The longest river

Chapter 71 Building a Personal Team

Two days after the game against the 76ers, Vaccaro arrived in Indianapolis.

He took Yang Shuai to shoot a Reebok commercial.

Yang Shuai had already filmed a Reebok ad with other brand ambassadors in the summer, but this time it was a solo shoot, mainly to promote his Pacers-themed sneakers and prepare for his future signature shoes.

The ad content was personally crafted by Vaccaro, and it started with high school students beating up NBA players.

Yang Shuai's ambiguous attitude during the 76ers' post-game interview led reporters to report it as an affirmation.

Yes, Yang Shuai personally confirmed that he beat Jim Jackson!
The allure of journalism is once again on display: media outlets only care about what readers want to see.

The story initially circulated mostly among high school students and some NBA executives, but now, after media reports, it's spreading directly within the league.

Yang Shuai's name is becoming known to more and more NBA players.

Vaccaro chose this time to shoot the advertisement, striking while the iron was hot.

After filming the commercial, Yang Shuai had already made up his mind that once Rondo graduated, he would definitely have him follow Vaccaro around and learn properly.

No one knows marketing better than Vaccaro.

As expected, Yang Shuai's personal Reebok advertisement generated a huge response after it aired.

This is essentially projecting the content from the newspaper directly onto the television screen.

Moreover, Stackhouse's previous remarks laid a good foundation.

Just like the reporter's question, "Since Yang Shuai can beat Stackhouse, it's normal that he beat Jim Jackson," which is a very natural logic.

Sean Powell, who previously did a feature article on Yang Shuai's background, published an article in The New York Times titled "Yang Shuai, the next Jordan?"

After Jordan's first retirement, the league has been searching for his successor.

Grant Hill and Anfernee Hardaway are the two most popular choices.

But all of that was no longer mentioned after Jordan's return.

Therefore, the claim that Yang Shuai is on par with Jordan after only one good game is perplexing and infuriating.

However, when readers approached the article with anger, they found that the content was completely opposite to what they had expected.

Because this article begins with Powell's own account of his experience at the Nike training camp in 1994.

"We don't need to, and can't, become the next someone else; we need to be the first version of ourselves."

He was recounting what happened during Barkley's counseling class.

"Hansen will not be the next Jordan, he will be the first of himself."

Following this brief account, Powell has already provided the answer to the article's title.

Even readers who come in with anger will find themselves choosing to continue reading when they reach this point.

After presenting his viewpoint, Powell explained the significance of Yang Shuai's outstanding performance.

"His 'ready-to-play' rating in his draft report was only 5, but he made it into the rotation of a championship contender with the best wing depth in the league in his rookie season. He was completely underrated."

"As the first high school lottery outside player in NBA history, he has already had two 20+ point games in the first two months of his rookie season. He is making history, he is becoming the first of his own."

From sensational headlines to true stories that instantly convince readers, and finally to content that perfectly fits the theme.

This article perfectly illustrates why Powell is a seasoned writer, and it has also sparked intense discussion.

An advertisement that generated a huge response, and an article that sparked heated discussions.

The most direct result of this two-pronged approach was a surge in sales of Yang Shuai's Pacers-themed sneakers, which were especially popular among young people.

The NBA is a basketball league, and also a grand stage that brings together basketball talents.

Every player is their own Jordan in their own story. To stand out among so many "Jordans," besides having outstanding abilities, you also need to have something unique about you.

Yang Shuai's unique background is one aspect, but now "becoming the first version of himself" is another memorable point that is even more likely to attract attention.

It's worth noting that the current popular saying is "Strive to become the next Jordan," while Yang Shuai's statement of "becoming the first version of yourself" is quite unconventional.

In addition, Yang Shuai was the first high school perimeter player, which gave people a fresh, energetic, and avant-garde feeling.

The hot sales of sneakers are therefore a natural consequence.

Time flies, and it's already mid-December.

Over the past month, Yang Shuai's average playing time has reached 20 minutes per game.

After Robertson arrived, the Pacers' rotation expanded, and the playing time of other substitutes inevitably decreased.

However, Yang Shuai's playing time has actually increased instead of decreased.

This naturally stems from his improvement on the defensive end. Not only has his defensive ability improved, but his understanding of puppy footwork has also deepened.

Moreover, he earned a whopping 5 points in just one month!

Some of these came from intra-team scrimmages, but most came from matches.

Besides the increased playing time giving him more opportunities to earn points, the person he should be most grateful to is Powell.

Powell's article boosted his shoe sales, but it also attracted jealousy from many NBA players.

When facing Yang Shuai, they all wanted to do something to him, such as limiting his scoring or scoring high points against him.

