When people are young, they do not see themselves in the elderly; As people grow older, every young person in their eyes is covered with their own shadow.

This sentence was not said by any celebrity, but Yang Yiming realized it himself. It stands to reason that he himself is a young man, in his early 20s, and he should not have such a deep understanding of life, but at this moment, he is emotional.

I feel that the years are like a shuttle, I feel the flies of youth, and I feel the twilight of heroes.

If you still can't touch the gold cup of the championship in your whole life, then the last moth to the fire and repeated attempts, will it be an unyielding tribute or a futile elegy?

The old man who triggered Yang Yiming's emotion just lost what may be the last game of his career. The top of his head was bald, his muscles were bulging, and his eagle nose was deep. He is the No. 20 for the Spurs.

Manu Ginobili.

1/

After playing Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs, the Rockets took the game away with 50 points in the third quarter, locking the overall score at 3-1, and the promotion was within reach. Yang Yiming scored 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. But when he returned to Houston with the team to prepare for G5, he was always a little uneasy.

There are several reasons for restlessness.

On the one hand, the intensity of the playoffs is far beyond what he imagined. It's not that he doesn't feel like he can handle the intensity, but he's amazed at the concentration of each playoff team and the explosiveness that comes out of it. Before the playoffs began, the Warriors and the Rockets returned to James on paper, and the predictions on paper that they would all be empty talk. Not only were the Warriors and Rockets stolen a victory by the underdogs Spurs and Timberwolves, but the Cavaliers and the Raptors, who were No. 1 in the East, were all caught up in a battle for the king of the mountain. The single-handedly Thunder Triumvirate is on the verge of being eliminated by the Jazz, who strictly governs the military, and only two "quasi-giant" trailblazers have been swept by the Pelicans. Meeting the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals? Stepping over your opponent to hope for the O'Brien Cup? Even the opponent in the next round in front of him, Yang Yiming felt that no one dared to say that he was 100% sure of victory.

The second is from his competitors. Including Yang Yiming himself, there are four rookies in the same class who have made the playoffs. In terms of individual performance, Donovan Mitchell is undoubtedly number one. In his first year, he is undoubtedly the sharpest figure of the Jazz team, not only scoring the highest on the team, but even overpowering the Big Three opposite, and the Jazz also led the series with a total score of 3-1. Ben Simmons is no longer in second place, and the Philadelphia 76ers just closed the series 4-1 today, becoming the first team in the East to advance. The gloom that has been sitting for years seems to have been swept away by Simmons' all-round and Embiid's dominance. He and the "lifelong enemy" Jayson Tatum are a little inseparable. In terms of statistics, Yang Yiming is slightly ahead, but in terms of influence on the team, the loss of the main player Kyrie Irving can still provoke the beam, and Tatum, who won the battle of Tianwang Mountain against the Bucks, seems to be better again.

The pressure on the last piece actually came from himself. In the past few days, his agent and friend Yu Xiaochun has asked him several times, asking if he wants to go to Germany in the summer and practice with Nowitzki's enlightenment mentor Hogel. Yang Yiming shirked it several times, saying that he would think again. It's not that he doesn't want to, but the YACAP invitation that Kalonsky I handed over through Penelope also looks very tempting. He knows how important the coming summer is, and training hard, and choosing what will really help him will go a long way in determining whether he can catch up with or even surpass his rookie class. So Yang Yiming needs to be cautious, and the more Yu Xiaochun asked, the more panicked he became, for fear of making the wrong choice.

These three things, especially the last one, constituted the main reason for Yang Yiming's restlessness.

He knew that his indecision had also affected his relationship with his good friend Yu Xiaochun. Usually in basketball, Yang Yiming is obedient to Xiaochun, but when it comes to recommending him to Germany for apprenticeship, he seems to have his own different opinions for the first time. What this dissenting opinion is, he can only hide it in his heart, and he can't say it explicitly. So much so that in the next few days, whenever Yu Xiaochun came to ask, he became reluctant and did not dare to assert, and once Yang Yiming refused, he retreated stupidly and did not dare to be angry.

But after watching the final battle of Spurs No. 20 Ginobili, who hugged the Warriors one by one, Yang Yiming seemed to be inspired.

If the 40-year-old Manu were to choose again, would he still fight the world by himself?

Against the entire American Dream Team at the World Championships and Olympics, against the all-league run-and-fly shooting guards, and even against head coach Popovich's step-by-step work. When he is honored and famous, he still has to fight against the passing time, the devil's hand and serpentine step that have been dragged down by the years.

What if you changed the way and became a role player in the NBA league?

Manu will definitely be good, even above the mark, and be a great role player. He can shoot and burst, that is, his combat power is amazing, he can not only lead the second team and become the initiation point of the attack, but also stand by the side of the supergiant, quietly cut points, and complete the finish. There will be many superstars who will want to have such a reliable assistant by their side to build the hegemony of the dynasty. Yang Yiming can already think of a series of superstar names: LeBron James, Chris Paul, the new generation of Joel Embiid, DeMarcus Cousins...

Yang Yiming couldn't help but smile knowingly.

But if that's the case, Manu Ginobili wouldn't be the manu that makes people crazy. Pampas Eagle. Jordan playing on the floor. Will he still write a legend? Yang Yiming doesn't know, but it's probably not.

Manu may just be an ordinary person, the best foreign player in Spurs history, and that's it.

is a bit like the overlord Xiang Yu in Chinese culture, and more like Jing Ke who failed to assassinate Qin. Like Jing Ke, Ginobili is often compared to a cold-blooded assassin who sits his sword and seals his throat with blood. He is actually very similar to Jing Ke, people not only love his martial arts and is the first assassin in the world, but they also love his courage, not afraid of authority, and he knows that he can't do it. This is the true best of men, this is the true man...

If you look at it from this point of view, the attraction of Yang Yiming in the YACAP plan has become a shortcoming:

"You'll get to know other young people like you who have been selected for the YACAP program. On the pitch you may be bloody enemies, but off the pitch, in this project that I preside, you have the potential to be friends for life. 'Brother basketball', as they call it. ”

Scott Sr. seems to have always been outspoken about brothers, basketball, and star huddles. Among the successful examples of YACAP he listed, there were Pippen and Rodman of the Bulls dynasty and the Big Three of the Celtics. But Yang Yiming thought about old Manu, and suddenly seemed to be uninterested in this YACAP proposal.

If, as a stranger, you are not sure if you can catch up with those peers and want to keep my name in the NBA basketball world - then choose to fight like Manu!

to challenge the world.

Go and pound over and over again.

To win, if not to win, then to earn respect.

At this time, Yang Yiming felt that he had finally figured it out, and a big stone in his heart was able to be put down. He called out to Yu Xiaochun in another guest room from his room, from a distance through the living room: "Hey, I've thought about it, go find Hogel!" Summer! ”

There was no echo in the other room, but Yang Yiming knew that Yu Xiaochun heard it. As a confirmation, he shouted again: "Germany, Koharu, you can arrange it for me!" ”

"Great!" Yang Yiming heard the excitement in the other party's tone, trying to control. He thought for a moment, took out his mobile phone again, and sent a message to Meritis, the most familiar contact: "Honey, this summer, are we going on vacation to Germany together?" ”