From South China Tiger to NBA King

Chapter 57

Angie's words were recorded, and with the spread of various media, they are destined to be known by everyone...

After his speech, it was Jianghu's turn.

The reporter asked: "What does it mean to you to be selected with the No. [-] pick by this team?"

Jianghu thought for a while, and decided to tell the truth in his heart:
"First of all, I would like to thank Mr. Angie for taking care of me. I am flattered by his speech."

"I'm from China, and frankly speaking, the Celtics didn't mean anything to me when I was growing up."

"My favorite players are Yao Ming and Kobe, and my favorite team is the Los Angeles Lakers."

"But from the moment I put on the Celtics jersey, that's a thing of the past for me."

"I am very honored to be selected by the Celtics, the greatest team in NBA history."

"Since I have been selected by this great team, in the days to come, I will do my best to return the Celtics to the top stage of the NBA."

Sincerity is the greatest nirvana.

Jianghu thinks: sometimes too many routines are not good,
In everyone's eyes, I am now a young man who is only 18 years old. To be honest, everyone will feel more real.

What he wants is the No. [-] pick, and it doesn't matter where he goes, but Angie's sincere words and actions at the press conference today gave him a little sense of belonging to this team.

Playing on this team doesn't seem too bad?
Reporter: "You said you were honored to be selected by the Celtics, so are you willing to play for this team for the rest of your life?"

This is a tricky question, and Jiang Hu thought for a while before answering: "Mr. Reporter, I think your question is incorrect."

"Because, whether to play for this team for life is not something I can decide alone."

"It requires me and the team to get along well with both sides, and finally we can cooperate for a long time."

"I think the Celtics, a team with such a long history, will know how to respect their players."

"But in the NBA, everything here is a business. For a businessman, the most unacceptable thing is to lose money."

"If you don't let them lose money, or even let the team gain benefits from me, I believe the team will not treat me badly."

"The team doesn't treat me badly, so naturally I won't leave here on my own initiative."

"It is a good choice to be able to play for this team for a long time without huge differences and violent conflicts breaking out between the two sides."

The reporter who asked the question got the answer he wanted and nodded in satisfaction.

The next reporter continued: "Being selected by this team, what is your goal? How do you plan to achieve it?"

Jianghu: "Of course the goal is the championship, there is no doubt about it."

"For the Celtics, the championship means everything. For the Celtics fans who love basketball and honor, every season without a championship is bitter."

"When I came to this team, I naturally had to be consistent with the team's goals."

"The championship is the goal of the team, and naturally it is also my goal."

"As for how to achieve it? Frankly speaking, I can't give an accurate answer."

"It is impossible for me to win the championship by myself. We need a team that can compete for the championship. Within the team, I will go all out to complete the tasks assigned to me by the team and do the best I can."

"The current configuration of the team is very healthy, and I think we will be a strong contender for the championship for the next few years."

After saying this, the on-site staff signaled Jianghu to end his speech.

Jiang Hu smiled and thanked the reporters present, then took the microphone aside and ended his speech.

The reporters present also gave Jiang Hu warm applause.

Especially the reporters who tracked and reported on the Celtics were even more impressed.

They felt that the speech of the young man in front of them was very sincere, neither humble nor overbearing, well-founded, not at all like an 18-year-old child, but had a vague sense of leadership.

A young man with such a heart is so rare, it's no wonder Anji is willing to choose him.

After the speech, Jianghu and Anji formally signed the contract under the camera.

Then he held up his No. 1 jersey and took a group photo.

The conference is over.

After the press conference, hundreds of reporters all dispersed because there was no separate interview session.

Jianghu found Anji on the top floor of the auditorium in the arena, walked up to him and thanked him earnestly:
"Thank you, Mr. Angie, I feel your respect for me."

This is the first time that Jianghu seriously called a foreigner Mr. He really thanked Anji for his support and tolerance in his words.

You know, Angie's words like this will offend many people, many of them are even season ticket holders of the Celtics, and they are the parents of the team...

But he still said that for the sake of Jianghu's mental health and not being disturbed by those strange remarks, he would rather let himself go out to attract firepower and become the target of verbal criticism.

Angie's tolerance and care for him reminded him a little of Mark Cuban and Luka Doncic of the Lone Ranger...

Anji raised his head and looked at Jianghu in surprise: "No, no, kid, you don't have to thank me."

"I just did what I was supposed to do."

"If it was Alexander-Arnold who was sitting in this position, he would do the same."

Angie looked at a certain retired jersey above his head, seemingly lost in some kind of contemplation.

