Barkley's kneeling made him another famous scene, and the ratings of that TNT show reached a season high.

Some professionals estimate that Barkley's kneeling will bring him nearly 10 million US dollars in revenue.

But this still cannot change the current situation in the NBA.

Although Silver continues to perform at the All-Star Game, this year's All-Star Game will still have the lowest ratings in history.

Even Charlotte, which is hosting the All-Star Game, has been rumored to want to give up the right to host the event.

And then, they got what they wanted.

Because just before the All-Star Game, North Carolina, where Charlotte is located, passed a homophobic law in March 2017: allowing the exclusion of the gay community in commercial activities.

The controversial HB2 bill refuses to protect the rights of LGBT people and forces transgender people to use toilets that match their biological sex.

After unsuccessful efforts to pressure the North Carolina government, the league eventually canceled Charlotte's hosting rights and moved the event to New Orleans, which was the most suitable venue due to its temporary nature.

This also attracted a lot of attention from the outside world.

Media people knelt down, the All-Star Game venue was changed, and you will find that the most eye-catching thing in the NBA this year is not what happened on the court, but the off-court news.

This also makes fans miss Xu Yong more.

And Xu Yong had already returned to China at this time.

He was invited by Yao Ming to promote China's campus basketball league.

Yao Ming's reform of domestic basketball is different from his predecessors' reforms at the top level. He started from the bottom, that is, the grassroots.

This is an approach that requires great courage, and its effects will not be seen until at least ten or even twenty years.

Because you have to at least wait until the first or second batch of children you train grow up, and then see whether they can realize their talents.

However, only Yao Ming has the courage and ability to do this.

So Xu Yong came back this time not only to fulfill the promise he made to Yao Ming at the wedding, but also to express his approval of this approach.

In his previous life, he was reborn before he could see the results of Yao Ming's reforms, so in this life he is looking forward to the results.

Xu Yong's appearance naturally caused a strong response. It can be said that Xu Yong's appearance helped Yao Ming get a better start than in history.

Because of Barkley's kneeling, some people at the event also asked about Xu Yong's return to the NBA.

Xu Yong's answer was very direct. He is enjoying his retirement life now and will not consider returning to the NBA.

This also caused continued shock in the NBA.

When Xu Yong was playing in the NBA, the NBA was always ranked second in popularity both globally and in North America. Last year, it even surpassed the NFL in North America. But now, they are almost falling to fourth or even fifth.

After participating in domestic activities, Xu Yong stayed in China for a while and opened several training camps.

If you really want to help Yao Ming and the development of domestic basketball, you can't just go through the motions.

But at this time, he received a very important message, news related to the Bulls.

Jokic was sent away after the All-Star Game.

As Jokic continued to grow, the conflict between him and Thibodeau became increasingly intense.

Because Thibodeau will not let Jokic start at the five position, and he values ​​Adams very much, the management must make a choice.

The final result is naturally that Jokic was sent away, because the management could not give up a coach who brought five championships to the team for a potential new star.

Moreover, this coach is Xu Yong’s mentor.

The specific content of this transaction is that the Bulls sent Jokic and Joe Johnson to the Mavericks in exchange for LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Allen.

Jokic's trading value was fully demonstrated, because the Mavericks were even willing to pay this season's star player for him. The latter averaged a double-double of 25.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game when Leonard was reimbursed for the season due to injury.

However, from a realistic perspective, since Leonard is still recovering from his injury, Aldridge cannot achieve any results. Instead of being neither up nor down, it is better to break down and then build up. Moreover, Chandler is completely useless at this time, and Jokic's arrival is just in time to take over.

For the Bulls, sending Jokic away is a foregone conclusion. Being able to trade him for an All-Star power forward who is still in his prime (32 years old) is a good deal.

After reading the news, Xu Yong called Jokic and said some words of blessing to him.

This result is not bad for Jokic, it can even be said to be the best.

Because although Leonard's injury was as serious as in history, the Mavericks management, or Cuban, showed enough patience with him, which prevented the farce that Xu Yong knew about from happening between them.

This means that Leonard will still be with the Mavericks after his comeback. At that time, the combination of Jokic + Leonard will be a competitive enough lineup.

And although Jokic is an overseas player, he is a white man, and in a place like Dallas, white people are much more popular than black players.

In March, Xu Yong returned to the United States.

It was at this time that he felt some discomfort.

Playing basketball all year round will make people feel tired, so in the first few months after retirement, he indulged himself and enjoyed that kind of life.

But as time went on, not only did his originally fixed rhythm of life become a mess, but a sense of emptiness also began to invade his life.

These are things Xu Yong had never considered, but they are unavoidable.

When Xu Yong woke up from a sleepless night one early morning, he began to understand why Jordan chose to play baseball after retiring.

Compared to liking something, perhaps making life fulfilling is a more important reason.

Because when something is missing in life, the best thing to do is to fill it with something else.

But unlike Jordan, he doesn't have a second career that he loves.

His hobby is collecting sports cards, which is obviously not enough to fill his life.

It was at this moment that he thought of someone.

He went to Los Angeles to meet Kobe, who had also retired.

