When Zack slamd the ball into the U.S. team’s basket in a style reminiscent of Michael Jordan, Nick Eckhart, sitting in the most prominent spot at the Wukesong Basketball Arena, was overco with a mix of emotions.
Especially when his younger son, Joey Eckhart, sitting beside him, fanatically cheered "MVP" for Zack, Nick couldn’t help but recall the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Nick was a devoted fan of the Dream Team. This was his fifth Olympic Gas following the Dream Team. In 1992, during that groundbreaking performance by Jordan, Bird, and Magic, Nick, who was courtside, still vividly rembered the incredible roar of the crowd from various countries cheering for the Dream Team.
In 1996, even though that Dream Team, which boasted Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, and David Robinson in the paint, couldn’t quite replicate the glory of Barcelona, Nick, as a supporter of the Dream Team, was undoubtedly happy and content. It was also from that Olympics that Nick started to learn a bit about basketball. In Atlanta, a "Flying Man" nad Hu Weidong had comntators exclaiming, "Hu should co to the NBA Dunk Contest!"
By 2000, Nick conceded that the Dream Team’s dominance in international basketball was indeed showing signs of decline. However, Vince Carter’s "Dunk of the Century" still beca the iconic image of the Dream Team’s control in Sydney that year.
Then ca the disastrous defeat in Athens in 2004, which felt like a nightmare... Even now, Nick still couldn’t understand why the Dream Team, with Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, and the 2003 "Golden Generation," was utterly outplayed by Puerto Rico’s Carlos Arroyo.
And now, here we are, at the Beijing Olympics n’s Basketball final, with the "Redemption Team" facing off against the new GOAT. Nick realized that the Redemption Team, supposedly featuring their strongest players, had no answer for the new GOAT. What’s more, Nick knew better than anyone that more and more young Aricans, like Joey, were now cheering for this new GOAT.
Nick couldn’t deny the new GOAT’s charisma, the legends he’d created in the NBA, and how his early "prodigal son returns" story had inspired a whole generation of Arican youth. But as this new GOAT relentlessly dominated the U.S. team’s defense, Nick, as a loyal Dream Team fan, couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness for Arican basketball.
When the GOAT is on the other side – this is why Charles Barkley thought the Redemption Team was overly arrogant and conceited before the Olympics. If a GOAT could be limited, why would he be called a GOAT? If he couldn’t be limited, why would you think the Redemption Team’s strongest players could defeat a team that had the GOAT?
At the Wukesong Basketball Arena, Kobe, back on the court, tried to get the Dream Team back on track by focusing on defense first. He worked tirelessly on the periter, constantly urging his U.S. teammates to rotate on defense more quickly.
It was evident that, compared to the U.S. team that had suffered three consecutive devastating defeats in major tournants, this Redemption Team, with a leader like Kobe, had a completely different spirit. This allowed them to gradually find their rhythm on both offense and defense.
Carlo Anthony, under Zack’s tight defense, hit his first three-pointer of the ga. Dwyane Wade, subbing in for Jason Kidd, drove hard to the basket on a fast break, scoring over Yi Jianlian. Kobe led by example, hitting a crucial and difficult jumper from the right 45-degree angle off a Jas drive, thanks to the touch he’d found since the knockout rounds.
On defense, with the U.S. stars playing with desperate intensity, ’s periter shooters inevitably started to falter. Zhu Fangyu’s corner three off a pass from Zack went wide. Sun Yue’s three from the top of the arc off a Zack drive-and-kick clanked off the rim. As the Redemption Team, fighting with their backs against the wall, successfully narrowed the score, the Wukesong Basketball Arena entered the most suffocating phase of this Olympic n’s Basketball final.
Yao Ming beca the only reliable battering ram for when Zack was frequently double-tead. "Save your energy, this quarter is on !" Yao Ming, who trusted Zack implicitly, said after scoring another two points for .
Zack nodded. But in those possessions where the U.S. team’s double-teaming wasn’t decisive enough, the new GOAT still punished their defense with his exquisite skill.
On the last possession of the first half, Zack dribbled, starting with a scissor step, then a quick pull-back after a "Sam God" crossover, followed by a sudden stop, faking out LeBron Jas, and pulling up for a three. Swish!
At halfti, the score was 49-54. Zack had 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal in the first half. Yao Ming had 17 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks.
During halfti, compared to the dazed early parts of the first and second quarters, Mike Breen still highly praised the Redemption Team for finding themselves again. "Led by Kobe, at least we still have a chance to battle with a deity in the second half!"
Battle with a deity. Just looking at the box score, it’s hard to truly grasp the pressure Zack put on the entire U.S. team in the first half under FIBA rules.
