Cleveland Cavaliers locker room.

The players just came back from training.

"LeBron, did you watch the TNT show yesterday? Charles said our opening game will be a tough one." O'Neal wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel and said to James with a smile.

James, who was putting an ice pack on his leg, smiled disdainfully and shook his head: "I don't pay attention to social media. I only focus on the season in front of me."

O'Neal didn't dwell on what James said, but put down the towel, deliberately made a scary expression and said: "They are still a baby team. The big shark is out, and the babies have to hide."

"And the king," added Daniel Gibson.

O'Neal was stunned for a moment and did not respond. Instead, he continued to talk to himself: "Charles is a clown. I must slap him in the face."

James frowned slightly at O'Neal's reaction, but didn't say anything. After all, O'Neal is a man who holds four championship rings.

As for what O'Neal said... he subconsciously clenched his fists.

When will Ross be able to come and try to scam him?

Do you really think the Bulls are still in the Jordan era?

"Shaq, you're right." He then quickly changed his expression and agreed with a smile.

Since the outside world is hyping it up so much, we must take advantage of this wave of popularity.

If the king doesn't show his power, people will really think he is the chief!

…

Chicago, United Center.

The Bulls are doing a full-court scrimmage drill.

The players on the court shouted one after another, among which Noah's voice was the loudest and most frequent.

On the sidelines, Bulls assistant coach Harris was directing training.

As for head coach DeNagro, he was at one end of the court, communicating with general manager Foreman.

Denagro was absent-minded and looked worried.

He didn't have high hopes for the opening game. After all, what lineup would the Cavaliers have? What lineup would the Bulls have?

Now the outside world is hyping up an ordinary regular season game so much, which is basically pushing the Bulls into the fire pit.

"Winnie, do you buy lottery tickets?" Foreman suddenly asked.

Denagro was completely confused by the question. He was almost worried to death, but Foreman actually had the mood to ask this.

"I bought it before, but not now," Denagro said truthfully.

People who have little exposure to lottery still have fantasies about it, but after buying it a few more times they will know that it is charity.

Foreman nodded at this, then said, "Don't you think this opener is like buying a lottery ticket?"

Denagro seemed to be thinking about what he said.

Forman used an analogy, saying that the probability of winning the lottery is small, and the chances of the Bulls beating the Cavaliers are actually not great either.

It is normal not to win the lottery, but it would definitely be a surprise if you win. It is normal for the Bulls to lose to the Cavaliers, but it would also be a surprise if they win.

so……

"This is an opportunity," Foreman said.

The sadness on Denagro's face instantly disappeared when he heard this.

Look at the boys' performance in the preseason. After winning the first game against the Jazz, their confidence was built up.

If they can upset the Cavaliers in the opening game, maybe the tone of this season will be different.

There are [critical moments] in the game, and this opening game will be the critical moment of their season.

…

Two days later, the 2009-2010 NBA regular season officially kicked off.

The first game to start was a Western Conference game between the Rockets and the Lakers, who had faced off in the playoffs last season.

McGrady had a disagreement with the Rockets management over his injury in the summer, and he did not play in this game.

On the Lakers side, Pau Gasol, who helped the Lakers win the championship in the summer and also helped the Spanish team win the European Championship, was also absent due to a right hamstring injury caused by fatigue.

However, the Lakers have the "three highs", and even without Gasol, their overall strength is still stronger than the Rockets without McGrady.

But the result of the game was somewhat unexpected. The Rockets eventually defeated the Lakers 99-92.

Brooks scored a team-high 27 points, Artest scored 20 points, and Yao Ming also had a double-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.

On the other hand, although Kobe scored a game-high 36 points for the Lakers, no one else on the Lakers scored in double digits except him.

It's not just that Gasol is missing, but the whole team except Kobe doesn't seem to be serious enough.

Just like the commentator said: "The Lakers seem to be still immersed in last season's championship moment and have not woken up yet."

James fans on social media were collectively shocked.

Given the Lakers' current form in the season opener, it will likely be difficult for them to defend their title.

In other words, the Celtics are old and the Lakers are in poor form, so aren't the Cavaliers going to win the championship?

Then, they became more excited about the upcoming game between the Cavaliers and the Bulls.

A good start will make the league tremble for this Cavaliers team!

…

Later in the evening, at the United Center in Chicago.

The auditorium was already full.

Since Jordan left, the attendance at the United Center has actually been not very good, especially this season when the field is mostly rookies and the results are difficult to guarantee.

Everyone is busy, and no one has the energy or time to watch any rookie team get beaten.

But the war of words on social media and the hype it created made it difficult for Chicago fans to temporarily put aside what they were doing.

Social media strikes hard and attacks in public, as if they really think there is no one in Chicago!

You can even see a lot of tattooed guys at the scene, but don't forget, Chicago is a famous gangster city.

Brothers, all the gang business has been stopped.

However, at this moment, the live camera focused on a person's entry, which immediately made the whole audience boil, and even a large number of fans subconsciously stood up and applauded.

I’m afraid even the president wouldn’t get this kind of treatment.

But no one thought this was exaggerated or abnormal, because the person who came was Jordan!

