At the end of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the total results of the Chinese basketball team led by Yao Ming were: the three-person women's basketball team won the bronze medal, the women's basketball team stopped in the top 8, the three-person men's basketball team failed to qualify, and the most concerned Chinese men's basketball team failed to get tickets to Tokyo.
In the international basketball world, in addition to the Victory of the United States and the emergence of super idol Luka Doncic, it is the golden age of the Spanish men's basketball team represented by Paul Gasol and the Argentine men's basketball team represented by Luis Scola.
Responsible Editor | Porcelain Visual design | Cherry blossoms
1
Pau Gasol's birthday was July 6, 1980, which, if you don't count the time difference, is only 68 days older than Yao Ming, who was born on September 12, 1980;
In 1998, when the 18-year-old Yao Ming ended his CBA rookie year in Shanghai, Gasol began a shining debut in the Spanish top league in Barcelona;
Three years later, Gasol was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 3rd overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, but was subsequently traded to the Memphis Grizzlies and successfully won the 2001-2002 rookie of the year;
Immediately after, Yao Ming became the 2002 NBA draft pick, and the small giant of the East parachuted into the Houston rocket caused a bigger sensation, and even alarmed the world - not only because of the yuan, but also because the Size of China behind Yao Ming is too large than Spain.
2
Yao Ming's first olympic experience was the 2000 Sydney Olympics; Vince Carter was the brightest star, facing the defense of 2.18-meter-tall French center Frederick Weiss, flying directly over, riding his neck and smashing the ball into the basket, known as the death slam dunk, continuing the American dream of international basketball.
Gasol was the 2004 Athens Olympics, when he led the Grizzlies to a record 50 wins and reached the playoffs as no. 6 in the West, for which the Grizzlies renewed his six-year, $86 million contract with him, and was only the second place in the NBA's overseas player salary list, only lower than Decker Nowitzki — of course, that was after the Olympic journey, on October 2, 2004.
3
Gasol and Yao Ming's real fame on the international stage coincided with the same year - the 2002 Men's Basketball World Championship was held in the United States, and the dream series of the American men's basketball team was the end of the crossbow, and the big names were not willing to fight for the country, and it was actually 37-year-old Reggie Miller who led.
Three years later, at the age of 40, he officially retired, and at this time, he fought for glory for the United States out of helplessness, supposedly because the host city was Indianapolis.
Before stepping into the NBA, in Indianapolis, the United States, Yao Ming began his conquest of the American continent, this World Championship averaged 21.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 blocks per game, shooting a high of 75.3%, a glance at the mountains, and he was selected for the best team; unfortunately, China in Group C won 1 and lost 7, 12th.
Also a teenage genius, Gasol's performance is not much more than enough, averaging 19.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.2 blocks per game, a total of 20 blocks or the highest in the event, that was his first time for Spain to play in the World Series, very amazing, since then, the big man has become the patron saint of the Matador Army, until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Nowitzki, just mentioned, is the MVP; the United States suffered historic humiliation, 6 wins and 3 losses, 6th; Spain 5th; Argentina silver; the Yugoslav men's basketball team won the gold medal.
4
The first game of the 2004 Athens Olympic Men's Basketball Team Group A was on August 15, China vs Spain: Gasol played 31 minutes in the olympic debut, 21 points and 10 rebounds on 8 of 11, leading the team to an easy victory; Yao Ming had 12 points and 8 rebounds, 5 fouls, and China only scored 58 points.
However, the biggest highlight of this game of the Chinese men's basketball team is not Yao Ming, but the official age of 17-year-old Yi Jianlian.
The 2003-2004 season was the second season of the UAE League in the CBA, the Guangdong South China Tigers tasted the taste of the championship for the first time, so before the finals were over, he was locked up by the national team, and at a young age, he followed the Chinese men's basketball team to Athens, which was also his first time playing for the Chinese men's basketball team.
