The "Olympic Tower" building at 645 Fifth Avenue, New York.
This is the headquarters of the NBA.
At this time, the phone in the NBA headquarters office building was ringing non-stop.
"Hey, I'm sorry, we haven't investigated this matter yet, so we can't give you any news yet..."
"Penalty results? Did you hear wrongly? Our NBA headquarters didn't even hold a meeting. How could there be any punishment results? We just found out."
"Overton? Sorry, I don't know this player. You should ask the Clippers this question."
"Lu Yu's question? Sorry, I can't give you an answer yet."
The NBA officials in the conference room also whispered among themselves. When they saw the video of the fight in Los Angeles, they were all shocked.
Is this a fight?
This is obviously a beating, okay?
Overton, a black man, was pushed to the ground and beaten to a bruised and swollen face by Lu Yu, a yellow man. How dare he be so miserable?
The most important thing is that the speed of this fight is unprecedented in the history of the NBA. Now not only the basketball circle, but also the sports circle across the United States, including China across the ocean, are discussing Lu Yu's fight.
David Stern knocked on the table and said angrily: "Stop arguing! I asked you to come over to discuss countermeasures, not to keep arguing here."
An official suggested: "Fighting incidents must be dealt with seriously!"
"Yes, it must be dealt with seriously."
Many people supported him. For so many years, even the bad boy Pistons only dared to beat Jordan secretly. Even if it was an occasional minor conflict, they had never so brazenly beaten a player into such a bad character.
Of course, it is not that bad or large-scale fights have never happened in the NBA.
In the past ten years, fights have become even more common.
On April 24, 1983, the Celtics and Atlanta Hawks met in the first round of the playoffs.
As a result, Celtics' Donnie Angle unexpectedly attacked Hawks center Terry Rollins and twisted Rollins' arm.
In the end, the two athletes fell to the ground. Rollins took advantage of the chaos and bit Angle's finger. He was suspended for 5 games and staged a Tyson version on the basketball court.
But his performance was still ahead of Tyson's. Maybe Tyson got the idea after watching his performance.
In the second round of the 1995 playoffs, the Heat and the Knicks met on a narrow road. In the fifth game, the Knicks led three to one. The Heat, who had no way out, fought to the death from the very beginning.
In the fourth quarter, Tim Hardaway got a free throw opportunity. At the moment Hardaway's free throw was drawn from his fingertips, Heat forward P.J. Brown on the right side of the basket made an over-the-shoulder shot that looked like a rebound.
He threw him, lifting Knicks guard Ward's entire torso and throwing him to the photographer's box on the baseline.
You know, the relationship between the Knicks and the Heat has always been tense. Seeing Brown's provocation, Knicks players swarmed forward, including the victim Ward, center Ewing, forward Larry Johnson, defender Starks and Alan Houston and other players.
They pinned P.J. Brown down and staged a massive gang fight.
Charles Barkley is the most outspoken monster and the most talented humorist in the NBA.
Although he is not tall, his weight is superhuman and his explosive power is even more terrifying.
In the NBA, Barkley can be said to be a top-notch fighter. When he first entered the industry, he became a sensation when he helped Dr. J-beat Bird.
At that time, Irving and "Big Bird" Bird had a conflict.
Both of them are top-notch superstars, and no ordinary person would dare to step up and help.
But Barkley didn't care. He rushed forward and hugged Bird from behind. "Dr. J" was hit with two old punches, and "Big Bird"'s face was covered with blood.
On December 1, 1997, Carlesimo scolded Sprewell for his attitude during the game. Unexpectedly, Sprewell got mad and grabbed the head coach's neck and "locked him."
"Throat Hand" almost killed him.
Carlesimo recalled many years later: "I was dizzy and helpless, but I can confirm one thing: he wanted to strangle me to death!"
The Madman was suspended for 68 games for this "choke incident that will go down in history" and the amount of damages was US$6.4 million.
