my golden age

Chapter 3
When Gao Fei left the Staples Center, he roughly understood what Phil Jackson meant—if he wanted to gain a foothold in the NBA, he had to rely entirely on his skills.Other than that, there is no other way.

The translators left the arena together with Gao Fei and Fagan, and went to the nearby apartment complex to look for housing.

Most of the houses around the Staples Center are very grand, corresponding to the appearance, and the rent is expensive.

Gao Fei ran all afternoon and rented a room on the second floor of a five-story apartment.He signed a three-month rental contract with the landlord, and after paying the rent, there was only more than 2000 US dollars left.

Although he didn't have much money left, Gao Fei bit the bullet and invited Fei Gen and the translator Jack to have dinner.The meal cost a hundred dollars, and his hands trembled a little at the check.

As the sun went down, Gao Fei returned to the rented apartment.

The house he rented had two bedrooms and one living room, well-decorated, complete with home appliances, and he moved in with his bags.The facilities are complete and there is no need to purchase them separately.

Gao Fei opened the suitcase and spread out the bedding.Then take out a rolled up poster and stick it on the wall.

This poster was printed in a photo studio at Gao Fei's own expense, and the content is a group photo of him shaking hands with David Stern when he was selected in the draft.This is his dream come true moment.

The basketball signed by all members of the national team in the shoulder bag was placed on the floor next to the bedside table, quietly bathing in the sunset.

After Gao Fei packed his luggage, he put the suitcase at the bottom of the closet.The blue shoulder bag is placed on the bedside table, and there are two pairs of sneakers in it.

Fegan believes that it is unwise to sign a sneaker contract rashly, and suggests waiting for a period of time before the season to communicate with the sneaker brand.

Gao Fei knew nothing about business, so he handed it over to his broker.

There are not many entertainment items at night, and Gao Fei travels long distances, coupled with jet lag, and falls asleep.

……

Jingle Bell!
The alarm clock is ringing!

Gao Fei woke up instantly, but he hadn't adapted to the time in Los Angeles, which made his mind a little dizzy.He cheered himself up, finished washing, and headed to the Staples Center with his shoulder bag on his back.

Today there will be a team practice together, and there will be a more important battle for the starting lineup.

The NBA has a complete logistics system, and almost everything is handled by dedicated personnel. The task of the players is to play basketball well.

The equipment manager is responsible for preparing jerseys and sneakers for the players. He couldn't get in touch with Gao Fei, so he waited in the arena in advance.

Gao Fei walked into the arena and looked at the stadium glowing under the lights, feeling extremely excited.He's finally going to play in the NBA.

Regardless of all factors, the NBA is the professional league with the highest level of basketball. Countless talents want to play here, and only a few hundred people can do it.

Kobe was brought to the Lakers by Jerry West in his rookie season. Now he has played for this team for nine years and is preparing for his tenth season.

He came earlier than the equipment manager and was already practicing on the court.

Gao Fei is a very pure basketball player. He didn't have much contact with the outside world when he was growing up, but he has a cheerful personality and is not shy of strangers. He took the initiative to walk over to say hello.

"Hi, Kobe!" Goofy got stuck when his only vocabulary was exhausted.

Kobe was wearing the No. 8 Lakers training uniform, and the upper half of the short-sleeved T-shirt was wet with sweat.He had learned about Gao Fei's information, and said with a smile, "You're late!"

There is still an hour before the formal training, so Gao Fei has arrived early, and being late is just a joke.

Gao Fei didn't understand what Kobe said, and tried to add movements, but he still couldn't communicate.

The equipment manager brought a Lakers No. 6 training uniform and handed it to Gao Fei.He wanted to chat with the new players, but he still couldn't communicate.

This dilemma was not resolved until Jack, the translator, appeared.

At eight o'clock, the Lakers players all came to the Staples Center.In addition to players and coaching staff members, there are several documentary shooters and team reporters.

Phil Jackson looked refreshed in a gray T-shirt with black suit pants and a clearly groomed beard.

The players lined up facing the head coach, waiting for him to speak.

Phil Jackson glanced at the young faces, without wasting time, and said: "After a year, I returned to this team. Two guards joined the team this summer, please introduce yourself. "

Smash Parker was undrafted in 2002. He moved to the European League and was always frustrated. He really wanted to seize this opportunity and said, "My name is Smash Parker. I'm 193 cm tall and I play as a point guard."

Most of the team members had never heard of the name Smush Parker, and they all cast curious eyes on him.

Gao Fei took a step forward and tried to introduce himself in English: "My name is Gao Fei..." He couldn't remember the content behind, so he could only replace it with another sentence, "From China."

Phil Jackson called the translator Jack over and asked him to help Goofy communicate.

Jack stood beside Goofy, translating for him.

Phil Jackson said: "The Lakers have entered a rebuilding period, and there is currently a vacancy at the starting point guard position. I decided to choose between Goofy and Smash Parker, whoever performs better in training will get this position."

Smush Parker didn't check Gao Fei's information, so he felt very confident, so he offered to challenge Gao Fei to determine the winner.

Gao Fei is not cowardly, and immediately agreed to accept the challenge.

Vujacic had a good relationship with Kobe, and whispered, "Gao is a first-round rookie, why is he competing with Smush for starting?"

Except for Kobe, the Lakers now have no big-name players, and even few strong players.As a first-round rookie, Gao Fei should have easily gotten the starting position.

"Didn't you watch the Asian Championships?" Kobe said, "Gao performed poorly in the final and was replaced by Jonas in advance. It is probably because of this reason that Phil was shaken."

Assistant coach Brian Shaw served as the heads-up referee, holding a basketball, and explaining the rules to Goofy and Smush Parker.

"First to get 11 points wins," Brian Shaw said. "Three points count as two, get it?"

"Understood." Smush Parker grew up in the United States and knew the rules of heads-up.

After listening to the translation, Gao Fei gave the same answer as Smash Parker.

Bryan Shaw spun the basketball on the floor, and Spalding's logo was closer to Goofy when he stopped, so he attacked first.

Smush Parker stands inside the three-point line, throws the ball to Goofy, lowers his center of gravity, and stares down the competitor.

Goofy looked right, dribbled the ball with his left hand, and easily passed Smush Parker.

There will be no inside help defense in singles, unimpeded, left-handed dunks!

When Phil Jackson saw Goofy for the first time, he felt that he was very similar to Jordan and Kobe. Seeing this elegant dunk in the air, he felt that he had something in common with Rockets guard Tracy McGrady.

The arena is full of people who have been in the basketball industry for many years. After just one offensive round, it can be judged that there is a certain gap between Smash Parker and Gao Fei.

As a person in charge, Smash Parker couldn't have a clear understanding like a bystander, and thought that Goofy's ability to pass him was purely a fluke.

(End of this chapter)