Kobe took him directly to a gym in the suburbs where many children were training.

Xu Yong also saw the familiar logo on the wall of the stadium: Black Mamba.

After Kobe retired, he registered this trademark.

His main business now is the Mamba Academy.

Or to put it another way, it is to cultivate rising stars for American basketball.

Last summer, when the Mamba Academy opened, many American basketball stars came to show their support, not only hot new stars like George, but also famous players like Irving came. Of course, there were more new stars like Devin Booker and Jayson Tatum.

Xu Yong was greatly inspired after reading it.

Before leaving, Kobe talked to him about the problems in the league today.

"They need a hero, and only you can be that hero." Kobe said seriously.

Xu Yong smiled and didn't answer, but when he looked at Kobe, he remembered another thing.

“Are you still using helicopters?”

"It's very convenient." Kobe nodded. He thought Xu Yong was changing the subject.

"I saw a news report before about a helicopter crash. The father and his children died, leaving only his wife alive."

What Xu Yong said was very inappropriate, and Kobe frowned when he heard it.

However, Xu Yong pretended not to see it and just continued to talk: "I don't like to let others control the steering wheel, especially in the air. When an accident happens, all you can do is wait for death."

"It's as safe as an airplane." Kobe shook his head.

Hearing this, Xu Yong thought of Kobe's character and knew that he could not persuade him.

Just then, Vanessa brought Gigi over. She is the one who looks most like Kobe among all of Kobe's daughters, both in personality and basketball skills.

When Kobe saw his daughter coming over, he reached out to hug her and greet her, then motioned for her to wait for him inside.

Xu Yong was about to leave. Before he left, he said one last sentence: "Pay more attention to safety in the future, and don't take risks just to save time. After all..."

Xu Yong said, looking inside: "A lot of times you're not alone in a helicopter."

Kobe looked back and realized that Xu Yong was kind-hearted. He relaxed his frown, smiled and gave Xu Yong a hug: "I will."

After leaving Los Angeles, Xu Yong did not return to Chicago, but went directly to Tempe.

Just a few days later, Arizona State University announced that Xu Yong would become the team's assistant coach in the next season, the 2018-2019 season.

That’s right, Xu Yong also chose to engage in a career related to basketball, but as a coach.

The reason why he chose this was to fill the gap in his life and to improve his technical and tactical level.

In fact, in terms of tactical level alone, the NCAA is much stronger than the NBA.

Those tactics that were popularized in the NBA, such as Princeton and triangle tactics, etc., are all copies of the popular songs in China, such as "The First Person I Love", "Sad Pacific", "Thousands of Songs", "Later", etc.

Those songs come from Japan and South Korea, and these tactics come from the NCAA.

Even Kerr's favorite "Whirlwind Tactics" were actually adapted from Iowa State University.

Therefore, experiencing the NCAA season from a coach's perspective will be a pretty good experience for Xu Yong.

However, after this news broke out, it instantly caused a huge response.

The popularity of the NBA has collapsed, and not only does Xu Yong have no timetable for his return, but he seems to be enjoying his retired life more and more?

You have to know that once Xu Yong becomes the coach, it means that Xu Yong's disappearance from the NBA will be extended from one season to two seasons, or even longer.

Originally, just as Kobe said, Xu Yong was the only one who could save the NBA, but now, the NBA is finished.

Fans are increasingly pessimistic about the NBA's prospects, and its ratings and market value continue to decline.

This time the bosses are really suffering.

This market value is like the stock market. For ordinary people who are not involved in it, the ups and downs are just some changes in numbers, but for shareholders who hold stocks, it is the real money in their pockets, and what evaporates out of thin air is personal assets.

There have been rumors that some owners want to sell the team.

After all, not every owner owns a team for decades. Many acquired the team after the Jordan era or even after Xu Yong appeared.

Just like not everyone bought a house before the housing prices went up, when faced with this situation, many people would want to sell it and stop the loss in time.

After all, just like no one knows whether housing prices will go back up, no one knows whether Xu Yong, who is having more and more fun now, will play in the NBA again.

When it was April and Xu Yong had already started living in Tempe and began training with the team's new players, NBA data in all aspects finally stopped the downward trend and even rebounded slightly.

The playoffs are coming.

After returning to his basketball-related career, Xu Yong subconsciously paid more attention to the NBA, and naturally also paid attention to the prospects of this year's playoffs.

At the beginning of this year's season, the hottest team was undoubtedly the Thunder, but with the return of the [Vertical Jump Rule], the Warriors came from behind and became the team with the best record in the league. They eventually won 73 games and successfully broke the NBA's historical record.

This was a little unexpected for Xu Yong, but when he read the comments carefully, he found that the Warriors had many classic scenes this season, such as [Brave No Out of Bounds], [Brave No Foul] (specifically referring to screen fouls while moving), etc.

This is the same idea as pushing Westbrook to join the Thunder before the season, to set new records and create new gimmicks.

The theme in the West is still the Thunder and the Warriors. Xu Yong paid attention to the Mavericks. Jokic's season data was 18+10+6, but after joining the Mavericks, the data was 20+10+7. Cuban must have laughed so hard.

