Chapter 317 Jordan’s Final Battle

"Jordan, you made a right decision." Zhao Dong praised.

"Don't think I'm afraid of you. If I were ten years younger, I would still beat you up." Jordan said coldly.

"You only have one chance to defeat me during your peak period, and that was during my rookie season." Zhao Dong shook his head.

Jordan said angrily: "After Magic and Big Bird, I have dominated an era. The four super centers are all below me. Next, I want to see if you can dominate an era. If not, you can also dominate an era." It’s nothing, just a shooting star.”

"Remember that you often come to Madison Square Garden to watch me play, you can be considered a New Yorker." Zhao Dong smiled, patted Jordan on the shoulder, turned and left.

"well!"

Looking at Zhao Dong's back, Jordan suddenly sighed, his era was over.

"Michael, do you really want to retire?" McGrady suddenly asked in a low voice.

Jordan looked back at McGrady, who was still very young. He was silent for a moment, nodded and said: "What are you waiting for if you don't return it? If you want to defeat this guy..."

He looked back at Zhao Dong's disappearing figure and said, "We need to find at least an All-Star center in his prime. I don't want to have the reputation of being a team player when I retire."

McGrady and Kidd looked at each other. If Jordan really retires, they will be the only ones left on the team. Plus Rasheed Wallace, the team will still be at the level of a playoff team, but if they want to compete for the championship, they will have to Difficult.

Having been teammates with Jordan for two seasons, the two of them now have only one goal, which is the championship.

Zhao Dong and others returned to the visiting team's locker room and saw Oakley as soon as they entered the door.

"Charles."

"Flying dragon."

The two greeted each other with a smile.

"Is something wrong?" Zhao Dong asked.

"As for Ewing's retirement, I hope he retires with the Knicks. What do you think?" Oakley asked directly.

"You know my attitude, go ask Nair, he is outside." Zhao Dong smiled.

"OK, I knew you had this attitude.

Oakley laughed.

In the home team locker room, Jordan and others are back.

Because of the failure of the game and Ewing and Jordan's decision to retire, no one was in the mood to talk, and no one left immediately, sitting there feeling bored.

At this time, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf learned that Jordan was retiring and rushed over.

"Jerry? I'm sorry." Phil Jackson lowered his head and said sadly when he saw his boss coming in.

Jerry Reinsdorf doesn't look good either. He has paid a heavy price this season, but the team is likely to face the result of being eliminated from the Eastern Conference Finals again, which makes him very disappointed. Jordan announced that he was retiring, which disappointed him even more.

If Jordan retires, it will be a big blow to the Bulls' market. There is no doubt that the team's market value will see a big decline.

Of course, he is not too pessimistic. The team also has McGrady, Kidd, and Rasheed Wallace. In particular, McGrady's style of play is very popular with fans. Jordan's retirement will not cause the team to collapse. After reinforcements, it will still be It's a strong team.

"Michael, have you really decided?"

He didn't ask about the Eastern Conference Finals, which were trailing the Knicks 3-1. He believed that no team in the league could come back from the hands of the Dragons, including Jordan's team.

Jordan nodded and said in a low tone: "It's time to leave, just like Magic Johnson, just like Big Bird, Dr. J, always has to leave."

At this time, the door to the locker room was pushed open and Oakley walked in.

"Michael?" He walked towards Jordan.

"I'm fine. Charles, have you gone to find Feilong?" Jordan smiled.

"Yes."

Oakley nodded, looked at Ewing and said, "Patrick, I talked to Feilong, and he said he won't interfere in your affairs, just like when the team traded you."

"Me?" Ewing was speechless.

Oakley added: "I talked with Nyle. He welcomes you back on behalf of the team. He will give you a short contract next season and you can retire in Madison Square Garden."

"Really?" Ewing asked tremblingly.

"Congratulations, Patrick." Jordan and others said.

"Thank you, thank you..." Ewing said gratefully.

At this time, Jordan's cell phone rang.

"The phone number of our president, Mr. Stern." He raised his phone and the locker room became quiet.

