Yao Ming opened his eyes and woke up from his sleep. He looked at the sky outside the window, and it was pitch black.
The digital clock by his bed showed that it was 8 PM, while the watch next to it also showed 8, but it was 7 AM.
He hadn’t adjusted to the time difference yet. From Shanghai to New York, there was precisely a 12-hour time difference, with day and night reversed, because he was in a country on the other side of the globe.
This place was not unfamiliar to him; it wasn’t his first time in America. Due to training and competitions, he had come here every summer since joining the national team, to this basketball kingdom.
He used to frequently go to Portland, which is the holy land of Chinese basketball and the home team of Chinese fans. Yao Ming and his companions grew up watching the Trail Blazers’ games. After he started playing basketball, his dream was to play for the Trail Blazers in the NBA; he wanted to wear Portland’s jersey.
New York was the second most frequented place. The national team had been training here collectively since the 1980s, sparring with high-level teams. It once had the best basketball resources in All-America, the NBA headquarters was here, Madison Square Garden was here, and Rucker Park was here.
With the changing times, in the new century, the center of basketball in America was gradually shifting to the West Coast. Los Angeles, Portland, Las Vegas, and other cities built better and more advanced training facilities and amenities. Players also preferred these places with pleasant weather, comfortable environments, and numerous entertainment facilities to vacation and improve themselves in the summer.
Meanwhile, in New York, the venues were becoming run-down, and resources like coaches and trainers were dwindling. Big city life was too hard. The 9/11 incident was an even heavier blow, and for safety reasons, many no longer considered it a place for vacation and training.
New York became an ancient symbol and emblem, like Madison Square Garden Arena, which has stood for over 30 years and has a history of more than 100 years. Everything will start here, a beginning, the Draft.
Yao Ming got out of bed and fully opened the curtains. In the night, he could see Madison Square Garden, located between 8th Avenue, 31st and 33rd Streets. It was a circular building that looked like a chocolate cake.
In 24 hours, that is, at 8 PM tomorrow night, Yao Ming would be present at the scene, in the legendary lottery area, the Green Room, taking his first step toward the NBA.
He had prepared so much for this day. He could have entered the NBA earlier, during the 2000 draft when he was 20, to come to the United States to succeed as the Sun set.
But he was too young, entangled in the contract signed with the team, unable to extricate himself. His home team also needed him to stay in the CBA and achieve some success, rather than just showing a slight improvement and championship potential and then leaving for America.
In fact, during that era, the NBA didn’t have much allure for Chinese people, especially after the 2000 Olympics when China defeated America to win the gold medal.
In the eyes of the people, the NBA was just a very formidable basketball league; people had been watching for over a decade, practically every year, the Chinese won the championship, it wasn’t much of a novelty anymore.
The games were truly exciting, so people preferred to appreciate the games and skills rather than seeing entering the NBA as an honor.
So, people could understand the local team’s desire for achievements and reluctance to let people go; we had dominated the NBA for a long time, so let the Americans have a break.
Entering the NBA carried more of the players’ personal ideals. It was the highest stage, the ultimate arena for basketball people. Who wouldn’t want to explore it?
Now that he had helped the Sharks win the CBA championship, he no longer had any last emotional attachments.
He finally could come to America, challenge stronger basketball, and pursue the Suns, following the steps of Wang Zhizhi, Hu Weidong, and others.
Wang Zhizhi joined the NBA in 1999 and was about to enter his fourth season. He had secured his position with the Hawks, becoming a sharp substitute power forward who could score as soon as he’s on the court, with some unique skills in hand.
And Yao Ming’s goal was far more than just having some unique skills.
Yao Ming lay back on the extended and widened bed, and the bed sank immediately. American beds were too soft.
He tried hard to fall asleep to adjust to the time difference and prepare for tomorrow’s draft.
Of course, he knew he didn’t have to prepare too much. Just get mentally ready; the other preparations were already well taken care of by others.
But even at this time in his home country, it was too early to sleep, not to mention he had just woken up.
He wanted to call home. He picked up the receiver and put it down again. He initially insisted that his parents not accompany him.
Yao Ming wanted to experience the NBA on his own, go through the draft, and only when everything was settled would he have his parents come over.
But thinking about the sudden separation from his parents, his hometown, spanning six time zones and half the globe, day and night switched, a sense of solitude welled up in him.
In the past, he had also been abroad, coming to America, going to Australia, and traveling the world to compete, but that had always been with the national team, acting collectively, with none of these thoughts.
This time it was for himself, for his basketball career. He would live here for a long time, and it truly felt different.
Amidst his random thoughts, wanting to turn on the TV, there was a knock on the door. Yao Ming got up, thinking it was his agent Gan Guohui.
"Who is it?"
"It’s me."
A familiar voice. Yao Ming quickly opened the door and saw Gan Guoyang standing at the door, holding a paper bag.
No matter how many times he saw him, Yao Ming would feel at a loss, his huge figure seemingly shrinking many times over, from a young giant to a little dwarf.