Ron Artest, full of himself after the championship.
Baron Davis, arrogant and self-satisfied.
And then there were the "DNA players," united by their championship win.
On the very first day of practice, even the re-arranged lockers in the changing room were a clear sign to Zack: this team had completely changed because of that unexpected championship.
Zack couldn't say if these changes were good or bad. They could be positive, or they could be negative. Right now, including himself, there were as many as seven "DNA players" on the Warriors. These increasingly united DNA players could definitely help the Warriors win games, but on the flip side, you could also see it as: the Warriors, valuing their "bloodline" more and more, would gradually become a highly exclusive team.
Usually, the order of lockers in an NBA locker room also represents the team's composition and a player's status within the squad. During the preseason training camp, Zack noticed that whether intentionally or not, almost all the players with "Warriors blood" were around his locker, which symbolized the team's top dog.
Were Davis, who was always proud, and Artest, who constantly talked about toughness and grit, afraid to snatch the spots closer to Zack's locker? Yes, they absolutely were. Because the Warriors' "DNA faction," led by Richardson, Dunleavy, Murphy, and Jack, were not only championship veterans just like them, but their shared "bloodline" with Zack meant that when they took it upon themselves to change the locker room order, even Davis and Artest had to consider whether this was an arrangement from Zack himself.
Of course, Davis and Artest could directly ask Zack, but the key wasn't Zack's answer. It was that Artest and Davis couldn't risk upsetting half the team just to get their old locker spots back. Zack – the number one pick personally chosen by the Golden State Warriors, the most legendary rookie in NBA history, who had become an NBA icon right after his rookie season – had already established supreme authority within the Warriors.
No one dared to anger the dragon within the Warriors. So, when those Warriors players with the same "bloodline" actively chose to align themselves with him, how could Artest and Davis dare to say no? This is the terrifying aspect of the DNA culture. The glory Zack brought to the Warriors would benefit all the Warriors' DNA players, making them naturally superior within the team. Over time, they would form a highly exclusive group due to shared interests, refusing new players to join and share the pie with them.
What's more, Zack couldn't even solve this problem. Because he was the biggest beneficiary of the Warriors' DNA culture.
However, in the short term, Zack didn't need to focus on solving this issue. After all, the "Class of '92" of Manchester United and the "Splash Brothers" (Curry, Klay, Draymond) from his memories both proved through their success that this current Warriors team, with most of its DNA players in their prime, would be tightly united around him due to their shared "bloodline." They would always maintain a strong desire to win and fight for one championship after another with him.
The excellent form shown by Richardson, Dunleavy, and Murphy in the preseason training camp already fully confirmed this.
Currently, the Warriors were in the golden age of enjoying the benefits of their DNA culture. Zack knew very well that the problem the team needed to solve right now was Artest.
Zack didn't take Artest's side on this. After praising Barnes' tactical discipline, he then dragged a completely dejected Artest into the locker room. This was definitely Ron Artest's toughest day ever. Since being traded to the Warriors, he had sacrificed a lot for the team's victories almost every night. It was true that his overall shooting percentage last season was only 39.9%. But didn't the free throws he earned through his fierce play alleviate Zack's scoring pressure on the court? And in the Finals, if it weren't for him stepping up, how could Wade have collapsed from exhaustion every time in critical moments?
So, Artest couldn't understand why he, who had only violated tactical arrangements a few times in practice, would be openly criticized by a new player. And afterward, even the team leader he had always respected publicly praised that new player. Artest felt like he couldn't survive on this Warriors team anymore. This had nothing to do with changes in the team's tactical system. It was just that Artest felt his honor on the Warriors had been stripped away; his reputation meant nothing on this championship-winning team. If Zack's previous way of comforting Barnes was fair and convincing, then Artest's feelings at that moment were those of grievance and deep sadness.
"Alright, are you going to use me up and throw me away, or are you going to put the good bow away after the birds are gone?" In the locker room, Artest, looking up at Zack and knowing he definitely couldn't beat him, hunched up and said, looking utterly wronged.
Seeing this, Zack didn't immediately get to the point. Instead, he started a heart-to-heart with Artest, reminiscing about old times.
"You remember when we played the Rockets and I covered 'Big Yao' for you so many times? You have no idea how strong that guy is!"
"Don't even get me started on that game against the Lakers later. Every time you talked trash to Kobe, he'd talk trash back to me. That guy was so annoying, only picking on me!"
"Hey, you're right, Baron can't be relied on. In crunch time, you still have to count on me to share the pressure."
As the good memories of last season were recounted by Zack, slowly being recalled in Artest's mind, and seeing that Artest's anger had completely subsided, Zack then got to the main topic. You see, Zack didn't study psychology at Wake Forest for nothing.
