Chapter 134: Steals the Headlines Again, Tyson Comments on Chen Yan!
As other NBA games wrapped up that night, one rookie in particular was making waves.
Kevin Durant, the Celtics' rising star, had gone berserk against the Philadelphia 76ers. He poured in 31 points and drilled a buzzer-beater to seal the win.
"Super Rookie Countdown Hero! Digital Man Durant!"—he already had the headline written in his head.
Durant walked back to his apartment with a big grin, opened his laptop, and… his smile vanished.
Every major sports website was plastered with news about Chen Yan.
Durant sat in the dark, muttering in frustration. Damn it… Chen stole the headlines again?!
--
In the league office, Adam Silver rushed into David Stern's office, breathless, clutching the game report.
"President, Chen broke a record again!"
Stern's face lit up with a warm smile. Chen Yan's continuous brilliance was a dream for the NBA—an icon that made global promotion easy.
"What record?" Stern asked, amused.
Silver coughed. "…The knockout record."
Stern nearly choked on his water.
"What? Say that again?"
He snatched the report, scanned it, and froze. Three clean KOs.
"This… is bad."
He demanded the full video. Before watching, Stern was already calculating—how can I minimize Chen's punishment while protecting the league's image?
But after the footage played, Stern was dumbfounded. Each punch was crisp, direct, undeniable. Even God himself couldn't explain it away.
Now Stern had a pounding headache.
Severe punishment? Impossible—the Chinese market was the NBA's biggest international goldmine, and Chen was the key. Stern was too shrewd to throw away billions for one fight.
No punishment at all? Also impossible. The NBA was no longer in the wild 1990s. They had spent years promoting a polished, global image, rejecting on-court violence.
Chen Yan's case sat squarely between money and morals. Stern sighed. Tonight, he wouldn't be sleeping.
---
Back at his place, Chen Yan got a late-night call from Taylor Swift.
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
While the world was buzzing about suspensions and fines, her only concern was him.
Chen Yan chuckled. "You should be asking whether their faces are okay."
"Will the league suspend you?" Taylor pressed.
"It doesn't matter. Think of it as a vacation," he replied casually.
Chen knew suspension was inevitable. His fists had shone too brightly—now it was just a question of how many games. But he laughed it off, chatting and joking with Taylor as if nothing had happened.
In truth, he was helpless. What else could he do? The punches had already landed. All he could do now was face the music with optimism.
After the call ended, his system chimed:
Fan Chemistry +3
Team Chemistry +2
Clearly, his teammates and fans approved of the "three-hit combo."
---
The next morning, Chen woke to find the incident still dominating headlines.
The KO video spread like wildfire, subtitled and narrated in 18 different languages. Fans worldwide were leaving comments:
"Chen isn't just a basketball player—he's a fighter!"
"Who wins in a brawl, Chen or Artest?"
"He inspected the Spurs' defense with his fists."
"I envy the fans in San Antonio. They paid for basketball tickets and got a boxing match for free."
"Thanks, Chen Yan. After studying your punches, my fighting skills improved!"
TNT even stirred the pot further by interviewing boxing legend Mike Tyson, asking him to evaluate Chen's punches.
The media loved chaos, and this was pure gold.
After watching the footage, Tyson nodded.
"He fights well. Out of all the NBA conflicts I've seen, his punching is the cleanest and most technical. Quick, accurate, decisive. The kid's got something."
Then TNT showed Tyson an old clip of Barkley and O'Neal brawling. The reporter smirked, clearly trying to provoke.
Tyson laughed. "This is hilarious. My advice? If you can't fight, don't. O'Neal looks clumsy, like he's still in kindergarten when it comes to throwing hands. And Barkley—well, if I ever met him, I'd beat him to death."
When TNT aired the segment on Inside the NBA, the camera zoomed in on Barkley's reaction.
He bared his teeth at the lens.
"Mike Tyson, listen to me! I'll only say this once. You're right. You'd beat me to death."
He delivered the most cowardly line in the most confident tone, and the studio erupted. Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller laughed so hard they nearly fell out of their chairs.
Kenny wiped his eyes. "Okay, okay, back to tonight's topic. What do you guys think of Chen knocking out three Spurs players?"
Barkley slammed the table. "I don't see a problem! And it's not just because I like the kid. He saw his captain get taken out, so he stood up. That's toughness. That's heart."
Reggie shook his head. "No, no. Under no circumstances should you throw a punch in the NBA. It sets a terrible example. It hurts the league's image. It—"
Barkley cut him off mid-sentence.
"Wait, wait, wait. You call that a fight? Three clean KOs? That's not a fight—that's art. And calling it anything less is an insult to Chen!"
Kenny burst out laughing again.
The episode's ratings skyrocketed, nearly doubling thanks to the "Chen Yan brawl special."
---
Meanwhile, online, another clip went viral—Bowen's repeated dirty attempts to step under Chen Yan's landings, plus footage of him trying to trip him.
The backlash was fierce. Not only fans, but even active NBA players weighed in.
Carter, Iverson, Szczerbiak, Francis—one after another, they spoke out.
But it wasn't so much defending Chen Yan as it was condemning Bowen.
After all, so many players had been burned by his dirty tricks, they could probably form an entire football team.
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