Holding a cold drink, Li Du followed the giant O'Neal to the second floor.
"This is my showroom. If you like sports, then what you see below might make you feel wonderful," O'Neal said as he pushed open a door.
Inside was a large room with an area of more than 50 square meters. Mounted jerseys were hung on the surrounding walls. There were jerseys belonging to basketball players, football players, and other types of jerseys.
Among them, the one hanging at the front was the Lakers' yellow number 34, which was O'Neal's jersey when he played for the Lakers. The other jerseys all had O'Neal's name on them in different colors, almost forming a rainbow.
As one of the top ten stars in the history of the NBA, O'Neal had rich team experience that other superstars rarely had. In other words, he had played for many teams in his career.
The jerseys on one wall were all his, and the jerseys on the other three walls belonged to other sports stars. They were signed by athletes, from Tiger Woods to Roger Federer. Li Du also saw the signed jerseys of the Chinese player Yao Ming and the Prince of Gymnastics, Li Ning.
Seeing that Li Du had noticed Yao Ming, O'Neal grinned. "Yao, haha, he is my buddy. You must be familiar with him, right? He is one of the guys I admire the most. He is a guy with great wisdom. He changed my view of you Chinese. "
The story between O'Neal and Yao Ming was unclear. When the latter first entered the NBA, O'Neal had a bad opinion of him because his appearance prevented O'Neal from becoming a starting player in the Western Conference All-Star team.
Because of this, O'Neal would teach Yao a lesson every time they competed. To be honest, Yao Ming was no match for O'Neal. Even when O'Neal was in the twilight of his career, he could still be on par with him.
On the basketball court, O'Neal was a super center that only appeared once in 50 years!
Later, with the decline of traditional centers, as Yao Ming became more and more powerful, O 'Neal began to appreciate Yao Ming. In addition, Yao Ming also won the admiration of O'Neal and his family with his philosophy of life.
On the table in the showroom were some trophies and medals, all of which O'Neal had won since he was a child, including the NBA championship trophy and the Olympic gold medal.
In addition, there were many photos in the room. One of the largest photos was a photo of O'Neal and Kobe hugging and laughing together.
"You've seen the reports at that time. The news said that Kobe and I are enemies and that we can't wait for each other to die, right? Actually, that's too exaggerated. We're just blaming each other, but we're still friends. We're just not that close anymore. "
O 'Neal looked at the photo and slowly smiled. "I used to hate him, but I never treated him as an enemy. Otherwise, why would I put his photo here? If it were you, would you do it? "
Li Du coughed and said, "I might do that. For example, if I had an enemy, I would hang his picture on the wall and shoot him every day."
As he said that, he laughed.
O 'Neal also laughed. He patted Li Du's shoulder and said, "Ha, you're as smart as Yao. Don't tell Kobe that I've done this before. I've destroyed hundreds of his photos!"
This was naturally a joke. O 'Neal was different from Kobe. He loved to joke.
As he laughed, he became serious again. "If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have put up a photo of us. Of course I wouldn't do that if I put up a picture of us together. "
Li Du nodded. "I understand. You still see him as a friend."
O 'Neal pursed his lips and said slowly, "We used to be as close as brothers. Buddy, this is not a joke. Us black brothers are not as simple as you think. We fought like brothers. Unfortunately, we were too young at that time. We cared more about our pride than our feelings. That was stupid."
He sat down on a sofa and said, "Do you mind listening to a story? The story of the NBA, something that the media has never reported. "
Li Du said, "I couldn't ask for more. But can we take a picture together? I have to tell my friends that Shaq O 'Neal is telling me a story. "
O 'Neal laughed again. "You can take a picture yourself. I've done that before."
They left the showroom and went to the stadium. There was a small basketball court in the mansion called the Shaq Center.
O 'Neal was very narcissistic. Many of the things in the house were named after him or his nickname.
In the stadium, they drank cold drinks and chatted for a while. O 'Neal told the story of him and Kobe, telling Li Du some things that he had heard and some things that he had not heard.
The outside world said that O 'Neal and Kobe had a falling out over the Lakers. In fact, that was not the main reason. When O' Neal left the Lakers, he was 32 years old. For a center, that was the age when he started to go downhill.
O 'Neal was willing to make way for Kobe and help him get to the top, but he asked for a big contract. The team owner, Buss, was not willing to do that, so he cleverly intensified the relationship between O 'Neal and Kobe. Then he got the media to add fuel to the fire.
In the end, what appeared in the eyes of the fans was that Kobe had driven O 'Neal away to get to the top.
Kobe was proud and stubborn. He did not like to say much and liked to do things with all his might.
There was no explanation. These things were tacitly agreed at the time.
O 'Neal said regretfully, "Buddy, believe me, if both of us were as mature as we are now, then our team wouldn't have fallen apart. Instead, we would have continued to dominate the league and won another three or four championships. We have the strength!"
What could Li Du say? He said with certainty, "That's for sure!"
Compared with Kobe and James, O 'Neal was more playful and easier to get along with. He learned that Godzilla had practiced basketball, so he had a duel with Godzilla on the court.
Even though O 'Neal was in his forties and had put on a lot of weight after retiring, he still crushed Godzilla with his skills.
Yes, he did not rely on his giant body. He relied on techniques such as ball control to break through and change directions with the ball.
Li Du gave the statue to O 'Neal, and O' Neal sent him an invitation. In less than a month, it would be Kobe's birthday, and he invited Li Du to the birthday party.
"When the time comes, you have to witness what this gift brings," O 'Neal laughed. "I have to bring it to Kobe. He will love this gift. You have helped me solve a big problem. I have been thinking about what gift to give him recently."
Li Du smiled and held out his hand. "If I have time, I will definitely go."
He was not pretending. He had just arrived in Los Angeles and was very busy. There were many things to deal with.
For example, he had to deal with matters related to the Sunshine Jazz Manor. The Dripping Blood Gang had laid their hands on the manor.
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