Chapter 548: Singing Victories
Yang Mo's words were a bit teasing, but mostly meant as a joke. Kobe Bryant's face was livid, and he was in no mood for jokes. He glared at Yang Mo and was then escorted away by the Lakers' team doctor. Judging by the blood on the floor, it was highly unlikely he would play in the second half. But for Yang Mo, whether Kobe played or not didn't matter much. It was still a victory, just a slightly lower value. That was all.
Kobe Bryant was briefly bandaged and rushed to the hospital. His wound was deep and required stitches. Watching Kobe's retreating figure, Yang Mo couldn't help but joke to his teammates: "See? The more cruel you are to the world, the crueler it will be to you." If Kobe had used a little less force, he might have only suffered minor injuries, but now he needed stitches.
In response to Yang Mo's joke, Stoudemire said angrily, "Yang, if you hadn't provoked him, Kobe wouldn't have hit the glass. He 's not a fool."
"And even if he needs stitches, there's nothing wrong with that. Look at his high salary. He can still make hundreds of thousands of dollars a day just lying around at home," Beasley, the idiot beside him, said with envy. This guy's mind is constantly wandering to otherworldly things. Kobe was clearly injured, yet he was thinking about Kobe getting a high salary even without playing.
The two of them were arguing back and forth, leaving Yang Mo feeling irritated. How could there be such disobedient little brothers? It would be fine if you didn't laugh at the boss's joke, but you actually dared to openly contradict him. Was he planning to purge his side?
Yang Mo sat down at his seat, his beard puffing and his eyes glaring. Iverson, standing next to him, came over with a smile and said, "Aren't you close to Kobe? Why are you provoking him so much?"
"I have a pretty good relationship with him outside the court, but I don't have a good impression of him on the court. I have to subdue him through various means." Yang Mo answered very seriously. He didn't think he had done anything wrong.
"You're the only player I've ever seen who could make Kobe feel so badly, yet he couldn't fight back. Sometimes I think you're another Kobe, but more often I think you're like Michael Jordan, or even a bit like Magic Johnson." Iverson placed his hand on Yang Mo's shoulder and said naturally, "But you're still you. You're Super Yang."
"Hearing what you said, I feel that if I fail to rule the alliance, it would be my fault?" Yang Mo said this in a cocky yet humble manner, which was really unique.
"Of course, otherwise why would I come to the Knicks? Is it for this million-dollar annual salary?" Iverson answered as a matter of course.
But Yang Mo ruthlessly dismantled his plan: "Come on, Allen, do you think I don't know your financial situation? Your friends and relatives have already bankrupted you. If you didn't have this annual salary of over one million, you would definitely be very sad."
"I still have money at Reebok, and I get dividends every year," Iverson said with a red face, although his confidence was not very strong. But he didn't want anyone to know that he was broke.
Yang Mo could only shrug. He could understand Iverson's obsession with appearances, even at the cost of suffering. He also liked this personality, but it wasn't well-suited to financial management. He'd earned at least $200 million to $300 million throughout his career, yet now he was facing bankruptcy. It showed how skilled he was at spending money.
When it comes to managing money, Yang Mo is a true idol in the locker room. Every now and then, Beasley calculates Yang Mo's net worth, and each time, the figure climbs higher. Most recently, his precise calculations have put Yang Mo's net worth at nearly $5 billion. After all, Yang Mo now owns not only Nike shares, but also Baofeng Entertainment and MSG, along with endorsement contracts worth hundreds of millions annually, plus film revenue. Five billion is a bit of an understatement.
Baofeng Entertainment is currently planning to go public on the Nasdaq. Once listed, given Baofeng's current strength, its market capitalization is sure to increase tenfold. After all, Hollywood is already dominated by Baofeng. Baofeng now encompasses more than just superstar management, but also film companies, production companies, and theater chains. They've practically formed a self-produced and self-sold industry chain. And most importantly, Lu Xueman recently launched a screenwriting company. With a minimal investment, she purchased a large number of fantasy novel adaptation rights from domestic literary websites.
Once this kind of novel is produced, its impact will completely blow away special effects films like The Lord of the Rings and Captain America, and it's a purely Eastern superhero. By then, maybe I'll be able to keep reading.
