[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1301":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1444669,1896,"Chapter 1301 - 12: Defend Well, Young Man_3","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1301",1301,"\u003Cp>The successful completion of the first training session greatly increased Bird’s confidence as a coach; he realized that being a head coach isn’t too difficult as long as you can reasonably utilize your assistant coaches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Technical work was assigned to Rick and Dick; Rick was responsible for offense, Dick for defense, and Bird himself took charge of fitness and discipline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for relationships with the players, Bird didn’t need to introduce himself to anyone; he was well-known, recognized by everyone in the basketball circle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the troublesome ones carried out the training obediently. Bird didn’t want to know or bother with what they did outside of training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the third day of training camp, still no one was late, arriving at the training gym after 7:30.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Riddle was always the last to arrive, he would make sure to step into the Willamette University Gymnasium before 7:30.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For someone like Riddle who had such a tarnished reputation, being punctual was already a miracle, and Bird couldn’t demand more from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the fourth day of training camp, the first one to mess up surprisingly was Kobe, whom Bird had always admired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That morning, Bird arrived at the training gym and saw the usual figures of Ah Gan, Little O’Neal, and Kobe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All three were intensely passionate about basketball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time Bird noticed that Kobe wasn’t playing on the court; instead, he was standing on the sidelines, lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon closer inspection, he saw Kobe’s left hand wrapped in bandages and a cast; the kid had gotten injured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s wrong with your hand?\" Bird asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uh... something happened...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What happened? Be direct, kid.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I fractured it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fractured? Went too hard with the fast ones?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh no, it’s not like that, Coach, I... I went to play streetball...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kobe’s tone showed some regret, but his eyes didn’t shy away, clearly not thinking he did anything seriously wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, because of this, his parents had already scolded him half to death, and Buckwalter was also shaking his head repeatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The new season was about to start, and the day after tomorrow, the Trail Blazers were to play their first preseason game of the season against the Phoenix Suns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After yesterday’s training, Kobe encountered a group playing streetball in the park on his way home. The street kids recognized him and asked if he wanted to join.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Generally, professional players wouldn’t casually play streetball with strangers because of the huge skill gap, and it’s pointless; besides, an injury wouldn’t be worth it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Kobe couldn’t restrain himself; he agreed to join them, and after a dunk, he lost his balance and fell to the ground, using his hand to support himself, which resulted in a minor fracture of his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The injury wasn’t serious, but a fracture would take at least a month to heal, meaning Kobe would miss all preseason games and a part of the regular season opener.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he were a veteran, it might not matter, but he was a rookie, a seedling urgently needing growth, training, games, and experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t worth it for a streetball game and a dunk, especially considering the impact on his commercial value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kobe didn’t choose the Avia contract of his idol Ah Gan, nor did he choose Nike, but signed a contract with Adidas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kobe admired Ah Gan and was often referred to as the second Michael Jordan, but Kobe only wanted to be the first himself; he wanted to forge his own path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bird, however, wasn’t angry; he just patted Kobe on the shoulder and said, \"Small issue, look at my finger. In my rookie season, I injured it under similar circumstances, just as the season was about to start. But it didn’t affect my shooting at all, just remember to protect yourself next time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bird’s right index finger wasn’t straight; it was twisted in a kind of unhealthy manner, as if it had grown an extra piece.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was caused by a fracture from being hit by a baseball during a game in 1979. The situation was quite severe, requiring two surgeries, but it never returned to normal; a cyst-like thing always accompanied it, preventing Bird from even making a fist with his right hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was his shooting hand, but Bird wasn’t affected by it; he trained his shooting hand with its half-disabled state and still became one of the best shooters in league history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kobe nodded, saying, \"I will protect myself; that’s why I used my left hand to support.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang walked over at this time, saying, \"Don’t learn from this fool; during the 1985 finals, he got into a fight and injured his hand, otherwise he might have won another championship.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bird shot Gan Guoyang a look, saying, \"The one I should’ve fought is you, leaving you to take the League astray.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, knock it off, Larry; if you had fought me, your career would have ended prematurely.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two old rivals exchanged jokes; nowadays Gan Guoyang was truly a veteran in the league.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Starting from 1984, this was already his 12th year in the League.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, due to his retirement and rest in between, Gan Guoyang was very excited about the upcoming game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By contrast, although Kobe didn’t think he was wrong, he was still quite dejected, having to sit out from training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Missing all preseason games and sitting on the bench for a period during the regular season was going to be an ordeal for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang did not comfort Kobe; comforting someone like Kobe was pointless; instead, he encouraged Kobe not to slack off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your hand may be injured, but your legs aren’t, nor is your right hand, so you should train your lower body strength in the gym and maintain your physical endurance.\u003C\u002Fp>",962,"2026-06-06T01:41:52.877Z",1,"novelbin.me","8026d308d7212bf567a25f9430c45bf5fcbe335af2d53aad9dcfc49830be5fc3","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1152","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1151",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]