The Way of the Center

On August 11, the 2013 FIBA ​​Men's Basketball Asian Championship officially came to an end. At the final awards ceremony, the trophy representing the highest level of basketball in Asia, the sphere on the trophy fell down embarrassingly.

This may be the first time in the history of professional sports that a trophy has been damaged during the award ceremony.

But under the optimistic and active celebration of the Chinese men's basketball players, the embarrassment of the damaged trophy was instantly swept away. Here, only the fans and players worship Wang Zhizhi, and only the joy after winning.

"An, leading the team to win the NBA championship and leading the team to win the Asian Championships. Is there any difference between them?" After the game, An Jie was stopped by the reporter at the entrance of the player channel as usual. . In the Asian Championships where there is a serious shortage of stars, Anjie is undoubtedly the biggest target of all basketball reporters.

"Both trophies are champions, and both trophies are equally hard-won. I will not say which of these two championships is better, I just think that the process of winning these two championships has enriched my career! "An Jie answered the reporters' questions with a smile. He didn't seem to be indifferent to everything about the Asian Championships just because he won the NBA championship.

Of course An Jie has to be taken seriously, otherwise the Basketball Association would not be able to give An Jie the green light all the way. If others give you a more relaxed policy, you have to give the other party a greater return.

And a championship trophy in the Asian Championships is enough to make those Basketball Association officials disappear from An Jie's life for a long time.

On the night of winning the championship, the national team disbanded on the spot. The rest of the national team went out to celebrate in twos and threes that day, but An Jie, Wang Zhizhi and Catherine had dinner alone.

"Happy newlyweds, An Jie, the national team was training on the day you got married, so I couldn't go to the scene to bless you. Today, I take this opportunity to make up for it." Wang Zhizhi happily raised his glass, and An Jie didn't either. Rejected. If you want to say who Anjie admires the most in this national team, this person is not Yi Jianlian, but Wang Zhizhi!

An Jie will never forget Wang Zhizhi's care for his younger brother. Without Wang Zhizhi, maybe An Jie and the rest of the national team would not be so harmonious. This is not to say that Yi Jianlian is not good, but that Wang Zhizhi has done really well in this regard.

With a blushing face, she drank the red wine in the glass in one gulp. Catherine couldn't understand what the two men were talking about, so she just added more wine.

In the end, Wang Zhizhi felt a little embarrassed. He invited An Jie to come to his home as a guest, but An Jie politely refused on the grounds that time was too tight.

"Hey, that's right. You young people are indeed not as leisurely as we are. Work hard abroad. Now that Dayao is gone, I don't think I will be able to impress you in a year or two. At that time,

The national team depends on you and the UAE. I am used to staying outside, don't forget to come back and develop the basketball career of my motherland. "Finally, Wang Zhizhi stared at An Jie with a serious expression. Obviously, Wang Zhizhi hoped to hand over the banner of leadership to An Jie.

"Don't worry about it, don't think so much about the future, leave it to us!" An Jie clinked glasses with Wang Zhizhi respectfully. If Wang Zhizhi hadn't learned from the past, how would there be Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, and himself now? ?

After spending a warm and happy night in the Philippines, Anjie officially left the national team the next day and flew back to Portland alone with Catherine.

After resting in Portland for two days, Anjie and his wife flew to Africa non-stop.

That's right, this time, An Jie went to a place he had never been to, the African continent.

But this time, Anjie and Catherine went to Africa not just for tourism. If it was just to go out and have fun, the two newcomers would not drag their tired bodies to such a long distance.

Anjie and Catherine went to Africa mainly to participate in the NBA Basketball Without Borders charity event arranged by Moslav for Anjie. They will go to a poor orphanage in Africa to bring love to the children.

Accompanied by Anjie and his wife are the powerful center Greg Monroe of the Pistons, the blue-collar Bismack Biyombo of the Bobcats, the living fossil of the NBA "Jet" Terry and the owner of the African land, "African Mountain" Dikembe Mutombo.

On the plane, Mutombo and Anjie chatted very speculatively. Even though this old man seems to be old enough to have a generation gap with An Jie, in fact, the African mountain's sense of humor is no less than that of O'Neill.

Because Mutombo has a very good relationship with Yao Ming, he has always had a good impression of Anjie. The two speculators sat together, and naturally they couldn't shut down the chatterbox.

"Yao and I will find a place to play every summer. How about you come this year too?" As we chatted, the topic of Mutombo and Anjie naturally returned to basketball.

"When is this year? Oh, can I really go to the Rockets' training camp?" An Jie joked.

