"Jace, where do you think I will be drafted?"

Half an hour ago, when Anthony arrived at Madison Square Garden for an interview, he was asked about the No. 1 pick and acted nonchalantly.

Now, Anthony is sitting at the draft scene, facing the camera, his expression is still that of the extremely arrogant NCAA freshman MOP, with a calm and uninhibited expression, and he seems to be very casual about the upcoming draft.

Confidence, arrogance, and open-mindedness.

but……

Liu Xiu heard the expectation from Anthony's tone.

Decisively, Liu Xiu comforted him: "Don't worry, people in Cleveland will never choose you."

Anthony tried hard to maintain his bossy expression, gritted his teeth and said angrily in a low voice: "I should let you sit at a table by yourself!"

The senior, teammate and good friend of the school team next to him was so in need of a slap in the face! Anthony really wanted to take a look at this good friend’s face, which was recognized as a handsome guy.

Anthony has always been jealous. The guy next to him is obviously a fat guy, but he still has a handsome face. He is already so handsome, but the guy next to him is actually said by people at school to be the most handsome guy in their Syracuse University Orange team.

Seeing that Anthony's mentality was about to explode, Liu Xiu was very satisfied, but he did not continue to tease Anthony. He had to give face to this junior who had been his teammate for a year. After all, he followed the legendary cool and elegant route.

At around 7 pm on June 26, 2003, there were still dozens of minutes before the start of the 2003 NBA draft. At the draft, members of the Little Green Room, that is, the lottery was selected by NBA officials and managers of 29 teams.

District candidates' and their relatives and friends have all arrived at the scene.

As the outside core of the 2002-03 NCAA basketball championship team, Liu Xiu also performed well overall this season and got the opportunity to enter the Little Green Room.

But entering the Little Green House does not mean that you will be selected into the lottery. Every year, there are members of the Little Green House who fail to enter the lottery, and it is not uncommon to fall out of the first round.

Every year, the league deliberately selects one or two rookies who have a high probability of not being selected in the lottery, or even in the first round, but who have a certain buzz to enter the small green room.

"I'm probably the one who was used as a gimmick. I'm the core of the championship team's defense and a Chinese player."

Being taken advantage of by the authorities, Liu Xiu did not feel that he was at a disadvantage.

American cable TV sports channel, the draft live broadcast has begun.

The agents of every rookie candidate who enters the Little Green Room have already told them to pay attention to their appearance when entering the scene. As the protagonists of the draft, the camera will always be on them.

As Anthony is the favorite to be the No. 1 pick, he naturally gets a lot of shots. By the way, Liu Xiu next to him also gets a lot of shots.

Anthony is very concerned about appearance and appearance, and pays attention to his expression when speaking, while Liu Xiu is much more relaxed.

Liu Xiu looked around at the other rookie candidates. Looking back, he saw that Anthony's mentality still seemed to be unbalanced...

This is understandable. Who made Anthony so unlucky?

As a freshman, under the age of 19, he led his team to win the NCAA Basketball Championship as the star player. He averaged 22.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game, and he won the Final Four MOP.

At this age, with this ability, with this college achievement, he was still the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

But unfortunately, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the No. 1 pick.

Anthony didn't care at first. In his opinion, does it make any difference who gets the No. 1 pick?

Facts have proved that there is a difference. The Cavaliers almost said during the trial period that they would only choose James and not use other talents.

More than a month has passed since he signed up for the draft. Anthony has accepted this reality, but when he arrived at the draft, he was inevitably a little unbalanced. He knew it was impossible, but he still had expectations.

When he discovered that his friend had a mental problem, Liu Xiu naturally wanted to comfort him!

"Carmelo, I'm not talking about you. If you participate in the draft next year, who can steal your first pick?"

It was so heartbreaking! Anthony wanted to run away on the spot, but his excitement made him break free from that unbalanced state of mind, and the guilt came back again.

'Obviously it was me who brought trouble to Jace, but I still asked him to enlighten me...'

Although the way of enlightenment is a bit special, Anthony has become accustomed to it after knowing him for so long.

When Anthony heard the phrase "I didn't mean you" for the first time, his head was filled with questions.

Looking at Liu Xiu who was lazily leaning back in his chair, Anthony said: "Jace, maybe you have a higher probability of being selected in the first round of the draft next year, but if I'm not here, you will definitely have to stay in college."

If you don’t get enough training, it’s better to participate in the draft and give it a try. For you, a higher level of competition is more important.”

With this apologetic tone, Liu Xiu sat up straight, blinked, and leaned forward again: "You're right, otherwise I wouldn't have signed up for the draft with you, but..."

After finally saying what he wanted to say, Anthony was still a little nervous. Hearing Liu Xiu's answer, Anthony was a little touched.

