When Tang Tian announced his first pick, the TNT studio suddenly fell silent for a moment.
The fans watching in front of their TVs were stunned as well, all thinking they had misheard.
Tang Tian had picked Durant first?!
Out of the eight players, Durant was the least likely person to be chosen!
The NBA had plenty of stories, plenty of grudges and tangled relationships—like Kobe and O'Neal, like James and Wade...
But between Tang Tian and Durant, there was no grudge—only hatred!
Ever since entering the league, Durant had disliked Tang Tian because of the Nike matter. From then on, he had used burner accounts to go after Tang Tian, and he had kept at it to this day.
Even several of his decisions in free agency, as well as several shifts in personality, had something to do with Tang Tian.
Tang Tian had never praised Durant, either publicly or privately.
But now, Tang Tian had picked Durant first!
"Did I hear that right?"
Barkley sought confirmation from Tang Tian.
"No, I picked Kevin Durant."
Tang Tian nodded and repeated himself.
"Can you tell us why?"
Barkley pressed on. That was what everyone wanted to know.
"There's no particular reason."
Tang Tian offered no explanation.
Before the actual selection began, he had not considered picking Durant either. But when the moment came, he chose him.
Maybe it had something to do with seeing Durant's change in personality during their last game against the Lakers.
Maybe it was because he and Durant had always been opponents but had never played on the same team, and he wanted to experience what it felt like to play alongside him.
Or perhaps, just as he had said, there was no reason. He simply wanted to pick him.
Barkley could tell Tang Tian was