The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 207 - 139 The French Magician You Don’t Know About_2

Chapter 207: Chapter 139 The French Magician You Don’t Know About_2

Indeed, LeBron immediately felt less tense.

Recalling the anxiety he had just felt, he swore in a mix of annoyance and embarrassment, "Damn that Huaxia rookie, just you wait, I’ll make you regret messing with me!"

The buzz continued, and Nike officially announced that Su Wan’s first signature shoe of his career would soon be released.

Before the Indiana Media Day, Su Wan received his new shoes.

Like Jordan’s first pair of signature shoes, they were also a "black and red" colorway.

This small detail symbolized Nike’s expectations for him.

Su Wan also liked this colorway a lot, always thinking it was the color scheme that best represented Nike.

Although both were black and red, Su Wan’s shoes were mostly black, creating a sense of mystery for a special agent. On the tongue was his number, 99.

The tips of the shoelaces were designed to resemble the shape of the NBA Finals MVP Trophy.

This was Su Wan’s suggestion.

After hearing it, the designers agreed enthusiastically and added this little Easter egg to the laces.

The shoe upper and the insole also employed Nike’s most mature technologies, combining good looks with full practicality.

Nike’s representatives hoped he would wait until Media Day to make a public appearance in them, asking him to refrain from revealing their design for the time being. They had several promo clips scheduled for release in the coming days. If Su Wan wore his new shoes too early, it would reduce the shoes’ sense of mystery.

Su Wan replied, "That’s your problem!"

Why did you send them to me early?

Since they were sent, why shouldn’t I wear them?

There was one thing Su Wan agreed with Michael Jordan on.

That was to be a bit whimsical with the brands that made money off them; such rights were earned through their own value.

So, on the first day of the Pacers’ closed training camp, Su Wan swaggered into the gym wearing his yet-to-be-released first pair of signature shoes.

After parking his Ferrari in the underground parking lot, he saw Tinsley getting out of the car opposite him, his eyes filled with envy; he had heard about the Ferrari being gifted to Su Wan. But soon Tinsley’s envy shifted to Su Wan’s feet, "Are those Nike’s signature shoes for you?"

"How do they look, pretty good, right?" Su Wan showed off his shoes generously, "If you like them, I’ll send you a few pairs when they come out!"

"Really?" Tinsley could indeed buy his own, but he preferred the ones Su Wan would give him.

Su Wan waved his hand dismissively; such a small matter wasn’t worth mentioning.

As the two of them entered the locker room, this year’s rookie Turiaf was already waiting. Seeing Su Wan for the first time, he jumped to his feet, looking as tense as a new recruit seeing a drill instructor.

It wasn’t surprising that he was so nervous; Su Wan’s public image was quite flamboyant, and he had even injured Jordan’s ribs this summer. Any rookie would feel some trepidation about such a teammate.

Not to mention Su Wan’s status on the Pacers.

Contrary to expectations, Su Wan pulled out a bottle of French perfume from his backpack and handed it to Turiaf, "Buddy, I don’t know if you like this."

His friendly demeanor took Turiaf aback for a moment; had it not been for Su Wan’s clearly different skin tone, he would have thought he was mistaken about who he was.

Su Wan had no ulterior motive in giving "The Butcher" a bottle of perfume.

Mainly because the guy had especially active sweat glands, resulting in a particularly strong underarm odor.

Let’s say it like this, the NBA’s top 5 "bio-weapons":

Karl Malone’s socks, Howard’s farts, LeBron’s body odor, Tim Duncan’s halitosis, and...

Turiaf’s underarms!

Could Su Wan not give him a bottle of perfume?

Su Wan didn’t wait for the other players to arrive before heading to the practice court. He changed his clothes and went straight there, with Tinsley following closely behind. Turiaf felt that as a rookie, he should greet everyone in the locker room before heading to the practice court.

But now that Su Wan had gone, staying back in the locker room seemed a bit impolite for a newbie.

So he promptly closed his locker and followed to the gym.

Then he realized that he wasn’t the first to arrive; Ron Artest and Little O’Neal were already there, drenched in sweat from their training.

"You two arranged to come together?" Tinsley had seen the news of them going to the club together for some happy time, but he still couldn’t quite believe it.

Artest looked at his naive expression, stood on his tiptoes to hook Little O’Neal’s shoulder, and seeing Artest’s intention, Little O’Neal squatted down to make it easier for him.

"Oh my god..." Tinsley shook his head in shock.

Then Foster and others also arrived at the training hall one after another.

Calderon instinctively stood next to Su Wan; he felt like he had returned to the Cavaliers.

Of course, he knew it was an illusion.

The current Su Wan was a phenomenon-level newcomer, comparable to "Magic" Johnson, and his momentum was no less than LeBron’s.

However, looking at Su Wan as he smiled and greeted him, there was one thing Calderon could be sure of:

Su Wan hadn’t changed.

Soon Dior arrived in his loose training clothes, looking like an old man taking his dog for a morning walk, with a coffee in hand and an air of relaxation, without any of the stiffness of a rookie in a strange environment.

"Mad Fan" stood beside him, and for a moment, it was unclear who between the two was the 12-year veteran who had entered the league back in 1993.

But it was this casual demeanor that made the Hawks management think he lacked ambition.

And he indeed didn’t have much ambition.

In an interview, when asked if he wanted to make the All-Star team, he replied plainly, "Not really."

If the "Left-Handed Magician" didn’t reach the heights he should have because of P, then the "French Magician" didn’t achieve what he could have because of his laid-back attitude.

But there was a difference between the two.

Although Dior lacked ambition, he enjoyed playing "Happy Basketball," where the whole team shared the ball and everyone participated in the offense. In such an atmosphere, his talent would shine through.

He was a true player who could handle positions one through five.

Throughout his career, except for not having played as a two, he had tried all the other positions and had outstanding performances in each.

Rick Carlisle arrived, glanced at Su Wan, and gave him a thumbs-up.

He could feel that Su Wan’s physical fitness had become even stronger.

He then arranged for a physical testing for the players.

Indeed, Su Wan’s stats left a deep impression on him.

Another person who impressed him was the new reinforcement Dior.

Initially, seeing his lazy demeanor, Rick Carlisle naturally frowned, but when Dior switched to "serious mode," and jumped high, breaking Little O’Neal’s height-touching record, Carlisle was stunned:

What is this...

Monster?

Little O’Neal’s physical fitness could be considered top-notch among the power forwards.

The man in question, Little O’Neal, was also somewhat astonished.

Su Wan, on the other hand, was reminded of a little story:

Originally, Dior, who had gone to the Phoenix Suns, strolled onto the training court with a coffee in hand, much like today, and suddenly spotted Little Si’s name on a wall. He asked what it was. A staff member told him it was the Suns’ height-touching record, and Little Si was the best at it.

Hearing this, Dior put his coffee aside, leaped high, broke Little Si’s record, then nonchalantly commented, "Not that high, really," and walked away with his coffee again.

Little Si’s jumping ability was absolutely top-tier among the league’s big men; if Dior could break his record, breaking Little O’Neal’s wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

At first, when Su Wan heard this story, he thought it might have been someone with the same name.

After all, this was quite different from the Dior he remembered.

But seeing it with his own eyes, he now understood why Dior could keep up with the Phoenix Suns’ fast-paced offense and defense, and why he had his best season, becoming the winner of the league’s "Most Improved Player Award" for the 05~06 season.