A team's locker room is a very private place.
The home team's was one thing. With Chen Yu's connections, no one would say anything if he brought a group of young fans over for a tour and a chance to meet the NBA stars.
Take Hardaway, for example. He was also quite popular back in China.
Zhang Peng, who had been so unruly before, idolized Hardaway. Now, face-to-face with the man himself, he was as shy as a new bride, his dark face flushed red, too timid to even go up and say a word.
But the visiting team's locker room wasn't a place you could just walk into.
However, during the warm-up session on the court, Mo Ke timed it perfectly, bringing everyone to the court to meet Yao Ming as he was warming up.
And Kobe.
On the Lakers team now, Yao Ming and Kobe were incredibly close, practically inseparable.
With O'Neal, no matter how ridiculously good Kobe played, he was always kept down a peg, treated like a junior.
O'Neal was always talking about how he never got Kobe's respect.
