224: 105: Then I should be called Supreme Emperor (asking for monthly votes!) 224: 105: Then I should be called Supreme Emperor (asking for monthly votes!) Michael Jordan’s eyes were bloodshot.
Yesterday, after filming ended, Jordan took an elbow from Miller during a game of basketball, which hit him right in the eye.
Miller still shrugged it off with a grin, “You told us to go big, so I don’t really need to apologize, right?
Besides, your eyes are protected by titanium, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.”
It was truly an accident from Reggie Miller, and he thought such bumps and bruises were normal.
These pickup games had no referees, any fouls had to be called by the players themselves, but Jordan didn’t call the foul.
Because in the eyes of these stars, calling a foul was rather embarrassing.
The attitude was like, just play the game.
If you can make the shot, good; if not, just deal with it.
What’s the point of calling a foul?
The stars of the ’90s had that kind of pride.
Why did AI prefer football over basketball back then?
Because he thought basketball was too soft.
Yes, he thought basketball in the ’90s was too soft.
That just shows you what their attitude toward physical play was like.
This morning, upon waking, Jordan found his eyes filled with blood.
Grover suggested he get it checked out, but Jordan waved him off, “It happens all the time.
I can’t just stop everything and go to the hospital over something .
Tim, have someone buy the latest issue of ‘Sports Illustrated,’ and get the swimsuit issue too!”
Though Jordan was tough, it was normal to take care of an eye injury, right?
What’s wrong with a man taking good care of his eyes?
In the afternoon, after today’s filming wrap, Jordan approached Grover to start training.
He also asked about the latest ‘Sports Illustrated,’ “Did you get it?
If you did, hand it over quickly.”
Grover squirmed and handed over a swimsuit issue.
Jordan immediately felt a pain in his eyes because the cover of that swimsuit issue featured Australian male swimmer Ian Thorpe.
don’t you get what makes your magazine appealing?
Who the hell wants to see male athletes in swimsuits!
Jordan sighed in disappointment, then looked up at Grover, “What about the main magazine?”
Grover scratched his head, “I think you won’t want to see the main magazine, Michael.”
I get it, Roger is on the cover, right?
“Forget it, Michael, your eyes haven’t healed yet.”
“Give it to me!” Jordan demanded loudly.
Grover, unable to argue with Jordan, simply waved his hand and had someone hand over the main issue of ‘Sports Illustrated’ to Jordan.
The cover of this ‘Sports Illustrated’ featured Roger blowing smoke rings, holding the FMVP and stepping on the O’Brien Trophy.
The title was striking: “The Old King is past, the Young King is present.”
Jordan clenched his teeth, flipped open the magazine, and found Roger’s interview.
Then, he read those incredibly flattering words spoken by Roger.
“Warner wouldn’t cast me because ‘Space Jam’ only casts losers.”
“I want to surpass Michael.”
“That was an incredibly stupid requirement.”
After reading, Jordan angrily closed the magazine.
His eyes, really hurt!
Though Roger had beaten Dream, the value of Jordan’s comeback was still decreasing!
Meanwhile, Roger was also on the training court.
Of course, having just won the championship, Roger wasn’t about to resume training so quickly.
He was ambitious, but not to the point where he couldn’t stand a day without training.
In fact, Roger wasn’t training himself, he was acting as a training partner for Kobe.
The NBA Draft was around the corner, and Jerry Starkhouse had declared he would challenge Kobe to a one-on-one right after the draft: “I heard Roger is teaching Kobe to play, but it doesn’t matter.
I’m going to break that shield and then take down the real Roger!”
To ensure all bases were covered, Roger had Kobe come to Orlando to train with him for a while.
He also brought his old friend, the former LSU forward Andrae Patterson, to be Kobe’s one-on-one sparring partner.
Roger led Kobe’s basic training, while one-on-one was left to Andrae, with one goal—to let Kobe adapt to a higher level of competition.
Don’t ask why Roger didn’t play one-on-one with Kobe himself.
According to the agreement, Kobe had to beat Starkhouse first to be qualified.
Roger couldn’t break that rule, otherwise, Kobe’s desire to win wouldn’t be as strong.
On the first day, Andrae defended Kobe like a headless fly.
On the second day, Kobe was scoring over Andrae.
By the third day, Andrae was surprised to find that sometimes he was actually losing to Kobe, a high school player!
Kobe was adapting to higher-level competition much faster than Andrae had anticipated!
At dinner that night, Andrae kept shaking his head and sighing, “Damn, it’s because of you freaks that us ordinary players have such a hard time surviving!”
Roger just smiled, “Be thankful for us.
If it weren’t for us, the NBA would still be in the era of earning mere thousands.
By the way, Andrae, when do you plan to enter the draft?”
“Not considering it for now.
I’m thinking of transferring to the University of California, Riverside.
I’d get more opportunities to shine there.”
“Transferring means sitting out a year, right?”
“Yes, but that’s my only way to make it to the NBA.
I need to put up better personal stats.
I’m not like you, Roger, who got picked fourth overall without even playing college basketball.”
“Keep it up, you’ll definitely make it.”
Roger didn’t continue the topic.
Sometimes it’s best not to talk about work among friends, especially when there’s a huge gap in career achievements between them.