Chapter 134

With two minutes left in the third quarter, the Pistons led by 23 points, pushing the game into overtime early. Several key players including Zhou Yi were taken off the court one after another, and the team ultimately won 112-88 over the Pacers.

In this game, Zhou Yi played for 23 minutes, the shortest time he’s played this season, scoring 16 points, providing 12 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block.

Andre Iguodala was the best performer of the game. He played 40 minutes, hitting 15 out of 21 shots, and scored 38 points—a new high for him this season. In addition, he had 8 rebounds and 6 assists in a comprehensive performance.

Besides Zhou Yi and Andre Iguodala, four other Pistons scored in double figures: Tracy McGrady with 13 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals; Greg Monroe with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks; Ben Gordon with 15 points; and James Posey with 12 points and 8 rebounds.

The best performer for the Pacers was undoubtedly their star player, Danny Granger. He scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, achieving a double-double in this game. Zhou Yi’s opponent, Rodney Stuckey, had an average performance, scoring 13 points and providing 8 assists, but he made 4 mistakes under Zhou Yi’s defense.

After this game, the Pistons officially entered the All-Star Weekend, signaling that they would finally get a few days off.

However, one player on the Pistons would be very busy during the All-Star Weekend—Zhou Yi. He needed to play in the Rookie Challenge, the Skill Challenge, and most importantly, the All-Star Game. Three other Pistons also had activities during the All-Star Weekend: McGrady, Andre Iguodala, and Greg Monroe.

McGrady and Zhou Yi would compete together as part of the Eastern Conference All-Star starting lineup, while Andre Iguodala was informed a week earlier that he had been selected for the Eastern Conference All-Star reserve team. Greg Monroe would join Zhou Yi in the Rookie Challenge.

Chapter 333: All-Star Weekend

On February 18th, Beijing time, the NBA All-Star Weekend kicked off in Houston. The Rookie Challenge served as the opening act, with first-year rookies led by Zhou Yi facing off against second-year players.

The key players for the first-year team in the Rookie Challenge are center DeMarcus Cousins, forwards Greg Monroe and Blake Griffin, and guards John Wall and Zhou Yi, along with four backups: Landry Fields, Derrick Favors, Eric Bledsoe, and Gary Neal.

The key players for the second-year team are center DeJuan Blair, forwards Ty Gibson and DeMar DeRozan, and guards Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry, with four backups: Brandon Jennings, Jody Meeks, Serge Ibaka, and Wesley Matthews.

The Rookie Challenge began in 1994, initially pitting that year’s rookies against each other. In 1996, it changed to an East vs. West rookie matchup, and in 2000, it became the current format of first-year rookies facing second-year rookies.

Not many people pay much attention to the Rookie Challenge; it’s mainly meant to provide a stage for newcomers to show off. Although Zhou Yi is a leader among first-year players, his focus isn’t on this game—he’s dedicating more energy to the skill challenges and the actual All-Star game in the next couple of days.

They were present on the sidelines of the Rookie Challenge: Kobe, LeBron, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal… Once rookies themselves, they now sit on the sidelines with ease, embodying the role of seasoned veterans.

As the most prominent player in this Rookie Challenge and the only one participating in the All-Star game, Zhou Yi didn’t act like a star. He arrived early at the gym with Xiang Yun and his friends.

In the locker room, the first-year assistant coaches gave them some encouragement, after which they took the court. The first-year rookies and the second-year veterans entered at the same time, triggering loud cheers from the crowd—especially from the students who were there, who cheered even more loudly upon seeing their favorite players take the field.

Zhou Yi waved at the fans around him. Many wore his Pistons jersey number 37, and thousands shouted his names, “Chinese Flying Man” and “Zhou Yi,” making him the most popular player in the crowd.

The DJ on site began introducing the starting lineups for both teams, and with each name read aloud, the crowd erupted in enthusiastic cheers. The starting lineups were as follows for the second-year team: DeJuan Blair (Spurs), Ty Gibson (Bulls), DeMar DeRozan (Raptors), Tyreke Evans (Kings), Stephen Curry (Warriors).

First-year starters: DeMarcus Cousins (Kings), Greg Monroe (Pistons), Blake Griffin (Clippers), John Wall (Wizards), Zhou Yi (Pistons).
DeMarcus Cousins outjumped his predecessor DeJuan Blair; Greg Monroe caught the ball and immediately passed it to his teammate Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi drove with the ball, got past Stephen Curry, and scored by layup.
This was the All-Star Rookie Challenge, a game played for fun—there was no need to defend seriously.
Terryce Evans missed a mid-range jump shot, and Greg Monroe grabbed the defensive rebound.
Zhou Yi received the pass from Greg Monroe and rushed across half-court at top speed, not waiting for his teammates. His quick movement also caught the second-year players off guard.
DeMar DeRozan roared and rushed forward to block Zhou Yi’s path.
DeMar DeRozan stretched out his right hand and lowered his waist, trying to stop Zhou Yi from moving forward—he knew if he let this guy go, there would be a violent dunk!
Zhou Yi paused briefly, slammed the ball hard onto the ground, then surprisingly accelerated again. He used this timing difference to bypass DeMar DeRozan, who was guarding him closely.
DeMar DeRozan had just settled in to defend when Zhou Yi drove past him. It wasn’t that he defended poorly—it was just that Zhou Yi’s second acceleration was too fast; he had never seen anything like it.
Terryce Evans returned to defense quickly, and since he had been near the three-point line earlier, he was already moving backward as Greg Monroe passed the ball.
As soon as Zhou Yi accelerated, Terryce Evans knew what he was planning. It wasn’t their first encounter, so they were quite familiar with each other.
Terryce Evans rushed down the middle, stepped into the three-second area a step ahead, and watched Zhou Yi nervously, ready to throw a steal as soon as he jumped.
As soon as Zhou Yi bypassed DeMar DeRozan, he held the ball close to his chest, then suddenly bent down and took big steps. One step inside the three-point line, he used his legs to powerfully drive toward the basket. He stomped his feet, used his calves forcefully, and pushed his waist forward, shooting like a rocket toward the hoop.
All the fans in the arena were shocked and stood up. They couldn’t speak, just stared in awe as Zhou Yi jumped—they simply couldn’t believe that someone could jump from just one step inside the three-point line and dunk the ball; it was impossible!

