Emeka Okafor looked at the voting results in the east and felt like crying.

Because he didn't even find his name among the top seven frontcourt players in the Eastern Conference voting.

The second largest team in the Eastern Conference:???

What went wrong?

The rankings of the first round voting results are as follows. In the Eastern frontcourt, Jamison ranked seventh, Pierce sixth, Artest fifth, O'Brien fourth, Hill, who has returned from injury, third, and the popular player Carter second.

To be honest, this list is actually pretty normal so far.

Except for Artest's fifth place, which is a bit surprising, I think the rest of Okafor's rankings are acceptable.

Well, God knows how much Okafor despises the coward.

What really makes Okafor feel crushed is the one who ranks first in the Eastern Conference frontcourt votes...Wayne!

"Is it so different..." Okafor was stunned. Although he knew that Wayne would definitely reap the dividends from the Chinese market, he never expected that the number of votes would be so exaggerated.

Yao Ming was able to start the All-Star Game in his rookie year because he was the No. 1 pick in the draft. Moreover, he was the first Chinese player to make a name for himself in the NBA, so it is normal to have bonuses.

But what about Wayne?

He is only the No. 12 pick, and at this time, Yao Mingzhuyu is already ahead of him.

Logically speaking, the shock that Wayne brought to people shouldn't be that big.

As a result, I didn’t make it into the top seven, but he actually took first place?

Even Hill and Carter, two former vote harvesters, were suppressed by him?

It’s so outrageous.

Okafor was so dizzy at the time that he almost fainted.

I had 14 consecutive double-doubles. I averaged 14+10 per game. I had the most double-doubles in the 2004 class!

In fact, few people who play in Charlotte know how well Okafor plays...

A year ago, as the university's most dazzling star, he ignored Wayne.

"Wayne? A guy who shoots three-pointers is about the same as Villanueva."

A year later, Wayne hit him hard.

When he was in college, he was called Mr. Perfect, which meant that Oka was excellent both in character and academics. He was a good idol and a role model for young people. He was naturally extremely popular.

But in the NBA, he was still called Mr. Perfect, which means that Okafor is easy to bully, has no domineering, no leadership qualities, no memory points, no attention, no personality, no...

Nothing!

Indeed, on the court, Wayne's shock to Chinese fans was not that great.

Although it was a good performance and very gratifying, it really wasn't as shocking as it was.

But in the martial arts arena, Wayne left a very deep impression on Chinese fans!

Seeing Yao Ming being bullied for so long in the NBA, everyone feels quite aggrieved.

Although there was a famous scene like Big Brother Fu stepping forward to help Yao Ming, Yao Ming was still bullied after all, which was embarrassing.

Now there is finally someone who dares to bully someone back and is really capable of bullying him back. The Chinese fans are very impressed.

Wayne's popularity in China is so high that even he himself may not have imagined.

It really echoes what Artest said: "Playing and fighting, you have to win at least the same thing."

Of course, one thing that cannot be ignored is that Wayne's popularity in the United States is not low.

According to the voting rules, fans can vote for two players at a time in the backcourt and frontcourt.

So do you think Indiana fans will vote for Wayne + O'Brien, or Artest + O'Brien?

Thinking about it this way... Yasuko, who is targeted everywhere, seems a bit pitiful...

So at this moment, looking at the voting results, except for Okafor, Artest is probably the most sad.

"I'm the best defensive player...the best defensive player...the best..."

There was no other way, American fans did it too.

In this voting, Wayne not only ranked first in the frontcourt, he was also the player in the Eastern Conference who received the most votes second only to O'Neal.

Of course, Chairman Yao was even more powerful. He once again directly became the top vote-getter in the first round.

That's right, again.

If Wayne remembers correctly, Chairman Yao's status as the top vote-getter in 2005 should continue until the end of the voting.

Shaq: "When I was in the West, you stole my starting spot, and when I came to the East, you tried to steal my vote. Obviously, we don't do this."

Although in the overall vote list, Wayne failed to enter the top three.

But as a first-year rookie and an international player, Wayne's vote count is already quite exaggerated.

After the voting results came out, it naturally caused some controversy.

