When pride still matters

Chapter 575 A Better Future
Does it seem familiar?
Yu Fei believed that Brown must have remembered something from his rookie season.

However, it is impossible for Griffin to be devastated after suffering a major blow like Brown.

Because Griffin is mature enough, he has already made his mark in the NBA, and those impressive statistics have given him endless confidence, so he thinks he can compete with the GOAT.

Now that I have hit a wall, what does that mean?
There is no shame in losing to the GOAT.

O'Neal, James, Kobe. Which of these superstars has not been defeated by the GOAT?

Griffin is far from being comparable.

Today's crushing defeat will put him in his proper place, just like Richard Hamilton who felt good about himself in DC back then.

Griffin is already more courageous than Hamilton. He still wants to struggle, but the mid-range shooting king gave up his position to Jordan.

After that shot, Griffin knew he couldn't compete with the GOAT.

But if this match ended like this, he would have performed very poorly.

Griffin gave up the ball-holding offense and began to play a role without the ball, and then his characteristics and advantages were truly revealed.

He may be the most comprehensive dribbler at the moment. Moreover, unlike other dribblers, if he does not meet a nemesis like Yu Fei whose talent and strength completely suppress him, his ability to attack with the ball is also considerable.

Griffin began to make some achievements when the offense shifted to off-ball.

As both are power forwards, Yu Fei is still the core player. Griffin's choice to change strategy is tantamount to showing weakness, and it is also an action that shows that he admits that he is not a match for the GOAT - even if the opponent plays the power forward position.

Doc Rivers, who was watching the game on the sidelines, breathed a sigh of relief.

The bomb was finally defused.

Griffin will still be in a bad mood, but he probably won't have any thoughts about being the boss anymore.

The sports world is sometimes like a herd of animals on a grassland. Only the strong can become the leader. Even if the unworthy ones are not defeated, they will make the herd mediocre.

Los Angeles gave Griffin two seasons to prove himself, but he proved nothing. Leading the team into the lottery for two consecutive years is unsatisfactory. Now that someone with terrifyingly high upper and lower limits has arrived, there should be no doubt about who to choose as the boss from the beginning.

Rivers began to pay attention to other people, the most eye-catching of whom was Giannis Antetokounmpo, who exuded talent all the time.

Rivers calls himself "the walking history of modern basketball". He entered the league before the greatest year of the NBA (1983) and witnessed the peak confrontation between the black and white heroes and how that wonderful series promoted the commercialization of the NBA. He also witnessed the whole process of Michael Jordan's transformation from a young player who was not shrouded in fame, honor and stardom of the times to the world-renowned first GOAT of modern basketball.

As for his achievements in his coaching career, there is no need to say more.

From the OK dynasty at the beginning of the century, to the rise of GOAT, to the recent Supersonics dynasty, Rivers was involved in them all.

Nearly 40 years later, Rivers has seen countless talents, but there are only a handful of players like Antetokounmpo whose talent can be felt just by the way they move. In Rivers's eyes, only three people can show this talent through pure visual effects: Shawn Kemp, Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James.

Talent that is visible to the naked eye may not necessarily lead to greatness, but great players often have this talent.

After half of the internal competition, Rivers felt that the Clippers had found a treasure. The GOAT's comment that "he will be special" was indeed true.

A 7-footer who has the ball-handling, passing, athleticism and explosiveness to hold his own against Chauncey Billups at point guard in this game, and he always does it with a smile.

His smile reminded Rivers of Magic Johnson.

This is a player who can play from the one position to the five position. The position revolution caused by the era of space basketball will provide perfect conditions for his training.

Moreover, Rivers also found that Antetokounmpo had a good shooting touch, which Lian Yufei also noticed.

Yu Fei's main impression of the Greeks came from his previous life - when they had already emerged.

Under normal circumstances, the "Greek Freak" seems to be able to fly and hide, and is omnipotent, so much so that Eastern teams have begun to build "anti-alphabet armor". In the early years, NBA teams hoarded inside defensive players to fight against Shaquille O'Neal, but at most they could only play a role in consumption and fouling. However, if the "anti-alphabet armor" is used properly, it can often effectively contain the Greeks.

Because the Greek's offensive area is too close to the basket, especially at the intensity of the playoffs, his slightly stiff shooting seems unreliable.

The ability to break through at critical moments is the main problem of the Greeks, but what Yu Fei sees now is a Greek monster in a "rough stone" state that has not yet been transformed by the NBA.

During this period, Antetokounmpo not only had a good shooting touch, but was also very accurate.

According to Yu Fei's understanding, if a player shoots accurately in the early days but becomes inaccurate a few years later, or even his shooting posture changes drastically, then there must be something wrong with the training method.