As soon as the call was connected, Stern's voice rang first.

"Michael, do you really want to retire?"

"Yes, David, I have decided to retire after the Eastern Conference Finals. I really want to leave."

"What if I allowed the Bulls to bring in an All-Star center?"

"..."

Jordan only hesitated for a second, then immediately shook his head and said: "It's not necessary. If we win the championship as a team, then the championship will have no meaning to me."

Stern was silent for more than ten seconds before saying: "I hope you will think about it carefully, Michael. You know I hope you stay. No matter when the time comes, you will be our signature."

"Yes, I know, but I have already decided." Jordan said.

News about Jordan spread throughout the United States and the world that night.

Domestically, CCTV Sports Lunchtime News conducted relevant reports.

Media in Japan, South Korea and other places have made detailed reports.

Then the next day, almost all media in the United States reported overwhelmingly.

Stern stayed up all night, worried that the market would be severely affected.

At noon that day, the Knicks and Bulls arrived in New York one after another.

Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals is likely to be Jordan's last career game, the real curtain call. A large number of celebrities and NBA stars rushed to New York.

The Knicks received countless calls from people asking for tickets.

President of Operations Lewis made the decision that the tickets for the G5 game of the Eastern Conference Finals will be tripled on the basis of the G2 game. The top tickets will be as high as 8,000 US dollars, and the side tickets will be as high as 150,000 US dollars each.

However, such high ticket prices cannot stop the enthusiasm of fans.

In fact, because the stock market has soared four times in two years, money from all over the world has poured into this city, and countless middle class people have a lot of money in their hands. For such a closely watched game, let alone three times, ten times can be achieved. Sell ​​it, and you can make back the small amount of money from the skyrocketing stocks in minutes.

That night, the G4 game of the Western Conference Finals began.

With the cheers of the home fans, O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Glen Rice once again performed wonderfully and had a tough battle with the Spurs Twin Towers. The game was tied at 101 and finally entered overtime.

In the overtime, Duncan's performance was still stable. Even though he lacked physical fitness, he still played very efficiently. He made 3 of 5 shots, scored 6 points in a row, and blocked an O'Neal throw at the last critical moment, 112 :111, and finally led the team to win the G4 game, leading the Lakers with a big score of three to one.

"We will win the G5 game."

Kobe, who scored 28 points, was interviewed after the game and said unwillingly.

"O'Neal made 6 of 17 free throws tonight. What do you think of this?" the reporter asked.

Kobe shook his head helplessly and said, "I think Shaq will handle it by himself. I believe in him."

"Shaq, do you want to say something about your free throw? Would you consider holding a urinal to shoot the free throw?"

Just three meters away, a reporter asked O'Neal.

"Then I would rather die." O'Neal said angrily with his small eyes widened.

June 3rd, the G5 game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

"Michael Jordan's final game, the battle of changing times." The New York Times reported with this headline.

On this night, the stars really shone brightly at Madison Square Garden.

Not to mention the celebrities in Hollywood, but also the celebrities in New York, there were dozens of NBA stars, retired and active, all of them famous.

Big Bird Larry Bird and Magic Earvin Johnson, the two heroes of the black and white showdown before the Jordan era, were present at the same time.

Big Dream Olajuwon, Kim Baylor, Walter Frazier, Willis Reed, Rick Barry, Dr. J, Pippen, McHale, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, etc., the top 50 superstars came for three points one.

There were even more NBA stars sitting in front of the TV to watch this game.

For example, Kobe is sitting in front of the TV at home. He has too many skills to learn from Jordan, and even his personality and dedication to the game are the same.

Zhao Dong also contributed three front-row tickets, giving them to the two Knicks superstars Reed and Frazier, and one to Dream.

Lindsay didn't come, so Dayao was pushed to the back row.

He has more tickets in the back row, a fixed number of twenty-seven. Now the tickets from Stony Brook University are no longer given because the old players of the Seawolves have graduated. These tickets were given to some familiar players and stars, as well as Lin. Sai got some over there.

