Three months later, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In the early morning, as soon as the sky dawned, the main entrance of the Wajovia Center Arena was wide open.

As a living fossil representative who witnessed the rise and fall of the stadium, Uncle Tom, the captain of the maintenance workers, came to the stadium very early. For him, keeping the arena clean and tidy is not only a daily job for himself, but also a mission that he is happy to accomplish, and he is the most die-hard 76ers fan.

The Wajovia Center was built in 1996 and has been in its 14th year.

In this arena, Iverson, the greatest short man of all time, spent his most memorable years, leaving his youth and peak in this arena to dedicate to all the fans who loved him. Training, games, carnivals, rubbing on the floor in the Wajovia Center arena is the dream of all 76ers.

Uncle Tom hummed a light-hearted song and polished the handle of the arena door. He knew that today was the day when the 76ers players gathered, and in fact, he had already mobilized the staff to clean the arena up and down yesterday, but early this morning, he was a little uneasy, no, he ran over and wiped some reflective places with a wet rag again.

It wasn't long before a tall Land Rover SUV pulled into the arena, slammed the accelerator in style, and quietly parked on the vacant parking lot outside the arena.

Uncle Tom stopped cleaning and glanced at the license plate number.

Immediately after, the door opened, and a tall figure stepped out of the vehicle.

He wears a tight white T-shirt on his upper body, outlining the lines of his muscles that are almost explosive. The lower half of the body is a pair of red pants that are very angry, equipped with a pair of shiny black leather shoes, which are as shiny as the stainless steel handles that Uncle Tom wiped just now, which is really very fashionable.

However, this person has dark skin, like a piece of black charcoal.

"Hey, Andrey, it's morning!" Uncle Tom greeted him and seemed to be very familiar.

The man known as Andre answered, with a warm smile on his face, "Hey, Uncle Tom, you're early, too!" ”

He turned out to be the current star of the 76ers - Andre Iguodala, the most famous devil muscle man in the NBA Mesozoic era!

It's no wonder he looks like a bodybuilder's muscles.

However, Iguodala does not have the frame of the 76ers' star team, and he always has a smile on his face, standing at the door with Tom Sr., talking and laughing.

"You're the first today, Andre, you've been training so hard!" Old Tom exclaimed heartily.

Iguodala heard the old man's praise, his face was inevitably a little happy, and he immediately generously accepted the praise of old Tom, and laughed: "That's, I'm used to getting up early to participate in training, you know, the competition in the NBA is very fierce, and those who don't train hard will eventually be eliminated." ”

While the two were talking, a tall and thin figure suddenly appeared at the main door.

Tom Sr.'s eyes lit up, and after a glance and his height was estimated, he knew that another 76ers player had come to report.

"Huh!"

After the player approached in casual clothes, a look of surprise appeared on his face, and he muttered to himself, someone actually trained earlier than him!

"You're Don! I've seen you on TV! Old Tom looked at the face of the visitor, and a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed in his mind, and he said Tang Wenlong's name loudly.

Iguodala was also a little surprised, he didn't expect the newcomers from the team to be so positive, and he naturally knew Tang Wenlong, who was the most important addition of the 76ers this summer, with his iconic yellow skin and handsome face, which was impressive.

"Hello, I'm Tang Wenlong." Tang Wenlong stared at Iguodala with an interested glint in his eyes.

Iguodala looked at the bold newcomer with a good and funny look at him without timidity, and then generously extended his hand, "Welcome, Don, I'm Andre Iguodala." ”

The two shook hands heavily, feeling the width of each other's palms, and they were both slightly surprised.

"A big hand is very useful in basketball." Iguodala said with a smile.

Tang Wenlong was stunned, not knowing why Iguodala suddenly said this.

Iguodala obviously saw Tang Wenlong's doubts, but he was not ready to explain, he was still quite satisfied with the little brother he had just met, whether it was height, shoulder width, palm or arm span, he seemed to be relatively good at present, and he seemed to be very diligent.

"Let's go and go into the locker room and change clothes." Iguodala pulled Tang Wenlong and walked towards the arena.

Tang Wenlong didn't expect that the 76ers boss he met on the first day would be such an enthusiastic person, his face was a little happy, and it seemed that it would not be too difficult to deal with the team boss. To deal with the relationship with his teammates, old man Joe Thomas has repeatedly told him before.

Iguodala chatted with Tang Wenlong as he walked: "Don, your speech at the draft conference was really good before, wow, you want to make a contribution to world basketball." ”

Tang Wenlong was a little embarrassed by Iguodala's praise, scratched his head and said modestly: "I just have such a small idea, I didn't expect to be recognized and resonated by everyone, and I also feel honored." ”

Iguodala glanced at him and smiled, "Your height is also a lie, your height is about the same as mine." ”

Tang Wenlong shrugged his shoulders and said, "The data reported is from when I first arrived at Syracuse University a year ago, and at that time it was indeed a few centimeters shorter than now. ”

"Are you still playing point guard this season? At your height, I think you can play on the wing, or learn from me, and I'll teach you how to be a good striker swingman? "Iguodala has a big bag, and I look like I'm covering you in the future.

