Basketball Terminal

Chapter 23 The Bottom
When Li Wei handed the shoes with Durant's signature to Li Yue, the younger brother's incredulous, exaggerated expression looked like it was sculpted from clay. A typical American-raised child, his expressions were always so rich and forceful, as if he wanted to pull out his emotions and stuff them into the other person's head.

"Don't be so surprised. Learn from Ah Zhong, look how calm it is." Li Wei was always very calm, and Ah Zhong, lying at his feet, whimpered in agreement.

Li Yue ignored them, kissed the shoes a few times, and took pictures of them from all angles. Then he found a plastic bag, carefully packed the autographed shoes into it, sealed it, and placed it in the shoebox. An unsuspecting person might mistake them for ceramics, jade, or antique calligraphy and paintings. Of course, there's really no essential difference between the two.

Li Wei held his phone, reviewing the footage of the game that evening, carefully analyzing the players' every move. Each player had their own offensive habits and subtle techniques; accurately capturing these movements would be extremely helpful in understanding how to defend against them.

Of course, he watched Kevin Durant's game footage the most, reviewing it repeatedly. This was the first time Li Wei had ever watched so much video about a man before bed; perhaps that was the magic of basketball. He looked forward to one day having a good performance against Durant in a one-on-one match.

The next morning, Li Wei was to attend the Long Island Nets' press conference, the team's first media day of the new season, where he would officially make his debut. Of course, aside from a few die-hard, veteran fans, the vast majority of people wouldn't care about a G League team's media day at all.

Before leaving, Li Wei helped Chen Lihua carry the clean clothes from the shop to the car. It was a cold morning, and Chen Lihua's nose was running. She asked Li Wei, "How's the job search going?" Li Wei replied, "No problem, today's my first day."

"First day reporting for duty? Then hurry up and get going! What are you doing here all this time? Get there early, don't be late on your first day."

"It's okay, there's still time. I'll go ask for a few more payments in a couple of days and get all the owed orders back. Then, I should be going on a business trip soon, for work-related reasons."

Chen Lihua looked Li Wei up and down, thinking to herself, "How did my son suddenly become so mature? I've been too embarrassed to scold him these past few days, I just can't find anything to criticize him for."

Out of concern, she still asked, "Is your job legitimate? Don't get scammed, like being tricked into going to sea, or to some South America or Mexico, where you'll lose your life."

"Don't worry, it won't happen. Please don't ask any more questions. I'm leaving now. Please take care of yourself."

Chen Lihua sighed as she watched Li Wei's departing figure. It's not easy for ordinary Chinese Americans to survive in New York. If her son could find a job other than washing dishes in a laundromat, washing dishes in a restaurant, working as a cashier in a supermarket, or carrying bags in a warehouse, she would be extremely grateful.

Chinese Americans are also divided into many classes. Some are incredibly wealthy, owning numerous properties in central New York City. Some are middle-class and well-off, with their children receiving good educations and destined for stable and respectable jobs such as doctors or teachers. Then there are those from the lower strata of society, who often lived difficult lives before coming to the United States, arriving with hopes for a better world only to find that life wasn't so different after all.

Your social standing in your original country will remain largely the same in the new country, or even lower, since it's a foreign land.

Chen Lihua was an ordinary textile worker in China, but came to the United States to work in laundry, her life inseparable from clothing and fabric. Li Manshun, besides working in a laundry shop, also does odd jobs in plumbing, electrical work, and renovations. He used to earn a good income, but in the past two years, the virus has significantly reduced his workload.

I originally thought my two sons could change their fate through education in the US, but little did I know that American public education is nothing like I imagined. Without sufficient time and resources from their parents, schooling is more like letting sheep roam freely; there's just a place to supervise them. Want them to excel, get into prestigious universities, and win scholarships? Unless the children have a rare intellectual disability, and you have to transfer them to even better, more expensive schools.

In Flushing schools, you rarely see white faces; it's almost like attending a small county high school in the US.

Chen Lihua desperately wanted her son to escape this place, to escape Flushing, just as she had wanted to escape the roaring textile factory. As for what lay beyond, she didn't really know, and neither did many others.

Therefore, for the first time, she did not inquire or question her son's choice. She felt that her son had grown up and could walk his own path, and that she could not really help him.

"Mom, I'm going to school!" Li Yue ran out of the house and called out.

"Go ahead and go ahead! I think after you graduate you'll go set up a shoe repair stall, repair and polish shoes for people, and tinker with your old shoes!" Chen Lihua complained to her youngest son again, but Li Yue ignored her completely and rode his bike in another direction to go to school.

Meanwhile, Levi arrived at Nassau Arena right before 10 a.m. There were a few reporters waiting in the lobby. Levi saw Scott Mitchell and went over to greet him.