In addition, David Stern also attended the game and sat in the VIP room with Knicks owner Dowland.

Tonight is still ABC's national live broadcast. In addition to Hubie Brown and Cook, we also invited a guest, Jordan's old enemy Reggie Miller.

"Reggie, what do you think about the outcome of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals?" Hubie Brown asked.

"Feilong should go all out to give Jordan a decent retirement finale." Reggie Miller said.

"What do you mean?" Hubi Brown was a little confused.

"Feilong faced Jordan on the outside, man-to-man, and they challenged each other on the outside. Feilong defeated Jordan head-on at the shooting guard position, proving the change of an era." Reggie Miller said.

"A duel at shooting guard?"

Cook nodded and said: "Returning to tradition, one-on-one is the best way to prove yourself."

Hubie Brown said: "What if Feilong can't defeat Jordan in a one-on-one match?"

Reggie Miller laughed: "That proves that he is not qualified to succeed Jordan and become the overlord of the next era. At most, he is just one of the super giants."

"Bata!"

In the home team's locker room, Zhao Dong stepped forward and turned off the phone.

"Feilong, what are your plans?" Old Nelson asked.

"Don, Reggie Miller's words are exactly what I want." Zhao Dong smiled.

"Okay, then I'll leave the game to you."

Nelson agreed without any hesitation, and said to the others: "Tonight we will play man-to-man, and let Feilong challenge Jordan one-on-one."

Next, he announced the starting lineup.

Since the game is spread out, the inside players cannot use Ben and Fordson. They can only use inside players who can spread out. In this way, Barkley and Da Zhi are on the starting list.

Barkley couldn't be more satisfied. Starting in the Eastern Conference Finals and eliminating Jordan meant a lot to him. Even if he couldn't start in the Finals, with his status as a starter in the Eastern Conference Finals, his ring content would not be too low.

Bulls: Oakley, Kurt Thomas, McGrady, Jordan, Kidd

Knicks: Da Zhi, Barkley, Zhao Dong, Latrell Sprewell, Billups

At 8:10, the starting lineup begins.

After meeting in the corridor, Zhao Dong looked at Jordan without saying a word and just nodded, as did Jordan.

boom!

When Jordan came on the court, there was a huge cheer at Madison Square Garden.

"Congratulations to Jordan, even though this is an away game, the cheers are like home for him."

In the CCTV live broadcast, Zhang Lili said sadly: "He should be satisfied with such a final game in an away game."

Jordan hugged all the league's superstars on the sidelines one by one, which took a long time and even affected the home team's playing time.

Zhao Dong stood quietly by the exit, looking at Jordan with a somewhat complicated mood.

"This guy... he won't be fooled by the Wizards' boss like in his last life and come back for the second time, right?" This thought suddenly came to his mind.

After half an hour, the game started with a big jump ball win and the Knicks offense.

"Are they going to fight each other?"

In the ABC live broadcast, Cook looked forward to being authentic.

"Oh, Feilong was about to pass the ball outside the three-point line on the left wing, and Jordan went up. Is this really a one-on-one challenge?" Hubie Brown shouted at this time.

On the court, Zhao Dong is holding the ball outside the three-point line, Jordan is defending inside the three-point line, and the nearest Bulls player Tracy McGrady is two steps away and has no intention of coming over.

"Come on, boy, prove your strength to me." Jordan spat with a murderous look on his face.

"Get ready to take off, this will be a three-pointer." Zhao Dong spat back.

The next moment, without any fake moves, he rose from the ground and shot a three-pointer.

Jordan tried his best to take off and block the shot, but still fell short, missing by nearly a foot.

"Shet!"

After landing, Jordan turned around suddenly and saw the orange basketball sliding through an arc, passing through the basket with a swish sound, and splashing a white water splash.

"yeah!"

The whole audience cheered.

"On the first goal, Feilong hit a pull-up three-pointer on Jordan's head. So, how will Jordan respond?" the on-site commentator yelled.