So, under Zack's analysis, Artest quickly realized that Mike Malone's suggestion for him to reduce inefficient individual isolations wasn't about completely stripping him of his tactical role. Because in a 48-minute NBA game, how could Zack handle so many possessions?
"You mean, the coach just wants me to play more as a team in certain important games? But normally, the team actually needs me to provide more offensive firepower?"
Upon hearing this, Zack nodded and continued to explain to Artest, "Even in some important games, your isolation offense is exceptionally crucial."
Zack knew very well that the new tactical system Mike Malone wanted to build, if not exactly the same as the future Nuggets team, at least it would be very similar. In the starting lineup, Kwame Brown would play half the role of an Aaron Gordon. Why half? Because Brown had better defensive talent, and he couldn't shoot threes. Richardson would play the other half of Gordon, and half of Michael Porter Jr. Since he found his rhythm last season, Richardson, who could cut to the basket without the ball and find openings from the perimeter, was definitely one of the top athletic shooters in the NBA of this era.
And Artest and Davis? They would team up to play Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Since both Artest and Davis's offense weren't stable enough, only by combining their offenses and having Zack's efficient playmaking create better offensive space for them could they become more effective.
As for Zack? That, of course, was Nikola Jokic, who handled everything on the court, plus the other half of Michael Porter Jr.
In addition, the Warriors' bench mob would definitely be heavily utilized by Malone in the new season. Besides Dunleavy Jr. and Murphy, who had already proven themselves on the championship path, Barnes' addition and the growth of Biedrins and Jack had quietly given them the depth to run a ten-man rotation in the new season. This meant the Warriors would be more dominant in the regular season than last year.
So... under Zack's description, Artest immediately slapped himself twice because he almost lost the chance to complete a repeat championship with this Warriors team due to a moment of impulse!
"I'll apologize to Matt this afternoon."
"No, no need to apologize, Ron. This was just a disagreement between the two of you. Since I've stepped in, it's a closed chapter. If anyone's not happy, they can come find me."
The emotions of new teammates and the atmosphere of fair competition within the team needed to be considered, but the dignity of the veterans also had to be given. Zack, who had always been a man of his word in the Warriors, temporarily used his prestige and eloquence to resolve this conflict caused by a change of coach and team tactics.
That's right, just temporarily. After all, in the NBA, only victories and the ultimate championship are the only cure-alls.
On the 30th, Zack left the Warriors' preseason training camp because that day was his big day: his number 10 jersey, symbolizing the pinnacle of Wake Forest, was officially retired today.
Two years ago, his teammates from the Demon Deacons team who won March Madness together were all there. As special guests, Duncan and Howard, two excellent alumni, were also invited to attend. However, when Zack stepped onto the stage holding his FMVP trophy, Duncan and Howard felt a dull ache in their chests.
In the center of the stage, Coach Prosser said proudly, "Wake Forest now has two NBA Finals MVPs! This fully demonstrates what an excellent school we are." Then, Prosser turned his gaze to Zack: "Honestly, I really don't want to praise your senior anymore, because he has already proven everything with our team's first NCAA championship! He will be our eternal legend!"
On the spot, as soon as Prosser finished speaking, the crowd who came to witness erupted in thunderous cheers. Was Zack only popular in the Bay Area? Of course not. Due to Charlotte's unique geographical advantage (only about 100 kilometers from Winston-Salem), when he led the Warriors to Charlotte last season, there were a large number of Wake Forest fans cheering for him at the Bobcats' home arena. Moreover, Zack's historical status in the small town of Winston-Salem would be passed down through generations due to his outstanding achievements for the Demon Deacons.
Just as Skip Prosser said, Zack had accomplishments that even Tim Duncan couldn't match. These accomplishments completely cemented Zack's legendary status at Wake Forest. Here, he was eternal, and the only one.
Also, on the day of the jersey retirement ceremony, Zack also saw Rachel Carlyle after a long time. Unlike the chief female host of the news department who always revolved around Zack in college, Rachel knew very well that her relationship with Zack would be complicated and difficult to untangle, but at the same time, it was also destined to have no outcome. During her internship at Nike, Rachel personally witnessed what kind of position Zack occupied in Nike's empire. She even participated in multiple planning meetings about Nike's step-by-step elevation of Zack to godhood, as someone close to him.
In her time with Zack during college, Rachel knew very well that Zack was by no means heartless, but his unwavering loyalty had already been given to that damn basketball. Zack's only love in this life was basketball, and only basketball was his true love. This was absurd, but Rachel knew it was true.