Yu Fei had seen a comparison of the Greeks' physiques during their rookie and peak years. Most people used this picture to show how hard the Greeks trained, but now that I think about it, the secret may be hidden in it.

The Greek Freak's biggest flaw is his size, which is also the biggest concern of NBA scouts.

If he can develop devilish muscles without losing his athleticism and speed and stay healthy, then even if he makes no technical progress, he will be a capable All-Star.

Gain weight, gain weight. How many talented players have been ruined by this.

A truly talented player not only needs talent, but also needs to ensure that the talent is not lost while gaining weight.

The Greek has proven in previous lives that he can put on weight and maintain his speed and explosiveness, so the Clippers don’t need to rush him.

Yu Fei already had a training plan for the Greek Freak in mind.

As the game progressed, the Greek Freak displayed other traits that were even more endearing.

Although he is invincible in fast breaks, he is very willing to share the ball. When Matt Barnes joins him in fast breaks, he takes the initiative to give up the opportunity to perform.

These positive character traits come from his family of origin.

As a black Greek of Nigerian descent, Antetokounmpo was not like some American-born black players who lacked a father at the beginning - if they were unlucky, they would be kicked out of the house by their mother because of their appearance - in order to escape, Antetokounmpo and his family went to Greece. For a long time, they had no identity and living conditions were very difficult, so he had to go out to work to supplement the family income since he was a child.

There is no such thing as "private property" in a large, poor family.

Antetokounmpo would take over the clothes that his brother didn't wear, and his younger brother Alex would take over the clothes that he didn't wear. Even if it was a skewer of meat, the brothers would share it with each other.

This kind of growing environment has shaped his character: team-oriented, willing to share, and having a big picture perspective. These are his foundation as a player.

At the end of the match, Antetokounmpo threw the ball high and shouted: "! #￥￥"

No one could understand what he said.

Yu Fei saw the coaching staff whispering to Antetokounmpo, and it was obvious that they had also noticed his talent.

A competition mainly used to determine the boss was eventually won easily by GOAT, while Antetokounmpo won more attention than Griffin in the second half.

Yu Fei's prediction that he would "surpass Griffin within five years" seems to be likely to come true.

"What kind of player do you think that kid will become?" After the game, Rivers chatted with Yu Fei.

"Kid?" Yu Fei said with a smile, "Doug, he has been working outside since he was 11 years old. Don't underestimate him."

"Well..." Rivers joked, "how much can that responsible Greek achieve in the future?"

"Top three in the league, MVP..." Yu Fei replied, "It's even possible that the Clippers will continue to be glorious after I retire."

It was indeed a bit disorienting to hear the 30-year-old Yu Fei talk about "after I retire", but Rivers still captured the GOAT's expectations for Antetokounmpo.

Top three in the league, MVP, face of the team?
"Coach, I love training, can we continue?!" Antetokounmpo suddenly ran over and said, "I mean, I love training!"

Rivers couldn't help laughing.

Yu Fei joked: "I really hope you can be teammates with AI."

Rivers then dismissed Antetokounmpo with the words "I don't care."

Looking at Antetokounmpo's back, Rivers felt more and more that the Clippers' future was worth looking forward to.

"You know what? He looks like T-Mac when he first arrived in Orlando! He has all the tools to be great, and we can't screw him up."

"So, I suggest that he be our starting point guard in the new season."

"He's the starting point guard? What about Chauncey? We promised him..."

"Let him start, too." "He starts with Chauncey?" Rivers began to think of some bad signs, "What about Paul (Pierce)?"

Yu Fei's eyes flashed a gleam: "Unless you want me to play as a substitute, you have to start doing his job now."

"What if he firmly disagrees?"

Rivers knows Pierce, who thinks highly of himself and is unlikely to accept a bench position.

GOAT said lightly: "Then let his agent come over, we can arrange a deal. If that doesn't work, buying out the contract is also an option. In any case, we will have a bright future."

If one day, GOAT feels that he is no longer important, he may arrange a "bright future" for himself like Paul Pierce.

This is the deterrent power of the player godfather.

Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger.

Pierce can only be thankful that he communicated with the GOAT early on, otherwise if he suddenly received this order when the training camp was about to end, he would be making money to survive.

After the training that day, Yu Fei invited some old teammates to his home for dinner. Pachulia and Barnes were among the invited guests.

As he was about to leave, Brown saw Antetokounmpo wearing clothes he found from somewhere, carrying a small backpack, and preparing to walk home.

"Rookie, where's your car?" Brown asked.