Zhou Yi pulled the basketball close to his chest and jumped, using his legs to propel himself toward the basket. Terrence Evans roared and jumped as well, his large hands outstretched as he slammed down on the ball in Zhou Yi’s grasp. Zhou Yi smirked coldly, tightened his core, lowered his head, and darted under Bogut’s armpit as he jumped. This caused him to start falling, and at that moment, he was still two or three meters away from the basket—far too far to jump again and attempt a dunk. If he could rise that high again, he wouldn’t just be the Flying Man—he’d be a flying god. No one guessed Zhou Yi’s intention. After dodging Terrence Evans’ block, he suddenly threw the ball backward, landing it right on Terrence Evans’ back. The basketball bounced off Evans’ back and came back, while Zhou Yi had already landed. Without adjusting his stance, he stomped his feet hard, jumped again, and caught the bouncing ball as he rushed toward the basket. With another foot stamp, he gained momentum to jump once more. He caught the ball that had bounced off Terrence Evans’ back, leaped high, wrapped his arms around the ball, and swung in a powerful arc before slamming it hard into the basket. It wasn’t until Zhou Yi landed that the fans realized what had happened. They exchanged incredulous looks before bursting into thunderous cheers. Zhou Yi roared triumphantly, the entire crowd cheered, and Xiang Yun stood up excitedly. Meanwhile, Terrence Evans was furious, his face turning pale. From the feeling on his back and the replay on the big screen, he knew clearly that he had once again been tricked by that damned rookie. “Zhou Yi’s dunk wasn’t only dominant but also highly creative,” said the two hosts on the broadcast. “Look—first, he broke through DeMar DeRozan, jumped from beyond the three-point line, pretending to dunk to trick Terrence Evans into jumping, then used his flexibility to dodge Evans’ block mid-air. By then, he no longer had the strength to jump again, so he bounced the ball off Evans’ back and finally completed the attack with another jump. Truly, this young man’s basketball intelligence and physical skills are among the best among current players,” they exclaimed. The game continued—D’Juan Blair caught a pass from Stephen Curry, pushed aside DeMarcus Cousins, and scored with a dunk. On the freshman team side, John Wall made a brilliant pass to Blake Griffin, who scored with an alley-oop dunk.

The interior players on the second-year team were clearly weaker than those on the first-year team, as on the first-year side, Greg Monroe, Blake Griffin, and DeMarcus Cousins were all key players in the interior, performing exceptionally well, especially Blake Griffin and Greg Monroe.

The first-year stars were clearly aware of the weakness in the second-year team’s interior, so Zhou Yi repeatedly passed to the interior players, who then teamed up with Blake Griffin and Greg Monroe for dunk attempts.

By the fifth minute of the first half (the All-Star Rookie Challenge is played in 20-minute halves, while the regular All-Star Game uses 12-minute quarters over four quarters), the first-year team led 17:7.

The second-year team’s interior was completely overwhelmed; they couldn’t even secure defensive rebounds. Blake Griffin thrived, grabbing two defensive rebounds and successfully defending against opponents. He scored 8 of the first-year team’s 17 points, hitting all four of his shots. Ty Gibson was utterly outmatched by him; Blake Griffin never played so easily before—he dominated the interior as if playing in high school games.

Zhou Yi had few shooting opportunities; aside from passes from Greg Monroe, the other three players rarely passed to him. John Wall was assigned the point guard role, while he was placed in the shooting guard position.

Zhou Yi had no complaints about this. For him, the All-Star Rookie Challenge was just a formality—his real focus was on the All-Star Game the day after, so how he performed today didn’t matter.

Terry Evans tried to charge into the first-year team’s interior for a dunk but was blocked by Zhou Yi. John Wall missed his shot from afar. Zhou Yi and Ty Gibson both jumped, using their better jumping ability—Zhou Yi touched the ball with his fingers before Gibson could, though he didn’t grab the rebound immediately because he had already reached his limit.

Zhou Yi used the tip of his finger to send the ball bouncing again, stepped on it, and jumped once more to grab the rebound, leaving Gibson’s attempt in vain. Zhou Yi passed the ball to John Wall, who hit a three-pointer this time.

On the second-year team’s side, DeMar DeRozan took advantage of Terry Evans’ screen to charge into the first-year team’s interior and score with a dunk. Zhou Yi and Greg Monroe used a pick-and-roll, rushed into the interior, and Zhou Yi passed the ball to Greg Monroe, who hit a mid-range shot.

