NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 323 Beverley's Assist

Jia Fei wasn't angry. When he played against Rockets before, he did verbally abuse Blackbeard. Although Blackbeard was foul-mouthed and aggressive, he did support Jia Fei's integration efforts to some extent.

"Oh, you're not happy that I won the championship? So you're a Warriors supporter then!" Jia Fei joked. Of course, he knew that the Rockets lost to the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, and if Beverley were still a Warriors supporter under these circumstances, his social media would probably be flooded with messages from Rockets fans.

"Don't talk nonsense. I'm not their supporter. They eliminated us, and I'm not happy about the loss. I don't like this team, just like I don't like you!" Beverley quickly clarified.

"Oh, then if our two teams play in the finals, you should be happy no matter who loses!" Jia Fei said with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m happy. I wasn’t unhappy at all watching your match. No matter what, one of you will definitely be the runner-up. But let’s put it this way, I hate them more than you! So, if I had no other choice, I would still prefer you to beat them!” Beverley said with amusement.

"So I'm not the one you hate the most after all. I should feel honored!" Jia Fei deliberately joked to himself.

"This is Jia Fei. Do you know what I hate most about you? You always act like a sunny, cheerful guy with a bright smile, but the things you say are so hurtful and offensive. And aren't you always so confident? Aren't you always called the 6'7" Allen Iverson? Then how come you can't even beat Andre Iguodala, who's called 'Little AI'? I've had enough of your fans praising you all the time, saying things like 'Let me show you how 6'7" Iverson plays. Now I see how you play. You can only play in certain games, and you can't even beat Little AI. So you're not '6'7" Iverson; you're just an imitator!" Beverley vented all his frustration in one breath, which made him feel great. He hadn't had such a good rant in a long time! His purpose in calling Jia Fei this time wasn't to cheer him up or give him a pep talk; he was there to tease him, to provoke him, to make him think straight, and hopefully, to defeat the Warriors and indirectly avenge them. He wasn't lying; he hated the Warriors more than Jia Fei.

Jia Fei felt like he had been struck by lightning. This feeling was somewhat similar to the sudden enlightenment that Ikkyu felt when he drew circles on his bald head with his saliva, closed his eyes, and meditated.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Am I wrong?" Beverley was also a little surprised. After he had been blasting Jia Fei, the other party was actually silent. This was completely out of character for him. During the previous game between the two teams, when this guy started trash-talking, he was no less than Garnett and Payton. He could practically be considered the current MVP of trash-talking.

"Thank you so much, Patrick! If we win the championship, I'll treat you to a big meal!" Jia Fei said excitedly.

Beverly could hardly believe his ears. He had been criticizing him for so long, and now the other man was thanking him and offering to treat him to a big meal. He was completely at a loss for words.

"Okay, that's all for now, I'm busy. Wait for my good news! Bye!" Jia Fei hurriedly hung up the phone.

Beverley on the other end of the phone had a completely bewildered look on his face... "Am I seeing a ghost today?"

After hanging up the phone, Jia Fei turned on his computer, found the video recordings of the two games at Oracle Arena, and repeatedly watched the rounds where he was defended by Iguodala.

As expected, he was right. I hadn't thought of this before, and it seems I had been too naive.

Iguodala was selected by the 76ers with the 9th overall pick in the first round of the 04 NBA draft. At that time, the 76ers had Allen Iverson in his prime, as well as players like Webber and Korver.

Iguodala was nicknamed "Little AI" not because his playing style was similar to Iverson's, but because his name's initials also happened to be AI. Iverson was the "Big AI," and calling him "Little AI" was a way of showing affection and expectation, hoping that he could help Iverson return to his peak.

Of course, everyone knows what happened next. The 76ers never returned to their peak. Iverson was then traded to the Nuggets, and Iguodala gradually became the core of the 76ers.

These are all things of the past; fans who followed the 76ers back then know this. Later, Iguodala also transferred to the Nuggets, and then to the Warriors.

None of these are the most important things. The most important thing is that Iguodala and Iverson were teammates!

He knows Iverson very well!

Jia Fei, having incorporated 90% of Iverson's peak skills, is now increasingly resembling Iverson in his ball-handling offense. It can be said that, just as Beverley said, he is indeed a 6-foot-7 Iverson.

Iguodala is naturally adept at defending speedy wing players and knows Iverson's offensive techniques inside and out, so defending Jia Fei is a piece of cake for him.

Unlike Irving and Curry, Iverson, while possessing exceptional dribbling skills, didn't actually have a particularly diverse repertoire of crossover moves. There's a saying that goes, "Iverson could get past you 100 times in the same way." This praises his superior dribbling technique and speed, but it also suggests that he lacked a wide variety of crossover options.

Many of Iverson's ball-handling offenses were based on crossovers, and his crossovers almost always involved pulling the ball with his left hand and changing direction to the right, rarely the other way around. This made him easy to predict.

No wonder Jia Fei felt that Iguodala knew him very well when facing his defense in previous games. It turns out that it wasn't Iguodala who knew him, but rather that Iverson knew him well.

Now the question is, how do you keep this man who knows Iverson so unpredictable?

Jia Fei fell into deep thought...

Jia Fei spent the entire night pondering this problem, and it gave him a headache. His mind kept replaying the scenes of Iguodala defending him during the match, one move after another, on a loop.

In the dead of night, he suddenly sprang out of bed as if he were on drugs, excitedly muttering to himself, "I've found a way! I've finally found a way!"

Luckily, he lives alone, otherwise his bedmate would probably be scared to death. Damn, is he possessed by a ghost?

Jia Fei was not possessed by a ghost; he was perfectly fine and had never fallen asleep.

But this excitement actually kept him awake. Damn it, even being born in the Year of the Sheep didn't help; he was wide awake, like he'd drunk coffee. With no other option, he got up to check his phone, looking for a way to make himself sleepy.