One Guard

After a "pleasant" conversation with Adidas staff, Adidas immediately began putting the signature shoes into production.

Yiyang's current commercial value is immeasurable. If we rush to launch Yiyang's signature shoes now, Adidas will definitely make a lot of money.

Once the signature shoe matter is finalized, it also means that Yiyang has officially started his vacation life.

Training, business activities, the Asian Championships and even team recruitment... After Yiyang became popular, the trouble that followed was that the time he had for himself during the holidays was becoming more and more important. Come less and less.

"Go to France to participate in a business competition?" When Yiyang heard Duffy's "instructions" on the phone, he was quite reluctant in his heart. He originally wanted to take this opportunity to go to Brazil with Vignali, but now it seems that his and Vignali's trip to Brazil can only be put on hold for the time being.

"This is an event arranged by Adidas. If you like, they allow you to bring Vignali with you. A business competition, it's like... yes, it's like the NBA Masters Game! Not here There are men and women, and they don’t care about the outcome. People just want to see the stars playing, that’s all." Duffy explained to Yiyang on the phone. When he heard that he could bring Vignali to participate, Yiyang frowned. He let go instantly.

"If I remember correctly, the French should be full of more enthusiasm for football." Going to Europe again reminded Yiyang of his previous experience when he and Vignali went to Italy. In Italy, many people don't know who Yiyang is because most Italians don't watch basketball at all! We are both in Europe and a country that regards football as its life, so how could it suddenly arrange a commercial basketball game?

"The basketball market is indeed not as good as football in France, but it is not that no one pays attention to it. No, Adidas has reached a cooperation with French Ligue 1 team Cholet, and Cholet hopes to increase the commercial value of the team. So the two parties hit it off immediately. , held this commercial competition. Adidas is responsible for recruiting star players to play an exhibition match with Shole team. You happen to be Adidas’ biggest celebrity spokesperson now, so you must participate in this important event. It doesn’t matter, just treat it as a go. Go to France, it won't take you too long."

Yiyang shook his head, Brazil's crazy beach? It seems that there is only next time...

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??Speaking of France, Yiyang thinks of football first, and football second. ?But when he came to Shole, his eyes were not attracted by football, but by the exotic customs that were completely different from the United States and China.

Cholet is a small town located on the Moine River in northwest France with a population of only 52,000. If such a small place were placed in the United States, it would definitely be dilapidated.

But when Yiyang and Vignali walked out of the airport, they were deeply attracted by the retro scenery of Cholet.

Although Cholet is not the most famous city in France, it is a transportation hub in the northwest. Many railways converge here, and Cholet has always been a strategic location throughout history.

During the French bourgeois revolution, there was a war here. Until now, several war relics have been left in Cholet, which have become special local attractions.

Although there are no sunny beaches, tropical style, passionate bikini beauties, and palm trees swaying in the sea breeze. But Shaolai's peaceful and peaceful appearance still made Yiyang feel very relaxed.

It seems that in this small town, life is always so peaceful. You don’t have to worry about the damn NBA Finals, you don’t have to face the annoying San Antonio Spurs, you don’t have to deal with annoying reporters, and you don’t have to pretend to be aloof at fake business dinners. Here, what people enjoy most is life itself!

"It's unbelievable that such a place actually has its own professional basketball team. And it's a French Ligue 1 team!"

Ligue 1 is the highest level basketball league in France. Cleveland, with a population of nearly 2 million, is often called a small market in the NBA. What about Sholay, which has a population of only 52,000? What words should be used to describe their team? It is worth mentioning that Cholet also entered the UEFA Champions League last season. It can be seen from this that the strength of a team has nothing to do with the size of the city in which it is located.

On the first day after arriving in France, Yiyang did not meet with the Adidas team. Instead, he took Vignali on a tour in Cholet. In the evening, the two attended a local bonfire party on the banks of the Muwana River.

With the cool breeze blowing from the riverside and experiencing the unique and exotic gatherings, Yiyang found that occasionally running to these small places seemed to be a good experience.

Under the warm hospitality of the local residents, Yiyang and Vignali drank a lot of local wine. This kind of wine tastes as delicious as juice when you drink it, but late at night, the alcohol will crawl up your throat and into your brain, dominating your nerves.

So, under the influence of alcohol, Yiyang and Vignali spent a night of ecstasy in a small rented villa on the river bank.

The moonlight passed through the river and shone through the window on a naked man and woman. Who would have thought that Yiyang, who has always been dull, would occasionally be full of emotions? The nights in small French towns are much more ecstatic than those in international metropolises...

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I have to admit that French wine is indeed hundreds of times better than the whiskey in American nightclubs. At least after waking up the next day, Yiyang and Vignali didn't feel any discomfort.

The two got up early and walked around the river before taking a car to meet the Adidas team. After reuniting, they will head towards the arena of the Sholay basketball team.

The Adidas team was extremely happy to see Yiyang, an NBA-level MVP player, appear in Sholay. For this exhibition match alone, Yiyang will receive an appearance fee of US$200,000. This does not include other incentive fees. Although the price of inviting Yiyang is very expensive, Adidas believes that Yiyang's arrival will definitely make Cholet's team famous throughout France!

When Yiyang and other European basketball stars hired by Adidas appeared in the Sholay basketball team's competition venue, many players and even coaches from the Sholay team did not hesitate to gather around and ask for Yiyang's autograph. You know, they will be opponents later!