On January 17, 1997, the Bulls faced the Timberwolves, and the famous "flower bug" Rodman fell out of bounds while trying to grab the ball.
It is normal for him to fall down while playing, but he actually got angry at a photojournalist on the sidelines. Poor fellow reporter, before he could figure out what was going on, he was immediately kicked like a football by the "flower bug", and Rodman
Her foot actually kicked him in the crotch.
This incident resulted in Rodman being suspended for 11 games by the NBA and fined $25,000.
The Knicks and Heat also had a fight in 1997.
In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Heat forward P.J. Brown overturned the Knicks' Ward, and a big brawl involving more than ten people began. Mourning rushed from the front and fought his way into the Knicks.
As a result, they met again in the first round of the playoffs in 1998. Enemies are extremely jealous when they meet, let alone the fiercely competitive playoffs?
As a result, in the fourth game between the two teams, a group fight broke out again between the two teams.
Oakley and Mourning took the lead in the fight, and then all the players swarmed forward.
In order to protect his players, Knicks head coach Van Gundy hugged Mourning's thigh tightly, and Mourning dragged him dozens of meters on the floor without letting go. It was amazing.
The classic scene of Van Gundy sacrificing his life to protect his players is still widely circulated to this day.
Although the party who was beaten in these fights was always beaten, it was rare that Overton looked as miserable as Lu Yu left him this time.
No, there is one who is even worse than Overton.
It was the most tragic fight in NBA history to this day. One of the two parties in the fight lost his job and began a life of poverty, while the other was admitted to the hospital and almost lost his life.
During the Lakers' game against the Houston Rockets on December 9, 1977, Tomjanovich wanted to step forward and separate the fighting players.
Washington thought Tomjanovich was here to help, so he gave Tomjanovich a heavy blow in the face without hesitation.
Unprepared, Tomjanovich immediately fell on his back, and blood immediately poured out.
This punch caused Tomjanovich to undergo five surgeries, his tear ducts were surgically removed, and he almost died in the hospital.
Tomjanovich once asked his doctor afterwards why his mouth felt so salty after the punch, and the answer turned out to be: "What you were tasting was your own brain!"
In these fights, without exception, the players who hit others were severely punished.
In order to establish a good image for fans in recent years, the league has strictly prohibited fighting. Therefore, when the Lu Yu fight occurred, many NBA officials agreed to punish Lu Yu.
"But the problem is that many fans are now siding with Lu Yu and have been criticizing Overton and asking us not to punish Lu Yu." David Stern slapped an investigation report on the table.
"Tell us not to punish Lu Yu?" An official immediately said: "This is impossible. We do not allow players to challenge the league's regulations."
"This Overton is really good. I've never heard his name before. Just give me trouble. Is he playing well?" David Stern said suddenly.
The people below looked at each other, and they all understood immediately.
Overton is just an extremely ordinary player. Even if he is thrown into the NBA army, you may not know who he is, but Lu Yu is different. Lu Yu is Stern’s cash cow and was pioneered by Stern.
An important chess piece in the Chinese market.
Especially Chinese fans, they absolutely support Lu Yu.
If he is directly banned for 68 games like the punishment for "Madman" Sprewell, then the NBA will no longer want the Chinese market.
What's more, Lu Yu is not short of money at all.
Stern even knows that the highest-paid players in the NBA may not earn as much as Lu Yu earns in a year.
The fans in the United States are equally divided between those who support Lu Yu and those who oppose Lu Yu. They are constantly quarreling online. The fans who support Lu Yu think that Lu Yu did the right thing. It does not mean that whoever is beaten or who is weak is justified.
Those who oppose Lu Yu are collectively called Lu Hei.
They believe that Lu Yu relies on the huge Chinese market behind him to dare to run rampant in the NBA and hit people without any scruples. Some fans even encouraged Overton to call the police or directly sue Lu Yu.
at this time.