Jianghu knew that the Arnold that Anji was talking about was the most famous cardinal in history——Arnold Jacob Auerbach.

I think Angie should admire him very much.

"Son, can I tell you a story?"

Anji suddenly turned his head, looked at Jianghu and said softly.

"Okay, I'll listen..." Jiang Hu nodded slightly.

Anji is very friendly to Jianghu, so Jianghu is also willing to listen to what Anji wants to say.

"Actually, it's not a story, but a piece of history, and that piece of history is more than 30 years away."

Angie had a look of reminiscence on his face, as if he was recalling a certain period of history.

"In the 80s, there were two teams that were the best in the entire league. One was us and the other was the Lakers."

"In 1986, we used the second pick to win a player named Len Bias. His name, I think you should have heard of it."

"En." Jiang Hu nodded.

Jianghu has indeed heard of the name Len Byas, and it's not just that simple.

When Jianghu was young, there was a rumor in the NBA: [Lon Bias’s talent is even better than Jordan’s. If he didn’t have an accident, Jordan might not be able to rule the NBA in the 90s]

The young Jianghu once believed in this NBA rumor, and even often used it as a talking point and bragging with his friends to show his uniqueness...

"His talent is outstanding. I have never seen Arnold give such a high evaluation to others, but his evaluation of Bias is-with him, our next eight consecutive championships will come."

Recalling this, Angie's face was slightly excited.

"Do you know who was the last person who received such a high evaluation from Arnold?" Angie asked, looking at Jianghu.

"Larry Bird?" Jianghu asked.

"No, even Larry didn't get such a high evaluation." Angie shook her head firmly.

"Arnold's evaluation of Bird is-his technology has reached a state of perfection."

"He didn't think Bird could help us win eight consecutive championships. In Arnold's mouth, the last person who received such an evaluation was Russell."

The rivers and lakes suddenly realized...

Listening to Angie's tone of voice, the talent of this Ren Bias seems to be exaggerated like a legend...

"Arnold's love for Lun is beyond words. Before the start of the draft, he would often drive his car around Boston to get used to the environment and look at the house."

"Len and Alexander-Arnold were in a restaurant once, and he was horribly racially abused by Celtic fans. But at the time, Alexander-Arnold didn't know about it, and Len didn't tell him that he was It was only later that I heard from another person who was traveling with me.”

"Two days later, Lun, who had just been selected, died unexpectedly."

Angie's tone lowered. Presumably, for him, a Celtics fanatic, it was a pity not to be able to witness Bias' NBA career.

"The doctor judged that the cause of death of Baias was: the death of dyspnea caused by excessive exercise after taking cocaine."

"In 2004, Arnold told me in the ward: The most regretful thing in my life is that I didn't protect Lun. Lun's accidental death made me feel uncomfortable for almost 15 years..."

"He told me: Lun hadn't touched cocaine for 14 months before taking cocaine, and he basically quit it completely..."

"Arnold speculates that Lun's real cause of death is that he was depressed because of racially discriminatory remarks, and then took cocaine. Hard to die."

"Arnold said: Since then, I have lost the joy of working..."

Having said that, Anji shook his head and sighed, a thin layer of mist even rose from his eyes...

"You know what? Jiang. From the first moment I saw you, I thought of Len Byas..."

Anji wiped the mist from his eyes with his sleeve, turned his head, and stared at Jianghu.

? ? ? ?
Jiang Hu, who was suddenly caught by Q, was stunned.

"Sorry, Danny, I don't-"

Jiang Hu quickly explained that he knew the danger of that thing, and he would never touch that thing in his life.

"I know." Angie interrupted him with a smile and stretched out her hand.

"I know you don't touch that thing, you're not interested in that thing at all..."

"I'm talking about your talent, your speed and your athleticism and your shooting, it reminds me of Bias..."

Hearing this, Jianghu barely heaved a sigh of relief...

Fortunately, fortunately, you are talking about personal ability...

"I don't want you to become the second Lun, Jiang."

"I'm my chosen successor for this team."

"I don't allow anyone to be disrespectful to you, whether it's words or actions, I don't allow it!!"

"I want you to grow up healthily and explore your potential. When you reach your peak, I think we should return to that stage again!!"

Angie looked at the densely packed championship banners above his head, his eyes showed extreme longing and longing...

Seeing Anji's look of anticipation when he looked over his head, a trace of longing was also ignited in Jiang Hu's heart.

"Thank you, Angie, anyway."

Jianghu once again expressed his sincere thanks to Anji.

In any case, and no matter what the reason is, Jiang Hu felt that it was good to feel such warmth in a foreign country.

(End of this chapter)