The Way of the Center

Only one day after the meeting with Olajuwon, Meslav was formally invited to report to Anjie’s training camp in Houston on July 5.

After this incident, An Jie's vacation really began.

Just as the playoffs were in full swing, NBA officials finally announced the ownership of the various awards in the regular season.

When the media were speculating about who the brilliant 08 rookies would win, the Thunder had the last laugh.

The team's star Durant won the Most Improved Award, and Anjie, overwhelming No. 1 pick Derrick Rose, won the Rookie of the Year Award for the season.

Anjie averaged 18.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 2.3 blocks per game, better than Rose's 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists. Winning an award is simply something that deserves its name. The only thing Rose can contend with Anjie is that his team enters the playoffs.

This move made Anjie the first Chinese to win the Rookie of the Year in NBA history and the first player with the 12th overall pick to win the Rookie of the Year. Although it is not a low-ranking counterattack, as a player who was traded as soon as he was selected, as a player who is not looked at by many players, the story of Anjie is still talked about by people.

It's just that the general manager of the Kings team, he is almost overwhelmed by the saliva of the fans.

"Look at the Thunder. They got the best rookie for two years in a row! What about us!? I finally picked it and gave it to others!" Countless Kings fans vented their dissatisfaction online.

Subsequently, Anjie and Westbrook were both selected to the rookie first team. In the position of center, no rookie can compare with Anjie.

Suddenly, Anjie became famous throughout the world, and the media later disclosed that Anjie almost replaced O'Neal and was selected to the NBA's third team. All these rumors and honors made An Jie's worth soar. He himself is naturally happy to bloom.

In May, Iowa State University ended the spring semester, and Catherine finally did not need to be bound by the classroom, and was able to follow Anjie everywhere.

In the first half month, Anjie took Catherine to New York, San Francisco, Utah and Los Angeles respectively. Of course, the two young couples naturally stopped by to watch the playoffs several times on the way.

Giardina would call An Jie every three or four days. When she knew that An Jie already had a girlfriend, she was very sad.

However, after a few days of sinking, the little girl launched an offensive against An Jie again. It's just a pity that Giardina is preparing for his next album this summer, so there is not much free time to go out. During this time, she could only keep in touch with Anjie over the phone.

Whenever Giardina called, Anjie would tell Catherine that it was just a call from a friend. Because he didn't think much about Giardina in his mind, in order to prevent Catherine from misunderstanding, so as not to get darker, Anjie used a word every time to prevaricate this regular call.

But for half a month, there were three or four calls every week. Even Morris and Durant didn't have such frequent contact with Anjie, so Catherine became suspicious.

While Anjie and Catherine were lying on the beach in Los Angeles, Catherine finally couldn't help but want to make things clear.

"Ann, the person who calls you every week, isn't that the female singer named Giardina?" Catherine still remembers the complicated look in Giardina's eyes when she looked at An Jie.

"Uh...Listen to Catherine." Looking at Catherine's deep blue eyes, An Jie couldn't tell a lie. People are not afraid of the shadow crooked, thinking of this, An Jie suddenly couldn't understand what he was afraid of.

"Giardina and I are really just ordinary friends. She is currently preparing her new album. She rarely has the opportunity to go out. She has to arrange music and write lyrics every day. Life is very boring. So she will call her from time to time. My friends talked about it. It just so happened that I was also a member of her social circle." An Jie sat up from the recliner and took Catherine's hand.

I haven't been to a nightclub or bar once during the season, and the only scandal that has been reported was framed and fabricated. Compared with the stars who sang songs every night, An Jie's off-court resume has always been very clean.

Catherine was willing to trust An Jie, after all, An Jie did not seem to be someone who would do that kind of thing.

"If you dare to fool around with other women, see how I can deal with you." Catherine suddenly pinched An Jie's arm, really painful and happy...

After Catherine had been obedient for so long, An Jie almost forgot how pungent this blonde girl was.