After that, the second-year team made consecutive mistakes, and DeMarcus Cousins scored with a dunk, giving the first-year team another 6:2 run.

The second-year team called a timeout, and both teams switched to their bench players.

Chapter 334: Rookie Challenge MVP
The game resumed, and the Pistons’ Jody Meeks assisted his teammate Ty Gibson with a dunk. Although Jody Meeks was teammates with Greg Monroe and Zhou Yi, he was now on the second-year team. The first-year team’s several subsequent attacks failed, while the second-year team’s Brandon Jennings and Wesley Matthews seized the opportunity to score. Stephen Curry also hit two shots. With Brandon Jennings’ leadership, the second-year team quickly narrowed the score gap to single digits. The first-year team, centered around Zhou Yi, started to widen the lead—Zhou Yi scored twice in a row with drives to make the score 26:16. Then Wesley Matthews hit a three-pointer from outside, and John Wall responded from afar. Zhou Yi set up a pick-and-roll for Blake Griffin, who scored with a quick stop and jump shot. The second-year team launched a counterattack, with Brandon Jennings and DeJuan Blair scoring two points each, and Zhou Yi hitting a three-pointer. With Blake Griffin’s dunks, the first-year team led 38:25, a 13-point advantage. The second-year team asked for another timeout, after which Zhou Yi was taken off the court. As soon as Zhou Yi left, the unopposed Tyreke Evans scored with a dunk, adding 4 points, and the second-year team narrowed the gap to 8 points at 42:34. Gary Neal hit two consecutive shots, and DeMarcus Cousins scored with a dunk, pushing the first-year team’s lead back to 13 points. Stephen Curry hit a three-pointer, and DeMar DeRozan scored with a dunk, reducing the gap to 8 points again. Then, the first-year team started making mistakes, and the second-year team, led by substitute Jody Meeks, focused on attacking inside. DeJuan Blair scored 6 points in a row, bringing the second-year team’s deficit to 7 points at 48:55. The first-year team asked for a timeout, and after that, they managed to get back on track and performed well. Zhou Yi returned to the court and scored 6 points in a row, while Gary Neal hit a three-pointer, giving the first-year team a 17-point lead at 68:51. John Wall scored twice in a row, increasing the first-year team’s lead to 23 points. Thanks to the team’s overall performance, the first-year team led 87:58 at halftime. At the start of the second half, Blake Griffin scored again for the first-year team. DeMar DeRozan and Tyreke Evans scored for the second-year team in response.

Blake Griffin received another brilliant pass from Zhou Yi and scored with a dunk, adding 18 points to his game total. DeMarcus Cousins scored powerfully inside, giving the first-year team a 95:66 lead.

The second-year team’s coach realized this approach wouldn’t work, so he promptly substituted in the previously outstanding reserve, Jody Meeks. Once Jody Meeks entered the game, three Pistons players also came on at the same time.

Zhou Yi received an inside pass from Blake Griffin. He stepped forward with his right foot, forcing DeMar DeRozan, who was defending him, to back up, then jumped high to hit a three-pointer.

John Wall then stripped Stephen Curry and drove to the basket. Next, the second-year team launched a fierce counterattack—they certainly didn’t want to lose to these rookies.

DeJuan Blair broke through Zhou Yi’s defense and scored with a hook shot. Then, DeJuan Blair grabbed an offensive rebound and attempted a shot, but it was blocked by Greg Monroe. After grabbing a defensive rebound, Zhou Yi passed the ball long to Gary Neal, but Neal’s layup was disrupted by Ty Gibson, who secured the defensive rebound.

DeJuan Blair dunked again, avenging the previous block. Zhou Yi then hit another three-pointer. Stephen Curry’s pass to DeMar DeRozan was intercepted by Zhou Yi, who scored with an fast-break dunk.

DeMar DeRozan and Stephen Curry executed a clever play—Curry caught the ball in mid-air and finished with a one-handed dunk. The first-year team missed their shot, and Stephen Curry grabbed the rebound. Tyreke Evans rushed in, and Curry passed the ball to him; Evans jumped high and completed a powerful dunk, greatly boosting the second-year team’s morale.

After Evans’s dunk, John Wall also tried to dunk inside the second-year team’s defense but was blocked by Ty Gibson. DeMar DeRozan picked up the ball and launched a fast break with Ty Gibson. DeMar DeRozan feigned a layup and passed to Ty Gibson, who scored with a layup.

Zhou Yi then made a beautiful bounce pass. Greg Monroe received the pass and scored by overpowering Ty Gibson. Later, when Tyreke Evans passed to DeJuan Blair, it was intercepted by Zhou Yi, who now had six steals—the most in the game—and scored with a fast-break dunk.

The second-year team was trailing the first-year team by 26 points, 93:119. Then, Stephen Curry rushed inside, stopped abruptly, and took a jump shot, forcing Zhou Yi to foul. Curry made both free throws, adding two more points for the second-year team.