There is no need to explain what Jordan means to the Bulls and Chicago fans.

What's more important is that since Jordan retired completely in 2003, he has only watched a game once in the United Center in the past 6 years!

There are many reasons for this, such as the conflict between him and Krause, the conflict with Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and the fact that he was no longer suitable to appear at the Bulls home court after becoming the owner of the Bobcats, and Jordan was unwilling to increase popularity for the Bulls, etc.

But today, after six years, Jordan finally reappeared in the most important arena in his life.

This made the Bulls fans unprecedentedly excited, and the cheers and applause lasted for a long time.

The fans didn't want to stop until Jordan sat down.

Jordan's expression was also somewhat moved.

Everyone has a human heart and everyone has youth. No matter what problems he has with the management, the fans who accompany him are the people he is most grateful to.

He waved to the fans and the cheers rose again.

At this time, players from both sides came out of the player tunnel one after another.

Feeling that the cheers were too loud, they subconsciously looked up at the large LED screen.

Well, then they saw that iconic boiled egg.

At this moment, the two people had completely different moods.

James was subconsciously delighted at first, but then he quickly frowned.

Although he said the classic line "Don't be the second Kobe, be the first myself" to the media before entering the league, this sentence actually does not conflict with the fact that he regarded Jordan as his idol in his childhood.

Just like no man falls in love at first sight without being attracted by beauty, after Jordan, no one wears No. 23 without admiring Jordan.

So when he saw Jordan, James was inevitably excited, just like Xu Yong was at the beginning.

Even James, who became famous later in history, no matter how he called himself the GOAT, how he said he should be the number one, and how he posted pictures of Jordan worshipping him, but in front of Jordan, he was still respectful, which actually proves this point indirectly.

Traffic is traffic, and heart is heart.

But his expression changed so quickly because it was obvious that Jordan couldn't be here for him tonight.

So who is Jordan here for?

Xu Yong's expression was very calm at this time.

After the one-on-one confrontation at the United Center training hall, Xu Yong's perspective on Jordan has changed.

Just like the goddess you like may not necessarily be your goddess, the Jordan he worships as an idol is no longer the Jordan in front of him.

Or to put it another way, his idol is the basketball god on the court. It is that god who inspires him to move forward step by step, not the living person in front of him.

Therefore, Jordan's arrival will no longer make him as excited as before to get autographs and take photos, nor will he care why Jordan came to the United Center tonight.

Of course, excitement is inevitable.

The opportunity to defeat the league's top team in front of the original owners of the city of Chicago is something to look forward to.

So after retracting his gaze, he turned his attention to the game.

The two teams were warming up, and the live broadcast immediately gave split shots of James and Rose.

The source of the hype on social media is these two No. 1 picks who have won the Rookie of the Year award.

And this is Rose's first appearance of the new season.

The live commentators for this game were ESPN's ace duo, Mike Breen and Reggie Miller.

"I don't think it's a good thing for Rose to come back tonight. The intensity of this game is foreseeable to be high. You know, recovering from an injury is a long process." Brin was warming up for the game.

"Mike, can you control your injury? It's healed when you need it, and it's not healed when you don't need it?" Miller said with a smile.

Brin shook his head.

"Rose did not play in the preseason. He is from Chicago. There is no reason for him to miss such a crucial game when he is in good health." Miller put away his smile and said seriously.

In this era, except for Popovich who occasionally uses some weird reasons like "Duncan is too old" to rest the three veterans of the Spurs, everyone else will play unless their injuries are not very serious.

Because as Jordan said, fans may only have one chance in their lifetime to watch you play live.

Or maybe it's like Kobe said, he didn't want to disappoint the fans because many people had saved money for a long time to come to the scene.

This is an alliance ethos.

As they were talking, the opening ceremony began.

The Cavaliers started as the visiting team: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, James, JJ Hickson and O'Neal.

This starting lineup, with a giant and a tough mid-range shooter in the interior, a weakened version of Irving and 3D on the outside, and James, is very powerful.

Moreover, Mo Williams was an Eastern Conference All-Star last season. Who said the Cavaliers’ lineup was weak?

The Bulls took the stage as the home team.

The lights in the venue dimmed, and as the spotlight shone on the front of the Bulls' bench, the familiar music sounded.

Sirius.

This song accompanied the entrance music of the two dynasties of the Bulls. It is the classic background music of 2K11 in history. "War Song" and "Bulls Execution Song" are definitely the most familiar melodies for basketball fans.

At this moment, Xu Yong couldn't help but tremble his legs, and his hair stood up.

When I was a child, I sat in front of the TV, staring at the broadcast, listening to this music and watching the Bulls players play. It is an unforgettable memory.

Unexpectedly, one day he would enter the NBA as a member of the Bulls.

This is probably what dreams come true!

"Now! Let's welcome the Bulls' starting lineup. Guard, from Arizona State University, 6'8", No. 6, Xu Yong!"

Following the tone played by the host, Xu Yong took the stage as the first person to start.

He was greeted with thunderous cheers from the audience.

Xu Yong stood up, raised his hands high and clapped with the mascot, the Bull Pele.

His first official NBA game has arrived.