NBA: My template has no limit

The magazine SLAM published a seemingly unremarkable group photo of 11 people.

In the photo, the players are standing in two rows, including Kobe, Nash, Ray Allen, Marbury, Jermaine O'Neal, and many others.

Xu Feng stood in the middle, while Iverson left early due to food poisoning and missed the filming.

This photo was taken by a photographer who casually gathered a group of people during the rookie training camp.

Years later, this photo became one of the most legendary and valuable rookie group photos in the NBA.

An old photograph brought together half of the Hall of Fame members.

After the rookie training program ended, training camps for various teams began one after another.

This means the first test for rookies in adapting to the NBA has begun.

Can they get along well with their teammates? Can they coordinate well with veterans and integrate well into the team? Can they withstand the NBA's "rookie tradition"?

The test for the rookies began the day before training camp opened.

Newman, representing the veteran players, issued a notification to Xu Feng:

"Feng, they want you to arrive early tomorrow morning and put breakfast and coffee in their cabinet."

"Okay, thank you for reminding me."

Newman gently patted Xu Feng's shoulder and said softly:

"Don't take these things to heart. It's an old tradition in the league. Everyone has to do this. It'll be easier for you and the other two newcomers to take turns."

"I know, don't worry, Newman. As long as it's not too outrageous, I won't refuse."

The next day, Xu Feng arrived at the stadium early, set out breakfast, and changed into his jersey in the locker in the corner.

The veteran players were used to this kind of thing. After breakfast, they would gather at the stadium.

Xu Feng arrived first and stood to one side, with Newman next to him, followed by two second-round rookies, with Baker standing in the middle, and Robinson arriving last and standing on the other side.

No one was late, and the Bucks' first training camp of the new season officially began.

Chris Ford addressed all the players before the game, demonstrating the Bucks' determination to no longer tank.

"I don't care how many points you scored or how many big contracts you signed before, none of that matters anymore."

Here, I only look at attitude, execution, and communication. The team needs to win; we're not here to play around!

The first half of the training camp was dedicated to getting the players to gel together.

The second half is the most important.

Intra-team scrimmages! Short but highly effective. The coaching staff can learn a lot from these scrimmages.

Xu Feng led his rookies and substitutes against the original starting five.

The group assignments were overwhelming, but this was intentional on the part of the coaching staff; they wanted to give the rookies a tough start.

Xu Feng was directly matched up against Glenn Jensen.

Wen Baker and Xu Feng jumped for the ball, but Xu Feng, who hadn't played in a long time, missed the best opportunity to jump.

Vin Baker wins possession!

Once they gained possession, the starting team moved with ease, with Baker positioned in the low post and Robinson at the free-throw line.

Newman passed the ball directly to Robinson, who had already used his arm to block Xu Feng. After receiving the ball with his other hand, Robinson dribbled once and pulled up over Xu Feng!

Even though Xu Feng stretched his arm as far as he could and used his hand to slightly obscure Robinson's vision, he still couldn't stop Robinson from scoring.

Whoosh! Hit!

This was Xu Feng's first real experience of the intensity of the NBA, where he was going to face off against a team's star player.

The pressure is a bit high.

Robinson's expression remained unchanged despite his successful opening singles match.

He's the number one draft pick, the core of the team, so scoring against rookies should be this easy.

This is the confidence of a "big dog wants food".

Possession changes hands, and the rookie team gains possession.

Chris was the first player in the NBA to make a three-pointer, and he was also one of the league's pioneers in three-point shooting.

His unique player background makes his tactics equally distinctive.

He arranged some three-point tactics for the rookie team, which was a good opportunity to see how well Xu Feng had improved in his three-point training.

Second-round pick Mookie had the ball, and Xu Feng stepped up to set a screen, but it was just a fake screen. Xu Feng quickly bounced outwards and received the ball.

He hits an open three-pointer!

Chris on the sidelines nodded slightly. He had seen Xu Feng's efforts during the offseason, and it seemed that his efforts had not been in vain.

Vin Baker received the ball and faced substitute Almon Gilliam. He lowered his center of gravity, made a low post-up move, followed by a slight turn, and then made a high hook shot with his right hand, which went in.

Throughout the entire game, the basketball was completely protected by Vin Baker's body, and Almon couldn't even touch it.

The veterans were incredibly welcoming to the rookies, and in the next possession, they taught the youngsters a lesson with NBA-level defense.

Mookie tried to drive to the basket, but as soon as he leaned out, he was bumped by starting point guard Sherman Douglas and stumbled, the basketball flying out of his hands.

Mookie glared at him angrily, but Sherman simply responded coldly:

"This is the intensity of the NBA. If you don't like it, get out now!"

Mu Qi's face turned as red as a balloon, but he ultimately said nothing.

Jeff Redgano fared even worse; he struggled to even get the ball down. Perry seemed to have anticipated his move, as Jeff couldn't dribble the ball more than three times in his hands.

This was an unfair competition from the start.

Seeing all this, Xu Feng simply shook his head and said to them:

"If you feel you can't play, you can pass the ball to me."

Xu Feng's scoring was very convincing; of the team's 12 points, he scored 8, so they followed suit.

The rookie team added a sentence to the end of the tactics given by the coaching staff: "If this tactical offense is blocked, pass the ball to Xu Feng."

Xu Feng got the first ball to catch, facing Robinson.

Xu Feng intended to make a few more moves and get past Robinson when his attention was diverted.

But after Xu Feng completed his first transformation, he realized... it didn't seem to require that much trouble?