But then Zhou Yi scored a three-point shot to tie the score, with twelve minutes left—exactly one quarter of regular game time. The second-year team was down 27 points. Tyreke Evans took control of the ball and rushed inside, only to be double-teamed by Zhou Yi and Greg Monroe. Tyreke Evans passed to Jody Meeks, who shot from beyond the three-point line but missed; Blake Griffin grabbed the rebound. Zhou Yi’s fast break led to a foul on Brandon Jennings, and Zhou Yi made both free throws, giving the first-year team a 30-point lead. DeJuan Blair’s face turned pale as he handed the ball to Brandon Jennings, with still twelve full minutes left. Brandon Jennings took the ball and slowly made his way across half-court, still guarded by Zhou Yi. He watched his teammates’ movements, gently tapping the ball in his hands. Suddenly, he turned to look at Tyreke Evans, who had gotten past John Wall, and Zhou Yi quickly shifted to block Brandon Jennings’ passing route. But as soon as he moved, Brandon Jennings bent down and darted past him. Greg Monroe rushed out to help defend, and Brandon Jennings jumped high, raising his large hands to block his shooting path. Yet Brandon Jennings didn’t even glance at him; he raised his left arm above his head and shook his right arm holding the ball, sending it under Greg Monroe’s arms straight toward the center of the backboard. “Swish,” “thud.” The ball went in, and Greg Monroe was called for a foul. Brandon Jennings smiled, muttered “idiot” under his breath, and made the free throw. After all, it was an All-Star game, and the players were playing for fun. With the first-year team already leading by 27 points, they played quite casually. DeMar DeRozan threw the ball high into the paint, aiming for a one-on-one with DeJuan Blair, but Zhou Yi intercepted it mid-air. Zhou Yi jumped, and John Wall rushed desperately toward the backcourt. Brandon Jennings quickly chased after him to block Zhou Yi’s long pass for a fast break. Zhou Yi swung his arm, and all the players on the court tensed up, focusing on the front court to see if the pass would succeed. But when they looked up, they didn’t see the ball in the air—instead, they heard a loud thud as it hit the floor.

Zhou Yi used a feint to deceive the player guarding him, drove past into the three-point area, with DeMar DeRozan and Tyreke Evans chasing behind. But just how strong was Zhou Yi’s explosive power? How could the two of them catch up? Zhou Yi crouched low, controlling the ball as he sped forward, with DeMar DeRozan and Tyreke Evans following closely behind. Realizing they couldn’t keep up, both stopped—after all, it was just a rookie challenge, so why take it so seriously? Zhou Yi jumped right at the three-point line. Brandon Jennings released John Wall to distract Zhou Yi, but Zhou Yi pressed his wrist and tossed the ball to John Wall under the basket. John Wall caught the ball, stepped forward, and jumped to dunk with both hands. Zhou Yi waved at the cheering fans as he jogged back to half-court, while Brandon Jennings organized the offense. Brandon Jennings used two quick changes of direction to get away from Zhou Yi, then passed a hook shot to Tyreke Evans when Greg Monroe came in to help defend. Evans’s three-point attempt missed, and DeJuan Blair grabbed the offensive rebound, slapped the ball down, and was about to lay it in when Zhou Yi stole it. Gary Neal and John Wall both rushed to the side lanes. To prevent the ball from being stolen by Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans, Zhou Yi threw it high. The ball was clearly thrown too high, and Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans laughed as they saw it surely fly out of the court. Before their laughter faded, John Wall had already jumped using the momentum from half-court. He held his breath, jumped high with all his strength, stretched out his right hand to catch the ball near the top of the backboard, and then threw it back over the rim. At that moment, Gary Neal had just reached the basket. He jumped hard, caught the ball with his left hand, passed it from behind his waist to his right hand, and threw it into the hoop. “The most beautiful play of the game—this is the best alley-oop pass so far!” exclaimed Charles Barkley, the commentator, alongside his longtime partner Kenny Smith. Kenny Smith, who usually likes to argue with Charles Barkley, rarely agreed with him, but this time he did. In front of Gary Neal was a group of reporters. He jumped too hastily and couldn’t ease his momentum, so he ended up crashing into the crowd to protect himself. Fortunately, the reporters didn’t dodge; they reached out and embraced Gary Neal as a living cushion.

Gary Neal and John Wall ran backward while joking around. Brandon Jennings received a long pass from Tyreke Evans and drove straight across half-court; Ty Gibson caught this long pass and scored. Thanks to Brandon Jennings’ fast-paced offensive drives, the sophomore team managed to take a 11-2 lead, cutting the score to 108-126 in just four minutes—meaning the sophomores recovered twelve points in that time. The freshman team’s coach promptly called a timeout and replaced John Wall with Landry Fields. Now, the sophomore players realized they had fallen into Brandon Jennings’ trap. Brandon Jennings used a faster pace to cover up their weaknesses on the inside, and his offensive drives also limited the freshman team’s advantages on the inside to the greatest extent. Play resumed, and the freshman players started to take it seriously. The eighteen-point gap seemed large, but it was actually just six three-point shots. Landry Fields drove past DeMar DeRozan, entered the paint, and passed to DeMarcus Cousins, who tried to dunk immediately, but Ty Gibson rushed over and deflected the ball. Brandon Jennings picked up the ball and started running, with Tyreke Evans and DeMar DeRozan following behind. Brandon Jennings rushed into the paint, drew Zhou Yi’s defense, then passed to DeMar DeRozan, who passed to Stephen Curry outside the three-point line. Stephen Curry took a jump shot and scored a three. Afterwards, Zhou Yi faced off against Tyreke Evans and successfully scored a layup at the low post. The sophomore team continued their offensive drives; Gary Neal and Landry Fields couldn’t keep up with Brandon Jennings and the others, except for Zhou Yi. On the sophomore side, only DeJuan Blair was a bit slower, resulting in a four-on-three situation in the frontcourt, which posed a big problem for the freshman team, as the sophomores stayed far apart, making it ineffective to use help defense—once one of them was left unguarded, the other could score. Brandon Jennings passed the ball to DeMar DeRozan outside the three-point line. DeMar DeRozan raised his hand to shoot, forcing Zhou Yi to leap out. DeMar DeRozan then passed the ball back to Brandon Jennings, who scored by driving past Gary Neal at the low post. As soon as Brandon Jennings scored, he immediately told his three teammates, “Full pressure—don’t let Greg get the ball!” DeMar DeRozan and the others quickly went to pressure Zhou Yi and Gary Neal in the backcourt.