Back in the locker room, a grim-faced Kobe demanded that every mber of the Redemption Team maintain the defensive intensity they showed in the latter half of the second quarter. "This is our only chance to win! Not all of their players can handle this kind of defense!"
Younger players like Wade and Chris Paul eagerly chid in, "Kobe’s right, no matter how strong the ssiah is, his individual ability has limits. Only by working together can we achieve redemption in this ga."
Kobe, acting as the team’s unifier, showed through his actions what a leader should do when a team is in a difficult situation.
In contrast, in the team’s locker room, everyone, including head coach Jonas Kazlauskas, collectively looked at Zack, whose expression remained calm. At that mont, no one knew what Zack was thinking. But the calr Zack appeared, the more secure the players felt.
After halfti, according to FIBA rules, it was ’s ball. The U.S. team maintained its full-court press, with LeBron Jas leading the defense on Zack.
Knowing that he would likely be double-tead early by the U.S. team if he dribbled across half-court, Zack patiently observed the U.S. team’s on-court positioning as he brought the ball up. Zack was well aware that with the U.S. stars now putting aside their egos and fully committing to defense under Kobe’s rallying call, even if he could pass the ball to a teammate, it would be difficult for anyone other than Yao Ming to maintain their shooting percentage.
So, the mont he dribbled past half-court, seeing Wade charging at him, Zack created space with a cross-over, then suddenly lowered his dribble and exploded forward. Zack cleverly used his prior dribbling path to position Jas and Wade directly in a line. This ant the U.S. team’s double-team couldn’t co from both sides.
Then, Zack dribbled straight ahead, and the mont he encountered Carlo Anthony’s help defense, he executed an unexpected tornado spin, cutting directly into the U.S. team’s paint. Dwight Howard stared, dumbfounded, at Zack, who had appeared before him in an instant. Though Howard instinctively jumped with all his might, Zack, who had already opened his body in mid-air during the spin, was like a mighty axe cleaving the heavens, shattering the restricted area guarded by Howard the very next second.
Slam!
The Wukesong Basketball Arena erupted as Zack’s terrifying 1-on-4 dunk ignited the crowd! Jas, lo, Wade, and Howard all beca re backdrops in that play! This was a dunk where Zack showed the world, through his actions, the kind of dominance a GOAT should possess!
The entire arena was so loud that no other sound could be heard. And Zack? After landing from the dunk, Zack turned, just like Jordan in old stories, and slowly spread his hands towards the U.S. team’s bench.
"Our strongest players are being toyed with," ESPN’s Mike Breen described Zack’s 1-on-4 dunk.
Back on the other end, it was the U.S. team’s ball. Shoulder shake, sidestep, step-back, fadeaway. Kobe, with his signature offensive moves, salvaged so pride for the Redemption Team.
But the new GOAT, now in "God-mode," broke free from Jas’s periter defense with a sudden crossover, opening up a wide path to the U.S. half-court. On the court, Jas, whose balance was thrown off by Zack, could only follow awkwardly behind him.
However... Zack, always maintaining a favorable position, once again cleverly broke the U.S. team’s pre-emptive double-team. Since Jas was firmly trapped behind Zack, when Wade charged at Zack, facing a double-team that still couldn’t co from both sides, Zack quickly pulled the ball back and dribbled past Wade, causing Jas and Wade to unfortunately collide. Then, Zack stopped dribbling at the three-point line, raised his hand, and hit a three-pointer!
"Your teamwork isn’t great, is it?" Zack quipped, looking back at Wade and Jas who had just crashed into each other.
Hearing that, Jas and Wade remained silent. Though they were reluctant to admit it, their silence spoke to one fact: under Zack’s authoritative dominance, the entire basketball world was terrified of this new GOAT. If no one dared to provoke Jordan back then, now, no one dared to provoke Zack.
"Alright, I’ll give you another chance to show so teamwork. Next possession, I’ll shoot from the sa spot."
And even more frustrating than Jordan, Zack’s aggression was far beyond Jordan’s. Not only could you not provoke him, but you also had to endure his ntal tornt and destruction. At that mont, both Jas and Wade were fuming. They didn’t believe that, even with their combined efforts, Zack could really shoot from the sa spot on the next possession.
It was the U.S. team’s turn to offense. Wade used an off-ball cut to score with a floater before Yao Ming’s help defense arrived. LeBron Jas intently pressured Zack, who was preparing to receive the ball. Then, Sun Yue suddenly dropped back to receive the pass and dribbled the ball across half-court unimpeded. This was a mind ga. Once the U.S. team got used to Zack bringing the ball up, who’s to say Sun Yue couldn’t occasionally act as the ball-handler?