Tang Wenlong nodded hurriedly and said excitedly: "Really? I actually like the flanking position as well. ”

"Uh" Iguodala was stunned and said, "I'm just kidding." ”

Tang Wenlong: ""

"Haha." Iguodala saw Tang Wenlong's crying face, and the smile on his face was even worse, and he felt that the new little brother was simply not fun.

During the casual conversation between the two, Tang Wenlong asked a lot about some common knowledge about the NBA, and Iguodala patiently introduced him. While walking, Tang Wenlong always looked sideways at Iguodala's hipster outfit, and couldn't help but look up and down, complaining countless times in his heart.

Tang Wenlong asked about some of Iverson's deeds back then, as a man who witnessed Iverson's peak, no one knew Iverson better than Iguodala.

"Big Brother Allen is my NBA guide, he is always the greatest NBA player in my heart, and he changed the whole NBA game!" Iguodala commented on Iverson, and he sincerely admired the powerful Iverson in his words, and then he glanced at Tang Wenlong strangely, and suddenly said: "Don, while it's still early, let's pick up a few balls in our stadium later!" ”

"Ah~" Tang Wenlong didn't expect Iguodala to make such a request, but immediately, a wave of excitement welled up in his heart - to go head-to-head with the top five wing defenders in the league! So he quickly nodded and agreed, "Okay, okay, no problem!" ”

"Let's go, let's hurry up and change our clothes." Seeing Tang Wenlong's confident appearance, Iguodala showed a peculiar smile on his face, stepped up his pace, and walked to the locker room.

Tang Wenlong followed closely behind

In the locker room, Iguodala expertly found his wardrobe and then his 76ers No. 9 jersey, while Tang Wenlong stood there stunned, but it didn't take long for him to find the closet with his name on it.

He stole a glance at Iguodala, who had already put the No. 9 jersey on his body, and sighed inwardly.

After being selected by the 76ers, Tang Wenlong understood that it turned out that Iguodala used No. 4 when he first entered the league, and later Chris Webber joined the 76ers, and Iguodala gave the No. 4 jersey to Webber and used the No. 9 jersey himself, saying that it was because he was selected with the No. 9 pick in the draft that year. Tang Wenlong also occasionally fantasizes about Iguodala giving up No. 9 to himself, but that is impossible, when it comes to the status of the rivers and lakes, he is a rookie and gives up the number to others.

After that, he wanted to choose No. 3, but that was also impossible, the 76ers' No. 3 is Iverson forever, and he can't tell when he will retire Iverson's jersey, and he will not risk the world's disapproval to use No. 3.

No. 2 is Moses Malone's and has been retired.

So after picking and choosing, he finally chose No. 1, and now in the wardrobe, there is the white No. 1 jersey neatly arranged by the staff, which looks pretty good.

The two quickly changed their clothes, and Tang Wenlong and Iguodala walked out of the locker room side by side.

"Hey, you don't have protective gear." Iguodala glanced up and down Tang Wenlong and said in surprise. "Armor?" Tang Wenlong's face showed doubt.

Iguodala flicked the white arm guard of his right arm with his right hand and gestured: "No, it's this kind of protective gear, in basketball games, protective gear is very important, haven't you used it before?" “

Tang Wenlong shook his head, where did he use protective gear, usually it was a very simple jersey and pants.

Iguodala said in a solemn tone: "Don, if you want to maintain a long career in the NBA, you must know the use of various protective gear by heart. As a senior advice, I hope you still use protective gear to protect your joints, you know, you are only 19 years old this year. “

Tang Wenlong was actually still a little puzzled, but when he heard Iguodala being so serious, he nodded seriously to show his understanding.

Iguodala sighed: "Actually, an athlete's body is like a delicate machine, and even if it is tempered a thousand times, there will be an aging day. The protective gear is like applying maintenance oil to the machine, so that the machine can reduce wear and tear while using it, and the basket may not hurt the body if you dunk it 100 times, but what if you deduct it 10,000 times? “

Tang Wenlong's eyes widened, and he suddenly realized that what Iguodala said was indeed very reasonable.

This time, his expression was extremely serious, and at the same time he showed a bit of gratitude, as an old-timer, Iguodala's advice was invaluable, it was from the experience of professional athletes, even coach Jim, even Jack trainer, in college, he had never been told about this part of the story.

He suddenly felt that he had just opened the door to basketball, and he still had a lot to learn