The two big men on the first-year team were still in the front court; it was clearly too late for them to run over and catch the ball. Meanwhile, Zhou Yi and Gary Neal were tightly guarded, and Greg Monroe had no choice but to imitate Brandon Jennings by throwing a long pass across the court.

DeJuan Blair was average in other aspects, but his footwork was definitely better than Greg Monroe’s and DeMarcus Cousins’. He rushed ahead and stole the ball from DeMarcus Cousins before he could catch it. Brandon Jennings and the others pulled back, while DeMar DeRozan stepped forward to cover for DeJuan Blair. DeJuan Blair had a solid game, but as a senior, he had only scored 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds—by far the worst among all the big men on the court.

DeMar DeRozan took control of the ball and shot from beyond the three-point line. Unguarded, he hit another three-pointer. As a result, the first-year team’s lead was reduced to just 12 points, with more than five minutes left in the game. The first-year players grew anxious, and their coach promptly called a timeout. He then sent Blake Griffin, who had performed as well as Zhou Yi, onto the court, while DeMarcus Cousins was substituted out and Derek Favors came in.

Blake Griffin lived up to the team’s expectations. As soon as he entered the court, he used his back-to-the-basket move to force a foul on DeJuan Blair, earning a 2+1. Fortunately, Blake Griffin missed his free throw, and Ty Gibson pushed past Greg Monroe to grab the rebound. Fast breaks, again and again. But this tactic wasn’t very effective anymore, as Blake Griffin was fast enough—at least he wasn’t far behind.

With five minutes left, Brandon Jennings didn’t dare shoot recklessly. As soon as he rushed into the paint, he was stopped by Zhou Yi. He had no choice but to pass the ball to DeMar DeRozan, who passed it to Ty Gibson, only for Zhou Yi to steal it again. Zhou Yi drove alone, scored a dunk, and forced a foul on Terrence Evans, hitting the free throw to help the first-year team regain its lead.

Brandon Jennings didn’t want to let the hard-earned advantage go. He drove alone into the paint and dropped a powerful dunk against Derek Favors.

Zhou Yi relied on his sharp breakthroughs to score two more points for the Rookie team. In a game with such a high entertainment factor, defense was naturally non-existent; everyone focused on the game itself. Such weak defense meant nothing to Zhou Yi, who easily broke through Terick Evans with a simple acceleration and scored by dunking the ball into the basket.

The Sophomore team quickly responded with Stephen Curry hitting a three-pointer. However, the Rookie team was more determined, with Derrick Favors dominating inside and scoring successfully. In the next two minutes, the Sophomore team’s attacks were hindered, failing to mount any effective counterattacks, while the Freshman team took advantage to widen the score gap.

In the end, led by Zhou Yi, the Freshman team defeated the Sophomore team 143:131 to claim victory. Zhou Yi delivered near-a-quadruple-double stats—30 points, 12 assists, 10 steals, and 7 rebounds—ranking second only to the highest scorer in the game, and played a crucial role in the Freshman team’s win. Thanks to his outstanding performance, Zhou Yi was named the MVP of the game. He is also the first Asian player to win MVP honors since the establishment of the Rookie Challenge.

The highest scorer in the game was the Freshman team’s Blake Griffin, who scored 33 points along with 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. It’s a shame he faced Zhou Yi; otherwise, with his stats, he would have surely been named MVP of the Rookie Challenge.

**Freshman team:** Greg Monroe scored 18 points and 9 rebounds; John Wall had the most assists in the game with 16, though his other stats were far inferior to Zhou Yi’s; DeMarcus Cousins scored 11 points and 8 rebounds.

**Sophomore team:** The highest scorer was the substitute Brandon Jennings, who scored 29 points along with 9 assists; Terick Evans scored 27 points but made 7 mistakes.

**Chapter 335: Various Competitions**

After the Rookie Challenge, there were no events on the first day of the All-Star Weekend. On the second day, there were many events, including skill challenges, dunk contests, three-point contests, and mixed shooting competitions.

This year’s All-Star Weekend skill challenge brought together the five most popular superstars in the league, an unexpected sight. The All-Star Skill Challenge first took place at the 2003 Atlanta All-Star Weekend, and although it’s only in its eighth edition, it has become the best platform for star guards to showcase their skills.

The champions of past skill challenge competitions have all been highly renowned figures:

2003: Jason Kidd – 35.1 seconds
2004: Baron Davis – 31.6 seconds
2005: Steve Nash – 25.8 seconds
2006: Dwyane Wade – 26.1 seconds
2007: Dwyane Wade – 26.4 seconds
2008: Deron Williams – 25.5 seconds (fastest record)
2009: Derrick Rose – 35.3 seconds
2010: Steve Nash – 29.9 seconds

The players competing in this year’s Skill Challenge are Steve Nash, the defending champion and star point guard of the Phoenix Suns; Zhou Yi, the core player of the Detroit Pistons; Russell Westbrook, one of the stars of the Oklahoma Thunder; Derrick Rose, the leader of the Chicago Bulls; and Chris Paul, the leader of the New Orleans Hornets.

