The championship parade in Dallas was packed with people and the fans were extremely enthusiastic.
Last year they were unable to celebrate their championship due to the pandemic, but this year it’s a celebration to get all the emotions out of both games.
When Xu Yong stood on the bus with two championship trophies and two FMVP trophies behind him, the reaction of the fans on both sides of the road was like a volcanic eruption.
Satan's cheers spread from the beginning to the end of the street.
Before Xu Yong came to Dallas, it took them more than 40 years, with Nowitzki and others working hard to win their first championship.
But after Xu Yong came, in just two and a half years, they had already won two new championships. The difference between before and after was extremely huge.
In this situation, it is not an exaggeration to say that "whoever wins Satan wins the championship."
It is worth mentioning that because there were so many people at the scene, the Governor of Texas even mobilized the National Guard to maintain order at the scene.
This National Guard is not an ordinary police force. It has a lot of heavy equipment, and even armored vehicles have been deployed to some places on the scene.
Texas has always been known for its martial spirit, and sometimes it even dares to go against the federal government, so although there were many people on the scene, order was maintained quite well.
During the parade, there was a very special phenomenon at the scene, that is, quite a number of fans held up signs like "Let's have a dynasty".
This is something that Dallas fans never dared to imagine before. After all, there are only a few teams in the entire league that can achieve this achievement, but now it is their closest goal.
Xu Yong just smiled when he saw them, and then when the championship parade came to the final stage and he was giving a speech at the entrance of the stadium, he finally spoke out his goal for next season: to bring a dynasty to Dallas.
This wave of requests being granted immediately made the fans at the scene boil with excitement.
This is a special summer for fans because the NBA is open to fans again, because the Mavericks have proved their strength by defending their title, and because in August, the Olympics, which were postponed last year due to the epidemic, will kick off this year.
Even before the end of the NBA season, the American Basketball Association revealed that this year's Dream Team will have an unprecedentedly strong lineup.
Although fans didn’t take it seriously before, after all, the American Basketball Association, a department with a very low presence, has basically no influence on NBA stars.
But this time, their words were not empty talk, because not long after the end of the season, when the Dream Team 14 began its summer training, those who had previously promised to play, such as Durant, James and others, all showed up in the training camp.
Although this still does not mean that they will definitely appear in the island country's Olympics, it has whetted the appetite of fans.
In addition to the Dream Team, stars such as Xu Yong, Jokic, Antetokounmpo and others will also appear in the Olympic Games. This year's Olympic Games is definitely another basketball festival since 2008.
Moreover, unlike two years ago when the Chinese team was already designated as the champion with a high probability before the World Cup started, this year's Olympics is full of strong teams and it is still unknown who will win.
Xu Yong also attached great importance to this Olympics. Unlike last year, he returned home only one week after the end of the season.
There was a small episode in this process. After knowing Xu Yong's schedule, the Mavericks' general manager Nelson Jr. came out to persuade Xu Yong.
Although he has always been in favor of Xu Yong playing for the country, Xu Yong had just finished the finals after all, and this kind of continuous high-intensity would cause injury.
However, Xu Yong's words made Nelson Jr. smile bitterly: Have I ever been injured?
Because of the precedent of AC Green, no one would really think that Xu Yong was cheating or something.
Xu Yong's arrival allowed the national team to start training earlier than in previous years.
Moreover, on the first day of the training camp, Xu Yong changed his previous relaxed training state and adopted a serious and strict attitude.
Obviously, if your opponent has already taken out all the cards and you still don't take it seriously, then it's a pipe dream for you to win.
Since Xu Yong has this attitude, the other team members naturally dare not slack off.
In other words, most people may have thought that there was no chance this year, after all, the Dream Team was out in full force, but Xu Yong's attitude made them realize that they still had to fight this year, and Xu Yong, who had already won 7 championships, was the biggest trump card.
Time flies and it is now the eve of the Olympics. The Dream Team announced its final roster, and surprisingly, none of the hot candidates from the training camp withdrew.
Except for Curry who has not fully recovered from his injury, the US team really went out in full force this time.
Even in the roster they announced, there was one person's name that was very eye-catching. Kobe was also going on the expedition as a member of the Dream Team.