Xu Feng noticed that Robinson's defensive habits were extremely poor; he couldn't even see the correct position.

Moreover, Robinson's slow lateral movement speed was no secret.

With one step, Robinson was cleanly beaten!

Sherman tried to use the same trick again, deliberately bumping into Xu Feng. However, Xu Feng was prepared, circling around the ball behind his back to avoid Sherman, and then jumped!

He wants to take on Vin Baker.

The key point is that Xu Feng is actually taller than Baker!

The experienced Baker saw Xu Feng take off, stood still, raised his hands high, and subtly pushed his right shoulder forward a short distance, bumping into Xu Feng's side!

This was a minor foul that was absolutely allowed in the NBA in the 90s, and it was only because Vin Baker restrained himself a lot for the sake of his teammates.

In just a moment, Xu Feng felt his center of gravity shift and his body tilt to one side.

At this moment, Xu Feng's extraordinary athletic talent came into play again. He forcefully tightened his core and sent the ball out of his hands.

Bang!

Xu Feng slammed the ball over Vin Baker and scored!

The two second-round picks covered their heads with their hands, terrified by what they saw.

You mean, we were rookies in the same year as him?

Glenn Robinson looked at Xu Feng with an unprecedented seriousness in his eyes.

Coach Chris stood on the sidelines, with assistant coaches Dick Visat and Jim Todd beside him.

Chris was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the two of them.

Six eyes were completely dumbfounded.

"Should we modify the tactics we gave him?"

As for Wen Baker, he was gritting his teeth, breathing heavily, and staring intently at Xu Feng.

He rarely gets dunked on in the NBA, but unexpectedly, a rookie did it in training camp!

He has to fight back!

If you have a grudge, settle it on the spot.

Regardless of tactics, Vin Baker directly called on Xu Feng in the next possession, and Xu Feng backed down from the three-point line into the paint.

Xu Feng is okay at defending against his peers in the NCAA, but against Baker, his defensive ability is really not enough.

Baker used his shoulder and arm to block Xu Feng, then used a slight collision and a feint to cleanly shake him off, found a comfortable position, and flipped over for a fadeaway jump shot.

Numerous subtle movements, agile footwork, and fierce confrontations.

This is something the NCAA doesn't have, and Xu Feng learned a real lesson.

However, Xu Feng's off-ball three-pointers and ball-handling skills are not to be underestimated.

The training match eventually turned into a situation where the starting team struggled to contain Xu Feng, and Xu Feng was completely unable to defend against Vin Baker and Robinson.

Even so, the result of the match still exceeded everyone's expectations.

They realized that Xu Feng seemed to be really fierce!

After training, Robinson and Vin Baker approached Xu Feng: "Hey, rookie, how about we grab a drink?"

Although it was an invitation to drink, Robinson's gaze was anything but friendly.

"Of course." Since the team's two leaders had approached him, Xu Feng had no reason to refuse.

The three walked into a nearby bar, where Wen Baker and Robinson were clearly regulars, and many people greeted them.

Wen Baker spoke first:

"It looks like you've made a small shift during the offseason. Your three-point shooting is more accurate, and you're handling the ball less often."

"On the day I went for the tryout, Coach Chris told me about the team's needs and my role."

The three raised their glasses and clinked them together, then the two of them drank it all in one gulp.

"It was the right choice. You're still a rookie, and with me and Robinson around, it's really hard to give you too much ball possession."

But don't worry, I won't hogging the basketball. You played very well today.

The brandy was very strong, so Xu Feng didn't dare to drink it all like the others. He just took a sip, which burned his throat.

Robinson, who organized the gathering, didn't say anything; he just stared at the bottle.

VinBeck continued, "You still have a lot of problems. Your defense is very poor. I'm not saying you can't keep up with others, but you lack skills, you know? You can't stand in the right position and you can't make the right moves."

When you come to the NBA, the first things you should learn are dirty tricks and physical contact, regardless of whether the league's rules allow it or not.

"Just like when you're guarding against me, I'm taller and stronger than you, so why are you still standing behind me?"

There are many more, but these aren't your problems. Almost all newcomers experience this, and I'm no exception. Otherwise, what's the point of training? Perry and I will teach you those things."

They drank another glass, and the bottle of brandy was almost empty.

Xu Feng realized that the phrase "using brandy as a period" perfectly described the two of them.

Robinson finally spoke, his breath reeking of alcohol:

"Hey kid, you're from Chicago, you must smoke, right?"

"What do you smoke, cigarettes?"

"Come on! Don't be ridiculous, you really don't know?"

Xu Feng then realized that he was referring to Malaysia, and Xu Feng had no desire to get involved with those things.

"Oh, sorry, I really don't smoke that stuff."

"What a pity, I was planning to invite you over for a bit, the three of us could have some fun. That stuff is really good; Wen took a puff before the competition and scored 41 points!"

After downing a nearly two-liter bottle of brandy, even Wen Baker, who drank all day, was a little drunk and nodded slowly.

Robinson wasn't much better; he put his hand on Xu Feng's shoulder, his voice loud but unclear:

"Back when I played basketball in New York, I always bought drinks at Madison Square Garden! Give me a drink! It's on me!"

Seeing that the two of them were starting to lose their senses, Xu Feng quickly shook off Robinson's hand and ran away.

Newman had told him that if the big dog got drunk, he should leave quickly, because this guy with terrible drinking manners might really hit him!

Xu Feng took out his phone and called his trainer:

"Wen and Robinson are drunk, yeah, right here, you guys come quick."