The first to compete was defending champion Steve Nash. It took him three attempts to successfully complete the crucial mid-court shot, with a total time of 34.8 seconds.

Chris Paul was next; he completed all the moves in 37.1 seconds.

Derrick Rose came third, finishing all the moves in just 28.9 seconds. He completed every move in one attempt, including chest passes, bounce passes, shooting, and layups.

Russell Westbrook was fourth, taking 30.3 seconds. He only needed two attempts for the chest pass and completed the other moves in one go as well.

Zhou Yi was the last to compete. The outstanding performances of Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook undoubtedly put immense pressure on him, but he was met with thunderous cheers from the crowd.

The Skill Challenge tests a player’s skills, mainly in passing, shooting, layups, and dribbling. After completing the required passes, shots, layups, and dribbles through obstacles, it’s about who does it in the shortest time.

As the referee blew the whistle, Zhou Yi’s right wrist moved slightly, and the ball smoothly entered the 10-foot-high basket beyond the three-point line. He quickly grabbed another ball from the nearby hoop. The moment he got the ball, he leaned forward swiftly, completing his entire movement in an instant. With lightning-fast speed, he crossed half-court in the blink of an eye, slipped under the basket along the midline, and completed his first layup with a easy three-step move.

To everyone’s surprise, Zhou Yi’s speed showed no sign of slowing down. He raised his left hand behind him to catch the falling ball, adjusted his body posture in an instant, and already crossed half the court. He maneuvered around a basketball hoop that served as an obstacle, gently shook his wrist, and the ball smoothly entered the one-meter-high hoop on the other side. He then moved to the front of the hoop and effortlessly jumped to shoot.

Zhou Yi’s entire sequence was flawlessly smooth, with a perfect first attempt. Combined with his rapid dribbling speed, his final time was 27.1 seconds, putting him in the finals alongside Derrick Rose.

Derrick Rose, in the finals, performed even better than in the preliminaries, completing the whole sequence in just 26.6 seconds and earning cheers from the audience. Unfortunately, he faced Zhou Yi today.

In the finals, Zhou Yi was equally outstanding, and more importantly, his final jump shot wasn’t made after stabilizing his stance—it was a sudden stop and jump, during which he used the strength of his waist and abdomen to twist his entire body 90 degrees, saving at least a second with that move. The timer then displayed an astonishing time: “24.3 seconds.”

Zhou Yi’s incredible performance completely electrified the atmosphere. His time was the best ever recorded in these eight editions of the Skill Challenge. Given the format of the Skill Challenge, it’s likely this record will be hard to break. Zhou Yi’s victory was flawless—he demonstrated solid fundamentals, completing all moves in one go, with his jump shots and passes flowing seamlessly, ultimately securing him the championship.

After winning the title, Zhou Yi was briefly interviewed on-site by Sean Murray from American TNT TV. The host asked, “You performed exceptionally well in the second round, almost setting a record that’s hard to break.”

Zhou Yi replied modestly, “There are two reasons for that. My performance in the preliminaries gave me confidence for the finals. Also, Derrick Rose achieved a great time of 28.9 seconds in the preliminaries, which was definitely a challenge for me. I simply turned a little pressure into motivation at the right moment, that’s all.”

After receiving congratulations from several friends, Zhou Yi sat down with them to rest and watch the subsequent performances.

The next competition is a three-point shooting contest. Zhou Yi was originally invited to participate, but he felt that during All-Star Weekend, it was better to take part in fewer events to conserve energy.
The list of participants in this three-point shooting contest includes Ray Allen from the Boston Celtics and defending champion Paul Pierce, James Jones from the Miami Heat, Daniel Gibson from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kevin Durant from the Oklahoma Thunder, and Dorell Wright from the Golden State Warriors.
Paul Pierce won last year’s All-Star game in Dallas by outperforming many skilled shooters, making him the favorite to win this year’s contest.
Among all the competitors, Paul Pierce is the most highly regarded. Not only is he a defending champion, but his outstanding performance from beyond the three-point line this season also earns him the title of “King of Three-Pointers.” This season, he has attempted 168 shots from beyond the arc, hitting 80 of them, with a success rate of nearly 50%, making him one of the most accurate shooters from that range in the league.
In the preliminaries, James Jones from the Miami Heat was the first to compete. He performed exceptionally well, hitting all five of his shots and scoring 22 points.
Next was Daniel Gibson from the Cavaliers. He missed his first attempt and only hit one shot at the second attempt. Although he performed well in the last two attempts, his lack of speed meant he scored only 7 points.
The next player was the legendary shooter Ray Allen. The veteran delivered outstanding performances, hitting consecutive shots, especially from the top of the key. Despite his slower speed, he still scored 20 points.
Kevin Durant from the Thunder was the fourth to compete. Although he shot quickly, his accuracy was poor. He scored only 2 points in the first two attempts, with his shots continuously bouncing off the rim, ending with a total of 6 points—almost matching Jordan’s record of 5 points.
Dorell Wright from the Warriors was the fifth to compete. He performed well in the first attempt but lacked stamina, scoring only 11 points in total.
The last to compete was defending champion Paul Pierce. He hit only two shots but still scored 12 points, advancing along with Ray Allen and James Jones.
In the preliminaries, Paul Pierce’s form was average, especially when it came to handling the five crucial shots; he missed three of them.