"Whether the chef does not cook, I made this plate of rice! You criticize me so much, it's horrible!" The first words Catherine said to An Jie echoed in his mind.

Except for that episode, the whole journey of the two young lovers was very enjoyable.

It's just the Rockets' playoff tour that makes all Chinese fans, including An Jie, very sad.

Against the Blazers, "Africa Mountain" Mutombo injured a knee and was reimbursed for the season. Uncle Mu's desperate look when lying on the floor is unforgettable.

Then the Rockets broke the first round curse under the leadership of Yao Ming and entered the Western Conference semifinals against the mighty Los Angeles Lakers.

But the worst thing happened. In Game 3 of the playoffs, Yao Ming and Kobe collided in the third quarter. This collision not only injured Yao Ming's knee, but also caused a bone fracture in his left foot.

Yao Ming insisted on playing the entire game and winning. This move touched everyone, but in the fourth stop, he couldn't play again. The Great Wall of China fell again and was reimbursed for the season.

An Jie called Yao Ming as soon as he learned of the situation, but he was always in a state of being unanswered.

This is the reason why NBA teams are most afraid of choosing Chinese players. Yao Ming is certainly good, but endless injuries have been unable to let him lead the Rockets to take off.

Afterwards, Anjie completely lost the nature of traveling, and the two ended their journey early and returned to Ames.

Not long after their sweet "unfinished" trip, Westbrook and Durant arranged the itinerary, ready to go to China with Anjie.

Although he was returning to China, An Jie did not stay at home for a few days. After all, there are not many tourist attractions in the small town where Anjie is located. With Catherine, Westbrook and Durant, you can't spend more than half a month in the same province.

The Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Potala Palace, Sanya... it was another trip to the mountains and water, which also opened the eyes of Westbrook and Durant.

Although these two guys are already star players, they are actually the first time they went abroad for their families who weren't wealthy in the past.

Everywhere they went, the three Americans would say "Wow."

In addition to traveling, the three people's business activities in China are also very diverse.

When he arrived in Beijing, CCTV also invited An Jie as a guest to explain a game between the Lakers and the Nuggets. During the period, they naturally also talked about injuries. An Jie also expressed concern about Yao Ming's injuries during the live broadcast.

Although Yao Ming is strong, his heart is also made of flesh. He was hit by such a serious injury at a critical moment in the playoffs, and he didn't want to talk to anyone in those few days. Even his wife Ye Li could not communicate with Yao Ming normally.

So An Jie's phone call naturally didn't get a reply.

It was not until the end of May, when Westbrook, Catherine and Durant all returned, that Anjie received a call back from Yao Ming at home.

"Brother Yao! How is the injury!?" An Jie saw the caller ID and immediately connected the call.

There have been countless reports about Yao Ming’s injuries during the recent period, but Anjie wants to know the current situation from Yao Ming’s mouth.

"I heard that it's just a bone fracture with a hair thickness. It shouldn't be serious, right? When will you return to China?" This kind of injury allows it to recover on its own for two months, and it usually heals. But after Yao Ming went to Houston for a review, there was no news again. Not only Yao Ming, but even the reporters have no news of him.

This is just a small injury, Yao Ming thought so at the beginning, but when he returned to the clinic with expectations, everything changed.

"An Jie can't come back, I can't come back now." Yao Ming's tone was heavy, and An Jie felt depressed when he heard the voice. "The seam didn't grow, but the whole crack became bigger."

"Then this..." An Jie was speechless for a while.

"Only surgery, OK, let's talk about it when you have time. This year's Asian Championships, we may not be able to fight together." Yao Ming finished speaking, and hung up the phone. An Jie will not say that he can understand Yao Ming's pain, because he has never experienced it, and he doesn't understand it at all.

An Jie can only pray for Yao Ming in his heart, even though he has always been an atheist.

The deterioration of Yao Ming's injury has cast a shadow over the entire Chinese basketball circle. Even An Jie, who was on vacation, felt that he was overwhelmed by this depressed feeling.

