The ball was inbounded from the frontcourt sideline, and Zhao Dong once again caught it outside the three-point line on the left wing.
This time, he turned and started backing down Russell.
Posting up was the best way to bust through that death-grip defense, especially with Zhao Dong's crazy wingspan and huge hands—he didn't even have to worry about getting stripped.
Best part? It perfectly dodged the restrictions of Article 138 of the Zhao Dong Law.
Russell stood 6'7" and used to weigh 225 pounds, but to try and hold up against Zhao Dong this season, the team had him bulk up to 242.
Sure, that made him a little stronger, but he lost a step in speed and agility.
And even after gaining all that weight, he still couldn't handle Zhao Dong's backdown.
Zhao Dong's core strength was off the charts—straight up superhuman. Even Kobe and Jordan didn't come close. Dude had the strongest core in NBA history, no question.
And his lower body strength? It was at a 93 rating now, top-tier for any big man. Way stronger than Karl Malone, too. His thighs were thicker than Malone's. Russell didn't stand a chance.
While dribbling, Zhao Dong dropped his weight, powering up from his legs, waist, abs, and back all at once, unleashing a monster burst of force.
"Bang!"
The power slammed into Russell's lower abdomen through Zhao Dong's massive hips—damn near the size of Barkley's—and sent Russell reeling.
"Ugh!" Russell groaned in pain, staggering back, no resistance at all.
Next second, Zhao Dong spun and blew past him.
"Fuck!" Russell cursed under his breath. Was this even basketball anymore? Felt like he just got hit by a damn bull.
Greg Ostertag and Karl Malone, hustling back to the paint, both flinched when they saw Zhao Dong charging in like a freight train.
Greg Ostertag straight-up took a step back—nope, not getting dunked on tonight.
Karl Malone, coming in from the right wing, had no choice but to foul to stop Zhao Dong at the rim.
"Ohhh, Karl Malone's hugging Zhao Dong! Man's out here protecting him!" Marv Albert shouted from the booth.
Under that crazy collision, Malone locked Zhao Dong up tight, making sure he didn't get hurt—basically protecting him.
Protecting your opponent? That's about as humiliating as it gets.
But Malone wasn't stupid. He knew damn well what would happen if he didn't protect Zhao Dong after a hit like that.
Seeing Zhao Dong fly in like that reminded him of the devil himself—Bill Laimbeer.
Laimbeer's wildest moments weren't even his fights or dirty plays. Nah, it was when he handed one championship ring to a hooker and flushed another down the toilet.
Even Russell—the Lord of the Rings—never did that.
When Barkley heard about it, he cursed Laimbeer for being too damn rich. But Laimbeer didn't give a shit.
Why? His dad was a big-time shareholder in a Fortune 500 company. Buying an NBA team was like buying a pack of gum to that dude. Two rings? Who cares?
That's why Laimbeer did whatever he wanted. Why Duhon was his loyal lapdog. Why the whole league hated him but couldn't do a damn thing about it. His background was untouchable.
Even Barkley, who once rode Laimbeer like a rodeo bull and beat the crap outta him, was the rare exception.
Now that Laimbeer was retired, Zhao Dong was the new boss in town.
And sure, Zhao Dong's family didn't have Laimbeer's billionaire background, but the legal team behind him already scared the shit outta people.
So yeah, even if it was humiliating, Malone had to "protect" Zhao Dong.
The ref blew the whistle—foul on Malone. Zhao Dong stepped to the line for two free throws.
On the NBC broadcast, Matt Goukas shook his head. "The Jazz got no heart tonight. Their starting center got bullied right out the gate. Now the whole squad's got no fight left. Honestly, Lakers would've been a better Finals opponent. At least Shaq would throw hands with Zhao Dong. It'd be way more lit."
"Yeah, no doubt," Marv Albert chimed in.
In New York, Commissioner Stern was watching, and he couldn't agree more.
He swore right then and there: never again would a team like the Jazz be allowed to make the Finals.
If you don't even have the guts to challenge Zhao Dong, why the hell are you even here?
After getting bodied by Zhao Dong, Karl Malone looked like a damn sheep.
How the hell could he compete for a title like that?
At the Delta Center, the Jazz's offensive and defensive systems were collapsing, and nobody had the strength to hold them up.
Final Score: Knicks 104, Jazz 75. Knicks take Game 1 with a blowout win.
The Jazz had basically waved the white flag in the fourth quarter. Zhao Dong only played 35 minutes and sat out the entire final period.