Mitchell introduced Levi to his other journalist friends. These guys all looked like the average guy among journalists; not one of them was dressed in a suit. Down jackets, jeans, sneakers, baseball caps, and long lenses—the standard attire for journalists and photographers.

A league for the lowest tiers naturally calls for the lowest tiers of reporters. Big-name and beautiful reporters definitely won't be coming. It's just the bottom-tier laborers from newspapers, websites, and TV stations coming to practice their skills and fill out today's news pages—nobody reads it anyway. However, Li Wei still made sure to groom himself before setting off, looking sharp and neat. In professional leagues, image is very important. An outstanding player is inevitably an outstanding image manager.

Li Wei's Asian identity attracted attention, not the kind of attention that shows great interest, but rather curiosity mixed with a touch of disdain. Li Wei didn't mind at all. He met with team manager Ricardi and head coach Brett again, and at the press conference, they briefly introduced the team's situation and their expectations for the new season.

This year's G League development league will be held at Disney World Sports Complex. Many teams withdrew due to player health concerns, leaving only about a dozen teams participating, including the Long Island Nets. Brett stated that the championship is the team's goal, something every team says in their outlook.

In the locker room, Li Wei met his teammates. They all seemed unfamiliar with each other, and many, like Li Wei, had just signed with the team. Li Wei's yellow skin and black hair once again made him the focus of attention in the locker room, but no one really cared who he was.

An unsettling indifference permeates this team, reflecting the reality of grassroots professional football.

This place lacks the youthful energy and passion of a college team, with its camaraderie among players. It also doesn't resemble an NBA team, with its high profile and lucrative rewards, where players bask in the spotlight and earn big money. Most importantly, there's no clear order, no leader, no camaraderie, no sense of honor or purpose; everything is selfish and chaotic. Everyone wants to leave, yet is forced to stay, including the coaching staff.

Last season's coaching staff has already disbanded and gone their separate ways. The newly formed coaching staff and roster this season will most likely suffer the same fate by the end of the season. Some people might have already left by the time they came to training on the 20th, after having their official photos taken, because they were cut or transferred to another team; this happens quite often.

Li Wei is currently on the high-risk list for being laid off. If any strong player joins the team, or if the coaching staff changes their mind, he will lose his job.

Throughout the morning of media day, Levi took a few official photos, but no one posed for pictures with him, and nobody really paid him any attention. Luckily, he had his two friends, Carlos and Mitchell, so he wasn't all alone.

As Carlos said, the team's biggest star is Jamal Martin, who was invited to the stadium to show off and take some photos and videos, which is already the highest level of treatment he could receive.

Martin was Tennessee's Mr. Basketball and the state championship MVP in high school. He played for the University of Memphis (Derrick Rose's alma mater) and set a school record for consecutive 40-point scoring runs. He graduated tenth in school history in total points scored and was a very prominent figure.

Such a prominent figure didn't even qualify for the NBA draft. After going undrafted in 2019, he bounced around to different G League teams, hoping to find a chance to play in the NBA. He is 1.91 meters tall and plays point guard, an offensive-minded small guard, one of the most competitive types of players in the United States.

Watching Martin stand on the court, spinning a basketball and smiling at the camera, Li Wei suddenly couldn't resist walking up to him and saying, "Hey! Jamal Martin, I'd like to challenge you to a one-on-one game, wanna try?"

Martin, the reporter, and Carlos all looked surprised. Martin glanced at Levi, then at head coach Brett, who was chatting with the reporter not far away. Generally, head coaches don't like players playing one-on-one on media day.

Brett noticed something was wrong and came over to ask what was going on.

“Coach, this guy wants to go one-on-one with me.” Martin pointed at Levi.

Brett glanced at Levi. He generally didn't recommend players engage in one-on-one duels, unless it was after training when they could choose their own opponents. To pull this stunt on media day felt a bit like stirring up trouble.

But Brett was very curious about Levi; the guy was really exceptional during the tryouts. Over the past two days, he had repeatedly watched the tryout footage and increasingly felt that Levi was different from the average G League player; he truly had the potential to play in the NBA.

In addition, today's media day is really boring. There are no cheerleaders, and half of the teams are not participating. It's really not interesting. Letting these two have a one-on-one match might be a good idea.

“OK, then you two give it a try. You're both newcomers, so this is a good opportunity to showcase yourselves to the media and let me get to know you better.” Brett agreed, and things started to get interesting.

Upon hearing the news, players, reporters, and staff all gathered around, their previously listless and indifferent eyes lighting up. Within American teams, one-on-one duels are encouraged, often seen as a Western Conference showdown.

Seeing his chance to showcase his abilities, Jamal Martin didn't hold back, taking off his sports jacket to warm up. Li Wei did the same, stretching his muscles. During the tryouts, he was a complete team player; now it was time to demonstrate his individual skills.

(End of this chapter)