NBA: Rising Superstar!

The Rookie Challenge was more exciting than previous years, mainly because the format changed.

LaVine and Towns were seizing every opportunity to dunk; when they had a chance to dunk, they wouldn't opt for a shot.

Such offensive tactics constantly fueled the fans' adrenaline.

Team USA executed a lot of dunks, but the score clearly showed Team World pulling ahead.

Team World was focusing more on three-point shots.

Zeng Xingyang, Porzingis, and Bogdan, the trio were relentlessly attacking from beyond the arc.

The most accurate shooter was Zeng Xingyang, who was like a shooting machine, taking every opportunity to shoot from the three-point line.

His efficiency was the key to the lead in points.

After Zeng Xingyang sank his seventh three-pointer, the fans at the scene couldn't help but shout at him: "Zeng, dunk!"

"Dunk one!"

"Dunk one!"

The shouts from the fans were loud, and the players on the court heard them.

The players on Team USA were quite speechless; how popular was Zeng Xingyang?

Did it mean all their dunks weren't worth anything?

Fans were not disappointed; Zeng Xingyang's dunk quickly followed.

Russell wanted to pass a bounce ball to Okafor, allowing Okafor to finish.

However, it was anticipated, Zeng Xingyang darted out and completed the steal.

"I won't let you dunk."

Towns rapidly ran back to defend; he wanted to stop Zeng Xingyang.

Other players might concede, but Towns certainly wouldn't today; he wanted to give Zeng Xingyang a hard block to suppress this guy's arrogance.

This guy had provoked him enough in the past.

Zeng Xingyang increased his speed and jumped first, making a mid-air between-the-legs move.

Zeng Xingyang's leap was incredibly fast; his legs were like springs, launching his body like a rocket.

Towns still thought of Zeng Xingyang based on what he knew from college, believing he could catch up to block him.

The audience held their breath; they rarely saw Zeng Xingyang use such a dominating play style.

But in reality, Towns was already too slow.

The result was that when Zeng Xingyang slammed the ball into the hoop, Towns had just arrived beneath him.

"Boom!"

Thud!!

The basketball hit the target like a missile, fiercely penetrating through.

The visual effect was Towns being posterized.

When Zeng Xingyang landed, he also knocked Towns over; Towns initially wanted to chase him for a block but forced it, overestimating his balance control.

Towns fell heavily to the ground.

"Hey, are you injured?" Zeng Xingyang reached out to Towns immediately after landing, smiling.

Towns shook his head and refused the help, sitting up on his own, now just wanting to cool off.

"Whoa!!"

"Towns got posterized."

"So dominant, the number one pick was placed beneath him."

The scene erupted in cheers like a mountain tide.

Zeng Xingyang's dunk, though not the night's most thrilling.

But he posterized the number one pick, Towns.

It seemed to contain a hint of grudge showdown.

Porzingis, who came over, also felt sorry for Towns; he could see Towns didn't fully exert himself jumping.

Yet, he still got posterized.

Such a poor background.

After teammates helped Towns stand up, he sighed helplessly, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"He dunked; Xingyang finally completed his first dunk tonight, and it was a posterization against Towns, making this dunk quite spectacular." Wang Meng exclaimed excitedly.

That dunk made him appear slightly flushed.

The atmosphere among the fans was too intense; even the air temperature seemed to rise a bit.

Following this dunk, Team USA players continued their skill showcase, while Team World players kept throwing three-pointers.

The first half soon ended.

The score reached 61 to 77, with Team World leading by 16 points.

Zeng Xingyang scored 8 three-pointers in the first half, totaling 32 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Zeng Xingyang's score also broke the Rookie Challenge's first-half scoring record.

Fans witnessed Zeng Xingyang's scoring efficiency can be off the charts without defense.

This despite everyone wanting to showcase, everyone trying to handle the ball; even more so, his ball-sharing wasn't as concentrated as when he was with the Nuggets.

Zeng Xingyang forcefully turned this rather meaningless rookie show game into a personal showcase.

In the second half, Zeng Xingyang maintained this offensive style, but Team USA wasn't going to sit by while he scored sky-high points, becoming part of history.

They increased intensity; Zeng Xingyang's shooting accuracy dropped slightly compared to the first half.

Fortunately, the temporary teammates on Team World were quite united, constantly feeding Zeng Xingyang the ball.

They could see that Team USA didn't want history to be made.

What they needed to do was help Zeng Xingyang make history.

Showing them why they bragged so much!

Directly setting up Team USA to play against Team World.

Finally, as the full game ended, the score settled at 131 to 141.

Team World defeated Team USA.

Zeng Xingyang scored a total of 16 three-pointers, breaking the Rookie Challenge's three-pointer record.

He scored 61 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, breaking the scoring record for the Rookie Challenge.

Jokic wasn't very interested in such games, only scoring 8 points, while others had very averaged scores.

After all, in the second half, everyone's goal was to help Zeng Xingyang irritate Team USA.

Team USA's highest scorer was LaVine with 28 points; he showed versatile skills on the court, both dunking and shooting, clearly showcasing future superstar potential.

After the game ended, during the Rookie Challenge MVP awarding segment.

With the crowd cheering for Zeng Xingyang, this award came as no surprise.

Winning the game plus an absolute dominance in stats makes it impossible for the MVP to be on the losing team.

