Chapter 24: So What If It’s O’Neal? I’m Coming for You!

Although Laettner was a big-name star in the NCAA, this was the NBA rookie camp. The head referee saw the incident clearly, pointed toward the sidelines, and said coldly, "Get off."

"Hmph!" Laettner walked off the court, looking indignant.

"He needs anesthesia and stitches." A doctor rushed over to examine Laettner. A gash had been opened above his left eyebrow, looking like an open mouth, at least four centimeters long and exposing the brow bone. It required immediate suturing.

"Shit!" Laettner cursed bitterly. If he got anesthesia, he wouldn't be able to play for the rest of the day, but without it, he was afraid of the pain.

"Make a substitution. Put two stronger interior players in for the Red Team," NBA Vice President Russ Granik told the staff. He glanced at Tang Bei on the court, feeling that he couldn't let a Chinese player steal the spotlight at the rookie camp. He needed to suppress him, so he immediately added, "Send in O'Neal and Mourning."

"Yes, Mr. Vice President." The staff hurriedly began arranging for the players to enter the game.

"Oh, the strongest offensive center and the strongest defensive center among the rookies are both on the court now. How is that Tang going to handle them?"

"The White Team still has Tom Gugliotta in the frontcourt. He has mid-range and long-range shooting ability, which can draw one of them out and leave Tang one-on-one in the low post."

"If Tang can put up a good performance after this, he won't just be worth a first-round pick; I think his draft stock could reach the lottery."

"That's too conservative. If he can perform well while matched up against O'Neal and Mourning, his draft position should be in the top five, or at least a lock for the top five."

As O'Neal and Mourning stepped onto the court, the general managers, scouts, and reporters in attendance began to whisper among themselves, though only they knew what they were truly thinking.

"Tang, let's go!" Seeing O'Neal and Mourning put on the Red Team jerseys, Eric Fleisher shouted at Tang Bei, raising his fist in encouragement.

Tang Bei missed his free throw, and Shaquille O'Neal grabbed the rebound over his teammate Mourning, showcasing the advantage of his height and wingspan. Seeing this, Tang Bei wanted to go after Mourning even more.

Eric Fleisher had analyzed this many times: despite Laettner's greater fame, hardly any general manager would choose Laettner or Mourning over O'Neal. Therefore, O'Neal was the most likely to be selected first overall, and with his current strength, it was unrealistic to expect to replace him.

However, Laettner had just been dealt with. If he could put up a good performance over Mourning as well, it would provide an extra boost for his draft prospects.

Arriving at the defensive end, Tang Bei proactively stepped up to meet O'Neal. He wanted to attack Mourning on offense, but on defense, he had to take on the strongest opponent. If he left O'Neal for Gugliotta to defend, it would show a lack of responsibility.

In the NCAA, Tom Gugliotta and Shaquille O'Neal played in different conferences and had never faced each other. Moreover, as a power forward who rarely played center, Gugliotta didn't want to defend O'Neal. Seeing Tang Bei take the initiative, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders and hurriedly ran toward Mourning.

"Kid, you can't hold me." Shaquille O'Neal muttered some harmless trash talk while running from the left elbow toward the paint, accelerating directly into the stationary Tang Bei.

He knew Tang Bei's absolute strength was terrifying—the 230-kilogram max bench press was a level of power he didn't possess. But he was very confident in his own explosiveness and momentum, believing them to be superior to his opponent's.

"I'm going to knock you over!"

Therefore, with the opponent standing still while he was in motion with immense momentum, he believed he would prevail in the collision. At this moment, as two behemoths were about to clash, everyone's eyes were locked on them.

"Boom!"

The two collided. Tang Bei, who had braced himself, relied on absolute strength, while O'Neal, in motion, relied on the terrifying impact generated by his explosiveness and speed.

A massive force erupted instantly. Tang Bei's low stance wavered; his right foot stepped back, but he still couldn't hold his ground, and he had to take a large step back with his left foot before he finally stabilized. Across from him, O'Neal's momentum was also brought to a sudden halt.

A moment later, Tang Bei slid forward, blocking O'Neal's path again.

"Slap, slap, slap..." This direct, intense, and primal physical confrontation immediately drew applause from the arena.

"Shit, how is this guy's physical resistance so strong?" O'Neal was shocked. In such a situation, five out of ten opponents would have been knocked over by him, but this Tang had only retreated two steps. How was that possible?