In the Eastern Conference, the Raptors directly took the first place. Antetokounmpo has replaced DeRozan as the core of the team, or it can be said that he has replaced James as the villain in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers are still performing strongly and are in second place.

The Celtics are third.

The Chicago Bulls, Xu Yong's former team that he paid the most attention to, finished fifth with one less win than the digital people who believed in "The Process".

At the beginning of the season, the Bulls struggled without Xu Yong. After the [vertical jump rule] returned, their offensive firepower was obviously insufficient and they fell out of the playoffs.

The team's record has improved after Aldridge joined the team, but the hole they dug before was too big.

This position is a bit awkward, because they have been playing against each other since the first round, and in the second round they will face the strongest Raptors team in the East, and there is a high probability that they will be eliminated in the division semifinals.

This was quickly reflected in the first round. Joel Embiid, who fouled whenever he was touched, made the Bulls very passive on the defensive end, and they fell behind 1-2 at one point.

However, just when fans thought the Bulls were going to stop and the outside world was lamenting that "Butler is not the next Pippen", Butler began to perform explosively.

He first scored 43 points in G4 to lead the team to a reversal and tie the score, and then scored 30+ points in a row to lead the team to a 4-2 victory.

Then in the second round, the Bulls met the Raptors. From the first game between the two sides, Butler focused on DeRozan, making DeRozan helpless on the defensive end, and his offense was also sluggish. The Bulls took the initiative from the beginning.

As for Antetokounmpo, his shooting has not improved, so the Bulls used a double team defense against him.

Because DeRozan is in poor offensive form, the Raptors' offensive problems are very obvious.

4 to 1, an unexpected start and an ending that no one had ever thought of. Butler led the Bulls to crush the Raptors.

He closed the loop of the trash talk from that year with practical actions: You couldn't play in the Eastern Conference before Xu Yong retired, and you still can't play in the Eastern Conference after Xu Yong retired (because I'm still here).

This is also the first time since Xu Yong retired that the NBA has finally started to have some topics worthy of fans' attention.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls played against the Cavaliers. Just when the outside world, and even Xu Yong, thought Butler would lead the team to the finals, the Bulls lost.

With a score of 2 to 4, the Bulls played very tenaciously, but they could not withstand the Cavaliers' overall strength which was much stronger, especially their huge advantage in the interior. Davis has fully grown this season.

The Cavaliers' opponent in the finals is the Thunder, the team the Warriors lost to in the Western Conference Finals.

That’s right, the Warriors with 73 wins finally won the runner-up in the Western Conference!

This was also beyond Xu Yong's expectations.

If it was a version without the [vertical jump rule], he felt the Thunder had a better chance of winning, but if it was that version, the Warriors would not have gotten 73 wins.

But in this small ball version, the Warriors have a great chance of winning, not to mention they have the support of the league behind them.

The result was that the Thunder won, and their win was exactly like the script of an exciting anime.

Starting with 0-1, they tied the score to 1-2, and then tied the score to 2-3. Durant averaged 41 points in 5 games, completely burning himself out.

Then in the last two games, Westbrook went crazy.

Not only did he perform his best breakthrough, but his zombie jump shot and three-pointer were also extremely accurate. He completely demonstrated what it means to play based on emotion. When he was playing crazy, no one could stop him.

Xu Yong also felt it was incredible when he watched it. After all, in the history he knew, Westbrook was the man who [defended] Durant.

But if you look closely, many things are actually different.

Westbrook has been a big brother before, and although his statistics are inflated, his perspective on the game is completely different. It is normal for him to have one or two explosive games when he is in good shape.

There is also Harden. Harden's ability to pass the ball has really evolved a lot over the years. It can be said that the performance of Durant and Westbrook is completely inseparable from him as a super assistant.

It can be said that although these three brothers are still the same three brothers, they have matured a lot compared to many years ago. They are no longer passionate young men, but are really determined to do something big and achieve success.

But this is very interesting. The Cavaliers finally made it out of the Eastern Conference in the second year after James left, but James failed to make it out of the Western Conference in his second year with the Warriors.

It turns out that the most feared thing in the world is comparison.

The divisional finals on both sides were very intense, but by the finals, the situation was relatively clear.

From the first game, the Thunder showed that they were clearly stronger than the Cavaliers.

After the last five games, the Thunder defeated the Cavaliers 4-1 and successfully won the second NBA championship in team history.

Would the Bulls be better than the Cavaliers in the Finals? Maybe.

Can the Bulls beat the Thunder to win the championship? Obviously not.

The fans also realized at this time that although the Eastern Conference seemed to have many strong teams, without Xu Yong, these Eastern Conference teams were not as good as the Western Conference teams in the finals.

During the award ceremony, Durant faced the camera with tears in his eyes, choked up several times, and was speechless holding the microphone.

Since entering the league in 2007, he has played in the league for 11 years.

His 11 years with the Thunder finally earned him the highest honor as a player.

Harden, Westbrook, and Ibaka also had red eyes.

All the things they failed to accomplish and the regrets they had in the past were made up for in this year.

It's a fairy-tale ending.