NBA's King of Talking

In the home team's locker room after the game, Jia Fei was hugged by Westbrook and Durant to show his encouragement, and head coach Brooks also publicly praised his performance in the game.

Jia Fei then gave an interview to reporters.

"Hello, Jia, what is the reason you were given a chance to be rotated in this game?" a reporter asked.

"You'd have to ask my coach about that. My job is training, being ready to be called on at any time, and then going out to play. The coach is in charge of strategizing and lineups," Jia Fei replied seriously.

"Jay, you had a total of 5 blocks in this game, 3 of which were against Amir Johnson. Is that a coincidence?"

"It wasn't entirely a coincidence. He was slow on offense, which gave me an opportunity to help defend and block his shot. I was lucky I didn't foul him!"

"Jay, your defense is so outstanding, do you think you should replace Sefolosha in the starting lineup?"

"Deploying troops is the coach's job; I'm just doing my job."

When answering reporters' questions, Jia Fei was methodical and composed, like a seasoned veteran who had been with the team for many years. It was difficult for reporters to find any sensitive topics.

PS: Jia Fei: "Do you think I've been hanging around on Zhihu and Hupu for nothing?"

After the interview, Jia Fei went to the bathroom to take a shower. Feeling a bit hungry, he went to the restaurant to get something to eat. Unexpectedly, Reggie and Lamb were waiting for him.

"Is the interview over?" Reggie asked.

Jia Fei nodded.

Lamb, with his hands behind his head looking utterly dejected, said, "Jia, I'm so happy to see you on the field, but I'm also really envious! I really want to get on the field and get some exercise too!"

"You were just on stage!" Jia Fei looked at him in surprise.

Reggie joked with a laugh, "Jeremy wants to be in the rotation!"

"Uh... I see..." Jia Fei paused for a moment and said, "It won't be easy to get in. Judging from the roster, unless there's a rotation player in your position who isn't playing, it won't be easy. Ask Reggie how we survived last season?"

Reggie nodded with deep feeling and told Lamb about his experience with Jaf last season.

After saying that, Lamb became even more dejected. He felt he had little hope for the team this season. Many of his fellow rookies were shining on their respective teams, while he was relegated to the bench and water boy spot. The disappointment was immense; he was clearly a lottery pick…

Jia Fei saw the resentment and frustration in Lamb's heart and said, "Jeremy, even though you were a lottery pick, you have to understand that the team you're on is a team that made it to the Finals last season. Even if you were a high draft pick, the team doesn't have that many touches for you to develop. The team's primary task is to win the championship, not to develop rookies. It would be great if both could be done at the same time, but the problem is that it's difficult to achieve."

Jia Fei's words were realistic, and Lamb had no choice but to accept them.

Jia Fei continued, "Your competitor isn't me, nor is it Reggie; your competitor is Kevin Martin. Do you think you have the current strength to compete with him?"

Lamb avoided Jia Fei's gaze; it was clear he couldn't compete with Kevin Martin at all. Even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse; Martin was a former team leader, superior to Lamb both on and off the ball.

Jia Fei knew the truth wasn't pleasant to hear, which is why many people preferred to hear lies, even knowing they weren't true. But he considered Lamb a good friend. As a man, to survive in the NBA, you have to understand the situation, accept reality, and strive for success—that's the only way. Complaining is useless. You may have a high starting point, high talent, but was your starting talent as high as the Thunder's "Big Three"?

To save money, the owner was willing to trade away Harden, let alone a rookie like you who was drafted 12th!

Reggie heard everything Jia Fei said to Lamb, but unlike Lamb, he wasn't easily discouraged. A whole season had passed, and his mental fortitude had been honed. "You want to rise to the top? No problem, just make sure your skills surpass your competitors."

It's that simple!

The NBA is a business league, but it also follows the principle of "meritocracy." If you are strong enough, even if you are not used by this team, there will always be teams that need you.

Back home, Jia Fei immediately logged into the system to check his task list. He remembered that he had accepted a block task, and he had blocked 5 shots in the game, so he should have completed the task.

Sure enough, one task in the task list was already completed: "5 blocks in a single regular season game".

He immediately chose to complete the task, instantly gaining 1000 points. Remembering his verbal sparring with Amir Johnson and Terrence Ross earlier that day, he checked his rage points and was pleasantly surprised to find that Amir Johnson had generated 9 rage points, while Terrence Ross had 3.

This Amir Johnson really seems to harbor a lot of resentment towards me! And rightly so, being both criticized and treated to a hotpot feast, who could be happy in that situation?

Jia Fei immediately converted the 12 bursts of anger into 1200 points, bringing his total to 2200 points for the day.

Adding to his remaining 429 points, he now has a total of 2629 points. Since a 1% increase in fusion level now requires 3000 points, he cannot increase it today.

This was somewhat disappointing, but there was nothing he could do but try to earn more points; there was no other way.

Because he completed one task today, the number of tasks he is currently working on has decreased from eight to seven.

Jia Fei went back to the task list, wanting to find other tasks he could accept. After searching for a while, he accepted four more tasks, thinking he had a chance of completing them.

The first task is to "achieve a 10-game winning streak." Jia Fei believes that with the Thunder's strength, a 10-game winning streak is not 20, so there is a good chance of success.

The second task is to "rank first in the division in the regular season", which Jia Fei feels is also very promising.

The third task is to "achieve 10 free throws in a single regular season game." This task is currently quite difficult to complete, but it is possible if he has more ball possession in the future.

The fourth task is to "rebound 10 times in a single regular season game".

This brought his total number of tasks to 11.

It was late at night, but Jia Fei still couldn't fall asleep. He turned on his phone and started scrolling. The iPhone 4 was indeed a classic, but having used iPhones like the iPhone 10 and above, he hardly thought this phone was any advanced technology!

He accidentally opened his email and found an unread message. Fearing it might be from his agent and worried about making things worse, he immediately opened it and discovered it was from Maria Sharapova.

"Jia, I watched your match today. You played great! Keep it up (smiley face)!" — This is what Sharapova's email contained.