Basketball Terminal

Chapter 25 Habit
Li Wei took a bold gamble, engaging in a one-on-one duel with Jamal Martin, which not only boosted his confidence but also enhanced his reputation and status within the team.

The competition in lower-level professional leagues is fierce and brutal. Players on the same team are both teammates and rivals, a phenomenon even more pronounced in the Development League, where everyone shares a clear goal: to leave for the NBA. How to leave? Stepping on the shoulders and heads of teammates is one of the most common methods.

Levi's actions were certainly risky. If he lost to Martin, he would be seen as overestimating his abilities, further ignored, and even ridiculed and suppressed. Moreover, it would give Brett a reason and excuse to cut him. His undisciplined and combative personality, which disrupted locker room harmony, could become the reason to end Levi's Long Island Nets career.

Fortunately, Li Wei won his gamble. He breathed a long sigh of relief, thinking that his abilities were indeed very strong, and his careful preparations had also paid off.

Li Wei is a rather low-key person; he doesn't particularly like to show off, but rather is better at observing and looking for opportunities. However, he needs to make a splash today, because the smaller the stakes, the more risk-taking is required; otherwise, when will he ever accumulate enough capital?

He was at the bottom of the rankings in terms of salary, seniority, and other aspects on the Long Island Nets. He didn't want to waste too much time on the bench, so he needed to attract more attention from the coaching staff. In fact, the competition among the players on the team had already begun from that moment.

One obvious benefit of being in the spotlight today was that after media day, Li Wei requested to stay at the Nassau Arena for two extra hours of practice, which was granted by the arena management.

In the sports world, the strong are always respected. If Li Wei hadn't performed as he did just now, the staff probably wouldn't have agreed to his request. What are you, a nobody, doing training? If you want to train, find somewhere else to train. I'm going to disinfect this place after get off work.

In the gleaming Nassau Gymnasium, with its brand-new basketball hoops, Levi diligently practiced shooting for an hour, dribbling for half an hour, and lateral movement without the ball for another half hour. He's squeezing in training whenever he can to prepare for the training camp on the 20th.

Brett and Ricardi certainly noticed this as well. Brett said, "A very hardworking and intelligent young man."

Ricardi neither agreed nor disagreed, simply saying, "There are too many players like that."

Brett disagreed, saying, "I don't think so. There are many hardworking players, and there are many smart players. But those who possess both are not as numerous as you say. Often, what limits a player is their physical talent; the basic requirements for the NBA are too high."

Do you think he can make it to the NBA?

"I don't know. I should focus more on myself, and so should you."

Both of these hastily assembled management teams for the Long Island Nets knew this wasn't a place to stay for long. Everyone was simultaneously considering the present and planning for the future. Of course, playing well in the current games was a prerequisite for that future. In the G League, the management and coaching staff's desire for victory is often much stronger than in the NBA.

After finishing his training at the gymnasium, Li Wei went home as usual. After dinner, he went to collect outstanding payments from several bathhouses and foot massage parlors on behalf of his family. Li Wei was tall and strong, and he even brought Ah Zhong along. The clever Ah Zhong immediately played the role of a vicious dog, further increasing Li Wei's intimidating presence.

The orders weren't actually very large, and with Flushing's economic order recovering, all the shops that hadn't closed down were seeing some income. So, through a combination of coaxing and intimidation, Li Wei managed to get back the remaining $2000 or so in debt. He kept $800 for himself and gave the rest to Chen Lihua to alleviate the shop's financial difficulties.

Li Manshun tried to get some money from his son to keep as a secret stash, but Li Wei refused sternly and then extorted 200 yuan from him, saying it was for his own transportation allowance.

Over the next two days, Luo Ping delivered growth hormone and polypeptide drugs to Li Wei. Li Wei handed over the thousand yuan he had scraped together to Luo Ping to pay off the remaining balance. Luo Ping said there was no rush to pay, but Li Wei insisted on paying in full, saying that money and favors were the things one should never owe, and that it was best to borrow quickly.

"This is the best medicine. Be careful with the dosage; it will help you recover quickly from fatigue and get back into training and activities the next day. Call me again if you run out. Good luck, kid. By the way, how about considering hiring me as your agent?"

"With this little money, why would I need an agent? Besides, can you even read?"

"Go to hell! How could I be illiterate! I have a high school diploma!"

"My annual salary is 50,000. After paying 15% income tax, 4% agent fees, and 5% player insurance, I also enjoy a 7% tax refund and used a 200 yuan coupon when paying player insurance. What shoe size do I need?"

"15 percent... 7 percent... What? Shoe size? Fuck, how am I supposed to know your shoe size?"

"You don't even know my shoe size, how can you be my agent? I ask you to buy shoes and you don't even know what size to get."

"An agent isn't like a shoe-buying buddy! You don't really need an agent right now, but I'm definitely the best candidate! Just you wait, I'll find a way to get my agent license. You go pursue your NBA dream, I'm going to be the next Rodney Parker!"

Luo Ping has one advantage: he has always been optimistic. Just like when he introduced Levi to McCallum, no matter how indifferent or impatient McCallum was, he enthusiastically promoted him, and it ultimately worked.

Li Wei understood him because they were in similar situations, both making a well-prepared, high-risk gamble to double their money. So, although he didn't agree, Li Wei reserved a place for Luo Ping in his heart.

The next day, January 20th, was the official start of the Long Island Nets training camp. Li Wei got up early and, as usual, went through his routine of walking the dog, running, and having breakfast. After making all the necessary preparations, he headed to the Yes We Can Community Center on Long Island.

