NBA: Basketball Legend.

Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Durant’s Trumpet, The Hot Chinese Derby!

Chapter 120: Durant’s Trumpet, The Hot Chinese Derby!

After the game, the Celtics flew out immediately to their next destination.

Once they landed, Kevin Durant saw Charles Barkley’s tweet—and to be honest, it pissed him off. What annoyed him even more, though, were the comments from fans underneath.

”This year’s Rookie of the Year is a wrap. Ever since leaving the NCAA, Chen’s been pulling away from KD.”

”He clamped Durant on defense and hit a 3-and-1 on him on offense. That whole sequence basically summed up their battle.”

”The only suspense left is whether Chen wins Rookie of the Year unanimously.”

”Nah, the only suspense is which delivery service the league’s gonna use to ship the trophy to Chen...”

Durant’s not the type to brush off criticism. Sensitive with a sky-high self-esteem, he wasn’t about to let those jabs slide.

So, next thing you know—KD switched to his burner account and jumped into the replies.

”Bro, maybe you should stick to cartoons. You clearly don’t know the game. We’re only a month into the season. Nothing’s settled yet.”

One netizen shot back:

”Didn’t need a whole month. One game was enough to see the gap between KD and Chen.”

Durant fired right back:

”Basketball’s a five-man game. You’re just looking at individual stats, not the difference in team setups. Give KD a Nash and his efficiency would go through the roof.”

He wasn’t trying to trash Chen outright, but in defending himself, it was hard not to throw a few subtle jabs.

That lit the comment section on fire.

”So KD’s 37.5% shooting is the lineup’s fault?”

”You think Nash could magically help KD hit those wide-open threes he bricked? Lol.”

”If KD and Chen switched teams, I bet Chen would drop more points. He doesn’t even have free reign like KD does on the Suns.”

”KD’s got crazy talent, no doubt, but right now? Chen’s just better. It is what it is.”

Durant gritted his teeth, rolled up his sleeves, and got to typing.

He lost on the court—but he sure as hell wasn’t losing on Twitter.

By 3:30 AM, KD let out a yawn and stretched in his chair, finally logging off. After going 12 rounds with random fans online, he actually felt a little better. Everyone has their own way to blow off steam—and KD’s might just be going full keyboard warrior mode.

Meanwhile, Chen Yan had no clue Durant had just been flaming people on a burner. He didn’t even know Barkley had tweeted.

He was chilling at home, just got out of the shower, and spent about 20 minutes on the phone catching up with Yao Ming before going to bed.

Two days later, the Suns were hosting the Houston Rockets.

The Chinese Derby was about to begin.

---

NBA Commissioner David Stern had been hyping this game for a week straight. He knew the numbers this matchup could pull—and he was ready to cash in.

Just two weeks ago, the face-off between Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian shattered the NBA’s single-game viewership record in China, pulling in a whopping 250 million viewers.

Now that Chen Yan had taken the league by storm—and was already more popular in the U.S. than Yi—the league was banking on even bigger numbers.

This matchup was projected to blow past 300 million viewers.

Broadcasts were lined up through 21 Chinese media outlets—including CCTV-5, Shanghai Sports, Guangdong TV, Guangzhou TV, ESPN Taiwan, and more. Four mobile platforms were also picking up the game.

It was shaping up to be the most-watched regular season game in NBA history.

---

The night before tipoff, Chen invited Yao Ming out to a nearby Chinese restaurant. Whenever friends came to town, Chen made a point to show proper hospitality—even now, with his fame rising by the day.

They didn’t talk much about basketball. Mostly life stuff.

Yao asked Chen to start a World of Warcraft account so they could run dungeons together. Chen laughed, saying he didn’t have the patience for grinding anymore—but he was down for some Counter-Strike matches.

Yao grinned. ”No problem. I’ll bring McGrady too. We usually run CS after games anyway. Not about skill, just blowing off steam.”

As they chatted and joked, Chen couldn’t help but notice the fatigue on Yao’s face.

In 2007, Yao only had eight days off the entire year. The rest of his time was split between the NBA and Team China. The guy was literally carrying the weight of two nations on his back.

Chen didn’t try to tell him to rest. He knew Yao couldn’t—not with the Rockets, not with Team China. That kind of responsibility wasn’t something Chen could even begin to compare to.

---

December 5.

The day everyone circled on their calendars. The long-awaited Chinese Derby had arrived.

”Been waiting a month for this!”

”Woke up before dawn just for this game!”

”Nah, I stayed up all night—this is history!”

”Let’s go Yao! Let’s go Chen!”

If Yao opened the door to the NBA for China, Chen Yan showed them what was possible on the other side. A guard with elite handles, vision, and scoring—the kind of player fans used to believe China would never produce.

On this weekend afternoon, millions of Chinese fans were already glued to their screens. Parents who grew up in the 60s and 70s were sitting with their kids born in the 90s, sharing the moment together.

This game was going to be basketball enlightenment for a whole generation.

Years later, many would still remember this day, proudly saying:

”I grew up watching Chen Yan in the NBA.”

---

Three hours before tipoff, chaos.

The arena was swarmed with Chinese media. The U.S. Airways Center was buzzing like it was the Finals.

Mark Nelson, the Suns’ seasoned PR guy, was breaking a sweat. It was complete madness.

Even the pre-game photo op between Chen and Yao had to be scheduled two days in advance—too many outlets fighting for time.

”This is crazier than the playoffs,” Mark said, half-laughing, half-panicking as cameras flashed all around.

Before the game, reporters asked Yao about Chen’s 100% shooting night from his last game.

Yao just smiled: ”It’s tough. Especially in a league like this. I hope he keeps it up.”

Then he grinned wider and added: ”But, maybe after this game. Today, I hope his hands are a little cold.”

Just then, McGrady strolled out of the tunnel. He wasn’t as lean as his Magic days, but he was still in the tail end of his prime. One of the league’s deadliest scorers.

If the Rockets hadn’t run into the Jazz—and if McGrady hadn’t pushed his body so hard with injections—who knows how long his peak could’ve lasted?

Of course, with Chen in the league now, who could predict what kind of butterfly effects were unfolding?

McGrady gave Chen a quick dap before heading to the bench. He knew today wasn’t about him.

Today was about Yao and Chen.

---

Flashbulbs popped nonstop.

”Ka-ka-ka-ka!”

In the middle of the court, Chen and Yao posed with the game ball as dozens of cameras snapped away.

Warmups. Anthem. Final team huddles. Jerseys changed. Laces tied.

Everything was set.

The moment had arrived.

Tipoff.

The Chinese Derby was on.

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