Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1029 - 591 Top 1

Chapter 1029: Chapter 591 Top 1 Chapter 1029: Chapter 591 Top 1 A week after the Clippers’ preseason training camp started, Yao Ming finally ended his extended vacation from the team and reported for duty.

Yao Ming’s appearance caused a stir at the training camp.

He’s essentially one of the most recognizable faces in the world, and his humorous and humble personality has earned him widespread acclaim, so his arrival was met with a warm welcome from his teammates.

Doc Rivers even suggested Yao Ming could take a few more days off.

“Yao, there’s absolutely no rush for you to join training,” Rivers, who had previously only interacted with Yao Ming as an opponent on the court, now treated him with the warmth of a distant American relative. “And honestly, my attention is on ‘Top 1’ right now.”

Yao Ming asked curiously, “Top 1? Frye?”

“You’re pretty close; the nickname is indeed related to Frye.”

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Yao Ming thought to himself, this kid is so presumptuous? Even being the recognized GOAT, he still insists on having the nickname “Top 1”?

Just as Yao Ming was internally criticizing the GOAT, Rivers revealed the answer: “‘Top 1’ refers to Nikola, our rookie pick this year from Serbia.”

Yao Ming asked, “Why call him ‘Top 1’? What does that have to do with Frye?”

Rivers explained, “No one on the team had much faith in him; it was Frye’s decision. He told Kwame privately that one day the Serbian would become number one in the League. After that, Kwame just started calling Nikola ‘Top 1’.”

Yao Ming muttered to himself, that guy will say anything to make a point, TOP-1? Who ranks TOP-1 so low in the draft?

“So how is ‘Top 1’ performing?” Yao Ming continued.

“Honestly, the kid’s a genius,” Rivers replied. “He’s got a pair of hands that every man dreams of.”

After hearing this, Yao Ming couldn’t help but let his mind wander, dreaming of hands? That sounds like it’s describing the hands of some unmentionable professionals.

“If he’s a genius, then why the concern?” Yao Ming was puzzled.

As soon as the subject came up, Rivers’s complaints poured out: “It’s not as simple as that! Although the kid’s got talent, if he’s left to his own devices, he’ll destroy his future! His eating habits are the biggest barrier to his advancement!”

Yao Ming finally understood; it turned out the term “TOP-1” had gotten on Rivers’s nerves because of this.

Before Yao Ming arrived, Jokić had already made the “honor roll” in training camp for indulging in soda, even getting publicly called out by Rivers.

Unexpectedly, Jokić didn’t grasp the severity of the issue and continued doing as he pleased.

In terms of drinking soda, Jokić was legendary, invariably drinking a liter at a time, several times a day, almost turning soda into his “water.”

Rivers reminded him daily, but Jokić always rejected the advice with “Drinking soda hasn’t affected my performance.”

After understanding the situation, Yao Ming outwardly expressed support for Rivers, but internally, he felt Rivers was making a fuss over nothing.

Such trivial matters wouldn’t even be considerations on the China Team.

Thinking about his national teammates who smoked, drank, and practiced Muay Thai, Yao Ming thought Jokić’s little hobby was hardly worth mentioning.

The new teammates had varying reactions to Yao Ming’s arrival.

The most enthusiastic response came from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who actually burst into the “Yao Song” which made Yao Ming question his life choices.

Although Yao Ming really wanted to shut him up, he had to maintain a friendly facade, since the Greek meant no harm.

Yu Fei stood by chuckling, “How about that, do you like our welcome ceremony?”

Yao Ming joked, “If you joined in with a few hums, I might have liked it even more.”

Of course, Yu Fei knew how much Yao Ming despised that song, so he smartly refrained from chiming in.

Shortly, the players lined up, and Rivers stood before them, starting his annual speech.

This time, Rivers recounted the story of how he replaced Chuck Daly as the Magic coach in 1999.

At 37 years old, although he hadn’t gone through formal coaching education, nor served as an assistant coach, his experience as a point guard under several coaches, coupled with his time as a TV commentator analyzing numerous game tapes, earned him a reputation as a “born coach.”

However, his coaching debut was with a ragtag Magic team.

Rivers mentioned that relying on a philosophy called “playing with heart and hustle,” that scrappy team managed a 50% win rate that season; while they didn’t make the playoffs, they did earn the respect of the fans. This also laid the foundation for their ambitious plans that summer to recruit Duncan, Hill, and McGrady.

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Now everyone knows, Magic got McGrady and Hill, but due to Rivers’s excessive adherence to team management rules, refusing to allow Duncan’s family on the team plane, the effort to recruit Duncan failed.

Whenever Rivers brought up this incident, laughter still echoed in the room. It had become one of his many infamous tales.

“You might not believe it, but I truly don’t regret that decision,” Rivers said. “If TD could follow Popovich’s rules in San Antonio, he would have to follow mine in Orlando. His choice to stay wasn’t because I angered him by sticking to my team management rules, but because he had never planned to leave; the recruitment was merely a prank to him.”

It may have been a jest, but Yu Fei could feel Rivers’s magnetism and eloquence from his speech. If a coach’s skills had numerical values, Rivers’s “Charisma” and “Eloquence” would unquestionably be 99.