The Way of the Center

In the past, when An Jie was young, he always wanted others to treat him as an adult.

Because at that time, An Jie felt that only mature men could be masculine and infinitely charming. When he was in college, An Jie used to shave his face with a razor, hoping that his smooth face could grow more mature beards. On the basketball court, An Jie always likes others to comment on how mature he plays. Only those who play maturely can become winners. It would be great if I had more cool scars on my body. A "mature" man is nothing more than that. After that...after that, An Jie became what he is now.

In the first game of the new season, Anjie's biggest change compared to previous years was the growth of stubble on his face. Although his beard is far from as thick as Harden or James, people still see traces of time in it.

As for the scars... Anjie has already suffered a lot of injuries. The knee that was shocking last season was even said by the media to be a time bomb that determines whether Anjie's career can go smoothly. . After all, he is not as young as he was then, and he has to recover after injury, and he is not as fast as before.

It is hard for An Jie to be excited by those passionate stories. On the contrary, Anjie's own story is inspiring countless young people to work hard for their goals. Isn't his friend Paul George in the team the first group of people who admired Anjie?

As for the rookie selected by the Trail Blazers with the 50th overall pick in the second round this year, the first thing he did on the first day of the training camp was to ask An Jie for his signature. After all, during the years when An Jie called the wind and rain and created a dynasty, this guy had just entered high school...

An Jie looked at this familiar stadium, year after year, season after season. I am not as young as I was back then, but as soon as I step on this court, the most primitive desire to win in An Jie's blood will urge him to continue fighting.

In the opening game of the 2018-2019 NBA season, the Portland Trail Blazers played against the Golden State Warriors. Anjie played 35 minutes, scored 22 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks. This guy still maintained a super high level, and the Portland Trail Blazers also easily won the first game of the season. victory.

That's right, it's easy. Lillard and George scored 26 and 28 points respectively. Coupled with Anjie's excellent performance, it is almost impossible for the Warriors to win. This summer, although the Trail Blazers' roster didn't change much, Nell Orsi still brought Jordan Clarkson, who was the best sixth man of last season but not in the Lakers' long-term plan, to the team. The joining of this guy also made the Trail Blazers' second team no longer weak.

113 to 128, the Trail Blazers' victory at the Moda Center stunned the entire league. The Warriors rarely lose, and even less so by such a big margin. However, the Portland Trail Blazers, in the first game of the new season, gave the entire league a blow.

After the game, what An Jie said in the interview left the reporters stunned. "I didn't try my best in this game, because the comeback of Damien and George shared a lot of pressure for me. On the court, we played more easily than last season."

He didn't try his best and played more easily... This is An Jie's evaluation of this game. If the Trail Blazers beat the rebuilding Suns or the Nets in this game, then there is nothing wrong with saying that. But today's opponent of the Blazers is the Golden State Warriors with stars such as Curry and Durant.

An Jie's words made many people respect this legend. Of course, it also caused many people to attack An Jie. The more famous the star, the easier it is to become a topic of conversation. Look now, how many people are willing to discuss Dwight Howard?

A week later, the Trail Blazers met their opponent in the Finals last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

LeBron James is aiming for revenge, but this year, James' body has declined significantly, let alone Derrick Rose and Wade.

Thomas Jr. was the best performer of the Cavaliers. He scored 26 points and 10 assists, and once again created a miracle with a height of 175. But it was still An Jie who won the final competition.

Anjie played 33 minutes in this game and scored 20 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocked shots. He is more willing to create opportunities for Lillard and Paul George on the court than to attack himself.

Why make yourself work so hard when you can win the game in an easy way? Now, it's not time to desperately.

120 to 108, in the Quicken Loans Center Arena, the Cavaliers' ambition of revenge failed to be realized, but they were won by the Trail Blazers.

The stubble-faced An Jie is still dominant. Those who are looking forward to seeing An Jie fall from the horse may have to wait another year.

In this way, the Trail Blazers went smoothly to the All-Star weekend. An Jie was voted top again, and among the five starters of the Trail Blazers, four were selected to the All-Star lineup, and three were selected to the All-Star starting lineup. Lillard, Angie and George, these three guys still started at the same time even on the All-Star weekend. Morris, on the other hand, had an All-Star addiction as a substitute.