But the eyes of the world are focused on Yao Ming, Munch Battle – at that time, the moving Great Wall of China – is not complete, the first Chinese player to land in the NBA Wang Zhizhi regrettably missed for some reasons – this Olympic Games should be the peak of the Chinese men's basketball team's 3 major centers, if there is no off-court accident, it is difficult to say whether the Best Olympic record of the Chinese men's basketball team will only stop at 8th 3 times.
Then history cannot be changed.
For the UAE, people's expectations for him are only to go to Europe to see the big scene, and do not expect any amazing performance, but the young people do not think so, the first game Spain and Yao Ming completed the cross-shift tactics at the bottom line, after Yao Ming attracted the defense to break through to the basket, received the ball dunk.
This is the first time that the UAE League has scored in the Olympic Games, in one fell swoop, and when Yao Ming returned to the defense after scoring, he also slapped the UAE League's ass fiercely, which is the encouragement to give the little brother love, which is also the chinese men's basketball team's net minus 25 tragedy has the most beautiful picture.
If the Chinese men's basketball team had hitched a ride on the last train of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the UAE Would have become a veteran of the Five Dynasties of this event like Gasol, but unfortunately, history cannot be changed.
Back to Yao Ming, after the first game, he began to go on a rampage, and the second battle avenged the opponent of the 2002 Men's Basketball World Championship, New Zealand, and slashed 39 points, and finally 20.7 points in 7 battlefields.
The UAE League's stunning dunk, the defense and become the background of the UAE League is Gasol, but, throughout the entire event Gasol is more brilliant than Yao Ming, a total of 157 points and 13 blocks, 2 statistics are the most events, unfortunately, Spain, which is on its way to the peak, met the United States, although the latter is not strong, but Gasol's 29 points are still inferior to Steven Marbury's 31 points, the United States took the opportunity to avenge 2 years ago:
It was the 2002 Men's Basketball World Championship, the ranking of 5 to 8 places, the United States lost to Spain 75:81.
5
The real winner of the men's basketball arena at the 2004 Athens Olympics was Scola, whose birthday was April 30, 1980 – the three of his peers, Argentina's oldest.
Argentines are not episodes, or even protagonists, after the elimination of Spain, the United States semifinals met Argentina, which is still a world-class power, and the United States at that time has long faded its aura, not an invincible myth: the 2002 Men's Basketball World Championships The United States fought solidly in the United States of America, in addition to just saying that the qualifying game lost to Spain, the previous group stage was lost to Argentina, and the 1/4 final was directly eliminated by the Yugoslav men's basketball team.
Scola and Gasol have similar trajectories, the 2002 Men's Basketball World Championship was his first experience of the Spanish men's basketball team, breaking the 59-game winning streak in the United States, he scored 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, and was one of the 4 players on the team to score in double figures
It is a pity that Argentina reached the final but lost to the Yugoslav men's basketball team, and its failure to win the World Championship made the final madness of the Yugoslav men's basketball team.
For the sake of narrative rigor, a small amount of Eastern European history must be interspersed here:
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, abbreviated as Yugoslavia, was dissolved in 1991, and in 1992 the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro formed the Federal Republic to inherit its main body, and renamed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, generally referred to as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to show that it was different from the previous abbreviation Yugoslavia; in 2003, it was renamed serbia and Montenegro, referred to as Serbia and Montenegro; in 2006, the two were separated, namely the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, both of which are sovereign and independent countries.
The 2004 Athens Olympics was the pinnacle of the Argentine men's basketball team, the first match of the Serbian men's basketball team, Manu Ginobili staged a full-time rush to catch the ball and throw the board to beat the whistle.
At this event, Serbia and Montenegro are in the same group as China, Argentina, Spain, New Zealand and Italy, and the competition between them is fierce, and the scene is extremely hot:
Serbia and Montenegro lost four games within 3 points and won Italy by 2 points; China scored only 58 points against Spain and 57 points against Argentina, but narrowly beat Serbia and Montenegro with Yao Ming's 27 points and 13 rebounds to break into the top 8.