In the final, Paul Pierce, who was the first to shoot, seemed to be blessed with success, hitting his shots frequently and scoring 24 points—second only to the highest score in a three-point contest final. He was undoubtedly the favorite to win the championship. His outstanding performance put great pressure on Ray Allen, who scored only 17 points after shooting five threes. When James Jones stepped to the free-throw line, the atmosphere in the arena reached its peak, as he was now the only one competing with Paul Pierce for the title. “James Jones is in good form today; 22 points in the first round is also a solid score. However, he had some issues handling regular shots today. If he can improve in that area, it’s not impossible for him to take the three-point contest title from Paul Pierce,” said the commentator on site. Unlike the nervousness of the onlookers, James Jones remained calm. His poor performance on regular shots didn’t affect his confidence; instead, his strong performance on trick shots boosted it even more. As the electronic timer kept ticking, James Jones took a deep breath. When the referee blew the whistle and the ball was in his hands, he quickly swung his arms, guiding the ball from his palm to his fingertips, sending it flying in a spinning arc. “Swish”—the first shot went through the net. With continuous “swish” sounds, by the time James Jones completed his fourth shot, the score on the scoreboard above him had reached 23 points, nearly matching Paul Pierce’s total. Paul Pierce, who had been confident and joking with his teammates moments earlier, suddenly paled, as for the final shot, James Jones only needed 2 points to defeat him and win the three-point contest. “Swish,” “swish”—Paul Pierce’s dreams were shattered in an instant, and the title of three-point king slipped away to someone else. By now, James Jones, who had already secured the title, continued shooting, but due to excitement, he missed two of his next three attempts, including one trick shot. In the end, the young player from the Miami Heat, James Jones, surprisingly scored 25 points, defeating the two star players from the Celtics, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, to win the championship. After the three-point contest, the dunk contest followed, second only in popularity to the regular All-Star game.

The players competing in the dunk contest included Blake Griffin, the draft pick from the Los Angeles Clippers, DeMar DeRozan from the Toronto Raptors, Javale McGee from the Washington Wizards, and Serge Ibaka from the Oklahoma Thunder.

The first player to compete was DeMar DeRozan of the Raptors, the runner-up in last year’s dunk contest. He caught a pass from a teammate, did a behind-the-back dribble, and attempted a dunk, but failed several times before succeeding on his fifth attempt. The referees awarded him 44 points.

Next was Serge Ibaka of the Thunder, who was followed by a group of beautiful women holding flags. Ibaka started his run from behind, jumped at the free-throw line, and successfully completed a one-handed dunk, though his posture wasn’t perfect, earning him 45 points.

The third player in the first round was Javale McGee of the Wizards. He held two basketballs in each hand and tried to dunk them into two hoops simultaneously, but failed several times. Despite his creative approach, the difficulty was too high. Eventually, he ran from the side, dunked both balls into the hoops, and scored 50 points—the first perfect score of the contest.

The last player in the first round was Blake Griffin. He started from beyond the three-point line, spun in the air while attempting a dunk, but failed earlier attempts. On his third try, he jumped on one foot, spun once and a half in the air, and dunked with both hands, scoring 49 points.

DeMar DeRozan, who scored the lowest points in the first round, was the first to compete again. He threw the ball to the ground, caught it with one hand, jumped over the hoop, and completed a dunk while looking back, drawing gasps from the fans. All the referees gave him 10 points each, resulting in a total of 50 points for DeRozan.

Serge Ibaka was the second to compete in the second round. He hung a small animal toy on the hoop and interacted with young fans. Ibaka ran from behind the hoop, dunked, and tried to bite off the animal toy with his mouth, but the attempt was ruled invalid and had to be repeated. He succeeded in biting off the toy with his mouth, dunked the ball with one hand, and then gave the toy to the child, scoring 45 points.

Blake Griffin was the third to compete in the second round. He teamed up with his teammate Baron Davis. Griffin provided assistance at the baseline, caught a pass from Davis after a dunk, and attempted a dunk with a spin, but failed several times. Eventually, he caught the pass, abandoned the spin, and completed a windmilling dunk with the pass, scoring 46 points.

