With anticipation bubbling, on December 5th, when Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak stepped into the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, he quickly spotted a familiar crowd: other GMs with the exact same goal as him.
Right below Kupchak's seat sat none other than Chris Mullin, the General Manager for the Golden State Warriors.
The new NBA season had just begun, and the Warriors were "boasting" a stellar 3-11 record. Even if Kupchak were an idiot, he could easily guess why Mullin was here tonight.
"After wasting three precious years on Jason Richardson, even the cat at the Oracle Arena entrance knows Jason isn't the player who can help the Warriors turn things around."
Yeah, it was no secret the Warriors needed a rebuild.
And Mullin just so happened to present a detailed rebuilding plan to the team's management at a time when the Warriors needed him most.
So, this past summer, the Warriors' management, hitting it off instantly with the "God's Left Hand," didn't hesitate to tell Mullin:
"You be our general manager, Chris."
Historically, after becoming the Warriors' GM, Mullin successfully brought some happy times to Oracle Arena fans through a few good trades and by bringing back Don Nelson.
Those happy times were known as the "We Believe" Warriors.
Because in his first few trades for the Warriors, Mullin brought back Baron Davis, the future core of the "We Believe" squad.
While a handsome young guy named Stephen Curry would later make newer Warriors fans gradually forget the passionate "We Believe" era, for Warriors fans who hadn't experienced the playoffs in thirteen years at that point...
The "We Believe" Warriors were undoubtedly the dawn that ended their long torment.
In the stands, Mullin noticed Kupchak, nodded, and smiled at him, then immediately focused his attention on the scouting report he held about Zack.
"If Zack can continue his college performance in the NBA, he's definitely the one we've been waiting for," Mullin, who had been scouting Zack for a while, thought to himself.
Then, Mullin got back to work.
As Kupchak's gaze swept around, one familiar name after another caught his eye.
Not far to his left sat John Weisbrod, the Magic's GM.
In the row directly below him on his right was Allan Bristow, the Hornets' GM.
And then there was Billy Knight, the Hawks' GM, Larry Harris, the Bucks' GM...
At this moment, Kupchak couldn't shake the feeling that all these NBA general managers, gathered here tonight...
were attending a grand awards ceremony.
If only award ceremonies could ever be this well-attended.
"Mitch, I knew you'd be here. I'm sure you've already seen Zack's performance in the opening game via video... But unfortunately, video can't give you the same visual impact of Zack's talent as seeing it live."
In the stands, just as Kupchak finished looking around, the voice of an old friend quickly reached his ears.
Sonny Vaccaro.
This business legend, who had been helping Lynn Merritt push Zack towards the top pick in the NBA draft for the past month, was now a fervent fan of Zack.
Vaccaro knew very well that in the NBA, there were many players who stood 208 centimeters tall.
But a player who could sprint with the speed of a Ferrari supercar and still dunk the ball while carrying a 180-pound opponent on his back, like Zack, was truly unique.
And what's more, since the start of the NCAA season, Zack had proven through game after game that his opening night performance was no fluke.
Of course, Vaccaro knew that the main reason so many NBA GMs were here tonight was because Zack would be facing the challenge of Bogut in this game.
"Larry Brown said this summer that Andrew Bogut is the best center in college basketball today," Vaccaro suddenly shifted the conversation after chatting with Kupchak for a bit.
Kupchak nodded in response: "So, this game could also be seen as next year's number one pick showdown? Even though Lynn Merritt has been using his personal connections to hype Zack's future since May... And even though people have indeed discovered that Zack is a rare talent since the new NCAA season began... That still won't stop people's curiosity about this top pick battle, especially after Andrew Bogut officially challenged Zack."
Vaccaro nodded: "Exactly."
Then, after chatting with Vaccaro for a while longer, Kupchak noticed Wake Forest's starting lineup for the night and suddenly frowned.
"Wake Forest is planning to have Zack play center tonight?"
At center court, when the Utah Utes players noticed that Zack was the Demon Deacons' starting center tonight, they were equally shocked.
"He wants to go head-to-head with Andrew Bogut?"
In the stands, and watching on TV, fans following this NCAA showdown all thought the same thing.
And near mid-court...