But he wasn't about to admit defeat, as he hadn't fully built up his speed and hadn't utilized his full explosive potential.

Just then, the three-second violation approached. Having failed to get into the paint, he could only move to the left low post to call for the ball. Latrell Sprewell, holding the ball on the perimeter, saw this and lobbed it in.

As the ball dropped, Tang Bei immediately increased the physicality, tangling with O'Neal.

"Slap!"

His center of gravity shifted, and O'Neal's right hand touched the ball but failed to secure it. The ball bounced out of bounds—a turnover.

"Tweet!" The head referee blew the whistle, signaled for a change of possession, and pointed toward the White Team's frontcourt.

"Beautiful!" Eric Fleisher and the others shouted excitedly.

Having disrupted the opponent's reception and completed a successful defensive play, Tang Bei ran to the frontcourt, feeling great. Following his habits from playing in the CBA, he also ran toward the paint.

"Get out!" O'Neal came out of the paint and, just as Tang Bei had done earlier, occupied the defensive position, preventing Tang Bei from entering. He felt some hostility toward Tang Bei; the guy's talent wasn't inferior to his, he had won the previous physical confrontation, and then caused him to commit a turnover. He wanted to save face.

"So what if you're O'Neal? I'm coming for you!"

The thought of targeting Mourning was cast to the back of his mind. Tang Bei's eyes gleamed, and with a burst of force, he did exactly what O'Neal had done earlier—he charged straight at him.

The exact same intense collision occurred instantly, only this time the two had swapped offensive and defensive positions, yet it still captured everyone's attention.

"Boom!"

A heavy thud echoed under the terrifying impact.

"How is this possible?"

O'Neal felt as if he had been struck by a heavy truck. With his base not quite stable, he stumbled backward two steps, then a third, but still couldn't regain his balance. He lost his center of gravity entirely, and his massive frame uncontrollably tipped backward.

"Damn it, I'm going to look like a fool!"

As he lamented in his heart, he was knocked onto the floor by Tang Bei. Tang Bei continued to lunge forward for a step, showing that his momentum hadn't been fully spent—he had even more power left after knocking his opponent over.

"Tweet!"

The head referee blew the whistle, pointed at Tang Bei, and signaled an offensive foul.

"Oh!" Seeing O'Neal knocked to the floor, exclamations erupted throughout the arena.

"Amazing!" Eric Fleisher roared with excitement.

"That Chinese guy's explosiveness is truly incredible!"

"His absolute strength is greater than O'Neal's, but how could his explosiveness be better too? How is that possible? It's not scientific!"

"In the physical testing, his 40-yard dash was indeed faster than O'Neal's. It's not surprising that his explosiveness is superior; I predicted this long ago."

"O'Neal's upper-body strength isn't as good as Tang's, and it seems his lower-body strength isn't either."

The general managers, scouts, and reporters began to discuss the situation excitedly.

"Hey, kid, I didn't fall earlier, but you did. Was that a flop?" Tang Bei said.

John Liu, standing on the sidelines, heard it clearly and immediately translated aloud: "Mr. O'Neal, he is asking if you were flopping."

"Damn it! Go again!" Shaquille O'Neal scrambled up from the floor, full of indignation, and issued a challenge to Tang Bei.

"Tang, he said go again!" John Liu shouted.

"Come!" Tang Bei lifted his left hand, looking nonchalant, and beckoned to O'Neal with his index finger.

"You wait." O'Neal saw the contempt on Tang Bei's face, gritted his teeth in anger, and vowed to crush this detestable guy on the next possession.

Just then, a group of people walked into the arena from the player tunnel. There was Jordan, Pippen, Horace Grant, Ewing, Charles Oakley, John Starks, Anthony Mason, as well as Phil Jackson and Pat Riley.

There were no games or practices scheduled for the morning, so they had arranged to come and watch the excitement. Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause and Knicks General Manager Ernie Grunfeld saw them and went over to greet them. Mourning's agent, David Falk, also came over upon seeing them.

"Jerry, which rookies are performing the best?" Jordan asked casually.

Jerry Krause's relationship with Jordan hadn't reached a breaking point yet; after winning the championship last season, they were still in their honeymoon period. He shrugged and replied, "O'Neal, Mourning, Laettner, Jim Jackson—their performances are basically in line with the scouts' evaluations."

Just as he was about to add something else, he saw that another possession between O'Neal and Tang Bei had begun on the court, so he stopped and looked toward the action.