NBA's King of Talking

"This..." Jia Fei was a little unsure of what to say. Could it be that I'm just naturally handsome when I play basketball? This was the first time he had received the affection of female fans in Oklahoma City. He had experienced it before when he was at UConn, but that was a long time ago.

Unaware of Jia Fei's somewhat embarrassed expression, she asked enthusiastically, "Jia Fei, can you sign my autograph?" With that, she took out a pen and notebook from her pocket and gazed at Jia Fei with expectant eyes.

Jia Fei couldn't refuse that look in her eyes, so he immediately signed his name for her and was about to leave when, unexpectedly, she said, "Can I take a picture with you?"

Jia Fei nodded again. Such a small request should naturally be fulfilled if it can be met by the fans.

Barbie handed her phone to Reggie Jackson, who had been watching the whole thing, and said, "Please take a picture for us, thank you!"

Reggie was holding the phone in his hand, and for a moment he was a little confused - Who am I, where am I?

"Please hurry up, okay?" Babibi Nugui Nugui urged.

Reggie had no choice but to pick up her phone and take a picture of her and Jia Fei together.

Jia Fei barely managed to suppress a laugh. This fan was really something else, ordering people around without any politeness, as if he was already used to being a leader.

Babibi Nugui warmly took Jia Fei's arm and sweetly made a heart shape with her hands.

After taking a group photo, Babibi didn't forget to encourage Jia Fei: "I will always support you. I will come to watch your game in person in the new season. You guys must do your best!"

"Okay, okay, thank you, thank you!" Jia Fei smiled wryly to himself. You might see me at the Ford Center this season, but seeing me play is going to be a long shot…

Babibi left happily, and Reggie looked at Jia Fei and pouted: "Jia, you're so handsome, I'm thinking I should stay away from you in the future, otherwise I'll definitely become your photographer."

“Reggie, don’t say that. Today was an accident. Maybe I’ll become your photographer more often in the future! Not every fan likes my type. Many fans like your type, don’t you think?” Jia Fei laughed.

Reggie nodded and said, "You're so good with words. I think you could become a commentator after you retire."

Jia Fei bought a large bag of food at the supermarket, as did Reggie. The two of them trudged and carried the big package to the car, and then both breathed a sigh of relief.

NBA players don't usually have many opportunities to go out and shop. When playing at home, they have to train, and when playing away, they're always out and about.

On December 24, Jia Fei and his Thunder teammates were invited to a party at Westbrook's house.

At the party, everyone admired the Christmas decorations, exchanged Christmas gifts, and enjoyed a Christmas dinner together.

Jia Fei was very happy; the atmosphere that night was fantastic. Westbrook is truly a great teammate—an optimist, straightforward, and genuinely honest guy on the team. In real life, he's also a stylish and lively person; it's really comfortable to be friends with someone like that.

On Christmas Eve, Jia Fei certainly didn't put his stockings by his bedside. He wasn't a child anymore, and he knew very well whether Santa Claus would come or not. Putting stockings by his bedside was less practical than putting a pack of tissues there.

The night was long, so Jia Fei went straight into the system and checked his task list to see if he could accept any tasks he could do. At that moment, his personal task list only had one task: "Appear in an NBA regular season game." He checked the task list again and found that he could potentially complete three tasks, so he accepted them all at once.

The first task is "to have stats in NBA regular season games". This task is not actually very difficult. "Playing in NBA regular season games" is a prerequisite for this task. You need to have stats, and the prerequisite is that you can play, even if it's garbage time.

The second task is to "achieve a double-double," which is quite difficult for him at the moment. Even if he does get a chance to play, it will most likely be garbage time, and garbage time is not very long. It is not easy to get a double-double in such a short time. But he believes that he has a chance to do it in the future, so he accepted the task.

The third task is to "participate in the NBA All-Star Game". This task seems even more unrealistic, but participating in the All-Star Game does not necessarily mean participating in the All-Star Game itself. Individual competitions should also be acceptable, such as the Three-Point Contest, the Shooting Contest, the Skills Challenge, etc.

After completing the three tasks, Jia Fei went straight to sleep.

On December 26, the Thunder will host the Magic in their season opener at home.

During the day, Jia Fei received a notification from assistant coach Mark Bryant informing him that he had been included in the team's 15-man roster, but would not receive playing time in this game.

Jia Fei was very happy with the news. It was normal not to get playing time, as the team's rotation was already quite fixed, and barring any injuries, he was unlikely to get any playing time. But making the roster already made him very happy, which meant he wouldn't be relegated to the NBDL anytime soon.

Before the match, Jia Fei practiced very diligently.

On the opposing Magic, Dwight Howard was still playing, but they were no longer the Magic team that had reached the Finals in 09. There had been persistent rumors that Howard wanted to join a team in a major market, but the Magic seemed unwilling to let him go so easily.

The game began, and Jia Fei and Reggie sat side by side on the bench. This was indeed the best viewing spot, practically a VVIP seat. The Ford Center was also packed; the Thunder's "Big Three" were a big name, the team had championship potential, and the city's residents were very supportive of the team.

Jia Fei didn't get any playing time from start to finish. He knew about this result because assistant coach Mark Bryant had told him.

Reggie didn't get any playing time either, and he seemed a bit frustrated. He thought his good performance in the two preseason games would impress the coaching staff, but reality dealt him a heavy blow.

Jia Fei wasn't surprised; the team already had a saturated ball-handler pool. Reggie wasn't a top-5 rookie, so the coach had no choice but to use him. A late first-round pick like him was unlikely to make a significant impact; he was just a lottery ticket. This team was aiming for a championship; they didn't have much time to develop him.

The Thunder ultimately secured a narrow victory at home, winning their opening game.

Jia Fei thought that if there was ever a "garbage time" (meaning no time for playing), he might have a chance to get on the court. Even if it was garbage time, it wouldn't matter; as long as he had a chance to play, he could complete the mission. So he was really looking forward to that day.