Then, as soon as Sun Yue dribbled past half-court, Zack sprinted to his previously designated spot. To avoid a turnover, Sun Yue’s lob pass gave Wade and Jas an opportunity to double-team Zack. But Zack, true to his word, caught the ball and, using his height and wingspan, released the shot before Jas and Wade could fully close in.
Swish!
The ball perfectly swished through the net. Zack’s three-pointer not only pierced the net but also shattered the ntal defenses of Jas and Wade.
"Looks like your teamwork really isn’t good. Good thing you aren’t teammates in the NBA."
On the court, after casually leaving that remark, Zack finally retreated to his own half, satisfied. anwhile, Jas, who desperately wanted so alone ti, almost turned the ball over due to distraction after dribbling it across half-court for the U.S. team. Kobe snatched the ball before Zhu Fangyu could intercept it, then imdiately turned and shot. Clang! The ball bounced off the rim. Yao Ming secured the rebound and imdiately passed it to Zack.
To prevent Zack from initiating a fast break directly, the U.S. players on the court showed their determination with a quick retreat. However, Jas, whose mind was already in disarray, was again shaken off by Zack’s nimble footwork as he aggressively pressed him. Seeing this, Kobe and Wade quickly moved in the direction Zack was dribbling, attempting to close the gap and stop his progress.
But to Wade and Kobe’s surprise, Zack suddenly stopped short, and from two ters beyond the three-point line, he gathered the ball and pulled up for a shot! It’s well known that the FIBA three-point line at this ti was only 6.25 ters. So, even adding two ters, it was still only the distance of an NBA super-long three-pointer. Admittedly, in the NBA, Zack would only shoot such threes when he felt like gambling. But with his shooting touch getting hotter and hotter tonight, Zack unhesitatingly launched this intercontinental missile!
Swish!
At the Wukesong Basketball Arena, as Zack’s three-pointer stripped everyone of their composure, the crowd imdiately erupted into a frenzy! Mike Breen, at the comntary table, held his head in his hands and exclaid, "That’s a shot only a madman would take! He’s destroying our understanding of the ga of basketball with his madness!"
At the scorer’s table, U.S. head coach Mike Krzyzewski, with a look of fear, called a tiout, hoping this break would interrupt the hot hand of the deity who had suddenly gone berserk on the court. The shorter FIBA three-point line undoubtedly amplified Zack’s ability to shoot without restrictions on the court, given his physique and ball-handling skills. Krzyzewski feared Zack finding his rhythm because, compared to the long two-pointers Zack made in the NBA, the threes he was raining down in FIBA could potentially kill the ga for in a short amount of ti. If Zack’s dominance in the NBA was a 100, then in FIBA, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was doubled.
After the tiout, it was the U.S. team’s offensive possession. Kobe demanded the ball on the periter. Fortunately, Sun Yue’s tily switch prevented Kobe from getting an imdiate shot off. So, Kobe dribbled, took a soft step into the three-point line, and hit a fadeaway jumper. Kobe’s finish was beautiful.
But right back on the other end, Zack, even more unreasonably than Kobe, executed a pull-up fadeaway from the top of the arc. Jas desperately leaped towards Zack, successfully knocking him to the ground. But the ball, already in the air, bounced off the backboard and, to the despair of U.S. fans, swished through the net. And with the referee’s whistle, Zack’s sowhat lucky three-pointer plus the foul ignited the entire arena once again.
"Has God abandoned us?" Breen wailed on ESPN.
At the free-throw line, Zack made the extra shot. The score was 55-68. The U.S. team, desperate to catch up, finally created an outside shooting opportunity for Anthony through a side pick. But Anthony, who hadn’t touched the ball in a while, responded with a "clank," adding another rebound to Zack’s stat sheet.
Imdiately after, as he dribbled up the court, Zack also used a screen from Yao Ming to once again box out Jas behind him. The Redemption Team’s lack of chemistry was glaringly obvious at this mont. Howard, focused solely on retreating on defense, left an already exhausted Jas isolated and without support in an instant.
Zack seized the opportunity, quickly driving the ball to half-court, and using his excellent periter play from the previous few possessions, successfully drew multiple U.S. defenders for help. Sun Yue, completely wide open under the basket, received a brilliant pass from Zack. To avoid the embarrassnt of missing an uncontested layup, Sun Yue jumped in place and slamd the ball in with both hands.
The score was 55-70. And in the arena, as extended its lead to fifteen points, the exhilarating and loud cheers began to echo throughout the building.
Zack’s scoring show continued. On the court, just as Jas scored a tough bank shot for the U.S. team, Zack, who was constantly wary of the U.S. double-team, was like a swift leopard, forcing his way through the seam of Wade’s and Jas’s trap.