"We will contact again at that time, but to be honest, Yao and I haven't met a decent opponent for a long time." Uncle Mu deliberately shook his finger. In this pleasant atmosphere, the journey to Africa seems not too far away .

Of course, if An Jie could only get along with Uncle Mu, his journey would still be a bit monotonous. But fortunately, "Jet" Terry, a guy who won a championship only in 11 years, seems to have a lot of common topics with Anjie.

"I said Jason, Lao Yu won't play next season, and now the Blazers are short of an experienced all-round guard. How about it, are you interested in coming to Portland to try? Don't worry, I will let the team leader position Here you are." Anjie tested Terry's attitude in a joking way, although the "Jet" is 36 years old, but when this guy was in the Mavericks, he averaged 15 points per game. He can be said to be a real "old monster" character. After all, there are not many players in the entire NBA except Duncan who are as old as him and can play so efficiently.

Terry is an old man. Although An Jie's words seemed to be joking, he actually knew what An Jie really meant. "Hahaha, if the Celtics have no objections, I very much hope to join forces with you to try."

Terry's ambiguous answer is also very clever. If he hadn't had a three-year contract with the Celtics, the "Jets" might have agreed on the spot. After all, who would have trouble with a championship-caliber team?

Biyombo and Monroe can also talk to Anjie from time to time, but compared with Terry and Mutombo, the two young insiders here seem much more restrained.

The long flight was finally over, and Anjie and Catherine, wearing sunglasses, came to the kingdom of the finger-waggling man—the African continent.

From the United States to Africa, this line was used to transport slaves hundreds of years ago. But hundreds of years later, this route is being used to breed hope.

Mutombo first took everyone to rest in Africa for a day. Early the next morning, a group of people took a 4-hour drive to a poor orphanage in the local mountainous area.

When An Jie and Catherine got out of the car, the good mood of the new couple was halved in an instant. The hardship of this place is more serious than they imagined.

Lack of water and food, poor medical and educational conditions. Some children don't even have decent clothes.

In the past, An Jie and Catherine thought that this kind of scene would only appear on TV. But today, what the two newcomers witnessed with their own eyes really shocked them greatly.

The innocent children welcomed the arrival of these six tall people, and sang a local folk song for Anjie and the others.

Catherine shed tears on the spot, but Anjie and others had to smile.

The orphanage teacher came out and shook hands with the visitors cordially, especially in front of Mutombo, the teacher seemed to see the savior.

Afterwards, the six had a party with the children. An Jie used to hold a nonchalant view of philanthropy, but this trip completely changed his view.

In the end, five people brought 50 computers to the orphanage and donated money to build various infrastructures. Of course, funds were allocated to build two concrete basketball courts for these children.

God knows, among these children, is there a second Mutombo?

"It's a great feeling." On the way back to the hotel, Mutombo suddenly asked Anjie.

Looking at the yellow sand outside the car window and the bare mountains, An Jie really didn't know how to answer. But at least now, he finally knows why Mutombo and Yao Ming are so interested in charity.

He had already made enough money, and the 10 million dollars spent on the wedding was not a pain to An Jie. This guy isn't Mike Tyson, or Anthony Walker, the NBA's worst example.

As a traditionally educated Chinese man, it is really not easy to squander that hundreds of millions of dollars in a few years.

In this case, An Jie decided that he would devote part of his savings to charity every year in the future.

Although An Jie's insignificant contribution will not change the world too much, but even so, it cannot be an excuse for An Jie to sit idly by.

The heavy day finally came to an end. In the last few days in Africa, Mutombo took everyone to visit a wildlife sanctuary in Africa. There, An Jie saw for the first time the real footage of the program "Animal World" when he was studying in China.

Catherine naturally feasted her eyes, and the two of them were simply the happiest couple on the sightseeing bus.

It seems that Muslav's arrangement is indeed correct, who said that work and honeymoon cannot be carried out at the same time? No, Meslav did it all.

When Anjie returned to Portland with a more mature mind and a more tired body, the time had come to the end of August.

At the end of August, this means that there are only two full months left before the start of the new NBA season. The most relaxing part of Anjie's vacation is coming to an end.

Summer special training, business activities, team operations, until the opening of the NBA training camp before the game. For the rest of September and October, Anjie devoted himself fully to his basketball career.

Can you indulge yourself after winning a championship? No, that's just what the weak do.

Keep working hard and keep getting stronger. An O'Brien Cup can't satisfy the appetite of An Jie, who is competitive.

Two consecutive championships, three consecutive championships, four consecutive championships? As long as he can win, Anjie will continue to work hard!

The holiday has come to an end, but the brightest chapter of An Jie's career has just begun.