NBA's King of Talking

"Reggie Jackson!" Jia Fei almost exclaimed. Reggie looked so young back then! He suddenly remembered that Reggie was also a rookie drafted by the Thunder, the 24th overall pick in the first round. Getting him at that pick was another masterpiece from General Manager Putin.

Some might argue that Jimmy Butler (30th overall pick) and Isaiah Thomas (30th overall pick) were better than Reggie Jackson, but Putin isn't a god; he can't predict the future. In fact, there were plenty of busts before the 24th pick in the first round. All things considered, while drafting Reggie at this position might not be considered a godlike move, it was certainly a very successful one.

"Jia, where are your family members?" President Pu asked.

"I'm all alone!" Jia Fei said, still feeling somewhat saddened. After transmigrating to this place, he truly had no relatives. He was like Sun Wukong, as if he had sprung out of a stone.

"Oh, let's go then. Let me introduce you. This is Reggie, our rookie this year. And these are his parents!" President Pu helped with the introductions.

"Hello there!"

"Hello there!"

Jia Fei and Reggie greeted each other, and then, under President Pu's arrangement, they boarded a minibus to the airport. On the bus, Jia Fei gazed at the bustling streets of New Jersey, lost in thought.

His phone beeped, and when he opened it, he saw a text message from Kemba Walker. The message was simple: he had already left for Charlotte.

Jia Fei replied, telling Kemba Walker that he had also set off.

New Jersey is located on the east coast of the United States, while Oklahoma is located in the south-central United States. The two places are more than 2000 kilometers apart, which is equivalent to the distance from Beijing to Guangzhou.

Jia Fei and his group arrived in Oklahoma City around 1 p.m. They had eaten on the plane, so after getting off the plane, they took a bus directly to their hotel.

They didn't stay at the hotel for long. At 2:30 p.m., Jia Fei and Reggie's family were picked up by a bus and taken to the Ford Center Arena in downtown Oklahoma City.

Both Jia Fei and Reggie were now dressed in smart suits, as if they were back at the draft yesterday. In terms of looks, Jia Fei was definitely a hundred times better than Reggie, but in terms of reality, he was inferior to him; Reggie was a first-round pick, while he was a second-round pick.

Jia Fei's understanding of Oklahoma City mainly came from the internet; he had never been there and knew nothing about its customs and culture. As the capital and largest city of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City ranked below 50th among major U.S. cities in 2010, lower than Cleveland and Charlotte.

This city, founded in 1889, has a very low profile in the United States. If it weren't for the Oklahoma City Thunder being based here, many people might not even know that this city exists.

Jia Fei knew that the Thunder's predecessor was the Supersonics, and if you just compare Seattle and Oklahoma City, the former is obviously a much more developed city than the latter.

There's nothing we can do about it; the boss is from Oklahoma City, and he's moving back to his hometown. That's just how money makes you do whatever you want!

The hotel wasn't far from the Ford Center. Soon, the car arrived outside the arena. Jia Fei and Reggie's family got out of the car. Besides a few fans, the team's head coach, Scott Brooks, was also there with a smile and a refined demeanor.

Team general manager Presti and head coach Brooks led Jia Fei and Reggie into the arena, introducing them to the team's culture, history, fitness area, rehabilitation area, restaurant, and locker room.

Both Jia Fei and Reggie had attended college and played in the NCAA, so they were familiar with the basic functions of a stadium. Whether it was a college team's stadium or an NBA team's stadium, the basic functions were similar, so neither of them had the feeling of "Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden".

After the introductions, Presti asked, "Please confirm your jersey numbers and have the equipment department prepare them. We'll be holding a press conference tomorrow morning, and we'll need them."

After President Pu finished speaking, his assistant handed Jia Fei and Reggie each a piece of paper with retired player numbers and current player numbers listed. This meant they could choose any number other than those listed.

雷霆虽然继承了超音速的队史，可球队退役球衣依然没有像湖人凯尔特人那样说特别多，退役的球衣号码一共有6个，分别是1号、20号、19号、24号、32号以及43号。

Jia Fei glanced at the retired numbers, then at the player numbers on the team's roster, and was pleasantly surprised. He handed the paper back to General Manager Pu's assistant and said, "I've made my choice, I'll choose number 3!"

Reggie has also made his selection; he chose number 15.

Jia Fei likes the number 3, not only because his idol Allen Iverson wears number 3, but also because his current birthday is March 3rd, and because his lucky number in his previous life was 3!

After choosing their numbers, Jia Fei and his group strolled around the stadium for a bit before finally returning to their hotel in a private car.

The hotel room was a single room, and the team told him that as a member of the team, he could stay there temporarily. Staying in a hotel was certainly not a long-term solution; he couldn't afford a house, so he needed to rent one as his future home in Oklahoma City.

On the morning of June 26, Jia Fei and Reggie arrived at the Ford Center in a private car to attend a press conference.

The press conference officially began at 10:00 AM. Many media reporters were present, and the two rookies attended accompanied by team general manager Presti and head coach Brooks.

This was Jia Fei's first time attending an NBA press conference, and it would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous at all. Fortunately, he was a seasoned veteran, and he wasn't so nervous as to be speechless in front of the reporters.

The event showcased Jia Fei's No. 3 jersey and Reggie's No. 15 jersey. Jia Fei remarked on the efficiency of NBA teams, noting that the jerseys were completed in less than a day.

The questions asked by reporters at the press conference were fairly standard, after all, both Jia Fei and Reggie were just newbies, and there weren't many topics or things they could use to elaborate on.

After the press conference, Jia Fei and Reggie put on their respective jerseys and took official photos, completing the final step of joining the team.

Wearing the number 3 Thunder home jersey, Jia Fei was filled with excitement. He was finally about to step onto the NBA court, and he wondered what his rookie season would bring.

Jia Fei's locker is to the left of the team's center, Perkins, while Reggie's is to his left.

After having lunch at the restaurant, Jia Fei and Reggie began their afternoon training. The team assigned them a trainer who guided them through everything from adaptive stretching exercises to light strength training, giving them a taste of the intensity of NBA training.

Two days after arriving in Oklahoma City, Jia Fei hadn't seen the Thunder's "Big Three," or even any of the other Thunder players. He suddenly realized it was the offseason, and many players were on vacation, some fishing, some dating, and some training.