This makes it easier for Yang Shuai to clash with his opposing players, and naturally, he receives more negative energy.

After accumulating 5 points, Yang Shuai decisively exchanged them for a B-level lateral movement speed boost. After the exchange, his single-target defense ability increased to 78, and his steal ability also reached 71.

Now, as long as the opponent isn't an All-Star caliber player, he's confident he can contain them.

It was also at this time that Yang Shuai was about to celebrate his first Christmas since entering the NBA.

Since the inception of the NBA, a Christmas game has been scheduled every year.

The teams that participate in Christmas Day games are usually the league's top teams, such as the Rockets and the Magic this year, who were the two teams that faced off in last season's NBA Finals.

The Pacers didn't have a chance to participate and were given two days off.

Yang Shuai also returned to Cleveland to spend Christmas with Rondo's family.

He also spent a lot of money on this Christmas.

He first bought a brand new Hummer, then bought a bunch of gifts and put them in the back seat and trunk, and finally took turns driving the car back to Cleveland with DiFrancisco.

During the summer when the NBA suspended operations, Yang Shuai took the time to learn to drive.

After driving for less than four hours, they entered Ohio.

They first went to Athens to see Paul.

It was at this time that Paul made his decision: he would resign from Ohio University after the season and then learn how to be an agent.

He wants to become Yang Shuai's agent in the future.

Sure enough, Paul was as shrewd as ever.

Of course, he was still just as candid in front of Yang Shuai.

Yang Shuai liked this kind of honesty, so he contacted Fisher directly and asked Paul to learn from Fisher after the NSAA season ended.

After leaving Athens, they drove for about an hour and arrived in Cleveland.

After dropping DiFrancisco off at home, Yang Shuai drove alone to Johnson's house.

When he met Johnson, Johnson's condition was completely unexpected.

In Yang Shuai's eyes, Johnson, who is usually steady and mature, appeared very frustrated and dejected at this moment.

After talking to him, I learned that Johnson had recently resigned as head coach of Cleveland High School.

The reason is that the team's performance in the new season has been very poor, which has aroused strong dissatisfaction among fans.

Campus basketball teams rely heavily on recruiting new players. If they cannot recruit high-quality newcomers, their strength will inevitably decline as their core players graduate and leave the team.

While it may seem unbelievable that he was fired the year after leading his team to a historic 4A state championship, it's not hard to understand, as there have been NBA coaches who were named Coach of the Year one year and were fired the next.

When someone needs to take the blame, the head coach is always the first to be held accountable.

"So what are your plans next? If you want to go to the NCAA, I can help you."

While Yang Shuai couldn't make Johnson the head coach of the NCAA, he could certainly get Vaccaro to help him get an assistant coach.

"Maybe I should change my mindset."

Johnson seems to be getting tired of being a high school basketball coach.

After all, not every high school student is as easy to get along with as Yang Shuai; the basketball team is mostly made up of unruly and troublesome black players.

But what can Johnson do if he's not the head coach?

Scouting is something only someone as shrewd as Paul can do well;
Even as a strength and conditioning coach, Johnson lacked the expertise of DeFrancisco;
Media professionals need to have excellent speaking skills;

Johnson's greatest quality is his strong sense of responsibility and his ability to get things done with confidence; he is a natural-born school coach.

But at that moment, Yang Shuai suddenly had an idea.

"Sir, if I were to invite you to be my personal assistant, would you be willing?"

After entering the NBA, Yang Shuai's biggest feeling was that he had to travel around with the team and deal with all sorts of trivial matters, such as what equipment to bring and what to prepare for events, which gave him a lot of headaches.

If Johnson helps him handle these things, he can focus on training and playing without much pressure.

Moreover, this kind of job is very selective. The other party not only has to be reliable, but you also have to have absolute trust in them.

Looking at it this way, Johnson is the perfect candidate.

Johnson thought for a while, and finally nodded.

Yang Shuai is the proudest part of his life. Being able to help Yang Shuai, and more importantly, being able to witness his career by his side, seems like a great feeling.

"Great!"

Yang Shuai's face instantly lit up, and he put his arm around Johnson's shoulder as he always did.

He was isolated and helpless with the Pacers before, but now Johnson is by his side, and Paul will join in the future... Kobe asked him if he had his own team, and now he does?

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot."

As Yang Shuai spoke, he pulled Johnson to the door and pointed to the Hummer.

"This is the latest model. This is my Christmas gift to my superior. Don't refuse it. Without my superior, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Even after two or three years, Yang Shuai still hasn't forgotten the days when Johnson would take him out for fancy meals in his secondhand Hummer.

(End of this chapter)