His "average" stats?
12-for-17 shooting, 8-for-8 free throws. 32 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 4 blocks, 1 turnover, and 3 fouls. Casual triple-double night.
After the game, Zhao Dong dropped a bomb in the post-game interview:
"Tear it down. Jazz got no future."
His words shot around the world instantly.
Over at Nike HQ, Phil Knight's eyes lit up the moment he heard it. He immediately called Adidas president Herbert Hainer.
"Mr. Hainer, Malone's your guy. I want him next to Michael—immediately," Knight said.
Hainer's tone was icy. "And what's Nike offering?"
Knight hesitated, then tried, "I'll give you McGrady?"
"Pshhh!"
Hainer sneered. "You could give me ten McGradys, and I still wouldn't let Karl Malone go to the Bulls."
He wasn't bluffing either.
A superstar big like Malone joining Jordan? Bulls would be unstoppable. Jordan might go straight-up god mode, and Nike would cash out like crazy.
No way Adidas was letting that happen.
When it came to crushing Zhao Dong's sneaker brand, Hainer was down to team up.
But boost Nike and Jordan too much? Nah. That'd be suicide. If Nike got too strong, Adidas might get kicked out of the basketball shoe game completely.
His bottom line:
Suppress Zhao Dong.
Don't let Nike and Jordan dominate.
No Bulls dynasty.
If the Lakers, Spurs, or Knicks won the title, fine. Just not the Bulls.
Zhao Dong was a problem, yeah. But he wasn't American. He couldn't take over the U.S. sneaker market completely.
So if they could slow him down without reviving Jordan, it was all good.
Phil Knight hung up, frustrated.
He knew damn well Hainer wasn't budging.
Nike and Adidas? Mortal enemies, through and through.
So Knight shifted focus back to Nike's own players.
An hour later, the Knicks' postgame press conference kicked off.
The host started flipping the cards, and a bunch of reporters raised their hands at the same time, especially the local ones who were way more aggressive. Finally, he called on a reporter from a local sports newspaper.
"Zhao Dong, you said during the live interview that this Jazz team should be dismantled. Were you just talking trash? We finished first in the regular season this year!"
The local reporter asked, clearly pissed.
Zhao Dong just grinned and said, "You seen anything in this game that looks like the top team from the regular season? 'Cause I sure didn't."
"Are you admitting you used your legal team to bully Karl Malone so he didn't dare step to you?" the reporter fired back.
"Man, I gotta say, it blows my mind how low your thinking is and how twisted your logic's gotten," Zhao Dong shot back coldly, his face full of disdain. "Your whole world view is messed up."
"What do you mean by that?!" the reporter barked.
"What do I mean? Karl Malone, his agent, and his sponsor threw dirt on my name, smeared me. I lawyered up to fight back, and you're saying I bullied him? What, should I just let them run their mouths and not defend myself? You, sir, clearly don't even know what basic legal rights are. You should be ashamed you even opened your mouth with that nonsense."
Zhao Dong clapped back without mercy.
"This..."
The reporter froze, speechless.
At that point, the host took the mic away from him and didn't give the local reporters another chance to ask questions.
"Zhao Dong, Matt Goukas and Marv Albert said they think the league should ban sprinting more than five meters. What's your take on that?"
The next question came from a New York Times reporter.
"They might as well just ban driving to the basket altogether," Zhao Dong said with a shrug.
"You think the league's actually gonna pass that rule?" the reporter pressed.
"Man, no way. That's some dumb stuff Shaq must've come up with," Zhao Dong laughed. "If that happens, might as well turn the league into a damn shooting contest. Hell, shrink the court down to a 5x5, what you think?"
The whole press conference room cracked up.
"What about zone defense? You think the league might actually go for that?" the reporter asked again.
"That's a real possibility," Zhao Dong nodded seriously.
He remembered clearly — the league introduced the zone defense rule in the 01-02 season mainly to slow down guys like Shaq. They killed off the illegal defense rule, allowed double-teaming off-ball, and added the defensive three-second rule.
But in this life? With him wrecking teams like this? It might happen even earlier.
In fact, they were already discussing it during the regular season.
Meanwhile, Matt Goukas didn't show up to the press conference — he was busy working on a show.
While commentating on the game, he had a spark of inspiration — why not do a full-on program about how to stop Zhao Dong?
He figured other networks were probably thinking the same thing and had already started making plans, so he was hustling hard to be first.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. We gotta get the right guests, no matter what it costs. If we pull this off, our ratings are gonna go through the roof."