Javier Mackey, who scored the most in the second round, appeared last. A group of men in black wearing sunglasses and Javier Mackey’s mother entered carrying a safe, giving him a colored basketball. Javier Mackey held one basketball in each hand again; after performing a double dunk, he caught a colored ball passed by his teammate to complete three more dunks. After several attempts failed, Javier Mackey finally dunked both basketballs and then the colored ball passed by his teammate, scoring 49 points. By using two balls for dunks and three consecutive dunks, Javier Mackey advanced to the finals with the highest score of 99 points. Blake Griffin, on the other hand, advanced to the finals in second place with 95 points, thanks to his spin dunks and windmill moves. DeMar DeRozan and Serge Ibaka were eliminated. In the finals, Blake Griffin took the first shot; after grabbing the rebound and dunking with one hand while half his arm was inside the basket, he hung suspended in mid-air, causing awe among the fans. This move was also performed by “half-man, half-god” Vince Carter in the dunk contest, though he dunked with just one arm inside the basket. Javier Mackey wore two different colored shoes on the court, provided assists along the baseline, and after dodging under the backboard, he performed a one-handed backflip dunk, creating a highly thrilling scene. Blake Griffin, shocked, smiled as he watched Javier Mackey’s dunk from the sidelines. In the second round of the finals, Blake Griffin appeared again; a car was even pushed under the basket, and a choir was brought in to add excitement. Baron Davis stood in the car and passed the ball through the sunroof. Amid the choir’s encouragement, Blake Griffin leaped across the front part of the car, caught the pass from Baron Davis, and dunked with both hands, completely avoiding the car—making for a highly entertaining sequence. Javier Mackey changed shoes again in the second round but held the ball in one hand in mid-air, spun 360 degrees, and dunked. However, he wasn’t satisfied with this and chose to throw the ball at the backboard from beyond the three-point line, then took a running start, flew outward, caught the ball with one hand, and dunked—another extremely difficult move. In the end, Blake Griffin won the 2010–2011 NBA All-Star Dunk Contest with 68% of the fans’ support, thanks to his dunk over the car. After the dunk contest, there was only one event left on the second day of All-Star Weekend: the mixed shooting contest.

The mixed shooting contest requires each team to send one active NBA player, one active WNBA player, and one retired team veteran to form a mixed team. The teams are required to shoot at six different points within two minutes, with the team that completes all shots in the shortest time winning the championship.

The Atlanta team was the first to compete. During their mid-court shots, Al Horford made a three-point shot, taking 47.6 seconds. The Chicago team came next; they wasted too many opportunities during their mid-court shots and took 1 minute and 6 seconds to complete the task. The home team, the Los Angeles team, was the third to go. Their retired veteran, Rick Fox, made a mid-court three-point shot, and they finished in 55.8 seconds. The defending champions, the Texas Legends, were the last to compete. Kenny Smith, a veteran of the Rockets, made a mid-court three-point shot, and the Texas Legends completed it in just 38.1 seconds, taking the lead temporarily. They advanced to the finals alongside the Atlanta team.

In the final round, the Atlanta team was the first to compete. Again, it was Al Horford who made a mid-court three-point shot, but this time it wasn’t as smooth. They took 1 minute and 10 seconds in total. The Texas Legends then took to the court. They shot fairly well at first but encountered difficulties during their mid-court shots. By 1 minute and 10 seconds, they still hadn’t made any shots, while the Atlanta team started cheering from the sidelines.

With this, all the games on the second day of All-Star Weekend were concluded. Zhou Yi won the skills challenge, and the next day, he would face the main All-Star games.

Chapter 336: The Main All-Star Games

The biggest highlight of All-Star Weekend is still the All-Star game on the last day. The series of games before it can be seen as an appetizer before the main event.

For the 2010–2011 season, John Kuester, the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, who currently leads the league in record, was chosen as the head coach for the Eastern All-Stars. The head coach for the Western All-Stars was Phil Jackson, aka “The Zen Master,” head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The selection of the Eastern and Western coaches is based on team records. Two weeks before the All-Star game, the head coach of the team with the best record in the East or West becomes the All-Star coach, with the rule that they cannot serve consecutive terms—i.e., the same coach cannot be the All-Star coach for two years in a row.

On the evening of February 20th, local time in the United States, the NBA All-Star Game was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. TNT televised the game nationwide, featuring an unprecedentedly strong commentary team. In addition to Doug Collins, Marv Albert, and Steve Kerr providing on-site commentary, four TNT hosts—Ernie Johnson, Magic Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley—also offered their insights during the game.

With the start of the All-Star game, the Staples Center witnessed its busiest day ever. Aside from a sea of enthusiastic fans, various league stars and celebrities from the entertainment world also attended.

As the All-Star game neared, many of the participating players gave interviews. When asked to predict the MVP, most favored Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

The Western Conference All-Star starters were Yao Ming (Houston Rockets—of course, Yao Ming wasn’t to be missed), Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma Thunder), Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), and Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets). The reserves were Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers), Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns), Paul Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers), Manu Ginóbili (San Antonio Spurs), Nene (Denver Nuggets), Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs), and Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves).

The Eastern Conference All-Star starters were Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), Amaré Stoudemire (New York Knicks), LeBron James (Miami Heat), Tracy McGrady (Detroit Pistons), and Zhou Yi (Detroit Pistons). The reserves were Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics), Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics), Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls), Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat), Chris Bosh (Miami Heat), Ray Allen (Boston Celtics), and Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics).

After a series of exciting preliminaries, this year’s All-Star Game officially began.

Yao Ming faced off against “The Beast” Dwight Howard, with the competition starting right from the jump ball. In the end, Yao lost the ball to Dwight Howard during the scramble, who easily passed it to Zhou Yi.

The All-Star Game is all about entertainment. Many top stars use this stage to showcase their skills to fans around the world. In this performance-oriented game, defense is virtually non-existent. Zhou Yi easily drove the ball across half-court, with the nearest Eastern Conference player being at least two meters away. With a bounce pass, the ball quickly reached Amare Stoudemire, who turned and hit a jump shot. Kobe Bryant’s three-point attempt missed, and after Dwight Howard grabbed the rebound, he quickly passed it to Zhou Yi. At that time, McGrady was still on his own half-court. Zhou Yi made a long pass, and the ball accurately landed in his hands. He used a convincing fake move to deceive Cameron Anthony before hitting a mid-range shot.