Barkley said it outright on the show: this went against everything basketball was supposed to be. At 39, to have scoring efficiency like that—Wang Yi was simply an anomaly.
Shaquille O'Neal also sighed in amazement. At 39, he had averaged only 9.2 points per game. Compared with Wang Yi, he wasn't even in the same league. It was as if the guy had an endless supply of energy hidden inside him.
Even those who had always criticized Wang Yi had nothing to say when faced with his nearly 40 points per game. They could no longer voice even the slightest doubt.
At the practice court, his teammates were always crowding around Wang Yi to ask, "Captain, you're almost 40. How are you still playing this well?"
Wang Yi would just smile and say that he practiced every day: shooting, strength training. He told them not to think of themselves as old men and to give it their all on the court.
But only the team doctor knew how much Wang Yi had sacrificed to maintain this form. After practice every day, he put in another hour of shooting and core exercises. When he got home at night, he still had rehab therapy to do. The braces on his knees and lower back never left his side.
At 39, with his 40th birthday approaching, most Legendary Superstars in the league were enjoying basketball at that age. But Wang Yi was still fighting, still reshaping everyone's understanding of what was possible, still using his play to keep the Los Angeles Lakers on the winning path.
At the midseason awards ceremony, Wang Yi won Western Conference Player of the Month without a doubt. When he accepted the trophy, he smiled and said, "This is only the beginning. The Lakers are going to be