The Way of the Center

After the World Championships, Deng Huade and Guo Shiqiang were still fighting each other in front of the Basketball Association, and the players of the Chinese team also returned to China, ready to face the long guns and short guns of the media.

The Chinese team reached the quarter-finals again in this World Championship, making history, thanks to An Jie's contribution. But the problems exposed by the Chinese team are also obvious, but the crack between Deng Huade and Guo Shiqiang is something that the Basketball Association did not expect.

Now the domestic fans are still silent in the just-concluded World Championships, but An Jie did not appear in the country with the team, but flew directly from Turkey to Los Angeles alone.

Yes, Los Angeles again. Not only Anjie, but almost all NBA stars like to come to Los Angeles to spend their vacations. The reason why he rushed to the City of Angels in such a hurry was because this was An Jie's last chance to participate in the Drew League.

Although An Jie has been fully exercised in the just-concluded World Championships, there is still one and a half months before the start of the new season. Apart from business activities in this one and a half months, it is impossible for An Jie to be idle every day. So just like the appointment he made with Morris at the end of last season, Anjie arrived in Los Angeles on time, and Morris was already waiting here.

Charles Drew High School basketball gymnasium, this is just an ordinary school basketball gymnasium in Los Angeles. In the City of Angels, there are countless venues with conditions that are several times better than here.

However, this basketball stadium, which doesn't even have permanent stands, is sure to be very popular every summer. If you want to watch the game, you must honestly line up outside the stadium, and it is very likely that when you are in line, the auditorium is already full. Usually at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, people will start queuing at nine o'clock in the morning.

This is not the West Training Center, this is not Santa Monica University, this is the Drew League.

Here, you can see veterans, All-American players, nBa All-Stars and street stars compete in the same field. The Drew League has always been very popular in Los Angeles and the level is very high, so professional players will also want to come here to try their skills.

The fair and peaceful mechanism of the Drew League makes it a place for players to unite and enhance friendship. Equality and mutual respect are the themes of the Drew League.

When the Drew League was founded 40 years ago, it existed to distinguish it from the ordinary street leagues in Los Angeles. There's no foul-mouthed rap music here, even though that's a must for most street leagues. It's hard for someone with a gang background to play in the league, even if you're a famous West Coast rapper. Once you act aggressively on the field, you will be expelled immediately. Even if you are a powerful Kobe, you must follow the rules of the Drew League.

It's nowhere near the Staples or the Toyota Center, and it doesn't have the luxury amenities. The only thing that attracts people here is basketball.

It's a pure union,

Tickets are usually not required to watch games, and league revenue comes from donations from stars or fans. Because Dino Smiley, the chairman of the competition's main committee, believes that basketball is the purest form of basketball when it is separated from interests.

Anjie and Morris were standing in front of Smiley at this moment, and the list control of the Drew League was not as strict as that of the professional league. You can add a new player before a game and let him go the next day. But the premise of all of this is that the player must pass Smiley's test.

But Angie and Morris obviously didn't need Smiley to investigate their backgrounds. Morris had played in the Drew League last year, and as for the butcher next to him, Smiley had been famous for a long time.

"Are you both coming?" Smiley became excited. He would never have too many stars in the league.

"Of course, my buddies and I both want to join the Vipers, is that okay?" It wasn't the first time Morris and Smiley had dealt with each other, and it could be heard from the conversation that they were already very familiar with each other.

"Okay, okay, the Vipers have a game the day after tomorrow, so prepare well. Your opponent is Trevor Ariza." There will be three NBA players appearing at the same time in a game, and Smiley has a headache. It's not enough to sit down again.

"It's over?" An Jie didn't expect that their registration would be so short.

"What do you think? In the Drew League, the only thing you want to think about is how to play well. Prepare well, don't think it's just an amateur league, but there are many crouching tiger, hidden dragon masters in it." Morris I haven't forgotten that I was humiliated by an unknown guy last year. You know, even in the nBa, Morris is considered very strong. It's a horrible thing for an amateur player to dunk Morris.

An Jie is more looking forward to this game. It is said that the United States is a place with many folk masters, and God knows what interesting opponents he will meet. Nothing to honor, nothing to do with money, pure basketball contest. Thinking of this, An Jie became more and more excited.

...................................

"Hey Sergey, let's discuss something." A middle-aged man with sunglasses and well-combed hair patted a big black man on the shoulder.

"What's up coach?"

"In today's position, you may have to step back to make room."

"Oh? There are new players coming?" The big black man is used to such things. This is the case in the Drew League, and the turnover and changes of players are very fast.

"Da Bu from the West End? Or Karl from Grove Street!?" The big black man looked around, but didn't see any new faces.

"No, this guy is an Asian." The coach of the Viper team smirked. These two new teammates were enough to surprise the group of guys.