But among them, there was one guy who caught Yiyang's attention. Just when all the Shaolai team players gathered around to take photos with Yiyang, a big man wearing a Shaolai team jersey was minding his own business warming up under the basket.

Although it was just an exhibition match, the guy seemed to be preparing very seriously. Yiyang smiled, secretly looking forward to how that guy would behave later.

The game started soon, and the stadium in Cholay was naturally packed with people. But it is worth mentioning that this game was also broadcast live on many French TV stations. After all, it is indeed very rare for an NBA MVP to play in France.

There may not be many basketball fans in France, but almost all basketball fans have set their sights on this game.

On the court, Yiyang played quite easily. Although Cholet is a professional team in the French Ligue 1, in Yiyang's view, the strength of this small team may not even be comparable to the Dallas Mavericks' Development League team.

Yiyang played easily and freely on the court. He even deliberately used many fancy moves that could only be played on street courts to win the applause of the fans.

When Yiyang used a classic elbow pass to assist Vignali in the mid-range shot, the Italian girl was so excited that she almost hugged Yiyang and gave her a sweet kiss.

The "husband and wife team" Yiyang and Vignali completely became the protagonists of the game, and almost everyone was paying attention to this game just to watch them.

Yiyang is playing more and more relaxedly on the court, and he has completely entered a state of enjoying the simple joy of basketball.

In the fifth minute of the second quarter, Yiyang broke through with the ball as usual. He used a beautiful quick succession of substitutions from behind, which confused the young defender of Cholet team.

With an acceleration, Yiyang easily reached the inside. He jumped right up and it looked like it was going to be another easy layup. However, the next second, Yiyang's vision went dark, as if someone had blocked his way.

"Bang!" With a sudden blow, Yiyang was knocked to the ground! And the basketball he shot was slapped hard by someone!

Yiyang looked up and saw that the person who blocked his shot was none other than the center of the Shaolai team who was warming up alone just now!

Everyone at the scene was stunned. What on earth was this young man doing? ? Is he going to compete with the NBA MVP? ? Did that guy's brain get hit hard by the locker room door?

People were worried that Yiyang would be angry, but Yiyang got up silently with a faint smile. I didn’t expect that in a place like Shaolai, there would be such a powerful enemy! Instead of making Yiyang angry, that big man made him excited!

Yiyang's mentality began to change, and this guy gradually became serious. Yiyang was blocked and Shaolai team attacked.

The captain of Sholay team, small forward Plum, missed his shot from beyond the three-point line. Perhaps competing against an international superstar like Yiyang made Plum too nervous.

The moment the basketball hit the frame, the tall center who had just blocked Yiyang suddenly jumped up! The athletic ability of the white center made Yiyang open his mouth in surprise. He originally thought that the opponent was just a typical European heavy fortress, but unexpectedly the opponent turned out to be a ferocious "bird and beast"!

In the air, the big white guy stretched out his long arms, stood out from the crowd and picked up the rebound. Before it even hit the ground, he dunked hard!

"Boom!" There was a loud noise, which made the Sholay fans in the stands burst into applause. Yiyang is indeed an NBA-level superstar, but we also have our own star players.

Yiyang laughed overjoyed, this maverick guy really did not disappoint him.

After the next ball, Yiyang deliberately hit the inside line with the purpose of challenging the tall center with terrible athletic ability. In the air, Yiyang used a movement of changing hands to pull the lever, and barely managed to avoid the opponent's block, and scored a goal without any danger.

This kind of "tightrope walking" excitement made Yiyang find the passion for playing this exhibition game. At the same time, Yiyang was also very curious, who is that little-known tall guy?

In the following games, Yiyang saw that guy's dominance in rebounding and his secondary offensive ability of violently dunking directly after grabbing offensive rebounds.

Of course, Yiyang, who had been in physical contact with him, also felt that the seemingly thin guy was actually very powerful.

Although he found it incredible, Yiyang still had to admit that that guy's physical condition had completely reached the NBA level! Although his skills are a bit rough, for a defensive center, he even made Yiyang see the shadow of Tyson Chandler back then.

So why does such a talented young center still play in a small team like Shole?

With doubts, Yiyang kept testing the guy. Center Shaolai also surprised Yiyang time and time again.

His wingspan is extremely exaggerated, and coupled with the terrifying acceleration of his bounce, every time this guy jumps to block Yiyang, it seems like he has weaved a large network that is difficult to penetrate.

Yiyang can guarantee that most NBA-level guards will not be able to survive under his defense!

However, despite the presence of this unknown "super center", Yiyang still led the Adidas Star team to easily defeat the Shole team.

After the game, Yiyang took the initiative to walk to the Shaolai team coach. The coach of the Sholay team thought that Yiyang would exchange a few words with him. Unexpectedly, the Chinese man wearing a black Adidas jersey pointed at his most proud player.

"Mr. Coach, that guy, what's his name?"

"Haha, you also think he is great, right! That young man is the pride of all of us Shaolai people! When he was still in the youth team of Shaolai, I knew that guy was a good prospect!" I saw Yiyang mentioned The center forward, the coach of Shole team, also had a proud smile on his face.

This expression is exactly the same as when Stevens talked about Yiyang with others.

"Sorry, Mr. Yi, I forgot to answer your question. That kid's name is Rudy Gobert. By the way, he will participate in this year's NBA draft. If everything goes well, this may not be your last time with him. Fight!"

"Participate in the draft!?" Yiyang's eyes suddenly lit up. This trip to France was really full of surprises.