Scola, Ginobili led argentina semifinals again encountered the United States, the United States aimed at revenge unexpectedly overturned again, of which, the current number one superstar in basketball LeBron James only played 3 minutes, the NBA's best big forward Tim Duncan left the court in 20 minutes, the team's three-pointers were 3 of 11, everything was so incredible; and Scola contributed 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, Argentina's skillful cooperation made the United States completely lost its way, and finally lost 81:89. Missed the final, followed by a 3rd place race to beat Lithuania 104:96 – bronze medal, always very reluctant for the U.S. men's basketball team.
In the final, Ginobili was surrounded by heavy troops, only 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists on 4 of 6; at this time, Scola stepped forward, scored a game-high 25 points on 10 of 13, grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, and tried to ensure that Argentina defeated italy 84:69, put on the crown of the Olympic men's basketball team, sat on the throne, and completed the enthronement ceremony.
Although this battle is more prestigious for Scola personally than not being able to defeat the United States and killing Sehei, it is the most important single-game showdown in the Argentine men's basketball team.
Therefore, luis Scolabi Paul Gasol is fortunate that he finally has an Olympic gold medal.
6
The 2006 Men's Basketball World Championship was held in Japan, Yao Ming contributed his peak performance in the Chinese men's basketball team, averaging 25.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per game, of which 25.3 points was the highest in the event; against Slovenia, he played 36 points and 10 rebounds, but what is slightly surprising is that today's people remember Wang Shipeng's death; and today's Slovenia contributed to the number one superstar of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Basketball Arena - Luka Doncic.
It is the year, Yao will only be 26 years old next year, a really good year.
Then, he suffered a non-metastatic fracture of the tibia of his right leg at the end of 2006, and a stress fracture of his left ankle in early 2008, beginning an injury-ridden end-of-career struggle, which was followed by a story to tell, temporarily stopped;
In the same year, Gasol and his Spanish men's basketball team ushered in the peak, the same 2006 men's basketball world championship, they defeated the Serbian men's basketball team and lithuanian men's basketball team in the knockout round and met Argentina in the semifinals, not only Spain's internal strong full field got 33 free throw opportunities, already a super killer in the international arena Gasol contributed 19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks;
At the crucial moment, Scola made a foul successfully and made 2 free throws to easily chase 74:74, but after the suspension, Spain did not give the ball to Gasol, who was injured, but was broken by defender José Calderon, who took the lead in 2 free throws after being fouled; it was the turn of The Argentine tactics to launch, Andrés Nosioni's three-point shooting opportunity could not be seized, Spain beat the opponent 75:74 to enter the final, and in the end, 70:47 slaughtered super dark horse Greece to win the World Championship.
The mixed feeling is that Gasol, who was injured in the semifinals, did not play in the final - missing the highest single-game matchup of the Spanish men's basketball team, and no one really can say whether Gasol should be sorry?
Or should the fans feel sorry?
History cannot be changed, really.
7
It was a time of rapid progress, and in the blink of an eye the 2008 Beijing Olympics arrived.
The Chinese men's basketball team must wait for the strict line, not only because people have high expectations of the host, but also because Spain, the United States, Germany, and Greece in the same group are strong.
At this time, Gasol is even more proud of the spring breeze, on February 1, 2008, the Los Angeles Lakers got him through a big deal, and the main counterpart sent out was his unknown brother, Mark Gasol, since then, people call him The Great Gasol, his brother is Gasol Jr.; joining the Los Angeles Lakers' Big Gasol to help Kobe Bryant reach the NBA Finals of the year, although he did not win the championship, but the new king has become a climate, and the next 2 consecutive championships are natural;
Just mentioned Yao Ming, on February 25, 2008 suffered a left ankle stress fracture, before the Rocket core Tracy McGrady underwent minimally invasive surgery to make a career turn, last season also led the team to create a miracle of 22 consecutive wins He only played 35 games in the 2008-2009 season, the data plummeted to 15.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists, shooting only 38.8%, Yao Ming was injured in the second round of the playoffs, and finally lost to the powerful Lakers and achieved his first crown.