Matt was on a call with NBC Sports, pitching the idea hard.
The whole show was gonna live or die based on who they could bring in. He wanted real legends, guys who'd been so dominant the league had to literally change the rules for them.
"I dunno, Matt... I don't think we can get anybody big enough," said William, a producer from the sports department, sounding mad skeptical. "Without them, the show's dead."
"William, just let me try," Matt Goukas said, gritting his teeth. It was true — pulling this off wasn't gonna be easy, and even with his old-school clout, he might not convince them. But he had to at least try.
"Fine. If you get them, I'll double the budget for the show," William said.
The second he got the green light, Matt got to work figuring out who to invite first.
In Chicago, Jordan wasn't out fishing or laying low — nah, he already had his entire offseason training schedule locked in.
After watching Game 1 of the Finals, he didn't even wanna bother with the rest. He was dead sure the Knicks were about to sweep the Jazz.
But he was interested in the idea Matt had about how to slow down Zhao Dong.
Of course, he thought the "limit the drive distance" idea was straight-up stupid. But he respected the idea of pushing for a zone defense rule.
"If those idiots at Nike had managed to get a zone defense pushed through before the Eastern Finals, I might not have lost," Jordan muttered, pissed at the missed opportunity, tossing his towel over his shoulder as he headed to shower.
Just then, his phone rang.
"Matt Goukas?"
He glanced at the caller ID, surprised. What the hell did Matt want at a time like this?
Meanwhile, at 9 p.m., David Stern had called a special meeting to discuss internal rule changes.
He knew a sweep in the Finals was a bad look for the league. No drama, no money. So to save face — and cash — he was thinking about fast-tracking some rule changes.
At the same time, media, coaches, fans, and a bunch of players started blowing up discussions: How the hell do we stop Zhao Dong?
Every sports network was firing up their own debate shows, calling in big-time guests to talk about it.
NBC, the official Finals broadcaster, was moving fast too. They launched a special show hosted by Matt Goukas, and they weren't playing around — they brought in George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, and Michael Jordan.
Matt was hyped. Even though he was one of the top centers of his era, pulling in three monsters like that still made him proud as hell.
And of course, NBC had to cough up serious cash for those appearance fees.
George Mikan, the league's first true superstar, was 74 years old now. He rocked black-rimmed glasses, had snowy white hair, but still looked sharp.
Wilt Chamberlain, the man who once dropped 100 points in a game, was still a legend for having the most freakish physical gifts the league had ever seen. Even with Zhao Dong making waves, nobody dared say he was more dominant than Wilt.
As for Jordan? No need to even explain. Even though Zhao Dong had just sent him home again, he was still the biggest icon in basketball, hands down.
These three all had one thing in common: each of them had forced the NBA to literally change the rules because they were just that unstoppable.
Mikan's inside dominance had the league double the width of the paint and introduce the three-second rule — the "Mikan Rule."
Chamberlain had made them stretch the lane to 16 feet wide and create the goaltending rule because he was just jumping over everyone.
Jordan? He was so good the league relaxed hand-checking rules after he retired.
That was Matt's genius — bring together three men who had been so dominant the NBA had to bend the game for them — and ask them: How do we stop Zhao Dong?
Of course, the toughest guy to lock down was Jordan, still salty from losing to Zhao Dong.
At first, it was Matt Goukas who called up Jordan. He only had one reason: "Come on, Mike. If this show pops off, we can finally put a leash on Zhao Dong."
The show kicked off at 8:30 that night.
"Alright, everybody, let's keep it real," Matt Goukas said excitedly, rubbing his hands together. "George, why don't you start us off? What kind of rules you think can slow down the Tyrant?"
George Mikan chuckled and said, "Before we even get into what rules can stop that young Chinese kid, we gotta figure out what makes him so deadly in the first place."
"Facts, that's key," Matt Goukas nodded, and the other three nodded along too.
George Mikan seemed locked in, adding, "I wasn't really paying attention to him last year, but this season? I've been watching close. I got a pretty good read on him now."
"Oh yeah? Break it down," Matt Goukas leaned in.
George Mikan said, "Man, his overall game is ridiculous. No weak spots. His skill set? Tight. No holes anywhere.
Whether it's offense, defense, inside, outside, whatever—you name it, he's elite across the board. His ceiling? We can't even see it. That's why he's been straight-up wrecking teams.
But the scariest part? His offensive efficiency. That's how he knocked the Bulls out."
