The Way of the Center

This An Jie stood in front of his cabinet, and carefully picked up the No. 00 jersey that had accompanied him for many years.

The reason why he chose No. 00 at the beginning was because An Jie wanted to start from scratch after being reimbursed for the season. But now, he has added too many things to his blank career.

An Jie put on the jersey and stretched his arms. This dress still fits so well and is still so comfortable. The team name of the Trail Blazers on his chest is still so conspicuous. And the number on the jersey is no longer as simple as the jersey number.

Everyone else was hurrying to change equipment, but An Jie was doing all of this in a leisurely manner. No one urged him, everyone knew why An Jie did it. This guy just wants to take his time and enjoy the last moments of his career.

Tuck the jersey into the trousers, and put on the tenth generation basketball shoes of the way of the center forward. An Jie stood up and jumped twice, this guy stopped and looked up, and led his teammates out of the locker room!

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"Damn traffic! Can you go faster!" A man sitting in a car was obviously blocked by traffic.

"I'm sorry sir, there is nothing I can do about such a serious traffic jam." The driver replied helplessly. If he was driving a plane, he would have passed by long ago.

"Oklahoma is really lively today. Well, you turn on the radio, and I'll see if there is a live broadcast."

After the driver heard it, he immediately tuned to the sports radio station, but it wasn't talking about the NBA playoffs. That's right, in what age, there is no radio broadcasting the game live.

The man sitting in the back of the car looked at his watch and chopped his foot anxiously.

Obviously the Chesapeake Energy Arena is right in front of him, and he is not far from that place. But near the stadium, the traffic is basically completely paralyzed. The guy in the car can only watch the time go by, and the car doesn't move at all.

If this continues, he will most likely miss An Jie's game. So the guy opened the car door directly in the middle of the road and took off his tie. He decided to run over!

When the tall man started running down the street, countless people raised their mobile phones to take pictures of him, and even screamed at him.

The person who came all the way to Oklahoma to watch Angie's game was none other than LaMarcus Aldridge, one of the heroes of the Trail Blazers' first dynasty. He was once Angie's right-hand man.

When Aldridge left the Trail Blazers,

He never got involved in the championship again. After a few years with the Spurs, Aldridge was traded. After several seasons in the Raptors and Pacers, Aldridge decided to retire.

This is the second year after Aldridge retired, and he ran out of the Chesapeake Energy Arena out of breath, as if he had returned to the time when he and Anjie ran in the morning. It feels so good...

Aldridge ran all the way and rushed into the court. As soon as he entered the stands, the huge cheers rushed to his face. The ground-shaking stadium will definitely cause an earthquake to those who don't know it.

"Big hat! An Jie, he prevented Westbrook's breakthrough layup!" The next second, Aldridge heard the fierce roar of the commentator, yes, this is An Jie's game! This is Anjie!

After the block was completed, Anjie handed the ball to Lillard, and he ran forward at a frantic speed. The guy's nimble presence on the basketball court makes it hard to tell he's a guy who's going to retire.

Lillard headed into the penalty area, and the Thunder immediately got up to block the shot with three more. However, Westbrook missed the ball back, and Anjie caught the ball steadily, jumped high, and swung his arms vigorously.

"Boom!" The stands in Anjie Center erupted again.

Lillard raised his arms high and gave Angie a high five. The fans from afar shouted wildly, and there was only one voice in their mouths. "Ann, Ann, Ann, Ann..."

An Jie enjoyed such a feeling, he greedily sucked the air in the Chesapeake Energy Arena. The cheers of the fans passed by Anjie's ears, he really wanted to be here forever.

"You know Mike, Ann is a man who can't even beat time!" Jeff Van Gundy looked at Anjie's performance on the court. As long as he said he wanted to play, there would definitely be many teams willing to offer him A 30 million contract.

In the first half of the game, although An Jie performed well, but the strength of the Thunder team was too strong. In just 24 minutes, the Thunder took a 14-point lead at home, and the Blazers, with a seriously aging lineup, couldn't keep up with the rhythm of the Thunder.

In the second half of the game, the fans cheered louder and louder. Chesapeake Energy Arena is not the home of the Thunder at the moment, nor is it the home of the Trail Blazers. Here, today only belongs to An Jie.

The Thunder didn't show mercy, and in fact they couldn't. As long as there is any slack, that monster-like An Jie will turn the situation around. So far in this game, the Trail Blazers have been overwhelmed. If it weren't for Anjie, the Thunder might have been able to celebrate their reaching the finals.

The point difference has been maintained at around 10 points, and Anjie is working very hard on both offense and defense. If he doesn't fight at this time, he has no chance to fight. This time, there is really no chance to fight. Because after losing today, An Jie will no longer have a next season.

In the last 10 seconds of the game, the difference between the Trail Blazers and the Thunder was still eight points. There is no doubt that Anjie and the others are going to lose, and the Thunder will get their wish and reach the finals.

But at this moment, the fans gathered here from all over the world don't care about the outcome of the game. They just want to seize this moment, these last ten seconds.

An Jie ran into the three-point line, leaning on a young center to position himself. Lillard didn't hesitate, and after halftime possession of the ball, he hit the ground and passed it to Anjie.

In five seconds, An Jie caught the basketball firmly, and he took a step back, ready to turn around.

In four seconds, An Jie turned around steadily with his still superb footsteps.

In three seconds, An Jie took off, leaning back slightly.

In two seconds, the No. 00 raised the basketball high, pressing his wrist and fingers.

In a second, the basketball fell into the net amid the tears of the fans, and the electronic buzzer sounded to represent the end of the game. Angie hit a shot at the buzzer, but the victory was not his.

Zero seconds, the legend ends!

On the big screen of the Chesapeake Energy Arena, there was no picture celebrating the victory, but a few simple words. "No. 00 Anjie, retire."

"Don't go, Ann!" I don't know which fan uttered a heart-piercing shout, which was heard by the entire stadium.

In the next second, all the fans stretched out their hands, as if they could catch the passing time. Everyone cried, and the fans could only repeat a sentence intermittently. "Don't go, Ann."

An Jie smiled slightly. He stood in the center of the field and bowed to the stands around him one by one.

Westbrook, who won the victory, didn't feel much joy. He suddenly ran over and hugged An Jie tightly. At this moment, his emotions were completely released.

After that, all the players and coaches of the Trail Blazers gathered around and hugged Anjie. Aldridge, wearing a suit, ran into the field and joined the ranks.

An Jie was once again surrounded by people, but this time, it was not for victory.

"I don't want you to leave, Ann, don't!" Westbrook never thought that he would be so sad because of a person's retirement.

"Bastard! Step over my dead body to enter the finals and win the championship for me! Crying and crying here, what do you look like!" An Jie reprimanded Westbrook, but he didn't know that he was already crying.

Far away in Portland, the entire city was silent at the moment. And the Chinese fans standing in front of the TV also recalled that this is the golden age of Chinese basketball.

Why is there always parting? And parting, why is it always so heartbreaking?

"He...he's gone." Thunder general manager Presti stared blankly at the court under the luxury box.

Nell Orsi beside him didn't speak, just nodded.

After the crowd dispersed, An Jie waved to the fans again. This is the last time he said goodbye to the group of people who supported him.

Then, with the support of his teammates, An Jie walked into the player tunnel and disappeared from everyone's sight.

In the summer of 2008, when An Jie entered the NBA arena on behalf of the Thunder, people might not have imagined that a brand new legend was about to begin.

Now, in 2024, as Angie waves to the fans and turns away, the legend, is over. …