Located in a middle-class single-family home community on Long Island, the center not only has a basketball court, but also a gym, dance studio, art gallery, senior activity room, and youth library. When Li Wei arrived, he saw some elderly white men and women playing mahjong in the activity room, indicating that this traditional Chinese game is quite popular in New York.

Arriving early has the advantage of allowing for individual communication with the team's trainers; waiting until there are many people means less time to attend to you. Small G League teams like the Long Island Nets don't have large training teams; they only have one strength and conditioning coach, Kyle Moshkin, and one technical coach, Gayle McCall. However, having guidance significantly improves training effectiveness compared to playing alone. Levi hasn't had systematic training under professional guidance for quite some time; he's been relying on his past experience and abilities.

Taking advantage of the early hour, he actively communicated with the two coaches, asking them to guide him through some small exercises. With the coaches' corrections, the training efficiency would be higher. Before the formal training even started, Li Wei was already drenched in sweat, but he didn't care. He wanted to train as much as possible so that the medication could have the best effect.

As 10 a.m. approached, more and more people arrived, and all 14 players gradually came together, some arriving at the community center almost right on time. The coaching staff believed that these players were basically out of the running for the NBA, but thankfully, no one was late.

Before training officially begins, the team organizes a formal meeting for everyone to lay a good foundation of consensus for the new season.

The meeting took place in the youth library, where Assistant General Manager Matt Tellum asked, "How many people in this room want to make it to the NBA? Raise your hand if you do."

Everyone raised their hands—not just the 14 players, but the coaching staff, management, everyone. Head coach Brett raised his hand, video analyst Ben Sanders raised his hand, and assistant coach Shessen Allen also raised his hand.

Making it into the NBA is not only the dream of G League players, but also the dream of coaches and every staff member.

"Who is willing to make the necessary sacrifices to get into the NBA?" Tellum asked again, and everyone raised their hands again.

"Okay, in that case, everyone has to accept the standards set for getting into the NBA. Our training, our discipline, our tactical requirements. If one day you no longer see this as your goal, you can leave at any time without any consequences."

As he spoke, Tellem pressed the laser pointer in his hand, and a slideshow appeared on the screen behind him, quoting a line from Sun Tzu's *The Art of War*: "Victorious armies first secure victory, then seek battle; defeated armies first engage in battle, then seek victory."

Tellem's meaning is clear: the team must be fully prepared during training camp, including mentally. For many college players who haven't experienced G League play, the G League is like graduating from college and entering the workforce; they will quickly experience the huge difference between the workplace and school, and feel the harsh realities of society.

Brett then took the stage and explained the team's training plan and tactical arrangements.

By 2021, the tactical systems of NBA teams had become largely similar, with roughly the same overall structure and approach. Teams were primarily offensive-minded, using pick-and-roll as their core strategy, and emphasizing three-pointers and drives to the basket.

The differences mainly lie in some details and personnel arrangements. It's like everyone is making cakes, only the cream ratio, patterns, and fruit decorations are slightly different; they are all essentially cream cakes. The days when you made cakes, I made pancakes, and he made jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes)—a diverse and vibrant scene—are long gone.

Because the cake represents the optimal solution and the most likely winning basic game pattern, a conclusion drawn from a large sample of games and data analysis. Today, data analysis plays a decisive role in guiding coaches' tactics.

Brett emphasized the same points, but compared to other coaches, Brett's characteristic was that he placed more emphasis on teamwork on the offensive end and made high demands on players' one-on-one defense.

After the meeting, training officially began. Just like the last trial, physical training started first, giving everyone a high-intensity workout to push the players' physical limits.

Whether in the NBA or the G League, players are running more and more; running, and running non-stop, is a basic requirement of every game. Li Wei controls his speed and heart rate during physical training, trying to maintain a stable state and avoid collapsing during workouts.

Some players collapsed, vomiting and cramping; the training intensity was clearly beyond expectations. Following the physical conditioning was tactical positioning drills, with Brett seemingly unwilling to give the players any respite. The drills came one after another, involving a tremendous amount of running. This is the pace and demands of the Development League, much faster and more demanding than college and other lower-league leagues.

"Run, run! Run faster! You're too slow!" Brett shouted, timing his watch. He was not satisfied with the players' running ability; they couldn't keep up with the pace of the G League like this.

The continuous running training, which had lasted for more than an hour, finally came to an end. Everyone was panting heavily, holding their knees and unable to straighten up. Li Wei was also sweating profusely, his clothes completely soaked, and his legs were a little weak from running, but thankfully he managed to hold on.

Brett gave everyone a five-minute break to adjust before moving on to the next training exercise. Just then, a commotion, shouting, and screams erupted outside, startling everyone, who rushed out to check what was happening.

In the senior activity room next door, an elderly woman with white hair ran out, clutching her head and bleeding profusely. Another elderly woman with white hair, holding a cane, chased after her. It turned out the two elderly women had gotten into a heated argument while playing mahjong, which escalated into a physical fight. The woman with the cane used a weapon to break the other woman's head.

Seeing this, bystanders quickly stepped forward to stop them, separating the two slow-moving elderly women and helping to call an ambulance to take the elderly man with the broken head to the hospital. The elderly woman who had assaulted the man was extremely agitated and angry; she was also taken to the hospital in the ambulance, and it remains to be seen whether a fight will break out on the way.

After a flurry of activity that delayed training for over twenty minutes, everyone felt cold.

Brett sighed and said to the players, "That's just how it is, guys. Get used to it."

Without a proper, independent training facility, the team's resources are limited, and similar situations will only increase in the future. This isn't just the case for the Long Island Nets; it's the same for all teams—that's the G League.

(End of this chapter)