LeBron James often recalls that afternoon when he first took up basketball when he was 9 years old. By then, he had moved out of his grandmother's large, dilapidated Victorian house and was living with his mother in a cluttered duplex duplex in the slum settlement of Elizabeth Park in lower Akron.

He remembers riding his bike from his home on a weekend toward the southwest, where he could see Goodyear Tire's Clock Tower, past Arlington Church, Bissell Baptist Church, and the United Motors Building, past Akron Automation Screw Products, Rushes Market, Stewart and Calhoun Funeral Home, to Tomton Street, and finally to the Summit Lake Community Center on Crohill Street, southwest of Akron, the training home for the Oriental Dragons Children's Football Club.

At the age of nine, LeBron has already shown quite an astonishing athletic talent, with lightning speed, strength beyond his peers, and unlimited physical strength, and he plays the position of palace guard on the court. However, James seemed a little absent-minded in the morning training, and he did not complete several movements unsatisfactory in the confrontation training. Coach Bruce took James out for lunch and asked about the situation alone, and James told Coach Bruce that his mother was likely to drop out of school and have no place to live because he couldn't afford to pay tuition and rent.

Coach Bruce knew that James, like most black kids in the ghetto of Akron, had a young mother but didn't know who the father was, and that it was not easy for a young black girl in her 20s who was not yet mature to support a boy. At noon, Coach Bruce discussed with the other coaches of the team and informed everyone of James' situation, and this group of young but righteous bachelor coaches were willing to help James live at home and live together. But they are just hot-headed, and when they calm down, they know that bachelors like them can't even take care of their own lives, so how can they support a 9-year-old child?

In the afternoon, James wandered around the training center like a deer cub lost in the jungle, where in addition to the football field, there are tennis courts, a swimming pool, a basketball hall and an outdoor basketball court next door.

Several 8-10 year olds who are about the same age as James are playing on the court, Coach Frankie Walker saw LeBron standing in front of the barbed wire fence with a whistle in his mouth, he knew the little star of the Eastern Dragons football team, so he whistled at him and joked: "LeBron, you can't get along in the football team, do you want to try basketball?" ”

James hurriedly shook his head, he was still a very shy child at that time, he smiled and did not speak, but his eyes and expression could not hide the deep worry in his heart.

Frankie Walker saw that he was hiding a bad mood, and pulled him onto the basketball court to team up with the kids who were playing a game and play a simple match.

"I... I'm not very good at basketball. James was a little hesitant, his dream had always been to become a football superstar, and his idols were Deron Sanders and Eric Mitcalf, so he wore the number 21 jersey. For basketball, he only knows Michael Jordan, who by then had completed his three-game winning streak and officially announced his retirement.

"Try it, basketball is simple, dribble, just put the ball in the basket." Frankie Walker encouraged James, and he wanted to see if James had the talent to play basketball.

James nodded and decided to give it a try, and he was grouped with four other kids, including Frankie Walker's son, Frankie Walker II, and then on the first offense he rushed to the basket and caught the ball and scored a left-handed layup. He's so fast that the defenders can't keep up with him, after all, this guy came from rugby.

But Frankie Walker blew the whistle and smiled at James: "It's a good layup, but you're walking, basketball and football are not the same." ”

But James quickly adapted to a basketball game with simpler rules and more emphasis on individual ability, and easily scored high points. After the practice match, Frankie Walker asked if he wanted to try his hand at a basketball team, or a rugby-basketball double major, and which path he would choose to follow in the future.

James told him at the time, "I can't think about it for a while, I'm going to drop out of school and I don't have a place to live, let alone basketball, maybe I can't play football." ”

After consulting with the coaches of the Eastern Dragons, Frankie Walker said that James could come to his home to board and participate in the training of the football and basketball teams while completing his studies. After consulting his mother, in the fifth grade school, LeBron James and his mother separated and moved to Coach Frankie Walker's home, bidding farewell to the days when they always moved to no fixed place, and began a stable life of studying and training.

Many years later, when James looks back on that time, he laments that basketball changed his fate that afternoon, and he wonders if Frankie Walker would have been willing to take him in if he hadn't shown enough talent on the basketball court. After all, there are more black kids in Akron who wander around and hang out on the streets than she can count, and if he wasn't athletically talented, how could Coach Walker have the heart to help him.