"Asian? I haven't heard of any particularly powerful Asian center in Los Angeles?" The big black man scratched his head. He had been playing in this area for a long time, and he had never seen such a No. 1 player.

"He's not in L.A., he's in Oklahoma."

"Oklahoma!? Could it be!? No, no, you're kidding me, coach." The big black man already had a name in his heart, but he thought it was impossible.

"That's him! Anjie will become your teammate soon, show off your kid." The head coach smirked and patted the big black man on the shoulder, that surprised expression, that's what he wanted.

For a kid playing in the community, the audience is no more than a hundred people. Now the coach tells you that the Western All-Star center will play with you later, who can be calm if you change.

Not long after, the coach of the Viper team really led Anjie into the locker room. Of course, the arrival of Morris surprised the fans of the Viper team.

Everyone swallowed their saliva, they knew that the Drew League would often be visited by NBA stars. But they didn't expect that this kind of thing would actually be their turn.

"Hi everyone." An Jie smiled and greeted his new teammates. He likes the atmosphere here, and he likes pure basketball.

...................................

Yesterday, fans already learned that the Viper team will bring you two "mysterious friends". Although the Palisades already have Ariza, fans are still very curious about the two mysterious guests of the Vipers.

Some people talked about the so-called guests of the Viper team being "Professor" Grayson Boucher and "Spring Heels" Davis, but when Angie and Morris stepped onto the basketball court, everyone's jaws dropped. A second later, warm cheers and applause filled the small basketball stadium. There is no other place in Los Angeles to see such a game with three NBA players appearing in a Drew league game.

"I didn't expect it to be you." Not to mention the fans, even Ariza was very surprised. He smiled and went up to greet Morris and Anjie. It seemed that he really had to give his best in this game.

The basketball hall that can only accommodate 1000 people makes the atmosphere of the game very hot. The rest of Drew's league isn't relegated to supporting roles with the arrival of three NBA stars, and here, they don't hand the ball into the hands of an NBA player and disappear. They will still play at their own level and style, because in the Drew League, everyone is equal.

Dazzling streetball moves, yes. Passionate flying dunks, yes. There are also volleyball-style violent blocks. In the Drew League, you can see pretty much all the cool stuff. And An Jie also really felt that the Drew League is not a place where he can just play around.

Not to mention Trevor Ariza, a small defender who looks only about 1.7 meters on the other side impressed Anjie deeply.

The guy's ball handling is solid and his shooting is as good as ever, not amateurish at all. Successively Ariza had to run tactics according to the arrangement to catch the ball from the small guard.

But the Drew League is still an amateur league. Even if the players here are of great strength, they are only at the amateur level. Anjie will not have too much pressure to play here, but he must be cautious. It couldn't be more appropriate to play this league as a warm-up before the start of the new season.

As a result of the game, of course, the viper team that Anjie and Morris belonged to won the victory. Although Ariza scored 30 points, Morris and Anjie scored 65 points together. Hard to beat four hands with one punch, the Vipers and the Whirlwind Twin Towers completed their performances very well.

After the game, An Jie went to find the small guard who looked only 1.7 meters tall, because his performance really surprised An Jie.

"Isiah Thomas, my name is Isiah Thomas." Hearing An Jie calling himself, the little guard was also very enthusiastic.

"Isiah Thomas? That's such a powerful name! Of course, your game skills are really good!" This guy not only played well, but also had a good name. Just listening to the pronunciation, it is exactly the same as the former "Smiling Assassin".

"Where do you usually play? I mean, with your ability, you might be able to play in a professional league." An Jie knows this guy's level, even if he can't play in the NBA, he can still play in other professional leagues in the world. adapt.

"Haha, people say that I'm too short to play in professional leagues. But I still decided to sign up for the NBA draft next year. I'll be a junior after next season. If I don't try, how can I have a chance?" This little guy's eyes are shining, nBa, that's his dream.

An Jie suddenly felt that Thomas had a lot of similarities with himself. Although An Jie was tall, people said that he was thin and thin, so he was nba material. Isaiah Thomas is even braver than himself. With such a height, he resolutely participated in the draft. If it were An Jie, he might not have the courage.

"Good luck my friend, can you leave your contact information? If you have time, let's play together." An Jie was completely impressed by Thomas. He is committed to this friend.

Thomas didn't refuse either, after all, being friends with An Jie wouldn't do him any harm. Others respect him, and he will respect others.

In the next half month of the game, the Viper team was undefeated, and they also defeated their opponents in the final on September 23 and won the championship. And An Jie was also named the mVP of this year's Drew League.

Durant and Westbrook were overjoyed when the US team won the World Championships. Although An Jie only won the Drew League Championship, he was equally happy. Even though there is a big gap between these two championship levels, the happiness they bring to people is the same.

This is basketball, and this is the heart that loves basketball.