This kind of reaction is actually expected. After all, the last time they won the Olympic championship was in 2008, which was 13 years ago.
The American team is the strongest in the world. It has been many years since they last tasted the feeling of standing on top of the world.
So sometimes some American fans complain online, saying that the NBA helped the Chinese team train Xu Yong, which is to cultivate its own biggest enemy. This argument is not without reason.
But this time, the American team was really determined to take back the championship they lost.
Because the competition was held in an island country, a large number of Chinese fans appeared at the opening ceremony.
When Xu Yong once again became the flag bearer and entered the venue holding the national flag, and the explosive cheers rang out, the audience in front of the TV thought that the capital of the island country had been occupied by the Chinese.
Is this an exaggeration?
Not an exaggeration at all!
When a Chinese person rules the world's top basketball league, the influence of basketball in the country has nothing to do with what the world's number one sport is, because even if you don't play basketball, you will turn on the TV and watch basketball for Xu Yong.
This opening ceremony basically foreshadows that this time the Olympic Games will not be held at home, but it is almost like being at home.
This was also reflected in the subsequent men's basketball games.
In the men's basketball team's opening game against Australia, two-thirds of the fans at the scene were Chinese, which truly amazed fans around the world.
Even before the game, some fans from the island countries complained that they could not buy tickets online, which shows the powerful ability of Chinese fans.
In this opening game, the men's basketball team showed an extremely focused attitude from the start amid the cheers of Chinese fans on the scene. Led by Xu Yong and Li Kaier, they firmly suppressed the Australians and did not give the opponent any chance.
This also greatly boosted the morale of Chinese fans. Even if all your American superstars come out in full force, as Kobe once said in his classic quote: Team America, don't think you're safe.
There were no problems in the men's basketball group stage and the semi-finals, and they successfully advanced to the knockout stage as the first in Group E.
However, starting from the knockout rounds, the competition began to become difficult.
Their opponent in the quarter is Germany.
The German team no longer has Nowitzki, but they have Schroeder on the outside and the growing Wagner brothers in the inside, so their strength is not weak.
They fought with the Chinese team for three quarters, and only lost in the final quarter due to experience problems.
This is somewhat of a wake-up call for the Chinese team.
In the semi-finals, China's opponent is Serbia.
The Serbian team has Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic as the dual cores inside and outside, and is only stronger than the German team.
Moreover, Serbia's tall team basketball is very competitive in the world basketball arena.
However, at this time, the Chinese team's trend of becoming taller and bigger, which had started in the last World Cup, began to take effect. With Li Kaier playing the number one position, the Chinese team was not at a disadvantage in terms of height.
Moreover, after being beaten by the German team in the quarter-finals, the Chinese team's nervousness was obviously raised again.
The two sides fought until the decisive moment. Serbia frantically double-teamed Xu Yong. Xu Yong passed the ball to Anderson who made an open cut and Ding Yanyuhang who made a big three-pointer from the outside. The men's basketball team finally defeated Serbia and advanced to the finals, where they met the Dream Team in victory.
Compared with the men's basketball team, the Dream Team's road to promotion was not as easy as imagined. They encountered trouble in the game against their old rival Free France. If Durant had not transformed into Du Zilong and scored consecutively in the final moments, the Dream Team might have really capsized.
After the game, this match became the focus of research for all teams, including the Chinese team.
After watching the video, Xu Yong’s biggest feeling was: Popovich is not good.
Compared with his predecessor K, Popovich is really not very good at handling this kind of superstar team.
Before the World Cup, most people focused on the poor lineup of the Dream Team, and few people paid attention to Popovich's coaching.
It turns out that Popovich's team play style has big problems in the Dream Team.
Because a team without a clear core means it has no backbone and everyone is fighting on their own.
After all, these superstars are the bosses in their respective teams. Maybe he knows psychologically that he needs to play a supporting role, but in the absence of clear tactics, he will return to his physical instincts.
It's like when Lillard and Antetokounmpo team up, and you let him not have the ball in his hands, he will become more and more uncomfortable as the game goes on.
The final day was another peak showdown between China and the United States.
The Chinese team used a ruthless tactic at the start of the game, double-teaming Durant and leaving James open.