Although this good friend has only known each other for a few months, and his words often make people angry, he always shows a touch of tenderness inadvertently...

But Liu Xiula's long ending sound of "Bate" made Anthony curious and wanted to hear the next sentence.

I just listened to Liu Xiu's last words for a while and then said: "...The way you look now does not match your cool personality at all. Sit up straight. You are participating in the draft. Don't embarrass yourself in front of other rookies. Your expression will be arrogant.

stand up……"

If his mother, coach, and teammates weren't still on the other side of the table, Anthony would have turned the table over!

At first, Anthony sympathized with Liu Xiu. Most of his relatives were in China, and his relatives in the United States were on business trips these days and had no time to come. Now Anthony is sympathizing with himself...

Take a deep breath, don't be angry... Anthony followed Liu Xiu's example and leaned on the back of the chair to look at the other rookie candidates. They are cool as hell and arrogant as hell. They can sit however they feel comfortable.

But this really made Anthony no longer worry about dragging Liu Xiu to participate in the draft.

…

People are born with different temperaments.

When Liu Xiu sits like that, he gives the impression that he is undisciplined.

Sitting like this, Anthony still gives the impression of being proud and confident, with a hint of unruliness.

The draft was about to begin, and Anthony really didn't know what to say, so he stopped chatting and looked at the other Little Green Room members around him like Liu Xiu did.

Although the knot in his heart has been untied and the unbalanced mentality has been shaken off, Anthony will still look forward to it.

This kind of expectation is different from the expectation of an unbalanced mentality just now. It is not a negative emotion, but the expectation that one should have as the favorite of the No. 1 pick. What if the Cavaliers finally change their mind?

Even if the expectation is not fulfilled in the end, it will only be the expected emotion, just like the lottery of Big Penguin Game Empire. Even if you know that you will never get the reward you want, you will still curse if you don't get it.

But the mentality will not explode like before.

Eyeballs looking around, Anthony's eyes unconsciously moved to the table in the front right, looking at the man who didn't even participate in the joint workout during the draft workout and only participated in the Cavaliers workout - LeBron -

James.

Anthony is aloof and a bit straight, so he may still be won over by James' social skills and become a good friend in the future.

But now, Anthony is unhappy with James.

He An is so handsome, why is he not the number one pick? This guy looks so... why is he the number one pick?

After Liu Xiu adjusted Anthony's mentality, he opened the system panel.

"Healing value +67, from Carmelo Anthony."

"Healing value +99, from Carmelo Anthony."

"Healing value +51, from Carmelo Anthony."

"Available healing value: 3451 points."

Liu Xiu was very happy to have given Anthony a heart-warming cure again.

'Little Dongdong is still very good, so he gave me full points casually. The one who looked anxious only gave 5 points...'

Thinking of this, Liu Xiu couldn't help but look at the person Anthony was staring at.

'Is this guy really 18 years old? With this city and his character, no wonder he looks so anxious. It turns out he is trying to match his city and character.'

…

"LeBron...LeBron..."

"Sorry, I was distracted. Looking at these talented rookies in the same class, I can't help but imagine what the game will be like after entering the NBA."

Rich Paul listened to James' words and felt happy both physically and mentally. The genius in front of him, who was destined to be the No. 1 pick in the 2003 draft, was talented, capable, and well-spoken. The retro jersey from that year was not given away for free!

Rich Paul is also considered a celebrity in Akron. He runs several retro jersey stores in Summit County and also sells sporting goods. James, who was a freshman in high school three years ago, runs his own shop in Rich Paul.

I stared at a jersey at the door of that store and never left.

He also came from the slums and knew that this anxious-looking but poor-looking boy could never afford it. But that day, Rich Paul was in a good mood, so he gave him a jersey, and they became a good friend.

Only then did I realize that this was a local talented high school student, and later he took the initiative to make friends with her and became friends.

When James decided to skip college and enter the NBA draft directly, Rich Paul was the first to provide financial help.

James felt like there was a light on his back, and the two people behind him on the left kept staring at him!

Like everyone else, he was also looking at other people while chatting with his friends and acquaintances from previous years.

Don't ask, asking is talent. James is able to make friends around him feel like a spring breeze while still having the energy to observe other people.

His friends include two high school teammates and two friends who have taken care of him since he was a child; his year-end friends are several local Akron celebrities he invited.

James's mother now feels very dignified. Those hometown celebrities who were so arrogant in the past have now become her son's friends!

Seeing his mother happy made James very happy too. He was a famous person in Akron, so he invited her here just to save face and make his mother happy.

Of course, in order to practice your social skills, it is perfect to start with community celebrities from small places.

It's just that this dual-purpose ability is sometimes not so good.
To be continued...