Hubby Brown said excitedly: "It should be a one-on-one. Feilong rarely shoots three-pointers and even fewer in the playoffs. He should be facing Jordan as a shooting guard tonight, right?"

Cook nodded and said: "If he gets into the low post and Jordan can't defend him, then it's not a matchup, it's a mismatch."

Bulls offense.

On the right wing, outside the three-point line, Jordan is going to pass the ball.

Opposite him, inside the three-point line, is Zhao Dong.

Just like before, the nearest Knicks player was two steps away and had no intention of coming to help defend against double teams.

"It's definitely a one-on-one challenge." Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.

"I hope they can all play well tonight and be in a superb state." Sun Zhenping said excitedly.

"Give me a three-pointer, or I'll despise you." Zhao Dong also started talking trash.

"As you wish." Jordan said.

At this time, Jordan attacked, took a tentative step, and after shaking Zhao Dong, he did not go in, but returned directly to the three-point line, and then shot a three-pointer.

Zhao Dong turned around and saw the scene that Jordan had just seen.

He shook his head, knowing that Jordan would shoot a three-pointer, but the opponent's probing step was so good that his body reacted instinctively and was shaken.

"Okay, His Majesty Michael Jordan responded with a hollow three-pointer to Feilong." The commentator shouted loudly.

Knicks offense.

"I'm going to attack you this time."

"you try."

After talking trash to Biao, Zhao Dong made a fake shot and shook Jordan. Then he took one step past the latter and reached the three-point line. After one step, he made an emergency jump shot and hit a long two-pointer.

The next game continues with the duel between the two.

Zhao Dong and Jordan dominated the offense of the two teams, and they were inseparable in the first half.

Zhao Dong did not use his advantages in tonnage and strength to deal with Jordan, but simply used his skills, either to shoot over Jordan's head, or to break through Jordan and then dunk to the basket.

At halftime, he made 15 of 22 shots, 3 of 5 three-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws, scoring 37 points.

Jordan also made 22 shots in the half, hitting 12, 2 of 5 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, and scored 29 points.

In the second half, Jordan was old after all, his physical fitness could not keep up with Zhao Dong, and his efficiency began to decline.

At this time, Zhao Dong gave up when he saw the opportunity and ended his confrontation with Jordan. This also meant that he gave up the one-on-one duel with Jordan in the second half.

In this game, as most people expected, the Knicks won in the end.

Jordan made 22 of 40 shots, 3 of 7 three-pointers, and 6 of 7 free throws, scoring 53 points.

Zhao Dong did not attack much in the second half and focused on organization, replacing Billups' functions, scoring 51 points in the game.

When the game ended, Jordan, who scored the highest score in the game, raised his hands and waved to the fans, and all the fans responded with fierce cheers.

"The end of an era!"

When seeing Jordan raise his hands, Zhang Lili sighed.

"It's also the beginning of an era!" Sun Zhenping said excitedly.

"From now on, we can only appreciate Michael's greatness from game videos and highlights." Hubie Brown lamented.

"Will he come back again?" Cook suddenly asked.

"What?"

Hubi Brown was startled and shook his head.

At this time, Zhao Dong walked towards Jordan, extended his hand to him, and said: "Michael Jordan, your career is full of challenges and extremely successful. I hope you will be equally successful after retirement."

Jordan held Zhao Dong's hand, took the initiative to hug the latter, and then said: "As long as your wife doesn't abolish my MJ brand, I think my life after retirement will be successful."

Zhao Dong laughed and said: "Don't worry, you will have an income of tens of millions of dollars every year in the future."

"That's the best." Jordan smiled.

"By the way, if you want to buy an NBA team, come to me and I will help you get it done." Zhao Dong suddenly said.

"What? Really?"

Jordan was startled, but he immediately realized that it was his dream to become the owner of an NBA team. There was no black owner of an NBA team yet. He wanted to be the first, and the person in front of him might actually be able to help him. .

"We'll talk about it later."

Pointing at the host who came over, Zhao Dong turned around and left.

txt download address:

phone-reading: