That night, the Lakers bounced back strong, defeating the Spurs at home. They had just lost to the Bulls the game before, so with that, the Knicks stood alone as the only undefeated team in the league—sitting at a league-best 9-0 record.
Facing his longtime rival, Zhao Dong came out locked in. From the tip-off to the final buzzer, he was aggressive on both ends, torching the Spurs with a monster performance—22-of-36 from the field, a perfect 7-of-7 from the line, and dropped a staggering 51 points.
The very next day, the league released its official MVP rankings.
Zhao Dong? Sitting right at the top.
He was averaging 41 minutes, 43.5 points, 11 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 1.6 steals, 3.2 blocks, 1.2 turnovers, and just 2.7 fouls per game.
Second place went to Karl Malone. Third was Tim Duncan. Fourth? Shaquille O'Neal. But none of their numbers even came close. In fact, when it came to scoring, not one of them was even hitting 30 points a night. Duncan and O'Neal were only putting up about 21 each—half of what Zhao Dong was doing.
Meanwhile, over in Philly, Allen Iverson wasn't too happy with how the rankings shook out.
He was putting up 28.8 points per game—better than Malone—but still found himself ranked all the way down at tenth.
Looking at Zhao Dong's average of 43.5? It just made him feel helpless.
"Man, is that even human?" Iverson muttered, throwing the newspaper down. "If this keeps up, I'm never gonna get a scoring title."
He scratched his head, trying to wrap his mind around it.
"How come the Jordan Rules could lock up MJ's scoring, but the Zhao Dong Rule can't shut down Zhao Dong?" he grumbled.
Back in the 1986 playoffs, the league implemented the Jordan Rules—a defensive scheme meant to neutralize isolation scorers. It worked. Jordan's scoring dropped.
But now?
The so-called "Zhao Dong Rule" was useless. The more they tried to stop Zhao Dong, the more dominant he became.
And Iverson wasn't the only one wondering about this. The whole league was trying to figure it out.
Magic Johnson gave his take in an interview with the media:
"Zhao ain't Jordan. MJ was a true perimeter guy. Zhao? He can play all five positions," Magic said. "The Zhao Dong Rule and the first-step restrictions? They don't mean much to him."
"Last Finals, soon as they started limiting his first step, he stopped playing outside altogether. Took it down low. That's IQ."
"I remember the first guy that restriction hit was Stockton—got called for a dribble violation. But Zhao? He finds ways to get around it."
Magic continued, "When they try to apply the Zhao Dong Rule, he just changes spots or moves the rock. Passes out, gets it back, and cooks. And the zone defense? That ain't doing much either—he moves so well off the ball, you can't even double him unless the league lets you double-team guys who don't even have the ball."
"Zhao Dong = King of the Midrange."
That was the headline in The New York Times the next morning.
They broke it down: "This season, Zhao Dong's been attacking less in the paint and way more in the midrange. It's like he's drifting farther and farther from the rim. But through nine games, he's still unstoppable."
Shooting splits?
62% near the rim
57% midrange
54% from the elbow
51% on long twos
"And this is before he unlocks that rumored rebounding technique. Once he does? His close-range numbers might shoot past 70%."
"Will there be more rule changes?"
New York Sports Daily posted that question as its headline.
"Our reporters hit the streets, and one idea kept popping up—ban the three-step layup in the paint. That's supposed to reduce Zhao Dong's damage near the rim. But now that his midrange is this efficient, what rule can stop him? Maybe, like Magic said, allow off-ball double teams?"
"Honestly, that's not a bad idea."
The Washington Post had its own take:
"Stopping Zhao Dong might be a problem we still can't solve 100 years from now."
Then came Larry Bird, who gave his thoughts in a sit-down interview:
"Right now, Zhao Dong's at peak Jordan level. Maybe even better when it comes to pure scoring," Bird said.
But he added, "That doesn't mean he'll win a chip. Jordan didn't win early on when he was dropping 37 a night. Chamberlain scored 100 in a game, averaged 50 and 20 for a season—and still didn't win it all. That's something teams need to think about."
"If you wanna win it all, stopping Zhao Dong is part of it, yeah. But building the perfect team around your guy is the most important part."
Bird pointed to the Bulls as the biggest threat.
"I like this year's Bulls squad. Their first matchup with the Knicks? That was a dogfight. If they keep growing, they might even overtake New York."
"The Knicks got Zhao Dong, yeah. But if all your scoring is coming from one dude? That's risky."
"Same deal with Jordan back when he ran into the Bad Boys Pistons. Once they locked him down, the Bulls would fall apart."
"There's no Bad Boys squad around now, but like Magic said—if the league allows double-teaming guys without the ball, and Zhao Dong can't even touch it? That would change everything."
That stirred up more drama.
"Double-teaming off-ball is a BS rule," Shaquille O'Neal barked at reporters. "Hell no. If they pass that, I'm screwed too."
Then came Tim Duncan—usually lowkey, but this time, he made waves.
"I've broken down Zhao Dong's tape," Duncan told the press. "When he doesn't have the ball, he moves better than anyone else in the league. Guards included."
"That's why his shooting percentage is so damn high. If you wanna stop him, you gotta kill that off-ball movement."
And just like that, people started to take Duncan seriously.
Magic's suggestion—allowing off-ball double teams—suddenly didn't sound so crazy anymore.
Pat Riley had just taken an L, but he wasn't bitter. Facing the press, he kept it real.
"As expected from a top student—Tim Duncan showed a crazy high basketball IQ out there," he said. "Yeah, we did everything we could to contain Zhao Dong, but we just couldn't find the right key to lock him down. Duncan and the Magic reminded us how serious the problem is."
Back at the Chicago Bulls headquarters, Phil Jackson leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.
Then, suddenly, he called out, "Chris! Get me all the tape we got on Zhao Dong. Every single one."
Phil wasn't the only one. Around the league, coaching staffs were staying up late watching Zhao Dong's footage on repeat—trying to crack the code on how to shut him down.
---
San Antonio, Spurs Practice Facility
Popovich looked a little heated. He turned to Duncan, arms folded.
"Tim, what the hell were you thinking? Why'd you tell the media all that?"
The comments Duncan made about Zhao Dong weren't just off the dome. They were conclusions he and Pop had reached together—privately. Now, Pop felt like his secret weapon had been leaked to the whole damn league.
Duncan, calm as ever, said, "Greg, we've been trying to solve this for a while, but we haven't found an answer. So I thought—maybe if more people get involved, we might figure it out faster. Otherwise, we'll keep running in circles."
Popovich narrowed his eyes. "And you think they'll just tell you when they figure it out?"
Duncan froze for a second, unsure how to respond. He didn't need them to tell him anything. They'd see it—on the court.
"…Damn it," Pop muttered, realizing he just exposed himself.
---
New York, Knicks Office
Old Nelson had been serious-faced ever since he saw Duncan's interview. After chatting with Van Gundy and Thibodeau, he had to admit—Duncan had a point. If Zhao Dong's off-ball movement ever got clamped, his shooting percentage would take a hit.
He picked up the phone and dialed.
"Zhao Dong, you think Duncan's right?"
"Of course," Zhao Dong chuckled. "If I can't shake my defender, my efficiency's gonna drop."
"So what do you think?" Nelson asked.
Zhao Dong replied, "It's not up to me. It's up to how the team runs the offense. If they wanna stop me from breaking free, they gotta scheme it out. One-on-one? Nah, they're not locking me up with just one guy."
Nelson nodded on the other end. "Got it."
"We'll handle whatever comes," Zhao Dong added. "They ain't figured it out yet anyway."
---
In the following games, the Knicks took on the Nets, Celtics, Magic, and Timberwolves—none of them real contenders. Zhao Dong was in full beast mode, dropping 50+ points in each matchup. By the time they faced the Magic, he had four straight 50-point games under his belt.
With that kind of firepower, Zhao Dong led the Knicks to 12 straight wins, keeping title-hopeful teams across the league on edge.
Coaches and analysts were burning the midnight oil, studying every second of tape, hoping to craft a strategy to slow the Golden Tyrant down.
---
It was late February. Over a third of the regular season had passed.
February 27, Knicks vs. Timberwolves—final game of the month.
At the hotel earlier that day, Ernie Grunfeld found Zhao Dong lounging and approached him with a curious look.
"Hey, Zhao, you tryna trade for Marbury?"
"Huh? Nah," Zhao Dong laughed. "Why?"
Ernie frowned. "His agent hit me up and said you wanted him on the team."
Zhao Dong blinked, then smirked. "I was just messing with him last time. You don't gotta take it seriously."
Ernie snorted. "Well, he did."
"That's your job," Zhao Dong said, waving it off.
Ernie sighed. "Look, we probably can't trade for him. His deal's up after this season, and his agent's asking for a max. We don't got that kinda cap space."
"Then just reject it," Zhao Dong said, still smiling. "But don't tell him I was joking."
Ernie chuckled, pointed at Zhao Dong like "you got me," and walked off.
---
Marbury's Apartment
Just as he was heading out for the game, Marbury's phone buzzed.
"Steve," his agent said. "Knicks don't have cap space next season."
"No space?"
"Nope. Zhao's contract is massive—bigger than Garnett's. They're not gonna go into the luxury tax for you."
Marbury's mood turned sour. "So what now?"
"Request a trade. It's your only shot."
"…Alright. Let's do it."
---
Game Night: Knicks vs. Timberwolves
During the pre-game lineup, Zhao Dong noticed something off—Marbury was staring at him like he stole his lunch money.
"Steve! Been a minute. How you doing?" Zhao Dong said with a sheepish grin.
Marbury just rolled his neck and looked away.
"Heh…" Zhao Dong forced a dry laugh and jogged off with the team.
On the Timberwolves bench, Garnett narrowed his eyes.
"There's drama."
---
First Quarter
Knicks forward Danny Fortson got the start.
Three minutes in, chaos struck.
While crashing for a rebound, Fortson collided hard with Latrell. Both hit the floor.
Fortson clutched his left knee. The Madman was grabbing at his right ankle. Neither could stand.
On the sideline, Ernie Grunfeld watched it all unfold and muttered under his breath:
"…Please don't tell me I jinxed both of 'em."
He was especially worried about Fortson.
For a big man—especially one who plays a violent, physical style—a knee injury is the worst kind of news. If he couldn't recover properly, it could end his career before it really started.
Zhao Dong felt helpless. He'd tried his best to help Fortson fix his rebounding technique, but even with that, the injury still happened.
In his past life, Fortson had died young—family problems, injuries, and a self-destructive personality had all played a role. Was it truly unavoidable, even this time?
With two starters going down at once, the Knicks hit some turbulence. Willis stepped up to replace Fortson, and Hu Weidong took over for Latrell.
Despite the setbacks, Zhao Dong locked in and focused on offense. He dropped a monster triple-double—over 40 points—and still led the team to another win. That made it 13 straight wins in February, an undefeated month.
---
The next morning, Ernie Grunfeld accompanied Fortson and Latrell back to New York for evaluation, while the rest of the team boarded a flight to Chicago to prep for tomorrow's road game against the Bulls.
While the Knicks were boarding, news broke over in Minnesota: Stephon Marbury's agent had shown up at the Timberwolves' front office and officially submitted a trade request.
That completely stunned the Timberwolves' management.
---
"Yo, Brother Dong, we made it to the finals!"
Just as Zhao Dong stepped off the plane and was about to hop on the team bus, his phone buzzed. It was Yao.
"Already?" Zhao Dong blinked, caught off guard. Then it hit him—March Madness had started.
The NBA season was only a month in, but the college season was already nearing its climax. March Madness would definitely pull a chunk of the audience away from the NBA—the ratings were bound to take a hit.
"Play your heart out," Zhao Dong said with a chuckle. "If y'all don't win the championship with that squad, it just means you suck."
Duke's starting lineup was already stacked, and now they had Yao Ming in the paint? That team was straight-up unfair in this year's NCAA. Zhao Dong knew they weren't even playing the same game as the other schools.
No one in college could match Yao in the paint. The NCAA hadn't produced any legit big men the past couple of years. With Elton Brand as his frontcourt partner? That duo was crushing everybody.
The only real talents from other schools were Odom at Rhode Island and Ron Artest at St. John's—and neither school had even made it to March Madness. As far as Zhao Dong was concerned, the title was Duke's to lose.
"Relax, Dong. We haven't lost all season—we're gonna take the title," Yao said confidently on the other end.
"That's what I wanna hear." Zhao Dong grinned and hung up.
---
After the call, Zhao Dong's thoughts drifted to the three Chinese players who had come to the U.S. with him.
Yao Ming was a lock. The kid had the height, the basketball IQ, the work ethic—all top tier. No doubt, he'd end up way better than in his past life.
Hu Weidong… he came to the States too late. If he'd made the jump five years earlier, he could've been a starting-caliber guard in the league. But at his age now, most teams were putting their money into younger, higher-upside players.
Honestly, out of the three, Hu Weidong had the most raw talent. But compared to Yao, he didn't work as hard, and his willpower wasn't as strong. That's what held him back.
Still, now that he was with the Knicks, he was making the most of it. Lately, he'd been grinding on defense, throwing his body around, showing some real toughness. He'd carved out a solid rotation spot in New York's frontcourt.
With Fortson and Latrell both sidelined, Dazhi and Hu Weidong were about to see way more playing time. This was their shot.
---
"Dazhi, go call Brother Hu over. I need to talk to you two."
"Got it." Dazhi jumped up right away.
Not long after, Hu Weidong walked over.
"Brother Hu," Zhao Dong started, " Latrell out now. That means you're stepping into the starting two guard spot. This is your time. You're on a 2+1 deal with a player option. If you ball out, you can opt out next season and let your agent shop you around. You could land a mid-level deal with another team—three, maybe four years, a few million per year. That's life-changing money, enough to set you up for good."
"Opt out?" Hu Weidong's heart skipped.
His salary last year had been $750K, the full non-guaranteed amount. This season, he was on track to make $980K, but because he missed the first 32 games, it'd come out lower. Next season, he was slated to earn $1.32 million. Opting out meant walking away from that guaranteed payday.
"Don't hesitate, Brother Hu. You're 29 already. This is your peak. Go all out. The big contract's right there, waiting for you." Zhao Dong clapped him on the shoulder.
"…Alright," Hu Weidong nodded firmly. "I'll follow your lead."
---
After that, Zhao Dong turned to Dazhi.
"Fordson's down, and you're still a bit young, so Willis will probably start. You and Barkley are gonna get more run, though. You gotta grab this opportunity."
Zhao Dong's tone shifted, firm and serious.
"Keep doing your thing on offense, but defense is where you gotta lock in. If you can defend, you're a starting-caliber center—even on contenders like the Knicks or Bulls.
"But without defense? You're just a scorer. Maybe you start for a trash team, maybe you don't even make the rotation."
He looked Dazhi dead in the eyes.
"With defense, your ceiling is first-rate. Without it, you're third-tier at best. So work. Don't be scared of getting banged up, don't be afraid of the grind. Don't waste your talent."
"I got it, Brother Dong!" Dazhi nodded hard, fired up.
Zhao Dong smiled, then added one last thing: "But the schedule's tight this month. Both of you gotta take care of your bodies. No more injuries."
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I didn't realize the Discord Link I shared had an expiration date, so I've updated it. Here's the new link
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