Yang Mo paid almost no attention to these matters. He never looked at the company's financial statements, nor did he even pay attention to the company's news. He only needed to know one thing: the money in his account would continue to increase, not decrease.
There was a moment of heavy talk about money in the Knicks' locker room, and then the second half arrived, and the team went on the offensive. Kobe Bryant was indeed absent from the court, and the Lakers actually played some decent team basketball in the third quarter.
This surprised Yang Mo. He didn't expect that the Lakers would become smoother after losing Kobe.
However, Yang Mo quickly proved to them that smooth play alone was useless; a supreme expert who could deliver the final blow was needed. Yang Mo led his defensive team into action, and the Lakers were instantly silenced, unable to unleash any of their true power.
Yang Mo, on the other hand, had his way. He successfully demonstrated to Phil Jackson what a truly dominant player was: someone who could score accurately, kill opponents accurately, link the ball, and maximize the strengths of each player. And when it came to defense, opponents had to tremble in front of him.
Yang Mo possesses all three qualities and is certainly qualified to rule the alliance.
You know, Kobe only had two of these qualities and yet he was already the top shooting guard for more than ten years in the post-Jordan era. Yang Mo now has all three qualities and is sure to take over Jordan's mantle and dominate the league.
In the end, the game ended in a decisive Knicks victory. Yang Mo finished with a massive triple-double of 25 points, 16 assists, and 13 rebounds, while Stoudemire had the final laugh in his duel with Pau Gasol. Although he played a mostly supporting role, his dunks only served to highlight Yang Mo's exquisite passes, he still managed to score 38 points. Pau Gasol, on the other hand, only scored 24. The comparison between the two, at least on the surface, was clear.
After the game, Stoudemire arrogantly walked towards Pau Gasol, ready to show off. Yang Mo was about to go over to watch how the two of them were fighting for the top power forward position, but was pulled away by Phil Jackson who was standing nearby: "Hey, Yang, are you interested in teaming up with me? Together we can definitely win many championships."
Phil Jackson stopped pretending to be cool when facing Yang Mo. Instead, he looked like a gold digger dreaming of striking it rich, his eyes bare and unconcealed with desire. He had already achieved success, but deep down, he wanted to go even further. He wanted to surpass Red Cardinal, he wanted to leave his name in NBA history, he wanted to become the man who would become the Lord of the Rings!
However, Yang Mo had no time to pay attention to him. He answered directly, "I think Coach Stein is a better fit for me than you. He's a talented head coach, and we'd have a lot of creative sparks. But you can't give me that feeling. Every time I see you, I remember the first time we met when I hit you with a basketball and gave you a concussion. Now I always want to do it again. I can't help but want to hit you in the head with a basketball again!"
Yang Mo's words were quite brazen, practically rubbing Phil Jackson's face underfoot. It had always been others who had been the first to flaunt Jackson's affection, but now that Phil Jackson was flaunting his affection, Yang Mo didn't even give him the cold shoulder. She simply farted, "Puff!" and walked away!
Phil Jackson was filled with hatred. He hadn't expected Yang Mo to be so arrogant as to reject him. He immediately chased after Yang Mo: "You're going to regret this, kid."
"I won't regret it, old man." Yang Mo turned around and smiled faintly at him, walking faster.
Yang Mo returned to the locker room and took a shower. Stoudemire also came back humming a little tune. From the pride in his expression, it was not difficult to see that he had succeeded in the debate with Pau Gasol.
"Has Pau Gasol acknowledged that you are the number one power forward?" Yang Mo asked curiously.
"Of course, does he dare to deny it?" Stoudemire said arrogantly, "If he dares to deny it, I'll beat him to death."
"So, you conquered him with your fists?" Yang Mo asked in surprise.
"Is there any other way?" Stoudemire asked.
"Uh... since you can conquer with fists, why do you still have to talk nonsense and fight hard on the court?" Yang Mo was even more puzzled.
"This is called convincing people with reason and slapping him in the face with data." Stoudemire answered seriously.
Yang Mo laughed dumbly after hearing this and punched Stoudemire: "You, you actually know this kind of trick, didn't you see that?"
"Hehe, I learned all this from the old university." Stadler touched his head. At this time, he learned to be humble.
