What Steve Oldman told Yang Jian is not difficult to do, and can be summed up in one word: "low-key."
He does not need to deliberately please anyone, nor does he need to be talkative in the team. In the final analysis, the NBA is about strength. A newcomer who is well-rounded in the locker room but performs poorly on the court will not be popular.
Yang Jian's worries were unnecessary. Coach George Karl had already given Gary Payton a greeting and asked him to take care of Yang Jian in the team and teach him some game experience.
Except for a few bad teams, the NBA has a tradition of veterans leading newcomers. Their job is to help newcomers integrate into the team as quickly as possible.
The core veterans have to lead newcomers who have the potential to become stars. This not only imparts experience, but also cultivates the relationship between the two players and helps them find a tacit understanding faster.
Payton has long heard that Yang Jian has amazing physical fitness and is good at catching and shooting. His offense is never sloppy and he can release the ball within three seconds. He likes to be teammates with this type of player, because for two consecutive seasons, the Sonics have lost
It’s about the shooting guard’s difference in catching and shooting.
When the Nuggets and Lakers faced off against the Sonics in the playoffs, their players huddled near the penalty area. Payton and Kemp would be double-teamed when they hit the basket. There are no secrets between teams in the playoffs, and the coaches all know it.
The two of them can show their strength better in the penalty area.
In the 1994 series, Mutombo averaged 6.6 blocks per game, turning the Nuggets' interior into an impregnable no-fly zone. Kemp's field goal percentage of 37.1% per game well proved this.
The next year, the Lakers followed the same pattern in the first round, but the Sonics had no good solution and were eliminated 1-3.
Payton attracted double teams and separated from the outside. Except for Schrempf and Perkins, the shooting percentage of his teammates was not high.
After the Sonics were eliminated from the game, many people said that Payton was overrated and too unique. From the data point of view, he took the highest number of shots on the team, was not sharp in breakthroughs, had few free throws, and did not have many assists, averaging only 5.3 per game. In fact, he averaged 5.3 per game.
He also wanted to be selfless, but his teammates couldn't catch the ball and make shots, so he had no choice but to take more shots himself.
Payton knows that the coach asking them to communicate more means that Yang Jian will be the team's starter from the beginning of the new season. Payton has very high expectations for Yang Jian and hopes that he is really capable and can help the team win the championship.
NBA media day can be said to be a warm-up ceremony for the new season. Each team appears with its complete lineup, takes makeup photos and then accepts interviews with the media. After the media day, training camp will start, and then preseason tactics
Run-in, the regular season officially starts at the end of October!
Yang Jian and Snow arrived at the training arena half an hour early. The coaching staff informed them that they must arrive early so that they could greet the senior players on the team.
Other newly joined players also arrived, including P.J. Brown, Kevin Edwards, and Beau Outlaw. Veteran Nate McMillan also arrived a while earlier and was responsible for helping the new teammates identify themselves.
McMillan is the veteran of the Sonics, the big brother in the locker room, and is known as "Mr. Sonics."
He is an enthusiastic, honest-looking black guard with a round face. After being drafted by the SuperSonics in the second round in 1986, he has been playing for the SuperSonics. This is his tenth season.
"You don't have to be nervous, you can treat the team as your home." McMillan introduced with a smile: "Every time a new player reports, I am a little nervous. I know the news often says that Gary is the best trash talker in the league. Sean is very
Cruelty and so on...but they are very friendly to their own people, and they are like that on the field."
"Thank you, I feel much more relaxed." Yang Jian smiled and shook MacMillan's hand.
McMillan has a transcendent status in the team because of his good-natured character and good relationship with everyone, including the management.
He has no talent in scoring and has never averaged double figures in points per game in his career, but he is an excellent organizer and averaged 9.3 assists per game in his peak season. He is also very good on the defensive end and was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team twice.
Second team, won NBA steals title in 1994.
McMillan gave Payton a lot of help as a rookie. He didn't mind that Payton stole his starting spot, and he also passed on his defensive experience. The two were both teachers and friends.