After that, he quickly chose basketball between football and basketball, not only because he showed more talent on the basketball court, but also because he found that a 5vs5 basketball court was more conducive to showing off his individual strengths. There are too many rugby teams, the tactics are too complex, and the individual power is limited. And on the basketball court, when a person is strong enough, he can become a god who dominates the game.

After Frankie Walker, he met the second most important basketball coach in his life, Drew Joyce II. LeBron James joined the basketball team he formed and began competing in national amateur basketball tournaments when LeBron was 12 years old. In order to pay for the national competition, they went door-to-door to sell a piece of tape, and used the money they earned to buy equipment, which was used to cover all the expenses of the journey.

They won more than 40 of the 60-plus games along the way to the finals in Salt Lake City through the qualifiers, an experience that made LeBron into the national basketball arena and became a basketball future star that has attracted a lot of attention - of course, there are many similar future stars in this age group, James is not the most conspicuous one, and even in their own team, James is not the boss.

The real boss of the team is Drew Jr., the son of Coach Drew, a short, but hot-tempered, competitive defender. LeBron James is stronger than him, and he can always win in one-on-one heads-up with Drew, but Drew Jr. never admits defeat and will play until James says he won't play. On the court, he is so fierce and fierce that when anyone wants to go wild in a game, Drew Jr. will step up and stand up for his teammates.

So his teammates call Drew Jr. "General", he is the soul of the team, a person who can stabilize the morale of the army.

Of course, his talent is much worse than James, and as he gets older, the gap between the two in height and ball skills is getting bigger and bigger. By the time James became a superstar in the United States, Drew Jr. had no chance of playing professional basketball at all. Together, they studied and played at St. Mary's High School in St. Vincent, where James gained national fame, his talent and style of play caught national attention, and he began to be shaped step by step to the position of "god."

That is the throne that James has always longed for in his heart when he chose basketball, and it belongs to the first throne of basketball players.

But this road is more difficult than he imagined, the more he climbs, the more lonely and helpless he feels, every time he always thinks of little Drew, the "general" who stands in front of him, if he always has such a general, will it be easier to climb the coveted throne? Or the 2012 Finals, if only he could shoot that free throw in Game 3, as long as there is a championship, even one, everything will be completely different......

"LeBron? LeBron! ”

James was pulled out of the flashing memories with a shout.

At the moment, he was sitting in the locker room of the home team at the Oracle Arena, and the West Finals were at the end of the seventh-half game at halftime.

Steve Cole looked at James's somewhat confused expression, anxious, and he shouted James three times in a row to recover from his fugue state, and then looked at Cole with blank eyes.

"LeBron, in the second half, we need your breakthrough. Punch inside like a knife and pierce your opponent! Pierce your opponents! ”

"I know." James responded lightly, he felt that he had a breath in his heart, and he was frozen, and he wanted to mention it but couldn't.

"You have to attack more on your own, and I let you be the No. 1 ball handler, which is to let you attack more and dominate the game more. Win this one, and we'll be the champions! ”

Kerr's tone was very agitated, it was difficult for him to control his emotions, from being chased from 1:3 to a 3:3 draw, and anyone would be out of balance in their mentality, not to mention facing the Clippers and Smart Min.

Kerr's agitation seemed to ignite James, and he suddenly shouted: "We obviously changed the way we play this season!" I've changed! Why do you need me to be in charge! So what have I changed so far this season? ”

Cole stared at James with wide eyes, he didn't expect James to contradict him like this, and Cole shot back: "That's when you should respond!" You have that ability, and you have that responsibility! ”

"It's not my team, everybody is on the pitch, I've always put the ball in the right hands, in the right position, making the right attacking choices, I've always been like that," James said. ”

"So you can't beat the Los Angeles Clippers all this time!"

Cole finally couldn't help but let out a roar, but the words were undoubtedly demoralizing and hurtful to James.

James pursed his lips for a long time and didn't speak, and finally squeezed out a sentence between his teeth, "You can't beat Smart either." ”

The head coach and the head coach hurt each other in the locker room, and Kevin Durant, Thompson, Lillard and others didn't say a word.

Only Draymond Green stepped up to mediate, asking everyone to stop arguing and instead focus on the game and win the tie-break.

But there was inevitably a tear within the Warriors, and everyone was weird in their hearts, and the moment they stepped back on the court, the hustle and bustle of Oracle Arena brought out the psychological weakness of the Warriors players.

Of course, their bodies are also exhausted, very exhausted.