So, after a year of calming down, Rachel decided to actively step back. That day, facing Zack's invitation, she pouted and smiled, "Having a boss who pays me and lets me get freebies? What's not to like?"
On the night of the jersey retirement ceremony, Rachel successfully got her "freebie" from Zack. The next day, after a night of in-depth conversation, Rachel officially joined Zack's team. Originally, Zack wanted Rachel to be in charge of his public relations, but considering that Rachel had accumulated a lot of experience in sports marketing during her internship at Nike, and coupled with Zack's pleasant cooperation with the Slavic woman sent by Schwarz over the past year, Zack ultimately decided to let Rachel handle his sports marketing affairs.
This made Evans, who had been swamped lately, completely relieved. "Great, I finally don't have to deal with those damn sponsors anymore." As Zack's personal general manager, Evans had lost a full 30 pounds in the past year. And often, the better Zack performed on the court, the heavier Evans' daily workload became. Now, successfully offloading the sports marketing burden to Rachel, Evans immediately felt like he had returned from hell.
"You have to take me to relax properly next. When I was organizing parties for you guys before, do you know how painful it was to be interrupted by calls at crucial moments?"
"But I still have to get used to playing with the team."
"Sports Illustrated just picked a few cover models for you."
"Alright, I'm not that busy after all. Even Michael Jordan said that a good balance of work and rest is key to greatness."
Damn that work-life balance! Why didn't Sports Illustrated tell him about such a "big" deal sooner?! That day, upon seeing the cover models Sports Illustrated had carefully selected for him, Zack glared angrily at Evans, who was right beside him, multiple times.
Three days later, a very satisfied Zack officially rejoined the team.
On October 5th, the Warriors held their annual media day. Facing a swarm of reporters, the young new Warriors head coach, Mike Malone, displayed a maturity completely unbefitting his age, along with his inherent "sharp tongue."
"Why are people still debating who's better, LeBron or the Messiah? Didn't that Christmas night game last year already tell you the answer? LeBron can only pad stats in garbage time, while the Messiah already had a '40+ triple-double' in the first three quarters."
"As a former assistant coach for the Cavaliers, am I too harsh on LeBron? No, I don't think so. In my opinion, until LeBron figures out how to better connect his dribbling and shooting, he still has a lot of work to do before he reaches greatness."
"Who's the Warriors' biggest opponent this new season? Definitely ourselves. We have a group of talented players and a superstar whose dominance can last at least ten years. As for me? The great Coach Mike Montgomery said the Warriors just need to tie a dog on the sidelines to win a championship."
After saying that, Malone, who was accepting interviews with his beloved dog, generously showed off his purebred Rottweiler to the reporters. This was Mike Malone. If Zack had to describe him in one sentence, he would probably only think of "Ten Hag, but winning." In short, other teams better not give him an opening. Otherwise, Mike Malone would definitely use his big mouth to rub it in their faces repeatedly.
Also, on media day, Zack's former angel investor, Ira Berkow of The New York Times, also got a chance to conduct an exclusive interview with Zack.
"The Warriors changed their head coach this summer. What role will you play under Coach Mike Malone's tactical system?"
"I-Can-Do-All-Things."
"I-Can-Do-All-Things." This was Zack's "nephew" Curry's future famous quote, but in this life, this quote was destined to belong only to Zack. Because in the upcoming "Overlord Series," this sentence would be engraved on the side of every pair of Zack's new shoes.
"Many teams strengthened their rosters this offseason, and many people are calling the Western Conference 'wild' this new season. Do you think this will hinder your ability to lead the Warriors to a repeat championship?"
"I know winning the championship made us a target for all teams, but I'm looking forward to facing these strong opponents."
At media day, Zack chose ambiguous answers for any questions that could potentially boomerang back at him. After all, O'Neal's previous experience was a clear warning. This summer, the former league's top center was dragged through the mud by the Los Angeles media for three full months. No one knew how O'Neal got through those three months. But the good news was... due to his poor mood, which led to him being unable to eat or sleep, O'Neal had visibly lost a lot of weight at the Cavaliers' media day on the 3rd.
And as the reporter in this league who understood Zack the most... since he didn't want to return to New York with a meaningless interview, Berkow carefully selected a few topics that Zack would definitely be interested in.
"Do you know that after the trade with the Grizzlies, Kobe has declared he will personally reclaim the title of the league's best player?"
"Hmm?"
At this moment, Berkow altered Kobe's statement. In the ESPN player rankings previously released, Kobe was only ranked third among shooting guards, so Kobe's original words at the time were clearly that he would use his actions to prove ESPN wrong. That is, he would reclaim the title of the league's best shooting guard. But if Berkow had just relayed Kobe's original words to Zack, wouldn't his decades as a reporter have been for nothing?