This is a postscript.
China hosted the Olympic Games for the first time but did not have Yao Ming at its own home? Undoubtedly a thunderbolt on a sunny day, in order to catch up with the Olympic Yao Ming after surgery to continuously compress the rehabilitation training time, and finally forced a hitchhiking, the second game of the group stage against Spain is the key battle of the Chinese men's basketball team, both sides are doing their best, the Chinese men's basketball team led by as many as 14 points in the 3 quarters...
...... However, Spain in the last quarter began to fight back with better bench depth, and Wang Zhizhi, who returned to the embrace of the motherland, hit a key long-distance two-pointer and helped China to overtake, but the new force in the interior line of the Spanish men's basketball team - Gasol Jr. scored a difficult shot and equalized in the face of Yao Ming, and the Chinese men's basketball team that was dragged into overtime had a red light, Spain harvested the victory with a 13-3 offensive tide, and Gasol scored 29 points in 13 of the 17th of the game;
75:85, this game, many years later, still makes the Chinese men's basketball team angry.
At this time, Scola has also left Europe for the NBA to develop, and has been a teammate of the Rockets and Yao Ming for 1 season in Houston, and the diamond is dancing, and the posture is very mysterious;
In the Argentine men's basketball team for the first time, he became the top scorer, averaging 18.9 points per game, and Argentina met the United States in the semifinals - the so-called Dream 8 who was about to take revenge.
As a result, the non-vegetarian Scola was full of firepower, scoring 28 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks on 13-of-21, but Dream 8 was Dream 8, leBron James's 2003 golden age, with Kobe Bryant assisting, Dwight Howard guarding the inside line, Jason Kidd was the head coach of the stadium, and after a large invitation from Coach K and a long training camp, they came to take revenge .
In the previous years, Spain and Argentina had defeated the United States at the World Championships and the Olympic Games, which had completely angered the basketball overlords, and finally forced out the luxurious dream 8, defeating China 101:70 in the first game of the group stage; then, beating Spain 119:82; revenge on Argentina in the semifinals 101:81, Scola's 28 points and 11 rebounds were adrift; in the final, Spain came again.
Perhaps the greatest regret in theoretically analyzing the course of the Grand Gasol Olympics is the narrow road encounter with the United States in its heyday, just as Carl Malone and Michael Jordan were contemporaries.
In the 2008 Beijing Olympic Men's Basketball Final, Spain played very tenaciously, in addition to losing 7 points in the first quarter, the difference in the single quarter of the last 3 quarters was within 2 points, Rudy Fernandez and Gasol scored 20+, Juan Navarro contributed 18 points, but the 5-man doubles matador still failed to stop the United States, Dwayne Wade broke out on the bench, and Kobe Bryant attacked at the critical moment to help the United States regain the Olympic championship.
After that, Kobe Bryant created his own dynasty in Los Angeles, and Spanish superstar Paul Saul also stood at the peak of the NBA's glory, completely suppressing Luis Scola.
8
The same story was played out again 4 years later.
2012 London Olympics, men's basketball field, the semi-final Argentina lost to the United States, the final Spain lost to the north, the big Gasol's 24 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists still failed to let him have an Olympic gold medal.