Antetokounmpo shook his head, and it was hard to tell from his movements whether he didn't have a car or a driver's license, or maybe both.

"Call a taxi," Brown suggested.

Antetokounmpo laughed and said, “I don’t have any money.”

"Where's your salary?"

"I sent it back..."

Barnes smiled: "I like him."

At this time, Yu Fei's voice came from another car: "Get in the car!"

Antetokounmpo thought the GOAT was going to send him home, but he was taken to a luxurious manor that he had never dared to imagine.

When the car door opened and Antetokounmpo saw the manor for the first time, he couldn't believe his eyes. The spacious courtyard was full of various plants and the fountain was shimmering, as if he was in a movie scene.

After he got off the car, he followed Yu Fei into the manor. A comfortable cool breeze hit him in the face, and the carpet at the door was so soft that he dared not step on it.

Antetokounmpo couldn't take his eyes off the exquisite decorations and advanced equipment. He saw a huge TV, several expensive-looking paintings hanging on the wall, and there seemed to be a small home theater in the room at the end of the corridor.

The facilities in the room stunned him even more, with all kinds of luxurious items.

He thought silently in his heart: "This is simply another world. Can I really stay here?"

At dinner time, Yu Fei brought his family and several teammates to eat together. Antetokounmpo was the only one who hadn't seen them.

He seemed a little reserved when introducing himself, because his English was not very good, so he decided to talk less and eat more. There were all kinds of delicacies on the table that he had never eaten or seen before, and he gradually ate more freely until Xiao Bufan saw his mouth full of greasy food and laughed, and he wiped his mouth a little embarrassedly.

"Boy, why do you look like a refugee?" Barnes teased.

Antetokounmpo smiled and said, "Before I became an NBA player, I was indeed a refugee..."

"Sorry, that's not what I meant..." Barnes realized he had said the wrong thing.

Antetokounmpo smiled and said a few words that no one could understand, then continued to eat.

He doesn't mind his former refugee status because now he has made it to the NBA, made a lot of money, and his family has a completely different life. They are now legal Greek citizens. He thought this was a paradise until he came to Yu Fei's home.

He secretly swore that one day he would also have such a big manor and bring all his family over.

Then, the others talked about today's training match.

"Blake is overestimating himself." Brown started to talk about the topic, "He actually wants to compete with Dafei!"

Pachulia pretended to be neutral and picked out Griffin's problem: "His lower body strength is too weak, which is a big hidden danger."

Barnes is not interested in these, his upbringing determines the way he looks at competition. In his view, as long as the boss is the most ferocious one in the team, the rest is not a problem.

Yu Fei has proven his ferocity today, so Griffin is no longer a problem.

"Rookie, don't you have anything to say?" Yu Fei turned his gaze to Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo stuffed a large piece of meat in his mouth and chewed it hard, struggling to swallow it.

"I don't know," he replied.

"Don't know? Don't you have any questions? About today's training match, or anything else?"

"might have."

"possible?"

“I don’t know if that’s a problem.”

Yu Fei sighed, hoping that this guy could learn English well as soon as possible.

"Tell me."

Antetokounmpo looked at Yu Fei cautiously and said, "A lot of people are talking about GOAT... GOAT... I don't know... I want to know... why are you the GOAT?"

There was silence for a second, maybe two, and then everyone laughed.

"That's the dumbest question I've ever heard!" Brown said. "Dave is the GOAT! The GOAT is Dave! Do you even need to ask that?"

This is like someone asking why Faker is the GOAT of LOL.

A typical layman's question that makes people laugh.

However, Yu Fei's smile was very shallow, and if you looked closely, you could tell that he was faking it.

He has the same cognitive problem as Jordan, especially him. He originally wanted to dethrone the GOAT, and now he has really dethroned him. He has become the GOAT, but he doesn't like to hear people call him that.

He laughed even though the Greek looked like he thought he had said something wrong.

"Okay, eat your meal!"

After dinner, Yu Fei asked the Greek to stay at his house and handed him the team's tactical manual.

"From now on until the start of the season, you have to remember at least 70% of the tactics," Yu Fei said. "If you can do that, I'll let you start."

"Really?"

"of course."

Antetokounmpo excitedly took the tactical manual, which not only contained a tactical roadmap, but also thoughtfully used Greek to explain the tactics.

"Okay, take your time to read it."

Yu flew away, leaving Antetokounmpo to study the playbook alone.

No, he also left a bright future for the other party.

Considering that this person already had a good future in his previous life, all he needs to do is to ensure that this future is better than what has already happened.

⑴Forget about Antetokounmpo's current shooting and watch the highlights of his rookie season. I think he is definitely delayed in this area.

(End of this chapter)