And when James attacked with the ball, Xu Yong would retreat in advance to assist in defense.
Because the international arena is smaller, after being disrupted several times in a row, James was forced to shoot three-pointers from the outside.
Just after Xu Yong reproduced the classic and stretched out his hand to make a "please" gesture to James, James' mentality exploded.
Relying on such a game strategy, the men's basketball team actually took the lead at halftime over the Dream Team 14, which had come out in full force and was known as the strongest Dream Team in history before the game.
Of course, Xu Yong gave everyone a warning during the half-time break. When facing this dream team, if you have the idea of popping champagne at halftime, it would be disrespectful to your past efforts.
In fact, this was indeed the case. The Dream Team launched a fierce counterattack in the third quarter.
Moreover, in this quarter, they almost abandoned the style of play in the first half and instead concentrated the ball on Durant and Harden.
The Dream Team turned into a super-enhanced version of the Thunder in the second half.
It was at this time that someone noticed that the person directing the Dream Team on the sidelines was no longer Popovich, but Scott Brooks, the head coach of the Thunder and the assistant coach of the Dream Team.
It is obvious that Popovich has lost control of the team, but at this time, such details are no longer the point. After all, compared to those, if the Dream Team loses even with the strongest lineup, then the name of the Dream Team will really not be suitable anymore.
This adjustment was very effective. Brooks was also very skilled and bold. He directly took James out of the starting lineup and replaced him with George to start at the third position.
With a clear organization and offensive core, the Dream Team showed terrifying talent and suppression.
The Chinese team played very hard in this quarter, but at the end of the third quarter, they were not only overtaken, but the score was also widened to double digits by the Dream Team.
During the timeout between the third and fourth quarters, the Chinese team's bench was silent.
The toughest game is not when you don’t play hard enough or focus enough, but when you try your best but still can’t beat your opponent.
Xu Yong stood up at this time, and his action attracted everyone's attention. Even the head coach Li Nan subconsciously put down the tactical board that he was about to raise.
"This is my last Olympic trip with the national team."
Xu Yong's first words surprised everyone.
This was the first time Xu Yong announced the news.
With Xu Yong's competitive state, he can actually play again. After all, in 2024, he will only be 34 years old.
But it seems Xu Yong has other plans.
However, this also explains why Xu Yong returned home so early this time, as well as his attitude throughout the training process.
"I know you guys gave it your all, but I'm going to do better in this last quarter than I did before because this is my last chance."
Xu Yong didn't say much, and it couldn't even be considered a mobilization.
But after he finished speaking, the expressions of the other members of the Chinese team changed visibly.
To put it bluntly, this group of people were led by Xu Yong. Without Xu Yong, becoming the world champion would be nothing but a pipe dream for them.
Xu Yong’s last chance was naturally also their last chance.
So even if Xu Yong did not mobilize them, they felt an unprecedented pressure at this moment, and were determined to fight hard under that pressure.
It's not just a question of whether or not to give it your all, but there really is no future.
After returning to the fourth quarter, Li Nan started with all the main players.
Xu Yong's words also made him realize.
Faced with the Chinese team's approach, Brooks took no risks.
Because of this aggressive style of play, as long as the American team can withstand the Chinese team's opening charge, they can win the game early.
There was nothing wrong with Brooks' strategy, but the problem was that he underestimated the determination of the men's basketball team at this moment.
After the opening of the fourth quarter, the Chinese team members completely went crazy.
Zhou Qi can confront Davis in the interior to defend the next ball, and after being knocked away, he can quickly return to block Davis' shot. Ding Yanyuhang can break through like James, and even after being knocked away, he can immediately get up and go to the free throw line.
Even Li Kaier can give George enough off-ball pressure on the offensive end to create shooting space for Xu Yong.
The Chinese team is still the Chinese team, but the Chinese team doesn’t seem to be the Chinese team anymore.
At this moment, even some Chinese fans remembered the people's army that fought against the United Nations forces on the peninsula.
Strength is not the only factor that determines victory or defeat at all times. When you have the motivation in your heart to give everything for it, many seemingly impossible things will become possible.
And the same thing is that they have the same blood flowing in their veins.
China may be defeated but it will never be defeated.
"Crazy, a bunch of lunatics!"