Not even if the player's dad were Xiao Hua.

When Zeng Xingyang lifted the MVP trophy for the Rookie Challenge, the crowd erupted in applause and the Chinese fans screamed with excitement.

"Click, click, click!!"

There's no doubt, Zeng Xingyang became the brightest star of the night.

On CCTV, Coach Zhang excitedly shouted, "Xingyang has become the first Asian player to win the NBA Rookie Challenge MVP; ever since he entered the NBA, he's been creating miracles, turning what we thought was impossible into possible."

"This is a spirit that the new age youth should learn from."

"Fearless against difficulties, rise to the challenge!"

...

On-site, after Zeng Xingyang raised the trophy in celebration, the female host asked, "Hey, Zeng, you broke the Rookie Challenge scoring record tonight and became the first person of yellow descent to win this award. What do you have to say now?"

Zeng Xingyang took the microphone and said, "You know, my focus is actually on the regular season, this is just a fun exhibition game, and I'm happy to give the fans such a great show. Winning this MVP is just a bonus."

Zeng Xingyang's tone was quite calm, not overly excited.

This award is nothing compared to the NCAA's Final Four MOP.

The female host continued, "So you're saying winning this MVP was quite easy?"

The female host's tone was provoking.

Zeng Xingyang said, "I'm a player in the All-Star Game. My average score is the highest among everyone. From my perspective, it's really not hard."

Zeng Xingyang's words did not stir any discussion among the players of the World Team and Team USA.

It seems in their minds, Zeng Xingyang is just a superpower.

"Oh oh oh!!"

"Dominant!"

"Awesome!"

"Seems like it too; Zeng Xingyang is indeed the strongest player in this Rookie Challenge."

"His contemporaries seem to be left far behind."

"Perhaps the host doesn't know, but standing before you is a top scorer, second only to Kuha Duo, not your average rookie."

"Zeng Xingyang is the strongest player in the Rookie Challenge; this award suits him the best."

Hearing Zeng Xingyang's arrogant words, the fans on-site responded with cheers.

The night he won the Rookie Challenge MVP, Zeng Xingyang continued to battle with Song Xue in a double overtime duel.

The next day.

The All-Star weekend continued.

First up was the Skills Challenge.

This competition tests the fundamental skills of players.

Participants include Zeng Xingyang, Little Thomas, Green, Davis, Towns, and others.

Eight players participated in the Skills Challenge, but Zeng Xingyang did not win this event.

He made two mistakes during the passing drill, which delayed his time.

The winner was Towns.

There were also eight participants in the Three-Point Contest: Stephen Curry, James Harden, Klay Thompson, Kyle Lowry, McCollum (substituting for Bosh), JJ Redick, Chris Middleton, and Zeng Xingyang.

Zeng Xingyang smoothly advanced to the finals in the Three-Point Contest.

But in the final shootout, he lost to Thompson.

Thompson's hand was just hotter than both him and Curry tonight, and that's just how it was.

As for the Dunk Contest, Zeng Xingyang was just a spectator; although he has a cheat mode, he didn't challenge himself in an area he's not good at.

After all, this year's Dunk Contest was a clash of titans.

LaVine VS Gordon

With those two guys, his current dunking ability would just be humiliated.

After all.

In terms of the adrenaline rush of dunking duels, this year's All-Star Dunk Contest, these two were the ultimate showdown, unmatched by any.

Zeng Xingyang was also thrilled watching from the sidelines.

LaVine's flying dunk from the free throw line was elegant, an alley-oop windmill dunk...

Gordon's gliding head-touching spin dunk, in-air contortion seating dunk, these dunk moves had such a wide range, taken to such ferocious lengths that were quite exaggerated.

LaVine is a top-level master of the elegant style, while Gordon is a combination of strength and talent!

The two delivered wave after wave of dunks bringing the scene continuously to a climax!!

In the end, it was LaVine who won the Dunk Contest, bringing the night to a close.

On the third day, the All-Star Game finally kicked off.

Two hours before the game, the venue was already packed.

The interview area was also filled with media reporters.

Zeng Xingyang, James, Durant, Curry, Kobe, Harden, and others were surrounded by media.

"Zeng, it's your first time participating in the All-Star Game; how do you feel now?" asked a reporter.

"It's an honor to compete alongside so many excellent players; I'm very excited," Zeng Xingyang said with excitement.

From a kid who almost didn't make the school team to standing on this All-Star stage, Zeng Xingyang has been through so much in the past year and a half.

"Do you want to win tonight's MVP?" asked the reporter.

"Of course, why not?" Zeng Xingyang replied seriously.

The reporters were a bit baffled; they didn't expect Zeng Xingyang to be so unyielding about Kobe.

The current rhetoric is that the league wants to give this year's MVP to Kobe, giving the veteran a perfect farewell.

However, what Zeng Xingyang said brought back memories to some older reporters.

Back when Jordan was retiring, a young and fiery Kobe wanted to steal the spotlight, didn't he?

Now that he's retiring, he shouldn't mind a young and fiery Zeng Xingyang stealing the show, right?

....

"Of course, I do mind."

Kobe replied when asked if he would mind the intensity of the game on the court.

"I would love for the All-Star Game to be a real guns-blazing competition because fans buy tickets to see the best players in the world play genuinely, not just put on a show."

Kobe's tone was very determined!