Looking at Bogut, who was ready to jump ball against him, Zack, who already wanted to beat him up, spoke to him before the game started: "I hear you're planning to tear off my mask in this game? Perfect, I've also prepared a set of shackles for you. I hope these shackles will remind you how your ancestors struggled to survive."
At this moment, Bogut, easily provoked by Zack, almost exploded like an enraged bull, "I'll rip your damn shackles off with my bare hands and use them to strangle you, you damn bastard!"
Beside them, seeing that the game hadn't even started and both core players were already in fighting mode, the referee quickly stepped in to separate them.
But before being pulled apart by the referee, Zack still won the trash-talk battle: "I hope it's not just your mouth that's hard all over... because I'm not interested in softies who can't get it up."
Can't get it up? Softie?
On the court, Bogut, knowing what Zack was hinting at, was completely enraged.
During the subsequent jump ball, it was less Bogut jumping against Zack and more like the two of them wrestling.
Boom—!
Unfortunately, in this wrestling match that the referee couldn't stop in time, Bogut failed to save face.
Because Zack suddenly exerted force, and Bogut was completely thrown to the ground.
Before entering the NBA, Bogut's weight was around 120 kilograms.
He stood 7 feet tall with shoes on.
But compared to Zack, who also weighed around 120 kilograms, Bogut's strength and muscles were clearly at a disadvantage in this wrestling match.
"So soft, why don't you try cutting 'that thing' off and playing women's basketball?" Zack said mockingly, looking down at Bogut lying on the floor.
After getting up from the floor, Bogut wanted to retaliate but unexpectedly received a warning from the referee.
"He was the one who threw me first!" Bogut growled at the referee, looking puzzled.
"But you were the one who grabbed him first..." the referee said to Bogut.
Then, after a pause, the referee told Bogut, "You can go all out once the game starts, but if I see anything like grabbing someone's hair again, I won't just give a warning like this."
As a league that has always encouraged physical play, the NCAA of this era never disliked so-called "toughness" or "brutality."
But...
Bogut's action of pulling Zack's hair during the jump ball was clearly not allowed.
"He even likes to pull people's hair when wrestling... Is he really an eunuch?" On the court, next to Zack, Evans, who got a starting opportunity tonight because Zack was playing center, seized the chance to twist the knife.
Seeing this, the humiliated Bogut temporarily suppressed the fire in his chest.
At center court, after the jump ball, Wake Forest had the first possession.
In this jump ball battle, where the actions had already crossed the line...
Zack's powerful elbow, which even Karl Malone would salute, successfully helped him suppress Bogut.
Bogut was furious but helpless.
Because his vertical quickness simply couldn't match Zack's.
However, no matter how frustrated Bogut was right now...
In Wake Forest's next offensive possession, Zack would show him with his performance on the court:
—Just wait a minute.
At the top of the arc, looking at Maxson, who was guarding him, Zack deliberately used a screen to switch Bogut onto himself.
Because Zack's first step quickness combined with his strength gave him an overwhelming advantage in college basketball, even if Reve's screen quality was average, Bogut still had to dutifully switch with his teammate.
After all, Zack's 40.8% three-point shooting percentage from previous games this season was no joke.
Thump, thump.
On the court, watching a vigilant Bogut, Zack quickly initiated his offense.
Displaying incredible flexibility and coordination, Zack shook off Bogut with an enormous crossover.
This was a signature move of the future Kevin Durant.
But at this moment, it was dubbed "Zack's Crossover."
On the court, after leaving Bogut behind, Zack quickly drove into the Utah Utes' lane, then, over the head of Utah forward Maxson, like an unstoppable force, he unleashed a thunderous, rim-shattering dunk on the Utes' hoop.
CRASH—!
In the stands, Kupchak, who witnessed this scene firsthand, understood almost instantly why Vaccaro had told him earlier that to truly grasp Zack's talent, you had to watch his games live.
"Lamar's versatility might be one of the few big men in the NBA who can match Zack's agility, but..."
After swallowing hard, Kupchak continued to think, "But Lamar doesn't have Zack's sheer driving force."
Back on offense, Utah had the ball.
Amidst the deafening boos from the crowd, Bogut vengefully posted up low, determined to regain his dignity with a back-to-the-basket move against Zack.
The referee didn't call any fouls on Bogut's pushing during his post-up.
