Chapter 1167 Leonard Challenges Tang Tian

When Ginobili came on the court, there was overwhelming cheers.

Although in terms of historical status, Ginobili and Duncan are somewhat behind.

But as Popovich said in his previous speech, Ginobili sacrificed a lot for the Spurs.

Coupled with his personality, he is quite popular in San Antonio.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you all."

After saying thank you three times, the cheers of the fans at the scene stopped.

"I'm sorry coach, I can't be responsible for your hair, just like no one can be responsible for mine."

Ginobili's showmanship was deep down, and his opening words overwhelmed the crowd and caused a flurry of whistles at the scene.

"And I have to thank you and the Spurs, you know the 57th pick, on another team I would have sat on the bench for a few seasons and then left."

Ginobili's next words also turned the whistle into cheers.

Although Popovich had Ginobili come off the bench most of the time, he and Ginobili, Ginobili and the Spurs all made mutual achievements.

"Tim, your speech lasted 6 minutes. I love you so much. It's been 19 years since you first called me by the wrong name. We are all old."

"Tony, I also like me with long hair, but maybe I can only do it through game videos."

"Don, being able to be teammates with you is one of the happiest things in my life. I can now brag to my sons that I was on the same team as the number one basketball player."

Ginobili thanked everyone one by one.

"In the 1999 NBA draft, when I got the call that I was selected, I couldn't believe it. It changed the direction of my life.

When the phone rang again in 2002, I was ready.

Basketball is a team sport and you can't win a championship alone, and I've been lucky enough to always have a great group of teammates around me.

Thanks also to the Spurs staff and fans for making this family even more fun.

Finally, I want to thank Popovich, you are a sincere, generous, thoughtful, smart crazy person who means so much to me.

You are not only a coach but also a father, you have taught me so much.

Basketball-wise, I'm retired and don't care, but you made me understand that life is much bigger than basketball. "

At the end of his speech, Ginobili gave a summary of his basketball career.

Finally, he also thanked Popovich. For GDP, Popovich has the same relationship with them as a coach and a father.

At the end of Ginobili's speech, along with the host's introduction, the curtain opened above the arena, revealing the No. 20 jersey.

To his left is Duncan's No. 21 jersey.

And the next one to have his jersey retired here is probably Parker's No. 9.

GDP has entered the league one after another, and now he has retired with the same team. This is destined to be a historical legend.

The fans at the scene stood up and applauded Ginobili, and the applause lasted for a long time.

Ginobili hugged Duncan and the others one by one.

After tonight, he will be as famous as Duncan.

After the jersey retirement ceremony, Duncan and Ginobili sat in the front row of the court to watch the game.

Immediately afterwards came the entrance ceremony, and the starters of the two teams were announced one after another.

On the Spurs' side, Derrick White and Bryn Forbes are on the outside, George and Leonard are on the forward line, and Aldridge is at center.

Aldridge has started to gain weight since Duncan retired.

He played the center position in more than half of the games last season, and he is already the unbeatable starting center this season.

When Popovich lobbied Aldridge to join, he said that he would not let the latter play center. Facts have proved that his words are really unbelievable.

The Pelicans also made changes to the starting lineup.

Dedmon has continued to be sluggish on the outside this season, and his playing time has dropped sharply.

Stevens did not arrange for him to start this game, but used Harrell as the starting center.

Other positions are the same as the regular lineup.

Davis moved the ball back to the Pelicans half, officially kicking off the second meeting between the two sides this season.

Tang Tian controlled the ball. He signaled Davis to ask for the ball in the low post, and then stuffed the ball in.

Although Aldridge has gained weight, his defense is average, and Davis has an advantage in the matchup.

This is something the two teams didn’t have the last time they met.

Davis caught the ball and took a shot after moving in the low post.

The ball hit the backboard and shot diagonally into the net.

Davis leads the way for the Pelicans.

Duncan smiled happily on the sidelines at this time.

After Davis practiced with him last summer, he has treated him as his direct disciple.

And this low back shot really has his shadow.

The Pelicans scored first, but in the next round, Leonard took the ball and broke through Siakam for a layup.

He didn't play all last season, but after returning in the new season, he was still in great shape, averaging a career-high 27 points per game.

Davis continued to fight in the low post, and he still squeezed away Aldridge.

But just before he took action, Leonard's assisting defense interfered and successfully destroyed his offense.

Dominant on both offense and defense, there is a reason why Leonard is now ranked third in the MVP list, surpassing Durant.

Looking back, it was Leonard again. The AI ​​hammer tactics broke through to the inside and sent a second-second pass to Forbes in the bottom corner. The latter took a three-pointer and dropped it with his hands.

The scene burst into cheers.

CCX in the VIP box smiled happily.

When he took over the Spurs, there was a hidden danger of Leonard's injury, but he still gave Leonard a five-year, 220 million super-maximum contract.

Judging from Leonard's season status, he made the right bet.

"It's great that he's staying."

Ginobili also smiled and said to Duncan on the sidelines.

Duncan nodded, then looked at Tang Tian.

Popovich has told him the whole story about Leonard, and it is really thanks to Tang Tian that Leonard can stay.

In the Pelicans' offense, Tang Tian played singles with the ball in the frontcourt, and George and Leonard immediately double-teamed him.

Although the two of them played the third and fourth positions on the court, it was obvious that Popovich had a targeted defensive deployment.

Tang Tian's breakthrough was under great defensive pressure. He passed the ball to Siakam on the weak side, and Siakam flew for a layup.

But Leonard's defense is really strong. He turned around and interfered, and destroyed Siakam's layup.

Aldridge protected the defensive rebound, and the Pelicans' offense once again failed!

The Spurs played a defensive counterattack. White dribbled the ball forward and reached the front three-point line to Leonard who was following up.

Leonard got the ball, and in front of him was Tang Tian.

He did not choose to pass the ball, but directly changed to a breakthrough layup.

The two are familiar with each other, but Leonard is stronger and has a better wingspan.

After the confrontation, he made a beautiful turn around the basket and put the ball into the basket.

The scene burst into cheers.

Leonard challenged Tang Tian and succeeded!