobe was forced into O'Neal's camp because of He Ximeng, but in reality, Kobe's heart was independent; he didn't want to be dependent on anyone, including O'Neal...
But with no movement from the Lakers management, the new 1996-1997 season kicked off!
China's sports channels had started recording NBA games as early as 1986, but they were all delayed games and had little influence.
Since 1994, sports channels had attempted to broadcast the All-Star Game and the Finals live.
In the summer of 1996, David Stern flew to the other side of the ocean with his team again, making significant concessions and finally persuading the relevant leaders. Starting from the 96-97 season, sports channels would broadcast the entire regular season live!
Among the 29 teams, the sports channel chose two as the primary broadcast targets!
One was the Bulls, where Jordan played, and the other was the Lakers, where He Ximeng played!
Jerry West, having obtained the news that David Stern was preparing to vigorously expand the Chinese market, intercepted the Spurs and brought He Ximeng to Los Angeles!
It was estimated that Nike's top management had also received similar information, or had anticipated that the NBA would achieve historical progress in the Chinese market, and thus tied He Ximeng to their ship before Adidas and Reebok could.
Regardless of how, Nike and the Lakers had beaten the league's other teams and companies to the punch in the Chinese market!
On November 1, 1996, the NBA new season opener kicked off!
Both the Bulls and the Lakers had games on opening day. As countless Chinese fans turned on their TVs, preparing to watch Jordan's first game of the new season, the sports channel was incessantly introducing the Lakers and their 16th overall pick in the first round this year, Chinese player He Ximeng!
Loyal NBA fans had already learned from magazines like "Basketball Family" that He Ximeng was the first player in Chinese, and even Asian, history to land in the NBA league!
However, most casual basketball fans stared blankly at the young Chinese face on TV and muttered, "Where's Jordan? I want to watch Jordan's game..."
"What the heck is the Lakers? I want to watch the Bulls' game..."
"Holy crap! Is this number 4 player an American citizen or a Chinese citizen?"
"Is this guy named Ximeng really Chinese?"
"Will He Ximeng get a chance to play today?"
"Will He Ximeng hit his first career shot today?"
...
Meanwhile, He Ximeng's friends in China were also paying attention to He Ximeng's career debut.
Cui Tianci managed to get into a local junior college, and as He Ximeng suggested, he chose English as his major!
Zhang Tianai failed her first TOEFL test. She originally planned to spend money to attend a fake university in North Carolina, but then learned that He Ximeng had dropped out of Wake Forest and directly entered the NBA professional league... Zhang Tianai's entire life plan was disrupted... What about the campus romance they talked about?
At the same time, Zhang Tianai's mother also disagreed with her going to the United States alone to pursue love...
Zhang's mother directly stated that it was better not to go to a fake university in the US, but to either pass the TOEFL with flying colors and apply to a reliable American university, or stay in China to take the college entrance examination, attend a decent university, and inherit the family business in the future...
Without the financial support of her family, Zhang Tianai was unable to move. She could only continue to be a senior in high school, waiting for her older brother Zhang Zhenpeng to climb from the first to the third year of high school, while also continuing to take the TOEFL test...
Today was the weekend, and the Zhang siblings sat shoulder to shoulder in front of the TV, waiting for He Ximeng's debut!
The Lakers' first game of the new season was at home against the Suns!
The Suns' starting lineup was center Joe Kleine, AC Green, small forward Horry, shooting guard Wesley Person, and point guard Sam Cassell.
The Lakers' starting lineup was center O'Neal, power forward Elden Campbell, small forward Ceballos, shooting guard Eddie Jones, and point guard Nick Van Exel.
During the player introduction ceremony before the game, the head coach arranged for O'Neal to be the last to enter, which caused strong dissatisfaction from Ceballos! But despite his dissatisfaction, Ceballos could do nothing about the head coach for the time being!
However, to appease Ceballos's dissatisfaction as much as possible, head coach Del Harris had him enter first to receive the fans' cheers, which was considered a form of alternative balance! /
Kobe and He Ximeng, as rookies of the team, entered from the middle position... The middle position was the least noticeable... No way, they hadn't contributed to the team yet, so naturally, they had no status within the team.
O'Neal was most pleased with the coach's arrangement. Amidst the overwhelming cheers of the entire stadium, he made his grand entrance, kicking off his career with the Purple and Gold Lakers!