Clearly, the three referees tonight were upholding their pre-game promise to allow Zack and Bogut to play with full intensity.
However, after receiving the ball, when Bogut tried to muscle his way further in, he encountered the same awkward situation that Zack remembered him facing when he would back down Yao Ming in the future...
That is, when he couldn't use brute force to create space, Bogut's so-called fundamental skills, supposedly on par with Duncan's, were immediately exposed.
NBA fans familiar with Bogut wouldn't find this scene strange.
Because Bogut's fundamental skills, as displayed in college basketball, were built upon his physical confrontation, which was far superior to his peers.
Once Bogut's "three-point attack" didn't work in a game, objectively speaking, he would immediately become a high-level role player.
In the future, it was the Golden State Warriors who utilized his passing and screening to find the most effective way to use him in the NBA.
But tonight, as Utah's primary scorer...
How could Bogut, who had openly challenged Zack before the game, choose to display his role-player skills to the world?
At this moment, he only wanted to break through Zack, to tear off Zack's mask, which had been hyped up by Ira Berkow and a group of Nike-backed reporters, with a fierce back-to-the-basket move.
Then, being suppressed by Zack and unable to fully exert force on his turn...
He was like a suddenly deflated sponge, and in the next second, he "generously" gifted Zack a massive block.
Splat—!
"You're so soft... Does your girlfriend usually rely on others to enjoy life?" Zack said, completely unburdened, driving another knife into Bogut's chest, who looked disheveled after being blocked.
Yes, for someone like Bogut... even using the dirtiest, most vulgar trash talk against him was not too much in Zack's eyes.
After all, if you don't curse at Bogut, are you going to wait for him to use racially discriminatory words to curse you behind your back?
Whether in his past life or this one, Zack had no masochistic tendencies.
At the same time, he didn't like to kneel.
Because his knees had a congenital kneeling disorder; he couldn't kneel down.
On the court, Evans, who secured the second rebound, quickly passed the ball to Paul.
And under the basket, after leaving Bogut in disarray with a piece of trash talk that completely broke him, Zack quickly followed up, receiving a brilliant lob pass from Paul on the fast break and scoring with an alley-oop dunk.
"This year, Chris and Zack have truly transformed Winston-Salem into a City in the Sky!"
It must be said, Paul's alley-oop feeds were truly his unique skill.
When throwing the pass, Paul's movements were incredibly subtle, and the height and position of his passes always allowed the receiver to find the most comfortable angle.
On the court, Bogut, who had been scored on twice in a row by Zack, was now on the verge of madness.
After Utah's white guard, Drisdom, dribbled the ball past half-court, he even disregarded his position and immediately demanded the ball from him.
Drisdom had wanted to run a pick-and-roll with Bogut, but facing the constant demands for the ball... Drisdom, usually a quiet presence on the team, dared not hesitate.
At the left 45-degree angle, looking at Bogut, who had received the ball near the three-point line, Zack lazily gestured for him to come forward, then simply gave up the low post to Bogut.
That action, that expression, clearly told Bogut:
"Come on, let me see just how soft you are."
Seeing this, Bogut, who had never suffered such a great humiliation, immediately charged towards the basket with the ball like a madman.
At this moment, Bogut once again exposed a major weakness:
His extremely emotional mindset.
In Zack's memory...
In the future, during the "Derby" between the Bucks and the Rockets, Bogut, hyped up and wanting to steal the spotlight from Yi Jianlian, continuously tried to back down Yao Ming three times, only to gift Yao Ming three blocks.
Additionally, throughout Bogut's future career, he would often get into conflicts with opposing players due to verbal altercations.
Generally speaking, verbal altercations in basketball games were not uncommon.
Some players would even intentionally instigate them to disrupt the opposing players' mindset.
But most of the time...
Bogut, who got into verbal altercations with opponents, was always the one whose mentality broke down first.
Just like now, blindly driving into the paint with the ball, he once again needlessly gifted Zack a powerful, iron-willed block, showcasing his defensive prowess.
In the Demon Deacons' restricted area, this pin-down block was like a bolt from the blue, striking Bogut directly on the head.
On the court, Paul, who controlled the second rebound, once again initiated a fast break.
Only this time, the one finishing the fast break was Gray.
Under the basket, Zack, who had blocked Bogut for the second time, chose not to follow up on the fast break.
