Chapter 847: Our Best Player Is Back
"What? I am going to be the flag bearer for the Chinese delegation at the Olympic opening ceremony?"
Chen Yan sat up in bed, completely awake now.
Yao Ming laughed on the other end of the phone.
"You are the most suitable athlete we have."
Chen raised an eyebrow.
"In what way?"
"Everything."
Yao began counting.
"Your image. Your influence. Your achievements."
Then he laughed.
"And your height is not bad either."
Chen smiled.
"So perform well. Do not embarrass us."
Chen rubbed his face.
"Why has nobody officially told me about this?"
"I have good sources," Yao replied. "There is no mistake. Someone from the delegation will contact you officially in a few days."
"Oh."
Chen glanced at the time.
"All right, Brother Yao. I have to go."
Yao was curious.
"What is so urgent this early?"
Chen immediately answered,
"Championship parade!"
Click.
The call ended.
Yao stared at his phone for a moment before shaking his head with a smile.
Then his expression became slightly wistful.
When am I going to experience my own championship parade?
...
New York's championship parade had originally been scheduled for 1 week later.
The Knicks moved it forward because of Chen.
He needed to return to China soon to join the national team's training camp ahead of the London Olympics.
James Dolan had originally envisioned an extravagant celebration with much more preparation time.
Now everything had to be organized on a compressed schedule.
Even so, the scale was enormous.
Far larger than the championship celebration Phoenix had held several years earlier.
The Suns' ownership had been notoriously careful with spending, to the point that the local government had covered roughly half the cost of that parade.
Dolan had plenty of flaws as an owner.
Being unwilling to spend money was not one of them.
Millions of fans poured into the streets of New York.
Police officers were deployed throughout the parade route to control traffic and keep the enormous crowds safe.
2 police vehicles carrying flags led the procession.
A marching band followed.
Then came the championship motorcade.
The moment the Knicks appeared in downtown Manhattan, the city erupted.
Cheers poured down from buildings and sidewalks.
Blue and orange filled the streets.
Curry looked like a child who had been given the keys to an amusement park.
He jumped around constantly, waving to fans on both sides.
Barea pointed toward him.
"Look at this guy."
Chen laughed.
"He will get used to it after we do this a few more times."
Barea looked at him.
"A few more?"
Chen only smiled.
Throughout the parade, Knicks players constantly interacted with the crowd.
The weather was hot, but nobody cared.
Players waved.
Fans screamed.
Phones and cameras seemed to cover every inch of the route.
Chen repeatedly raised his Finals MVP trophy for the crowd.
For this day, New York belonged entirely to the Knicks.
The Yankees and Giants were normally giants of the city's sports culture.
Today, even they had been pushed into the background.
For the first time in more than a decade, basketball completely dominated New York.
After roughly 1 and a half hours, the motorcade finally entered Madison Square Garden.
The arena would host the main championship celebration.
The Mayor of New York attended personally.
He thanked the entire Knicks organization for bringing the Larry O'Brien Trophy back to the city and called it a day New Yorkers would remember for years.
Then members of the organization began taking the stage.
Ownership.
Management.
Coaches.
Players.
They shared stories from practices, road trips, games, and the Playoffs.
The arena repeatedly filled with applause and laughter.
Then Chen appeared.
"MVP!"
"MVP!"
"MVP!"
The sound was deafening.
Chen's clothing immediately caught everyone's attention.
He was wearing a Knicks jersey.
Number 72.
But the name across the back was not his.
NELSON.
The number represented Don Nelson's age.
72 years old.
Chen raised the microphone.
"Thank you, everyone. Thank you, New York. I love it here."
That was as far as he got.
"MVP!"
"MVP!"
"MVP!"
The entire arena started again.
Chen laughed and lowered the microphone.
There was no point fighting the crowd.
He simply waited.
Eventually, the chanting began to fade.
Before Chen could continue, Dolan suddenly walked onto the stage.
He took the microphone from Chen.
"I feel exactly the same way all of you do."
Dolan pointed toward Chen.
"I love this special guy too."
The crowd immediately cheered.
Then Dolan raised his voice.
"And I am making all of you a promise."
Chen looked at him curiously.
"When Chen retires, we are putting a statue of him in front of this arena."
The crowd exploded.
Dolan was not finished.
"And it is going to be the biggest statue in the entire league!"
The noise became ridiculous.
Chen stood there laughing.
Nearly 10 minutes had passed before he was finally able to deliver his second sentence.
"I am going to keep leading this team forward."
The audience quieted enough to listen.
"We are going to keep winning."
Chen looked around Madison Square Garden.
"I want to build a dynasty here."
Then he raised his voice.
"This championship is only the beginning!"
The building erupted again.
When the noise finally settled, Chen turned toward Nelson.
"There is someone I especially want to thank."
He gestured toward the veteran coach.
"Coach Don Nelson."
Applause spread through the arena.
"He is a great coach."
Chen paused.
"And he is a good man."
"A lot of people call me the cornerstone of this team."
Chen shook his head.
"But I think Coach Nelson deserves that description just as much."
"He brought a new philosophy to this team."
"He kept every player confident."
"He trusted all of us."
"And he gave us the freedom to become the best versions of ourselves."
Chen turned directly toward Nelson.
"Thank you, Coach."
He smiled.
"I hope you enjoy retirement."
When Chen finished, he handed the microphone to Nelson.