In June, the NBA Finals, Morris drafted. But An Jie is more concerned about his training now. He doesn't want to be injured. He doesn't want to fall on the court one day.

After staying at home for a week, Anjie flew to the United States again and stayed in Ames. Only there can there be more professional trainers who can make training plans for themselves. Only there can Ricard continue to help himself.

During this time, An Jie was able to not only continue to improve his physical fitness, but also to continue spending vacations with Catherine.

On June 14th, when Alston made his last three-pointer to hit the iron, players from the entire Lakers swarmed into the basketball court.

99 to 86, the Lakers won the away game and won the NBA championship in the 08-09 season with a total score of 4-1 in the finals.

Anjie is a fan of the Lakers. Although he is already a professional player, he is still happy for the Lakers at this moment.

Peter Pan, who had separated from O'Neal, finally got his own O'Brien Cup.

The golden trophy is very dazzling on TV. An Jie unconsciously stretched his hand forward. He did not expect that his desire for the O'Brien Cup was so great.

After the Lakers won the championship, the entire 08-09 season officially ended. And Anjie and his Thunder team have already rested for two months.

Three days later, the NBA lottery draw officially began. Although the Thunder have performed well this season, but they still failed to make the playoffs, they still retain the qualifications for the lottery draw.

The destiny ping pong ball spins wildly, but the ghost knows whether there is any shady in it.

Presti was lucky and still got the seventh overall pick for the team despite his "excellent" results. After two consecutive years of successful drafts, Presti's operation has also attracted much attention.

On the day of the draft on June 25th, Anjie came to New York again and accompanied his good brother Morris to Madison Square Garden.

"That's it. When you come out, you are also a professional player." Anjie patted Morris on the shoulder. A year ago, here, he and Mike Taylor accepted their fate. Now it was Morris' turn.

"Don't worry, I must be higher than you!" Morris hammered An Jie's chest and walked into the theater, accompanied by his family and Moslav.

The Los Angeles Clippers with the first overall pick chose Blake Griffin. This white insider was well-respected and became the new champion.

The Memphis Grizzlies chose James Harden with the second overall pick. Harden was originally a figure in Presti's picture. Unexpectedly, the Grizzlies picked him away with the second overall pick.

The third overall pick of the Golden State Warriors chose Steve Curry of Davidson College. The road to the reconstruction of the Black Eight Warriors officially began.

Seventh overall, Presti, who lost James Harden, considered for a long time, and finally decided to pick a big man to reinforce the weak inside line of the Thunder.

"The seventh overall pick in the first round. The Oklahoma City Thunder chose Andrew Morris from the Iowa State University Cyclones."

"What!? Thunder! Hahahaha! Ann! I'm coming!" Morris jumped up excitedly, and Meslav let out a big breath. Negotiating the contract with Presti, who has been cooperating for a long time, at least not need to deal with each other in a deceitful manner.

Standing outside the theater, Anjie watched the draft live broadcast on the big screen. When the Thunder drafted Morris, he jumped up instantly.

There were also many media who couldn't get tickets to the small black house, so An Jie who was outside the venue became the target of their round up.

So much happened in less than two months ~www.NovelMTL.com~. The commercial shot with Durant, the invitation of the big dream, won the rookie of the year, was selected for the first team of the season's rookie, travel with Catherine, Yao Ming's injury, Westbrook and Durant's trip to China. Until now, the Thunder drafted Morris.

In two months, life has been good and bad, but the general direction is still developing towards the good side.

The hot June has also come to the end, which means that there are not many days for Anjie to be at ease.

In July, I will participate in the training camp of Olajuwon.

In August, it is no surprise to go to the Asian Championships.

In September, the summer league, preseason, team training.

Until the start of the new season in October, Anjie had no rest time to speak of.

In just one summer, too many things have changed. Only Anjie still works tirelessly on the road of professional basketball and has never changed. (To be continued.).

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