"I can co-sign that," Jordan said quickly.
Wilt Chamberlain added, "I caught those Eastern Conference Finals too. In that do-or-die Game 4, the Knicks' two-headed snake lineup let Zhao Dong unleash everything. Every time down, he was bringing heat from every angle.
That's a big reason why the Knicks booted the Bulls.
And yeah, his offensive efficiency is straight-up historic—top of the league, even all-time."
"So, you three all agree Zhao Dong's offensive efficiency is the biggest nightmare?" Matt Goukas asked.
When they all nodded, he said, "So if we drop new rules to kill his efficiency, we good?"
"For sure," George Mikan nodded. "That Zhao Dong Rule they just tried out? Nah. From what I saw in the East Finals and Game 1 of the Finals, it's barely slowing him down.
The league needs to bring the hammer down, or else the balance gets wrecked and NBA games just turn into one-man shows.
Honestly, that Zhao Dong Rule only scratched the surface. It didn't touch his real strengths."
"I'm all for some new rules too," Chamberlain said.
"I ain't arguing," Jordan said with a grin.
Meanwhile, in a hotel room in Salt Lake City, Lindsay was fuming.
"Babe, these dudes are OD'ing. They're just ganging up on you," she said.
"No shock there," Zhao Dong chuckled. "This is their house, not mine.
Did I really think they'd roll out the red carpet just 'cause I'm winning here? Nah.
I knew it would be thorns all over the place."
The show kept rolling. Matt Goukas said, "Alright, let's throw out ideas. How about bringing back the zone defense to lock down Zhao Dong?"
George Mikan nodded, "Yeah, that's a starting point.
But that crazy idea about limiting first steps or cutting off driving distance? That's a death sentence for the NBA, can't have that."
Matt Goukas laughed, "Hey, that was Shaq talking wild, not me!"
"Yeah, and you a fool for believing it," Chamberlain laughed.
Watching the show, Shaquille O'Neal grumbled, "Good thing I didn't say they gotta wear body armor to play.
Otherwise, that clown Goukas would've believed it too."
"Anyway, zone D is the only way to slow a dude like Zhao Dong," Chamberlain said.
Matt Goukas leaned in, "But is just flipping to a zone really enough? Remember, George just said the Zhao Dong Rule didn't do squat."
Chamberlain nodded, "We gotta tweak it too, like making it tougher on drives."
"For sure," George Mikan agreed. "The man's got crazy explosiveness. Limit his drive game, and it'll hurt."
Of the four, three were big men. Only Jordan, a guard, really knew the drive game inside out. He jumped in quick:
"Zhao Dong's first step? Too damn fast.
Reminds me of that young cat from Detroit."
"Grant Hill, your heir?" Matt Goukas asked.
"Yup," Jordan said. "Same vibe.
If you slow that first step, his second step gets clunky.
That gives help defenders more time to slide over, cut him off, clog the paint.
And since he's built like a damn tank, not a skinny guard, doubling him up slows him way down.
Take away that burst, and his rim pressure drops hard."
"I'm with you," George Mikan and Chamberlain both nodded.
In the hotel room, Zhao Dong was already cussing.
"Motherf—!"
"Babe, what's wrong? Is it serious?" Lindsay asked, worried.
"Oh, it's serious," Zhao Dong said, smirking. "Jordan's out here plotting with the league, trying to straight-up nerf me."
He wasn't just guessing. He knew for a fact that later the league would tweak zone defense and add that brutal traveling rule just like they did against Iverson.
The travel rule would say:
If the ball doesn't leave your hand before your pivot foot lifts, it's a travel.
That little change jacked up first-step speed, killed second-step flexibility, and made slashing to the rim way tougher.
Iverson, the fastest dude off the dribble, got hit hard by that rule.
After it, his crossovers were still nasty—but not at light speed anymore.
If they brought that rule early to shut down Zhao Dong on top of full zone defense? It would be even worse for him than it was for Iverson.
'Cause Zhao Dong wasn't a slim guard like AI.
He had size, he needed gaps to drive through.
Slow down his start, and he's easier to wall off.
In short—yeah, it would hurt. Bad.
It'd cut into his driving game, force him to jack up more mid-rangers, and tank his efficiency.
And the impact on the Knicks?
Nobody could even guess yet.
Matt Goukas's show exploded in popularity.
Even ESPN and ABC couldn't match the buzz.
Meanwhile, the rules those old heads were proposing sparked mad heated debates—and the league office was definitely watching close.
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