The organization had originally planned for Chen to deliver the final speech.
Chen refused.
He insisted that Nelson speak last.
It was his way of showing respect to the veteran coach who had guided them to the championship.
The celebration ended with Nelson's speech.
When he finally walked away from the stage, there were tears in his eyes.
People often described New York as cold and unforgiving.
Nelson had experienced something very different.
Warmth.
Gratitude.
Respect.
...
After the ceremony, Knicks management met privately with Chen.
They discussed the roster.
Possible free agent additions.
And the search for a new head coach.
Chen's opinion on the roster was simple.
Keep as much of the championship team together as possible.
If there was 1 position worth strengthening, it was small forward.
Everything else could depend on what opportunities became available.
When the subject turned to Nelson's replacement, Chen had a clear recommendation.
Mike D'Antoni.
There were 2 primary reasons.
First, familiarity.
Second, D'Antoni's offensive philosophy was similar enough to Nelson's that the roster would not need to completely reinvent itself.
The transition could be relatively smooth.
...
The next day, Chen Yan and Yi Jianlian boarded a flight for Guangzhou.
The NBA season was finished.
Now the Olympics awaited them.
Both men tried to return quietly.
That plan failed immediately.
The airport was packed.
Chinese fans had somehow discovered their arrival information.
Yi exited first.
Within moments, fans surrounded him.
He looked around.
Then suddenly had an idea.
He pointed behind himself.
"Chen Yan is back there."
Everyone turned.
Then the crowd moved almost as 1.
Yi took advantage of the opening and escaped.
Chen was still behind him.
He immediately realized what had happened.
"You have got to be kidding me."
And things were about to get worse.
Taylor Swift had traveled to Guangzhou with him.
That meant the airport was not filled only with basketball fans.
There were plenty of music fans too.
Chen ended up trapped in the middle of the chaos.
Even with security helping clear a path, it took nearly 30 minutes for him to finally leave the airport.
At a press conference the following day, Chen publicly exposed Yi's betrayal.
"Yi Jianlian abandoned me."
The room burst into laughter.
Chen continued with a completely serious expression.
"He left me alone in that airport while he went home, took a shower, and went to sleep."
Yi was already laughing.
Chen pointed toward him.
"And that is not even the worst part."
He paused dramatically.
"He sent me a picture of himself wearing a bathrobe."
The room erupted again.
Chen shook his head.
"On the basketball court, he is one of the most trustworthy teammates you can have."
He looked toward Yi.
"Off the court, he is a menace."
Yao Ming was sitting nearby with a microphone.
He laughed.
"Yi, you had better be careful."
Yao glanced toward Chen.
"You have offended our number 1 star."
Then he added,
"And our new leader."
His tone was playful.
The meaning behind the words was not.
Yao understood where his career stood.
He believed London would be his final Olympics.
Sooner or later, someone else needed to carry Chinese basketball forward.
In his mind, the choice was obvious.
Chen Yan.
...
On the first day of national team training camp, Chen greeted his teammates.
Most were familiar faces.
There were a few younger additions.
Yi Jianlian.
Sun Yue.
Liu Wei.
Yao Ming.
Wang Zhizhi.
Zhu Fangyu.
Yi Li.
Wang Shipeng.
Ding Jinhui.
Guo Ailun.
Zhou Peng.
Among them, nobody looked more excited than Guo Ailun.
He had been a huge fan of Chen for years.
The 2 had met before, and Chen had even given him some advice about his game.
Chen smiled when he saw him.
"I remember you, Ailun."
Guo's face immediately lit up.
"Really?"
"Of course."
Chen pointed toward the practice court.
"Let me see whether your handle has improved when we scrimmage later."
"Brother Yan, I have been practicing every day using what you taught me."
Guo grinned confidently.
"My handle is great now."
Then he added,
"Do not let me cross you up later."
Chen laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
"Good."
"I like the confidence."
The scrimmage began.
That confidence lasted only a few possessions.
Chen picked Guo's pocket twice in the backcourt almost immediately.
The NBA steals leader gave the young guard a brutal introduction to elite perimeter pressure.
Guo played only 5 minutes.
7 turnovers.
By the end of the stretch, he looked completely lost.
Chen had effectively given him the national team version of having his basketball dreams crushed in real time.
The other players struggled to hold back their laughter when they saw Guo's stunned expression.
But the young guard's confidence had not actually been destroyed.
Once the scrimmage ended, Guo immediately walked over to Chen.
"Brother Yan."
Chen looked at him.
"One on one?"
Chen smiled.
Instead of avoiding the player who had just embarrassed him, Guo wanted another challenge.
For him, facing Chen was not humiliation.
It was an opportunity to learn from one of the best players in the world.
Watching from the sideline, Jonas Kazlauskas nodded approvingly.
That mentality was exactly why he had brought Guo into camp.
The young guard had ambition.
The Olympics could expose him to the atmosphere of the highest level of international basketball.
And training beside Chen could teach him even more.
Jonas remained head coach of the Chinese men's basketball team.
After making history in 2008, he had stayed with the program.
Chen's presence had convinced him that there were still greater possibilities ahead.
Jonas was an ambitious coach.
He did not want Beijing to be the end of their story.
He wanted to create more history.
At the previous day's press conference, a reporter had asked him a simple question.
"What does Chen Yan's return mean for this team?"
Jonas had answered without hesitation.
"It means our best player is back."
…..
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