After the All-Star break, Morris broke out with a knee injury and will miss the rest of the regular season. But the good news is that Morris can catch up with the playoffs.

During Morris' injury, Nurkic played a bright performance. Not only is this guy's ability to protect the frame not bad at all, but he is also more threatening than Morris on the offensive end.

In Ricard's tactics, there has been another option since then.

In the last game of the regular season, Anjie led the team to defeat the potential but still unformed Los Angeles Lakers. On this day, Kobe came to the scene to watch the game. It's a pity that An Jie didn't give this old friend any face. The Trail Blazers took their 72nd win of the season and entered the playoffs as the league's first. And things like 70 wins in the regular season seem to be very common for the Trail Blazers.

During the playoffs, Morris returned from injury. Rickard can now match Anjie with more choices, and the Blazers' combat effectiveness is also stronger.

In the first two rounds, the Trail Blazers swept the Timberwolves and Clippers respectively. Whether it's the young Towns or the experienced Griffin and Jordan, none of them can watch Anjie in the penalty area. Even now, An Jie is no longer a young man.

In the Western Conference finals, facing the old club Oklahoma City Thunder, the Trail Blazers encountered some troubles. However, it was eliminated with a total score of 4 to 2 and once again dominated the West.

In the nba finals, James and his Cavaliers were finally absent after playing for eight consecutive years. Instead, the veteran giants Boston Celtics led by Irving and Hayward.

The Celtics ushered in Irving's comprehensive evolution this season, Hayward's dedication, Horford's maturity, and the growth of Jaylen Brown and Tatum. Their set of starters is no worse than that of the Cavaliers back then.

Celtics fans are also excited about being able to return to the Finals. After all, this is another opportunity for the Celtics to attack the championship ten years after the Big Three of the Celtics won the championship in 2008.

However, Anjie made the Celtics fans' dreams stay here forever.

4 to 1, the Trail Blazers did not take much effort to kill the still immature Celtics. The Celtics do have great potential, but they are still close to defeating the Blazers. An Jie won the finals mvp again. Although An Jie's statistics are not as gorgeous as last year because of the relationship between Lillard and George, his role is still undoubtedly huge.

For the second consecutive year, the Trail Blazers and An Jie won their fifth NBA championship trophy. This time, even Jordan said that if he was born in An Jie's era, he probably wouldn't be so great.

In this era of star groups and super teams everywhere, it is simply incredible to want to win five championship trophies. Duncan, the last player to achieve this achievement in the 21st century, finally realized his dream of five championships at the end of his career. As for An Jie, his career is far from reaching the final stage.

That summer, Portland was once again the happiest city in the world. The championship parade seems to have become a kind of carnival unique to the city of tearing, which is staged every year...

After finishing everything, An Jie took Catherine and her parents back to Ames City. There, An Jie enjoyed the delicious meals cooked by Big Beard and his parents. When he is free, An Jie will go to Iowa State University with Catherine and An Xiang, and go back to the restaurant to watch TV and old photos. When training is needed, the home court of the Cyclones is always open to Anjie unconditionally.

Anjie's training camp in China has also achieved some results. This year, not only players from the cba league, but even many big names in the nba traveled thousands of miles to China to receive training in the training camp.

Such a situation has exceeded An Jie's original expectations. So he also officially announced that after retiring, he will personally enter the training camp to start special courses, just like Olajuwon. Of course, the price is also more scary than the Olajuwon training camp.

Anjie's Steak House has been opened all over the world. Now you can find a branch even under the Eiffel Tower.

An Jie and his family watched the sunset, ending another wonderful day. Not only has he achieved success in the basketball field, but he has also become more mature in the business field.

Looking at the city of Ames where the dream started, An Jie would always unconsciously fall into memories. Recalling the life of extra training every night at the beginning, recalling the night when I met Catherine.

Life can really change everything.

Now, there is only one short of the last of the three championships agreed upon by An Jie and Catherine. According to the agreement, if Anjie wins another O'Brien Cup, he will retire.

But An Jie, would he really be willing to leave the place he fought for? 11 years of career, not short. But looking at the entire history of nba, it is by no means long. The word retirement seems to be too early for An Jie now.

A person who has spent most of his life on the basketball court may be more reluctant to play basketball than he imagined...