“TNT, joke!”

Fans hotly debated on social media, and Durant couldn't resist the urge to use his personal Twitter account to post this status directly after the TNT show.

The direct translation of "joke" is "玩笑" (wánxiào - joke), but in this tweet, it clearly means "clown."

The fans were a little confused when they first saw this status. After all, the Thunder were second only to the Heat in ESPN's ranking predictions, even higher than the Spurs!

But soon, careful netizens found the reason why Durant posted this status.

Whether intentional or unintentional, the TNT program mentioned many teams such as the Heat, Spurs, Lakers, Clippers, and Nuggets, but the Thunder were the only team left out.

It seems that Durant experienced the playoffs last season and worked hard on his dribbling in the summer, and his strength has improved significantly, but his sensitive personality has not changed at all.

Time flies, and it quickly comes to early October. The NBA preseason officially kicks off.

Two days before the official start of the preseason, the Spurs and the neighboring Mavericks boarded a plane to China.

Stern is committed to the NBA's global promotion, and the China Games are a very important part of it.

Since the unprecedented success of the Rockets and Kings games in 2004, this has become an indispensable part of the NBA every year.

Originally, the league's initial China Games last year were between the Heat and the Clippers.

But with the Spurs winning the championship and Yi Jianlian renewing his contract with the Mavericks, the two sides naturally changed.

China Games, Chinese Derby, just these words are enough to make Chinese fans go crazy.

You know, even when Yao Ming was still playing for the Rockets, because of Yi Jianlian's temporary transfer, fans were not able to see the Chinese Derby in the China Games.

This time, they can finally make up for their previous regrets.

When Tang Tian and the others arrived at the Capital International Airport, they were greeted by unprecedented enthusiasm from the fans.

"Godfather! Godfather!"

"Duncan! Duncan!"

"Ginobili! Ginobili!"

"Parker! Parker!"

…

"It's crazy. Even in my country, I have never seen such crazy fans."

After finally getting out of the airport, Ginobili couldn't help but sigh.

"Come to China a few more times."

Tang Tian said with a smile.

People all over the world will extend their love, and the Chinese are especially obvious.

Take McGrady as an example. His popularity in the United States is no match for Kobe at all, but in China, McGrady's popularity is no less than Kobe's, and even higher than Kobe's at his peak.

In fact, not to mention McGrady, the Rockets players, "Franchise" Francis, "Diamond" Scola, "Godbird" Landry, etc., each has their own exclusive nickname.

Even role players like Novak and Bob Sura are familiar to many fans.

Now that Yao Ming has retired and Yi Jianlian has just re-established himself in the NBA, the biggest home team for Chinese fans is the Spurs.

Moreover, now that mobile phones and computers are popular, the speed of information dissemination is faster than it was at the beginning.

So the popularity of the current Spurs players may be even higher than those Rockets players in the beginning.

This can be seen from the number of fans waiting for autographs and photos at the entrance of the hotel where the Spurs arrived.

"Okay, I can only stay in the hotel all night."

Leonard doesn't like this noisy environment, so he said to Tang Tian after entering the hotel.

Leonard doesn't like to go out, but Diaw and Ginobili are just the opposite. They enjoy this environment very much. They directly signed autographs and took photos with the fans lining up in the hotel lobby, just like a book signing event.

"You... have the potential to sell books."

Tang Tian couldn't help but complain after watching.

But what he said was right, selling books is what many NBA players do after they retire.

As for Jordan, his book brought him a very considerable income.

Kobe's *The Mamba Mentality* is also a global bestseller.

There are two games in the China Games. The first is at the Wukesong Arena in Beijing, and the second is at the Mercedes-Benz Cultural Center in Shanghai.

Both are domestic NBA-level stadiums, which can accommodate up to nearly 20,000 people watching the game live.

There are many seats, but in fact, after the China Games were determined during the offseason, all the tickets for all the seats were sold out.

There are even many scalpers selling privately. The attention of these two games is unprecedented.

That night, when the Spurs players arrived at the entrance of the stadium by bus, they saw a large crowd of fans holding various slogans to enter the Wukesong Arena.

"Go.Spurs.Go!" and "We are the champions!" are considered relatively normal.

"Tang Tian, please don't go bald" and "BMW (Bié mō wǒ - don't touch me)" are particularly clear and refined.

These guys are really talented!

"What does that mean?"

When the car drove past and saw those slogans, Ginobili kept asking the Chinese meaning of BMW.

Tang Tian could only pretend he didn't hear it.

It seems that this China Games is like an NBA All-Star Game for Chinese fans.

"What's going on? I'm even a little nervous!"

Ginobili started talking nonsense again after entering the locker room.

"I've decided, I'll come to China next year too."

Diaw also had an enjoyable expression. He found that Chinese fans are really the most enthusiastic fans in the world.

"Guys, it's time to go on stage."

Budenholzer pushed open the door of the locker room and shouted at them.

The players whistled and stood up, and then left the locker room one after another.

"Tang, this is your home court." Diaw said when he was walking out.

Tang Tian laughed after hearing this.

If Wade and James heard Diaw's sarcasm, they would definitely want to beat him.

As soon as they came out of the player tunnel, there was an extremely warm cheer from the audience.

Joseph and Neal couldn't help but look up.

This atmosphere feels even more enthusiastic than during the Finals last year.

Tang Tian glanced at the audience. Many directors and artists were sitting in the front row.

He even saw Jackie Chan and Gong Li, two big stars.

For them, this kind of game is a big stage to show their faces, and it only costs a ticket, which is quite cost-effective.

After the pre-match warm-up, the starting lineups of both sides were released one after another.

The Mavericks sent out all their main players: Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo on the outside, Marion and Nowitzki on the front line, and Chris Kaman at center.

The Spurs were the same, Parker and Tang Tian on the outside, Leonard and Diaw on the front line, and Duncan at center.

There was a burst of cheers from the scene when the starting lineups of both sides came out.

It is common for star players to rest in the preseason, especially when it comes to the habitual offender, the Spurs.

But as a result, Popovich really gave enough face this time!

The camera focused on Popovich.

Popovich felt the cheers of the fans and waved hello, but his expression was a little awkward.

In fact, he originally planned to let Duncan and Ginobili rest in this game, but yesterday, Stern specially sent a message to the owners of the two teams.

They can play less, but they can't not play.

This is why both sides sent out their main players at the beginning.