In addition to once again lamenting the power of the mysterious Eastern power, the American people also have some jealousies.

After all, Wayne's current average of 16.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 blocks per game is not considered the top in the league.

Just like when Yao Ming defeated Shaq with 13+8.

Some people have doubts about whether Wayne is worthy of the position of starting forward in the Eastern Conference All-Stars.

But the strange thing is that most of these jealous fans are not fans of the Eastern Conference teams, but fans of the Western Conference teams.

Phoenix fans: "Amar'e Stoudemire may not be an All-Star starting forward, but Wayne can be? In terms of statistics, Stoudemire completely beats Wayne!"

Timberwolves fan: "His vote count almost caught up with my tough guy. How is this possible!?"

Mavericks fan: "They are all international players, how can there be such a big gap. The Western Conference is so terrible, I am heartbroken for five seconds by Fang Deke."

Well, the competition for the forward position in the Western Conference is indeed too fierce. If Wayne goes to the Western Conference, it is indeed impossible to be ranked first.

Let’s not talk about Duncan. His popularity is at the height of his popularity right now. Although Hardy did a space dance in front of Wayne and the Timberwolves’ record has overturned this season, he was the MVP last season and his popularity is not low.

In addition, Dirk and Stoudemire's statistics are also very good. Especially Stoudemire, his style of smashing rebounds in every game is very popular.

Seeing that Wayne, who has worse statistics, may become a starter in the Eastern Conference, can people not be anxious?

But things are different here in the east. There are far fewer people with yin and yang eccentricities.

First of all, there is really no one in the power forward position in the Eastern Conference. In terms of statistics, the only one who is much better than Wayne is Ou.

The problem is that Ou is also a member of the Pacers, and he wholeheartedly supports Wayne's entry into the starting lineup.

Secondly, and the most important point - most of the Eastern Conference teams have been dealt with by Wayne, and they are more convinced of Wayne than the Western Conference teams.

This does not specifically refer to the Pistons who lost both in fighting and basketball.

It's not entirely unreasonable for Wayne's statistics to make him an All-Star in the Eastern Conference. Didn't you see that Kenyon Martin, who had similar statistics to Wayne's last season, also made a trip to the All-Stars?

Therefore, there are voices of controversy, but they are not as loud as imagined.

At least it wasn't as controversial as when Yao Ming became an All-Star starter for the first time.

Wayne's performance in his rookie season is indeed more worthy of the All-Star position than Yao Ming in the same period.

"Well, Nike is designing an exclusive color matching sneaker for you to wear during the All-Star Game! It will be mailed to your home in another week."

After the first round of All-Star voting results came out, the first call Wayne received was from Schwartz.

Nike is secretly happy now. Fortunately, they directly recruited Wayne with a dimensionality-reducing strike price, otherwise they would have to watch Adidas perform now!

Although only the results of the first round of voting have been announced so far, the subsequent rankings may still change.

If Wayne falls out of the top two and enters the coaching selection process, he may not be able to play in the All-Star Game.

But right now, the probability of Wayne being squeezed out of the top two is very low.

Among the top three, only Carter's vote count is slightly better than that of a dozen, and there is still a possibility of overtaking him.

But Hill, who only played 47 games in the previous three years, was far behind Wayne in votes.

He is no longer the darling of the league.

Therefore, Nike couldn't wait to put Wayne's All-Star color matching sneaker plan on the agenda.

In the All-Star Game, popular players such as Tracy McGrady, Garnett, and Duncan are all owned by Adidas. The All-Star color matching sneakers they launch are popular all over the United States every time.

Nike has been suffering from the All-Star Game for so many years, and now it finally has a chance to get a share of the pie. Can it not be active?

Nike: “We’ve known Wayne’s potential for a long time, we’ve known he could succeed!”

As for whether they really thought so highly of Wayne before, does that matter?

Now hurry up and blow it hard and it’s over!

"Are these sneakers in All-Star colors... Well, okay, I'll check them out." Wayne nodded, his tone much calmer than Schwartz expected.

"Also, the number of advertisements you need to shoot will also increase. After all, your reputation has been rising rapidly recently, and Nike plans to strike while the iron is hot and push you out."

"Yeah, okay Jeff."
To be continued...