Kobe was the first to stand up and support Lu Yu.
"If I had Lu Yu's skills, I think I would never be attacked by this guy Charles! I will learn the fighting skills from Lu Yu. If Charles dares to attack me again next time, I will beat him continuously.
He doesn’t even know him.”
The year before last, when the Lakers, who were at their peak at the time, were hosting the Knicks, Kobe had a conflict with Chris Charles during the game.
The latter walked directly in front of the Black Mamba and suddenly threw two uppercuts, catching Kobe off guard.
In this way, Charles became famous and successfully transformed from an excellent point guard to a tough fighter.
Kobe suffered a bad loss and was always feeling unhappy.
When he saw Lu Yu beating up Overton, not only did he not sympathize with Overton, he was even more angry because Overton had done something dirty to Lu Yu. What was the difference between this kind of evil trick and Charles' sneak attack on him?
Another person who stood up to support Lu Yu was Tracy McGrady.
Although Lu Yu rarely calls McGrady and is not as close as he was with Kobe, the three of them trained in the same arena, and their friendship blossomed from that time on.
"I think Kobe doesn't need to learn from Lu Yu, he can learn from me. I just had a fight last year. I think fighting is nothing. Let's not talk about our status as players. When provoked by our opponents, we are not only players, we are also
If you are a man, a man should speak with his fists!"
Last year, McGrady had a big fight with Jackson on the court. At that time, McGrady became angry after a penalty was called and hit Jackson's head with the ball. Jackson naturally refused and scuffled with McGrady.
McGrady, who is usually sleepy, opened his eyes with anger and punched extremely fast. This fight also made McGrady famous in the history of fighting.
Only then did the fans recall that there were quite a few stars fighting in the NBA.
On January 20, after two days of wild bombardment by fans, the NBA finally announced its final penalty decision. Lu Yu was suspended for five games and fined $20,000. Overton was also suspended for five games and fined $20,000.
Both sides have a big deal, and no one is taking sides.
As for the other players on the Bulls who "besieged" them, each of them was fined $5,000 for the sake of it.
Lu Yu can still accept the result of being suspended for five games. It's the end of the year now, so he can ask for leave from the team and return to China. Some of his previous domestic plans have to be put on the agenda.
It took almost ten days to come back from China.
After coming back, the suspension period just ended, and I couldn't play a few games immediately before the All-Star Game.
Everything is just right.
However, before returning to China, there was still one problem to deal with - about Ah Q, Richardson, who reminded Lu Yu during the game against the Clippers.
…
The Bulls coaching staff is struggling with Lu Yu's five-game suspension.
At this time, Lu Yu walked in.
"Lu, what's wrong? Didn't you ask for leave?" Cartwright looked at Lu Yu doubtfully.
Lu Yu nodded and said, "Yes, I asked for leave and may have to go back to China soon, but before I leave, I think I have something to discuss with you."
"oh?"
Cartwright sat down, and several assistant coaches on the side also looked at Lu Yu.
"Then tell me what the matter is. If you want to fight, then I don't think we should talk about it. I can't beat you."
Cartwright's words brought laughter to the office.
It has to be said that Cartwright was very good at dealing with human relations, not making the atmosphere in the office too tense, but also reminding Lu Yu not to forget that he had just been punished for fighting, and not to go too far with what he raised.
"Yeah, I think we might need a player."
As soon as Lu Yu finished speaking, he saw Cartwright's face darken.
Regarding player transactions, not to mention that Lu Yu is the boss of the team, even he, the head coach, has many taboos.
The reason is very simple, when someone comes, someone leaves.
Just like in order to get Lu Yu, Elton Brand became a bargaining chip. Of course, the premise is that Brand has long wanted to leave the weak Bulls.
Except in this case, mentioning trading players is something that will offend people.
Seeing this, Lu Yu could only explain one sentence.
"I think this player can even guard me when I'm running without the ball..."
