Chapter 1 Becoming Thomas's Apprentice

Many players in the league love the custom of seeking mentorship and learning skills during the off-season. Back in the day, Kobe Bryant's reputation resonated across the league, yet he still sought out Hakeem Olajuwon to study interior footwork, while Dwight Howard also continuously learned low-post offensive techniques and footwork. It is safe to say that the entire off-season serves as a phase for numerous players to enhance their skill acquisition.

Lin Fei was the kind of player who relied on speed and ultra-deep range shooting, a singular specialty that sufficed to make a living everywhere. After all, this is an extremely stamina-depleting style of play—one only needs to look at the numerous players plagued by injuries in the later stages of their careers to understand. Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, and Dwyane Wade were all severely ravaged by injuries in the twilight of their careers. Nowadays, Lin Fei's rapid dribbling, explosive changes of direction, and astonishing pull-up jumpers were actually all methods that heavily taxed his physical capital. If you were fortunate enough, you would become Kobe Bryant; if you were not fortunate enough, no matter how great your abilities might be, you might end up like Grant Hill or Brandon Roy—players whose talents were cut short by the envy of the heavens. Therefore, Lin Fei had also made up his mind to master yet another set of skills.

Just think, whom should Lin Fei choose to learn from?

Among the renowned guards in the league's history, who would be the best teacher for Lin Fei?

There were actually quite a few players capable of instructing Lin Fei, such as those still active in the league at the time like Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Brandon Roy, Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups, Chris Paul, and Rajon Rondo, but this was practically impossible. Someone capable of teaching Lin Fei definitely needed to be a player with relatively ample free time who also cared deeply about young players. After all, players still battling in the league typically had many personal commitments to attend to during the summer.

People might first think of Allen Iverson, but looking at Lin Fei's current scoring prowess and capability, they seemed to be already no lower than Iverson's. Moreover, as a guard, Iverson's playmaking and offensive orchestration abilities were not particularly outstanding compared to top-tier point guards. Besides, given Iverson's personality, he would not be willing to teach Lin Fei. Speaking of playmaking, there was indeed one legendary figure in league history: John Stockton. To this day, he remains at the top of the league's all-time assists list, draped in honors. The Utah Jazz duo he formed with Karl Malone back then was exceptionally ferocious, but upon inquiry, he was not very willing either. The renowned guards numbered only a few. What about going to learn from "Magic" Johnson? Oh! That was nearly impossible. Magic possessed astonishing talent—the physique of a forward combined with the ball-handling skills and court vision of an elite guard—heights that Lin Fei was destined never to reach.

When tallied up, the truly viable options were very few.

However, there was one person who met every single condition. He was the soul of the Detroit Pistons team once known as the "Bad Boys," their core point guard, Isiah Thomas, nicknamed the "Smile Assassin." In 1981, the team drafted the "Smile Assassin" with the second overall pick. He possessed an array of surprising shooting techniques, acrobatic drives, lightning-fast speed, and elusive, marvelous passes. During his thirteen years playing for the Pistons, he captured two championships, was selected to the All-Star team twelve times, and earned All-NBA honors three times. With such stellar achievements, he also paid close attention to newcomers and frequently mentored young players.

"Rome wasn't built in a day. The fact that you have achieved such impressive results—earning cheers from all across America—means this level of ability could never be attained overnight. I heard you didn't even undergo professional training?"

"Heh, I grew up watching you play, though I didn't even recognize you back then. You were truly amazing at the time." In truth, the first basketball superstar Lin Fei had been exposed to was probably Michael Jordan. But when encountering a superstar of Isiah Thomas's caliber, giving a little appropriate flattery was by no means a bad thing.

"Your speed and shooting are already superior to mine, and your scoring ability surpasses mine as well. You might just become the highest-scoring guard in the league's history, and I am already a fan of yours. But your strength is clearly inadequate; you are completely incapable of battling the guards from the other twenty-nine teams in the league. At times, you are even forced to play shooting guard. On the offensive end, your speed can effectively compensate for your physical shortcomings, but on the defensive end, there's simply nothing good to say. For a player like you, your physique is truly at a disadvantage, so a key focus of your training must be to enhance your strength. From the perspective of your individual skills, your footwork is flashy and looks somewhat chaotic, which is suited for fast breaks and one-on-one isolation plays. However, once your stamina wanes or as you grow slightly older, these methods will become entirely unusable. Therefore, you must learn low-post interior footwork, master at least a bit of back-to-the-basket play, and learn footwork designed to shake off defenders. At the same time, your off-ball movement and tacit understanding with your teammates are clearly insufficient. All of these will be the focal points of your study." This was Thomas's opening statement when coaching Lin Fei, and from a technical standpoint, it was truly incisive.

With that, Thomas directed Lin Fei to do bench presses. When Lin Fei first entered the league, even a weight of seventy kilograms posed an insurmountable problem. Clearly, he had made slight progress since then, barely managing to reach seventy. For an ordinary person, that might already suffice, but for a professional athlete, it fell far short. From then on, this became a mandatory course for Lin Fei. In truth, the Warriors' strength coach was also constantly guiding Lin Fei, but having Thomas oversee these exercises made them all the more indispensable.

Almost every time Lin Fei finished training, a large contingent of news reporters or paparazzi would follow him. Yet, for Lin Fei, perhaps this could be considered a form of fortune. Iverson once mentioned that he envied Liu Xiang. Why? Because sometimes Liu Xiang could put on some makeup and stroll down the street, and the paparazzi might not even recognize him. But Yao Ming certainly could not do that; his height was simply too conspicuous, standing out far too prominently. Fortunately for Lin Fei, however, on many occasions after training, he had a certain girl accompanying him.

Golden hair, blue eyes, ruby-red lips, and a complexion smooth as tofu. Can you guess who it was? Without a doubt, this person was Avril.

Speaking of the day they were eliminated, Lin Fei had even treated Avril to a grand Chinese dinner. On that occasion, not a shred of frustration over losing the game could be seen on Lin Fei's face. Ever since Lin Fei joined the Warriors, he had cared exceptionally deeply about the team's wins and losses, and given that this fellow possessed an intensely strong sense of pride, everyone thought the defeat would negatively impact his mood, yet nothing of the sort was visible on his face. One could only say that the power of "love" is formidable.

Afterwards, the two of them went for a drive, cruising along the highway, reveling in the wonder of speed alongside the serene atmosphere and melodies of the night. His English wasn't entirely fluent, tinged with a gentlemanly flair, and while his face wasn't overwhelmingly handsome, under ordinary circumstances, it possessed a rather endearing charm. Such was the evaluation Avril gave of Lin Fei when facing reporters. One could say that whenever Avril was involved, gossip followed her everywhere. Often, this was because her personality was remarkably straightforward, and she was shockingly beautiful, making her exceptionally well-liked.

Nowadays, Avril would frequently pick Lin Fei up for meals after his training sessions. The two of them were completely open about it without a shred of concealment, a trait perhaps tied to their personalities. Whenever entertainment magazines photographed them, they were always beaming happily, yet the two of them seemed remarkably pure—even though Avril was aging just a tiny bit, and Lin Fei was no longer a spring chicken either.