The Way of the Center

Just one day after meeting with Olajuwon, Moslav officially received an invitation to tell Anjie to report to the 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.

While the media were guessing who would win the prize among the brilliant 2008 rookies, the Thunder had the last laugh.

The team's leading star Durant won the Most Improved Award, while An Jie won the Rookie of the Year Award over the No. 1 pick Derek Rose.

Anjie averaged 18.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 2.3 blocks per game, which was better than Rose's 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists. Winning an award is simply a well-deserved thing. The only thing Rose can use to compete with Anjie is that his team has entered the playoffs.

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

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

"Look at the Thunder, they got the best rookie for two consecutive years! What about us!? We finally picked it and gave it to someone else!" Countless Kings fans vented their dissatisfaction on the Internet.

Subsequently, both Anjie and Westbrook were selected to the rookie first team. In the position of center, no rookie's performance can be compared with Anjie.

Immediately, Anjie became well-known internationally, and the media later revealed that Anjie even almost replaced O'Neal and was selected to the NBA's third team of the year. All these rumors and honors made An Jie's worth skyrocket. He himself was naturally happy.

In May, Iowa State University ended its spring semester, and Catherine was finally able to follow Anjie around without being bound by the classroom.

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

Giardina would call Anjie every three or four days. When she knew that Anjie already had a girlfriend, she was heartbroken.

But after the little girl sank for a few days,

Then they launched an offensive against An Jie again. It's just a pity that Giardina is preparing his next album this summer, so he doesn't have much free time to go out. During this time, she could only keep in touch with An Jie by phone.

Whenever Giardina called, Angie would tell Catherine that it was just a friend. Because he didn't have any unreasonable thoughts about Giardina in his mind, in order to prevent Catherine from misunderstood and avoid further smearing, Anjie avoided this regular call with one sentence every time.

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

Just as An Jie and Catherine were lying on the beach in Los Angeles, Catherine finally couldn't help but want to figure things out.

"Ann, the person who calls you every week is that female singer named Giardina?" Catherine still remembered the complicated look in Giardina's eyes when she looked at Anjie.

"Uh...listen to Catherine." Looking at Catherine's deep blue eyes, An Jie couldn't tell a lie. People are not afraid of crooked shadows. Thinking of this, An Jie suddenly couldn't figure out what he was afraid of.

"Gardina and I are really just ordinary friends. She is preparing her new album recently. She rarely has the opportunity to go out. She has to compose and write lyrics every day. Her life is very boring. So she will call her from time to time. It just so happens that I am also a member of her social circle." An Jie sat up from the recliner and held Catherine's hand.

During the season, he hadn't been to a nightclub or bar once, and the only recruiting scandal that came out was framed and fabricated. Compared with those stars who sing every night, Anjie's off-court resume has always been very clean.

Catherine is willing to believe An Jie, after all, An Jie does not seem like a person who would do that kind of thing.

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

Catherine has been obedient for so long, An Jie almost forgot how hot this blonde girl actually is.

"What kind of chef is not a cook? I fried this plate of rice! You criticize me so much, it's simply too hateful!" Catherine's first words to An Jie echoed in his mind.

Except for that little episode, the whole trip of the two young lovers was very pleasant.

It's just that the Rockets' trip to the playoffs has made all Chinese fans, including An Jie, very sad.

Against the Trail Blazers, "African Mountain" Mutombo injured his knee and was reimbursed for the season. The desperate look in Uncle Mu's eyes when he was lying on the floor was unforgettable.

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

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

Yao Ming insisted on playing the whole game and won. This move moved everyone, but in the fourth round, he was unable to play again. The Great Wall of China fell again and was reimbursed for the season.

An Jie called Yao Ming immediately after learning about the situation, but there was no one answering the phone.

This is the reason why NBA teams are most afraid of choosing Chinese players. Although Yao Ming is capable, endless injuries have not allowed him to lead the Rockets to take off.

After that, An Jie completely lost the nature of traveling, and the two ended their journey early and returned to Ames City.

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

Although he was returning home, An Jie didn't stay at home for a few days. After all, there are not many tourist attractions in the small town where An Jie is located. With Catherine, Westbrook and Durant, it is impossible to spend 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 rivers, which also opened the eyes of Westbrook and Durant.