Courtside, Nick Eckhart’s pupils suddenly dilated. As the two "heaven’s chosen" from the 2003 "Golden Generation" were repeatedly torn apart by Zack on the court, Zack, growing stronger with each play, simultaneously tore apart the souls of these Dream Team supporters.
Swish!
Zack in the third quarter was definitely the Zack that all U.S. team fans dreaded seeing the most. The new GOAT had proven he was in peak form with his scoring exhibition. And his hot streak seed to have no end.
In the final monts of the third quarter, Zack, intentionally drawing the U.S. double-team near the sideline, first passed the ball to Sun Yue, who ca to him for a give-and-go. Then, using Sun Yue’s pass for a wall-pass combination, Zack drove straight to the basket and delivered a lob pass to Yao Ming that the latter would never forget. "You’ve seen Saint Seiya, right? There’s a move called ’Athena Exclamation’ that requires three Gold Saints to activate. When I received that pass from Zack in the ga, I thought, it was as if mine, his, and Sun Yue’s cosmos all converged at one point," Yao Ming recalled this alley-oop dunk years later.
Slam!
At the Wukesong Basketball Arena, Yao Ming’s alley-oop dunk set the score between and the U.S. at 68-84 after three quarters. Zack, who exploded for 24 points in that single quarter for , single-handedly widened the score.
Regarding Zack’s creative ways of breaking the double-team in the second half, Mike Breen sighed, "Through his pre-observation and his unique basketball IQ, he made this uncoordinated Redemption Team pay a heavy price throughout the entire third quarter."
Even in his rookie season, Zack’s observation skills and basketball IQ were fully recognized by the veteran coach Jerry Sloan. Although these two attributes are more subtle compared to the more intuitive and visually apparent physical talents, their importance becos more pronounced in higher-level competitions.
The lack of chemistry in this Redemption Team ant that they would inevitably struggle to execute high-level defensive tactics in FIBA. Zack, coming from the future, knew very well that the U.S. team’s defense primarily relied on individual star power and full-court pressure to force turnovers and generate fast-break opportunities. But once the U.S. team couldn’t pressure their opponents’ offense in this manner during a ga, they would also be dragged into tough battles by many opponents whose overall strength was far inferior to theirs.
Again, FIBA and NBA are two different dinsions of basketball. If the U.S. team wished to win in FIBA by simply stacking up stars, they would have to ensure that their stars’ caliber completely overwheld the opposition. However, in this ga that would decide the Olympic gold dal, Zack was clearly the most valuable superstar. In fact, he was undeniably the greatest player in FIBA history.
In the fourth quarter, Kobe, still trying to rally his team, repeatedly attempted to speed up the ga’s pace to get more offensive possessions. But in FIBA, where each quarter is only ten minutes, if the Redemption Team couldn’t consistently hit threes like Zack, it would be an impossible dream to overco a 16-point deficit. Moreover, Zack’s passing and ball-handling skills wouldn’t give the U.S. team any easy fast-break opportunities to quickly close the gap.
On the court, Zack controlled the ga’s tempo for like an elegant point guard. And the Wukesong Basketball Arena... this once boisterous arena gradually had only one sound remaining. Especially as the ga neared its end, those fans who were initially worried about ’s usual fourth-quarter collapse gradually felt a sense of security under Zack’s historic ball-handling and control.
"Ti is running out for the U.S. team!" Zhang Weiping powerfully narrated on CCTV.
"Only 19 seconds left until the n’s basketball team makes history by becoming Olympic champions!" Sun Zhengping, beside him, said with a trembling voice in his broadcasting tone, watching the team intentionally run down the clock on the last possession.
Beep—!
Beijing.
When the final buzzer signaling the end of the ga sounded, Zack, dropping the basketball, was almost instantly mobbed by the team players who could no longer contain their emotions.
Unlike the "world champion" with quotation marks next to it, Zack was now a true world champion! This new GOAT of the basketball world, after personally crushing the Arican basketball’s dream of redemption, officially ushered in an era that could only be defined by him with a legendary performance!
Mike Breen, with great grace, summarized after the ga: "Arican basketball’s dream of redemption ended in a heartbreaking way, but basketball, led by the ssiah, stands at the pinnacle of the world. As fans of the U.S. team, we are unfortunate, but as basketball lovers, we are undoubtedly fortunate. I think this is a ga that will be talked about repeatedly even a hundred years from now. The ssiah perfectly exemplified the greatest individual heroism in the sport of basketball in these Olympics. He made the team, with him, more worthy of the na ’Dream Team.’"
...
①: This comnt cos from the original English comntary of the Atlanta Olympics.
②: As ntioned before, the NBA champion is also sotis called the "world champion" in the U.S.
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