“Cut that Chinese guy. He doesn’t belong in the NBA.”
The last pick of the 2003 draft, Shi Zheng was written off by everyone. His shooting was awful, he could barely speak English, and the only praise in his scouting report was one word: tough.
On the first day of training camp, Ben Wallace elbowed him to the floor. Everyone waited for him to fail to get back up.
He stood up.
[Impact +15] [The harder you get hit, the faster you grow stronger.]
From that day on, everyone who hit him, shoved him, or cursed him became fuel for his growth. During the Palace of Auburn Hills brawl, he charged against the crowd and took Artest’s full-force punch head-on, protecting his teammates behind him. The next day, the headline across America read: Iron Wall.
All he wanted was to play basketball and take a few hits in peace.
But a female reporter wouldn’t leave him alone, a pop superstar called at midnight to say, “I’m downstairs,” and a Hollywood socialite took his hand in public...
Shi Zheng looked at the ever-growing list of women on his phone and sighed.
“I really just want to get hit.”
