The Trail Blazers prepared a gift for Wei Guo outside the arena and invited him to the Rose Garden Plaza the day after the game.

This isn't a secret...

Wei Guo already knew that the Pioneers' retirement gift to him was to erect a bronze statue of him, and that inviting Wei Guo was to unveil the statue.

Erecting statues for players in the league is not uncommon. Several players have enjoyed this honor before Wei Guo. The Bulls erected statues for Jordan and Pippen, the Lakers erected statues for Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the Rockets erected a statue for Olajuwon, but all of those were after the players retired.

Wei Guo did not retire, but the Trail Blazers erected a statue for him, which is unprecedented... However, the Rockets and Nets have already retired Wei Guo's jerseys, so it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with the Trail Blazers erecting a statue for him.

Anyway...

Wei Guo has been breaking records.

So what if the team he played for broke the precedent to defend the country? The league doesn't have a clear rule that players can't have statues erected before they retire.

......

After a fifty-game winning streak, they no longer have regular season games with many teams, and they won't even meet them in the playoffs.

During this period, Wei Guo often received gifts when playing away games.

These gifts weren't expensive, but they were very meaningful... Many friends also prepared gifts for Wei Guo, from both the sports and entertainment circles. Don't think Wei Guo doesn't have friends in the entertainment industry... He just doesn't like to actively make friends, but his girlfriend is Britney Spears, and the boss behind the largest entertainment company in the US is Zhang Xiaoduo. Wei Guo has many friends in the entertainment industry.

The remaining thirty-two games...

The players' fatigue is getting heavier and heavier; it's like they've been numb from winning... The Lakers have also faced many strong teams, and even weak teams like the Hornets and Clippers have had moments when they led by more than 20 points against the Lakers. In these situations... the star player needs to step up. If Kobe can't do it, then Weiguo has to step up.

Wei Guo's stats also improved during this period, especially his steals and blocks, which are related to defense.

......

It was late April when the regular season concluded with a game against the Rockets.

Prior to this...

The Lakers have achieved an unprecedented 81-game winning streak. If they win this game, they will create an undefeated record in the regular season. This is the determination that Wei Guo, Kobe, and Gentry made at the beginning of the season. If it weren't for the undefeated record, Wei Guo would not have come to Los Angeles to team up with Kobe.

The Rockets are also very strong this season.

With Gu Tao leaving the team and McGrady and Yao Ming injured, the Rockets, united as one, achieved a 21-game winning streak and ranked fourth in the Western Conference, behind only the Lakers, Spurs, and Jazz.

Wei Guo had heard about McGrady's injury but didn't take it seriously... Later, Yao Ming was also injured, and Wei Guo immediately arranged for Yao Ming to return to China for treatment... Yao Ming absolutely cannot be injured; there's a tough battle coming up this summer. Yao Ming is Wei Guo's right-hand man, and we can't rely on Wei Guo alone for this year's Olympics.

Because of his duty to the country, Yao Ming made his comeback before the playoffs began!

......

Starting lineup for this match:

Lakers: Paul, Kobe, Wei Guo, Odom, Gasol

Rockets: Brooks, McGrady, Battier, Scola, Yao Ming

......

The Staples Center was packed to capacity; tickets for the game were sold out long ago, but many people still went through connections to ask friends and relatives to help them get a seat at the stadium.

after all...

Witnessing an undefeated record in the regular season is a rare and precious opportunity.

In addition...

This was Wei Guo's retirement game. After this game, Wei Guo's regular season journey ended, and his career statistics were frozen. The league's statistics on career statistics do not include the playoffs, which are counted separately. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads the scoring list, Wilt Chamberlain leads the rebounding list, John Stockton leads the assists and steals list, and Hakeem Olajuwon leads the blocks list. These statistics are all based on the regular season.

If Weiguo's career were extended by five years...

Wei Guo holds the top spot in all five statistical categories, but he has only played seven seasons. His highest score is currently in blocks, with 3260 blocks, ranking third all-time. Mutombo, who ranks ahead of Wei Guo, has a total of 3269 blocks as of this game. In other words, if Wei Guo wants to rank second, he needs to get 9 more blocks than Mutombo tonight.

Mutombo is on the Rockets team, and he's Yao Ming's backup!

This can be considered a cycle of reincarnation...

When Wei Guo first entered the league, he was teammates with Mutombo.

The media also likes to collect various statistics. Before the game, someone told Mutombo that if Weiguo got 9 more blocks than him tonight, he would become the second on the all-time blocks list. During warm-up, Mutombo found Weiguo and said, "I really want to give you the second place on the all-time blocks list... but I have to play for another year."

Wei Guo asked curiously, "How did you know I cared about this honor?"

"Cummings told me..."

Mutombo leaned close to Weiguo's ear and said, "He said you're number one in everything, but this is the only thing you have a chance to be number two in."

It's true that Cummings understands Wei Guo well. Wei Guo is number one in everything, and occasionally being number two is not bad. Moreover, Wei Guo is only 9 blocks behind Mutombo. If he can't catch up, Wei Guo's obsessive-compulsive disorder will kill him.

"Cummings advised me to retire..."

"Is Master Cummings so thoughtful?"

Wei Guo shrugged. "I won't care about these stats anymore after I retire. Even if you surpass me next season, it's fine."

Mutombo looked intently into Weiguo's eyes, feeling that Weiguo's words were somewhat insincere... Anyone who had been Weiguo's teammate knew that Weiguo had obsessive-compulsive disorder. Mutombo made up his mind that if Weiguo surpassed him in blocks tonight, he would retire with Weiguo. He was almost fifty years old and couldn't play anymore.

To be able to make this decision...

It was also related to Cummings. Cummings understood that Mutombo was thinking about his hometown and its people, so he promised Mutombo that he would donate three hospitals in Mutombo's hometown.

......

Mutombo and Wei Guo talked for a long time, and Yao Ming also came over to express his gratitude to Wei Guo.

If it weren't for the defense of the country...

Yao Ming is unlikely to be available before the playoffs.

......

The first two rows of seats were occupied by no fewer than sixty celebrities, as well as many business tycoons.

Wei Guo straightened his jersey and walked to the center circle. Since it was the last game, he would take the jump ball.

"Beep!!!"

The whistle blew, and the game began.

Yao Ming and Wei Guo jumped at the same time, their hands constantly moving closer to the basketball in the air. Just as the basketball was falling, Wei Guo slapped it.