Next, Berkow revealed another piece of information to Zack: "After being traded to the Cavaliers, Shaq O'Neal claimed that LeBron James is the future."
"Oh?"
This information revealed by Berkow to Zack once again showed his deep skill. Because after being traded to the Cavaliers, O'Neal's polite words for James at the time were clearly: "LeBron James is definitely the future of Cleveland."
Without a doubt, these pieces of information, after being filtered and taken out of context by Berkow, successfully piqued Zack's interest. And within these "Fake News," Berkow also deliberately interspersed several pieces of true information.
"Lakers guard Monta Ellis said that your championship with the Warriors last year was just pure luck."
"Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson openly stated that if he had another chance, the Warriors would lose to the Mavericks by a large margin of 1-4."
"Gregg Popovich said at the Spurs' media day that Tim Duncan couldn't perform at his full potential last season only because of plantar fasciitis, and that you merely defeated a top power forward who was playing injured."
When it was media day afternoon, and Richardson, Davis, Artest, and Brown were getting ready to take their core team photos with Zack... looking at Zack's fiercely burning eyes at that moment, Brown quickly said, "I haven't been slacking off these past few days you were gone!"
Seeing this, Richardson quickly followed, "After every practice, I shoot 1000 extra threes!"
Next to them, Davis pointed to his belly, "My physique can prove my commitment to training!"
Finally, Artest cried, "I've been following the head coach's instructions perfectly in every practice!"
What terrifying eyes! Who on earth offended our Messiah? Berkow, who originally only wanted to get more content for his reports from Zack, never would have imagined that he would inadvertently give Zack even more motivation!
"[Zack's Dual Life] series quest has now begun. Difficulty: Nightmare. Since none of you believe in me, I'll make you all believe!
Real-time Quest Completion Condition: In the Warriors' regular season opener against the Mavericks, deliver a crushing defeat to Avery Johnson. (Warriors' winning margin must not be less than 30 points)
Real-time Quest Completion Reward: One random technical attribute gift package.
Real-time Quest Perfect Reward: If the Warriors' winning margin is greater than or equal to 50 points, the random technical attribute gift package the host receives will automatically upgrade to Legendary. In addition, the host will receive an extra Legendary random defensive attribute gift package.
Note: This series of quests is a real-time triggered quest and will be triggered at different stages of the host's career based on the host's real-life experiences."
"[The Beloved Are Fearless] quest has now begun. After last season, Michael Jordan's favoritism towards you has reached a point of fearlessness. Now, you need to continue to torment this basketball god with your on-court performance, preferably making him suffer every day.
Quest Completion Condition: In the 2006/07 season, your average stats must not be lower than '30+10+5' (points + rebounds + assists), and the sum of your overall field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free throw percentage must not be less than 175%. (No specific individual percentage requirements)
Quest Completion Reward:[The Zone] badge fragment and one Legendary random technical attribute gift package.
Note: If the host fails to complete this quest, it will automatically enter a cooldown period. How to reactivate it will depend on the host's real-life performance and whether Michael Jordan is still interested in the host. Additionally, after this quest is completed, the [Path to the Summit] quest will automatically activate."
"[Charles Barkley's Gift] series quest has now begun. [Charles Barkley's Gift Two]: How can one reach the summit without help? Barkley, who is very fond of you, has discovered the joy of using you to break the basketball god.
Quest Completion Condition: To prove your might, Charles Barkley has made a wager with Scottie Pippen, who was a guest on TNT. Please help Charles Barkley win this wager.
Quest Completion Reward: The badge level of [Boar's Charge] will automatically upgrade to Superstar.
Note One: The higher the badge level, the higher the trigger probability and the stronger the amplification effect.
Note Two: This badge can only be upgraded through the [Charles Barkley's Gift] series of quests."
On media day, with his fighting spirit further fueled by Berkow, Zack would welcome the upcoming 2006/07 season with the series of quests given to him by the [Summit] system that day, along with his burning anger. Compared to his rookie season, his in-game rating from the [Summit] system had already reached 93 to 94 before the start of the 2006/07 season. (Note ①) In the actual 2K7 game, he was tied with Kobe as the number one player with a rating of 98. LeBron James, who would originally have received a 98 rating in this game, had his rating reduced to 96 by 2K because there's no comparison without harm.
But a game is still just a game. Now, there are less than 10 days until the Warriors' first preseason game. Zack will use this time to build chemistry with his teammates and gradually adjust to his best form.
After media day, almost everyone on the Warriors felt Zack's ferocity. In an interview, Kwame Brown told the outside world, "I think he (Zack) is ready for the new season. Just you wait, everyone! Great people never speak of greatness; they just do great things."