Time passed, things changed stars, the Chinese men's basketball team at that time had no Yao Ming, he was forced to play in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games with injury, and then met with the Los Angeles Lakers of Big Gasol and Kobe Bryant in the second round of the NBA's 2008-2009 playoffs, and he was injured in the first game of the series on May 4, and after adjustment, he insisted on returning to the court and finally led the Rockets to win; on May 6 and 8, he played 26 minutes 21 seconds and 39 minutes and 50 seconds, respectively, the Rockets lost; may 10 finally announced the DNP , the next day announced a fracture in the left foot, the season of early reimbursement;
Full reimbursement for the 2009-2010 season;
In the 2010-2011 season, Yao Ming played only 5 games;
At 14:00 on July 20, 2011, Yao Ming held a press conference to officially announce his retirement, when he was not yet 31 years old, but he had only played 5 games due to injury in the previous two NBA seasons, and his body could no longer bear the weight of professional games.
And just before he retired, in the 2010-2011 season, Scola played the highest season of his NBA career, averaging 18.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, but he could not lead the Rockets back to the playoffs like Yao Ming did alone - Yao Ming is Yao Ming, Scola is Scola.
After that, no one expected that the careers of Gasol Grande and Scola would be so long; especially when faced with national glory.
In the 2016 Rio Olympics, they are both 36 years old, they are old acquaintances, Argentina was eliminated by the United States in the quarterfinals, Ginobili played his last journey in the Argentine men's basketball team, and people think that Scola's career will probably end soon.
In the semi-finals, Spain was also eliminated by the United States.
Argentina and Spain, which have been out of the United States for three consecutive Olympic Games since 2008, are believed to be their golden age, and they will never come back in the near future – only to wait for a new superstar, a new era, to come again.
9
However, by the 2019 Men's Basketball World Cup, it was actually two 39-year-old men who made a large-scale demon, which calmed all the young people.
Scola faced the young Nikola Jokic with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, eliminating Serbia, the 2016 Rio Olympic runner-up who won the card, even though the latter won the NBA's season MVP last season;
Then he had 28 points and 13 rebounds in front of the NBA's best defensive player, Rudy Gobert, and returned the seemingly invincible French tower when he eliminated the United States.
However, it is a pity that Scola in the final seems to have exhausted his heart, besieged by Spain without a big Gasol, and lost the world champion again after 15 years, achieving Spain's dream for the first time in 13 years.
10
Spain and Argentina have both secured places through the 2019 World Cup to Tokyo, and Gasol Grande and Scola have also extended their careers to the present, with Scola continuing to maintain his form in Europe, playing in Italy's top league;
Gasol Left the NBA in 2019 to return to the very beginning - Barcelona, in the 2020-2021 season, Gasol helped the team win the Spanish League championship, each game can efficiently contribute 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1 assist and 0.7 blocks, but the loss of the Champions League basketball final made him miss the Grand Slam.
Excellent basic skills, extremely disciplined physical management, professional basketball attitude, The Great Gasol and Scola are still continuing the incredible length and breadth of their careers.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the 2 superstars and their national mythology basically came to an end; Yao Ming, who used to be in the limelight, just happened to be the 10th anniversary, and now he has completed many role reversals, the owner of the Shanghai Oriental Shark Basketball Club, the chairman of the CBA company, and the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association;
This expedition to Tokyo, the belly of his is the supreme leader of Chinese basketball, life is always unpredictable, appreciate the prosperity of the evergreen trees in the basketball world, but also feel the unpredictable fate, who can think that the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be Yao Ming's last great shore left in the national team, and what awaits him from Tokyo is the CBA full of chicken feathers.
The same is 41 years old, but the fate has long been different, the most precious at the moment, if you meet a wonderful clap and laugh, do not be rigid.
Copyright Notice: The original manuscript of "East Asian Super League", part of the content borrows from and directly adopts the article "41-year-old Yao Ming, Gasol, Scola, different Olympics of the same age" on July 22, which has obtained the consent of the author, and is specially thanked here. Author: Wangwang. Image from fiba.basketball-based web screenshots. If you have any doubts about copyright, please deal with it immediately, and if other media or self-media need to reprint, please communicate in advance.