When Ding Yanyuhang fell out of the court while trying to save the ball and left the field injured, even Popovich, who had witnessed countless big scenes, was stunned on the bench.
This is not playing basketball, this is clearly fighting for life!
Yes, the Chinese team is fighting hard, using basketball as a tool.
Of course, this was still not enough for them to defeat the Dream Team, because Brooks replaced all the main players after his initial loss.
This made the Chinese team's momentum in chasing points even.
But maybe the men's basketball team really showed their momentum. Even though all the main players of the Dream Team were on the field, they were still able to fight back and forth with the opponent.
The two sides played until the last minute of the game, and it was at this time that Xu Yong began to carry the team.
He first jumped into the crowd and rushed into the inside, then took action and created damage while being surrounded by several people.
Ding Yanyuhang's injury caused the men's basketball team to lose its most stable shooting point from the outside, so Xu Yong could only choose to attack the basket.
His motivation comes from determination, and his reliance comes from his immunity to injuries.
Although he was knocked to the ground after the shot and the pain of hitting the floor was very real, he stood up and walked to the free throw line the next second.
Not to mention Popovich, all the players of the Dream Team on the court were stunned.
They realized that Xu Yong might not have tried his best when playing in the NBA.
Both teams missed an attack afterwards. With 8 seconds left in the game, Durant hit a very difficult fadeaway shot against Zhou Qi's assist to help the US team equalize the game.
The last 8 seconds, the last attack.
Li Nan did not call a timeout because Xu Yong gestured to do so.
Calling a timeout would only give the American team time to arrange their tactics, while the Chinese team had no other tactics available.
Xu Yong received the ball in the backcourt, took a deep breath, and his eyes penetrated the 28-meter court and looked towards the basket.
As long as he puts the ball in, it's all over.
He exhaled and then started to advance with the ball.
"Come on, Team China!"
My ears were filled with the deafening cheers of Chinese fans. Three quarters of the seats in the stadium tonight were occupied by Chinese fans.
Xu Yong began to accelerate. He changed direction without slowing down and passed George who was defending him. Then he continued to accelerate. Facing Durant who came to assist in defense, he made a sideways drag step and then a vertical breakthrough to pass his opponent again.
The elongated stadium was like a 100-meter track at this moment, giving Xu Yong enough space to accelerate.
"Stop him! Stop him!"
Brooks was already getting anxious because he found that the Dream Team's defense had begun to collapse starting with George.
Even Kobe stood up from the end of the US team's bench, a trace of worry flashed across his face. He was too familiar with Xu Yong.
Xu Yong had already passed the center line, and only Davis was left in front of him.
Davis didn't dare to rush forward at this time, because if he did, it would mean that the US team's basket would be completely unguarded.
Xu Yong began to slow down, and when he reached the free throw line he started jumping.
Davis tried to raise his hands, but it was not enough to disturb Xu Yong.
But at this moment, a hand came from behind Xu Yong, and the long arm blocked the ball in Xu Yong's hand.
That's Durant.
After being dribbled past by Xu Yong, he did not give up like others, but rushed forward with his head down. He jumped up the moment Xu Yong jumped up, using his physical advantage to block Xu Yong.
But at this moment, Xu Yong sensed the danger and made a difficult pull-up in the air to avoid Durant's blocking hand.
He avoided the block, but this time his shot went from simple to extremely difficult.
At this moment, Xu Yong's ability to stay in the air became his greatest advantage. After dodging in the air, he still had the energy to readjust his attack posture and completed the attack before his body fell.
Just as the ball began to rise, the red light on the sidelines came on.
Almost everyone held their breath.
The basketball spun in the air, drawing a perfect parabola, just as Xu Yong had practiced for countless days and nights.
Everything he has comes from training, and that is his greatest talent.
“Swish!”
Basketball Insights Nets' voice came.
The scene was inexplicably quiet.
The members of the Dream Team were all in disbelief, and many of them subconsciously held their heads.
The next second, the scene was filled with the cheers of Chinese fans.
At this time, Yang Yi's voice trembled, and he spoke with excitement and pride: "The Dream Team started in 1992 and ended in 2021. Thirty years have passed, and there will be no more Dream Team in the world."