In the parallel world, McMillan was not only outstanding as a player, but later became an excellent NBA coach. Moreover, he started his coaching career with the SuperSonics and will join the coaching staff after retiring.
"Is there anything we should pay attention to? I heard that each team has some special team culture and locker room rules." Yang Jian asked knowingly.
"Our culture is unity and friendship, training hard, and going all out in the game. As long as we do these things well, winning is the most important thing." McMillan said with a smile.
Snow asked: "Isn't there such a thing as playing tricks on newcomers?"
"No, the coach will be angry if he finds out." McMillan answered firmly.
SuperSonics players don't like playing tricks on newcomers and don't dare to do it. George Karl will be angry if he knows about it. He can't stand this kind of thing. He is the boss here.
McMillan will not introduce the team's situation in detail, and everything will have to be discovered by the newcomers themselves.
The Sonics are still a team that "doesn't like to play" and rarely organizes collective activities. This is not only related to coach George Karl, but also to the character of the core players.
After training, Payton usually goes home to spend time with his wife and children, and goes out to play with his own black brothers; Kemp, who is known as a "bachelor", goes to nightclubs to find women and create illegitimate children during holidays; Schrempf is a German with a low-key and rigorous personality.
Communicating with teammates is basically in the gym.
None of the three stars like to organize group activities. If the stars don't organize, they won't be able to organize it.
Players arrived one after another, and McMillan fist bumped with his teammates one by one and made introductions. This eased the awkwardness of newcomers coming up to talk, and everyone knew each other after bumping fists.
As soon as Payton entered the stadium, he immediately attracted everyone's attention. He walked towards Yang Jian and kept looking at him with his eyes.
In terms of eye-catching, Yang Jian is no less impressive. Most of the NBA players are black, with a few whites. This is the first time for everyone to see Chinese players.
Payton looked at Yang Jian and said carelessly: "I heard that you dunked a lot of baskets in the summer league and your jump shots are also good. I want to test your level during the practice match. Don't let me down."
"I promise you will only be pleasantly surprised." Yang Jian smiled.
"He is very confident, I like him." Payton looked at McMillan and said with a big smile.
Only if Yang Jian dares to speak, Payton will look up to him. Because Payton himself is famous for his courage to speak. As soon as he entered the league, he provoked Jordan and was beaten. Five years after entering the league, he trash-talked outside stars.
All over.
Payton went to say hello to others, and Schrempf asked him: "How do you feel about Yang?"
"He is very confident, but his strength is hard to say. I heard that his physical fitness is at the level of a dunk king, and he can also shoot... As long as the defense is not a colander, he should have a future." Payton asked: "What do you think?"
"My opinion is similar to yours. He spoke very politely to me, but his eyes were very unusual." Schrempf sighed.
"Oh? Why is it unusual?"
"I think his look was 'I will be a good teammate of yours' rather than 'I admire you and it would be an honor to play with you.'" Schrempf is good at both on and off the court.
observe.
The other newcomers stood together with Yang Jian, all lacking confidence, forming a sharp contrast.
In particular, Snow practiced ball with Yang Jian all day long and was hit hard. He often suspected that he had chosen the wrong sport. He didn't realize that he had become stronger. Playing against Yang Jian and practicing long-range shots made him better than in the parallel world.
I was much stronger at the same time.
Kemp was the last player to arrive, looking sad and depressed.
After meeting his new teammates, Kemp replied absentmindedly, giving the impression that he didn't care about these newcomers at all.
McMillan whispered: "Did you go out to play last night? Don't be interviewed in this state for a while. The reporter doesn't know what he will say, and the coach will be angry."
"I haven't gone out to play. I've been having some financial trouble lately..." Kemp smiled awkwardly.
"Don't bring your emotions into the interview, the trouble will be solved." McMillan immediately knew that Kemp had no money and money was a little tight.
They chatted without shying away from newcomers and became teammates. Sooner or later, they will know what kind of person Kemp is.
This is a magical star. In addition to his playing salary, he also has income from advertising and endorsements, but he has always been short of money. Not only does he spend money lavishly, but the alimony for his illegitimate child is also too high.