Because a completely enraged Bogut had actually started grappling with him after being blocked.
The referees immediately intervened to stop this farce after Gray's fast-break layup went in.
At this moment...
Bogut, clinging to Zack's arm and constantly exerting force, trying to break it, once again became a clown.
Because no matter how much force he used, Zack didn't budge an inch.
In fact, noticing the referees approaching to separate him and Bogut, Zack even thoughtfully simply pulled him down to the floor.
"Watch your actions, number 4."
Looking at Bogut lying on the floor, the head referee warned Bogut again.
Because during the previous entanglement, Zack had clearly shown the referees how Bogut was maliciously trying to twist his arm, so the referees almost instantly caught the culprit who was attempting to intentionally injure on the court.
Bogut, who had been warned twice tonight, was seething with anger.
But he could only choose to swallow his pride at this moment...
Seeing this, Zack, feeling he needed to add fuel to Bogut's fire, walked up to him with an indifferent expression and deliberately lowered his voice to taunt: "Truly worthy of a criminal's descendant... Why were your ancestors exiled to Australia? Murder, robbery, arson, or attempted rape?"
On the court, Bogut, with his blood boiling again, recklessly lunged at Zack again after the game resumed.
However, during the physical struggle for position under the basket...
Tonight, Zack was also absolutely dominant.
Because Zack would always, from angles the referees couldn't see, occasionally give Bogut a jab with his elbow.
And so, a completely deranged Bogut, with no sense of reason, did this...
Challenged Zack for the third consecutive time.
Then, predictably...
Having lost his mind, his shot was easily read by Zack.
However, unlike before, this time, Zack directly caught Bogut's turnaround bank shot in mid-air with both hands.
Upon landing, Zack immediately threw the ball upcourt.
Because Paul, having absolute faith in Zack after their first two exchanges, had already started his fast break.
In the stands, Sonny Vaccaro commented: "In just a few possessions, Zack has shown people the gap between himself and his challenger, Andrew Bogut. He's calm, composed, and adept at using his advantages."
Beside him, Kupchak commented: "After this game... Andrew Bogut's draft stock next year is probably going to plummet, because in his matchup with Zack, he fully demonstrated his inability to showcase his skills against NBA-level players."
Undoubtedly, Andrew Bogut had destroyed himself on this night.
Even though before the game, scouts had written many positives in Bogut's scouting report.
But under Zack's scrutiny, when NBA GMs discovered Bogut's flaws years in advance, and to some extent, these flaws were even artificially amplified by Bogut himself...
The true "water content" of this "white Duncan" was immediately revealed to the world.
In front of Zack, he was slow and sluggish.
His low-post offensive skills appeared clumsy and reckless; even fans who hadn't been watching basketball for long could guess how he planned to play on the court.
Before the game, Bogut, who had intended to tear off Zack's mask himself, wouldn't have imagined that the one whose mask would be torn off would be himself.
On the court, amidst the cheers of the home crowd...
A surging Zack delivered a dominant performance to the NBA GMs who had come specifically to watch, putting up 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 blocks, and 1 steal by halftime.
And Bogut?
In his repeated acts of self-destruction, he went 0-for-7 from the field and 0-for-2 from the free-throw line in the first half, totaling 0 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist. He couldn't even manage to play dirty against Zack.
It wasn't that Bogut hadn't thought about using underhanded tactics to shut Zack up completely.
But this past summer, after changing his jump shot form...
Facing Zack, who jumped vertically, balanced vertically, and landed vertically, with the force of his feet stomping down when he landed from a shot...
Where did Bogut get the courage to even try?
Trying to clamp his arms would only lead to Zack wrestling him down.
Tripping him? He didn't have the guts.
And occasionally trying little dirty tricks on Zack would only be met with Zack's "righteous iron elbow" retribution.
The first half of the game tonight was undoubtedly the most frustrating half of Bogut's life.
And what was even more frustrating than frustration...
Bogut would have to endure such a half again after halftime.
"Tonight, the bell tolls for Andrew Bogut. In the first half against the University of Utah, Zack decisively knocked out Andrew Bogut and tossed him into the forgotten trash bin." - ESPN Breaking News Update
What do you think of this intense matchup? It seems like Zack really got under Bogut's skin!