Although these two guys are already stars, it is actually the first time for them to go abroad since their family circumstances were not considered wealthy.

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

In addition to tourism, the three of them have a lot of business activities in China.

When they arrived in Beijing, CCTV also invited An Jielai as a guest to explain a game between the Lakers and the Nuggets. During the period, they naturally also talked about injuries, and 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. Being hit by such a serious injury at a critical moment in the playoffs, he didn't want to talk to anyone at all in those days. Even his wife Ye Li couldn't communicate with Yao Ming normally.

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

It wasn't until the end of May, when Westbrook, Catherine and Durant all went back, 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 in recent times, but An Jie wants to know the current situation from Yao Ming.

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

It was just a minor injury, and Yao Ming thought so at first, but when he had a follow-up visit full of expectations, everything changed.

"I can't come back An Jie, I can't come back now." Yao Ming's tone was heavy, and An Jie felt depressed just hearing the voice. "That seam didn't grow, but the whole crack got bigger."

"Then this..." An Jie was at a loss for words.

"We can only have surgery. That's fine. Let's talk when we have time. This year's Asian Championships, we may not be able to fight side by side again." After Yao Ming finished speaking, he 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 does not understand it at all.

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

The worsening of Yao Ming's injury has cast a shadow over the entire Chinese basketball circle. Even An Jie, who is on vacation, feels that he is overwhelmed by this oppressive feeling.

In June, NBA Finals, Morris draft. But now Anjie is more concerned about his own training. He doesn't want to get injured, and he doesn't want to collapse 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 are more professional trainers who can make training plans for themselves. Only there can Ricard continue to help himself.

During this period, An Jie can not only continue to improve his physical fitness, but also continue to spend the holiday with Catherine.

On June 14, when Alston hit the iron with his last three-pointer, the entire Lakers team poured into the basketball court.

99 to 86, the Lakers won the away game and won the NBA championship title in the 2008-09 season with a total score of 4 to 1 in the finals.

An Jie 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 left O'Neal, finally got his own O'Brien Cup.

The golden trophy is very dazzling even on TV, An Jie stretched out his hand unconsciously, 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 came to an end. But An Jie and his Thunder team had already rested for two months.

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

The fate-determining ping-pong ball spins crazily, but the ghost knows if there is any shady inside.

Presti was lucky, and even with "excellent" results, he still drew the seventh overall pick for the team. After two consecutive years of successful drafts, Presti's operations have also attracted much attention.

On the day of the draft on June 25, An Jie 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." An Jie patted Morris on the shoulder. A year ago, here, he and Mike Taylor accepted their fate. Now, it's Morris' turn.

"Don't worry, Ann, my pick is definitely higher than yours!" Morris hammered An Jie's chest, and accompanied by his family and Muslav, he walked into the theater.

The first pick of the Los Angeles Clippers chose Blake Griffin, a white insider who was expected to become the new No. 1 pick.

With the second pick, the Memphis Grizzlies chose James Harden. Harden was Presti's favorite, but the Grizzlies picked him up with the second pick.

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

The seventh pick, Presti, who lost James Harden, considered for a long time, and finally decided to choose a big man to strengthen the Thunder's weak inside.

"With the seventh pick in the first round, the Oklahoma City Thunder selected Andrew Morris from the Iowa State University Cyclones."

"What!? Thunder! Hahahaha! Ann! I'm coming!" Morris jumped up excitedly, and Moslav also let out a sigh of relief. Negotiating a contract with Presti, who has been working together for a long time, at least there is no need to intrigue each other.

An Jie, who was standing outside the theater, watched the live broadcast of the draft on the big screen. When the Thunder selected Morris, he jumped up instantly.

There were also many media who were unable to get tickets to the small black house, so An Jie, who was outside the venue, became the target of their roundup.

In less than two months, so many things have happened. Advertisements shot with Durant, Dameng’s invitation, winning Rookie of the Year, being selected to the rookie first team of the season, traveling with Catherine, Yao Ming’s injury, Westbrook and Durant’s trip to China. Now, the Thunder have selected Morris.

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

The hot June has also come to an end, which means that the days when An Jie can relax are numbered.

In July, I will participate in Olajuwon's training camp.

In August, without accident, I will go to participate in the Asian Championships.

September, summer league, preseason, team training.

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

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

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