NBA's King of Talking

"Jacques, I'm asking you, what if you weren't drafted and no team offered you a contract?" Kemba Walker asked.

"I might work and train at the same time, and continue to wait for an opportunity. I might also go to play overseas, as long as a team offers me a contract!" Jia Fei said slowly.

Jia Fei's words greatly shocked Kemba Walker. He suddenly smiled, revealing a set of white teeth: "Jia, I really look forward to playing against you in the NBA next season! Be sure to let me know if there's anything I can help you with!"

Jia Fei was also very happy and raised his fist: "See you there!"

Kemba Walker also raised his fist, and the two lightly bumped fists. This was a kind of agreement between the two men; on this championship night, both men unanimously decided to participate in this year's NBA draft.

The two chatted enthusiastically until the wee hours of the morning, and eventually both fell asleep.

The next day, after sleeping in, Jia Fei and Kemba Walker had lunch at the hotel. That afternoon, they took a bus with the team to the airport, leaving Houston to return to Stos, Connecticut, where the University of Connecticut is located.

It was already evening when we arrived in Stos, and it was getting dark. But at the airport, many fans were already waiting to greet us, waving Eskimo Dogs team flags. The sheer number of fans showed just how excited they were about their team's championship win.

Seeing the dog's head on the flags held by the fans, Jia Fei found it somewhat comical. Speaking of which, his team's name was quite interesting—"Eskimo Dog." What breed of dog was an Eskimo Dog? Was it a Husky? It seemed quite similar, kind of fierce yet cute. It wasn't just UConn's team names that were unique; other teams in the NCAA also had them—dogs, cats, eagles, cows, and so on—so many animals! The whole league was like a giant zoo. In this respect, how could it compare to our great Chinese CBA? We're banks, liquor companies—the more childish you are, the more sophisticated we are…

Once at school, a big celebration was naturally in order. But the good thing about the US is that you don't have to go through all those summaries and reviews all the time, and the celebrations are more genuine, without so many complicated details.

After the celebration, the team members dispersed, and most returned to school to continue their studies. The spring semester ends in May, after which the holidays begin.

Although Jia Fei has decided to participate in the NBA draft, he still has to finish his remaining courses so that this semester can end properly.

Saturday, April 4.

Kangda dormitory.

In the United States, university dormitories are mostly contracted out to companies for commercial operation. Except for a very small number of schools that have traditional bunk beds, most dorm rooms are shared by two people with two beds and two sets of desks and chairs.

Jia Fei and Lamb were both first-year students and teammates, so they lived together.

In the past few days, everyone on the team has heard that Jia Fei is going to participate in this year's NBA draft. Many people have tried to persuade him to stay, including the team's head coach Jim Cahon, and of course, his roommate Lamb.

Lamb really likes Jia Fei, this young Asian man. The two got along quite well on the same team, and he was reluctant to see Jia Fei leave.

But Jia Fei was clearly determined to leave, and he did not heed the advice of his coaches and teammates to continue playing in the NCAA.

Jia Fei's decision to participate in the NBA draft was not solely due to financial reasons. Another reason was that he had acquired Allen Iverson's talent, giving him the confidence to enter the draft. However, he couldn't tell them about this.

A phone rang, and Jia Fei picked up his phone from the desk. He saw a familiar number and answered it. Kemba Walker's voice came from the other end: "Hey Jia, this is Kemba. Tell Jeremy to see you at the training ground in half an hour!"

"Do you want to play a match?" Jia Fei asked.

"I guess so, it's a three-on-three game. I've called some people, we'll head over first, you guys hurry up and come over!" Kemba Walker instructed.

"Okay!" Jia Fei has always loved playing basketball. Even though he worked 996 in his previous life, he would go to the basketball court to work up a sweat whenever he had time.

It's said that weightlifting can be addictive, but isn't playing basketball just as addictive? Jia Fei believes that the sound of a basketball swishing through the net is the most beautiful sound in the world!

"Jeremy, Kemba wants us to play basketball!" Jia Fei said to someone browsing the internet, engrossed in content that sent his adrenaline soaring. This kind of content held a fatal attraction for a young man his age.

Jia Fei used to enjoy watching this, of course, but he was long past the age where he was interested in it. In his previous life, during his university years, he and his roommates would fill up hundreds of gigabytes of their hard drives with downloaded content and then slowly enjoy it... infantry and cavalry, all sorts of teachers, all kinds of styles, they'd seen almost everything. So when he saw Lamb watching this, he seemed quite calm; this was all stuff he'd already done.

"Okay, I'll watch this episode!" Lamb stared intently at the computer screen, which displayed a stunningly beautiful woman in a nurse's uniform.

"Jia, I love watching this kind of storyline, it's so immersive!" Lamb said as he watched, looking very serious.

Jia Fei was speechless. The plot was so simple and deliberate that it was completely meaningless. He could guess how the plot would develop next and how the "battle" would unfold. This was the "experience" of a seasoned moviegoer!

Fifteen minutes later, Lamb returned from the bathroom, his face flushed and his breathing rapid.

"That's all, let's go!" Jia Fei didn't expose him.

"Okay, I'll get my things organized!" Lamb hurriedly searched for his equipment.

Five minutes later, the two left the dormitory, went downstairs, found their respective bicycles, and rode towards the training hall.

Jia Fei and his team lived not far from the Kangda training hall, about a 10-minute bike ride away. They chose to live there for the convenience of training.

When we arrived at the training hall, we heard a "thump thump thump" sound. Obviously, this was not the kind of sound you were thinking of, but the sound of a basketball hitting the floor.

"Jay, Jeremy, what are you doing? Why are you late?" Kemba Walker, his forehead beaded with sweat, was warming up and practicing his shooting.

Lamb's face flushed red; he couldn't tell his teammates what he was doing.

"My bicycle had a problem and I had to fix it temporarily, so I was a little late!" Jia Fei immediately made up an excuse.

Whether there's something wrong with the bicycle or not, only he knows. In any case, the bicycle won't expose his lie.