There are seven big battles in the series, and each one is a high-intensity, high-intensity confrontation.

The four overtimes in the fourth game almost squeezed out the physical and mental strength of the main players.

Game 5 was their best chance to win the series, but they didn't take it, and now the initiative is out of their hands.

In comparison, Clippers Randolph, Jokic, and Dragic on the bench have played relatively short games in the first four games, and they are all full of energy.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Clippers started with a wave of 7-0 offensive shockwaves, Curry scored consecutive breakaways, forcing the Warriors' defense to shrink, and Leonard hit another three-pointer from the outside.

The momentum of the Clippers grew stronger, and the wind swept away the heavy warriors. After a useless brawl at halftime, the Warriors didn't know what to do.

Is it for James? Or to Durant? Or play a solid pass, but the Clippers' defense is solid and can't find a chance at all. Their passing is slowing, their runs are getting stupid, their concentration is falling out, their defence is starting to lose intensity, and the win is slipping away from them.

By the end of the third quarter, the score had reached 65:51, and the Clippers led the Warriors by 14 points.

With such a point difference, it is very difficult to turn the tables around in a game of this level.

The last such example was in the 2000 Western Conference Finals, when the Lakers were chased by the Trail Blazers to a 3-3 tie-break when they led 3-1.

Before the start of the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers led the Lakers by 13 points and won the game, but in the end, the OK combination completed a shocking reversal and reached the finals to start the Lakers dynasty.

It can be said that although the Lakers dynasty is great, the first and second Western finals are thrilling, and even full of controversy.

So the Lakers' OK triple championship is also full of luck factor.

And this time, Min Congda will never allow the same thing to happen to the Clippers.

In the fourth quarter, the Clippers did not go into a passive defensive situation, just like a football game, some teams began to play conservative when they were one goal ahead, replacing the forwards and guards, but as soon as the change was completed, they were scored by the opponent, they had no offensive power, and the initiative of the game was completely controlled by the opponent, and finally lost the game.

Min Congda still asked the team to go all out to attack, especially when the Warriors changed to a five-man lineup again and let Green play center, Min Congda asked Jokic to continue to attack the Warriors' interior and cooperate with Curry's blocking.

Jokic deserves the potential of a superstar, and as a rookie, he was unrelenting in such a crucial game, hitting consecutive shots in the fourth quarter, as long as he caught the ball under the basket and threw it - he was not so accurate in daily training.

After Jokic scored a 2+1, he had scored 21 points in this game, and among these 21 points, he dribbled no more than 5 times, all of which were high-flying, dribbling and attacking directly, crisply and neatly, without dragging the mud and water, and penetrating the Warriors' interior line.

The Warriors unleashed a final counter-attack frenzy at the end of the fourth quarter, like a dying beast, Durant, Thompson, and James all hit consecutive three-pointers.

The score once came to 81:76, and with one minute left at the end of the game, the Warriors relied on Durant's three-point shot to chase the difference to only 5 points.

The Clippers called a timeout, and Min Congda set up an Eagles tactic, but the timeout came back from an unsuccessful play, and Leonard's mid-range shot missed.

In the counterattack, Durant received the ball and went straight to the basket, and the layup was knocked out from behind by Butler! Bounds.

Warriors sideline ball, James catches the ball, a sudden acceleration into the basket, both hands dunk violently!

At 81:78, the Warriors are only 3 points behind! There were still 30 seconds left until the end of the race.

The Warriors have a chance to turn around and rely on the individual ability of the players to complete the reversal!

The Clippers put the burden of a crucial offense on Curry's shoulders, and he had a chance to kill and win the game.

But after the double screen, the Warriors' Curry made a wrap-up, and Curry had to jump up and pass the ball to Butler.

Butler broke through the middle and threw a shot, and the ball spun around the basket and fell out.

LeBron James got the backcourt rebound, Steve Kerr didn't call a timeout, and James dribbled across half court.

He had a chance to be a hero, but he passed the ball to Kevin Durant, who broke down on the right side.

The Clippers also opted for a bag — but it wasn't a good defensive option, and they should have put two points instead of threes.

Durant passed the ball to Green on the perimeter, and Green then distributed the ball to James at the top of the arc.

James was empty in front of him, and he had a chance to draw with three points!

James scored only 14 points tonight, and it was a chance for him to save the Warriors and save himself.

But at this moment, he was still hesitating in his heart, should he vote? Can you throw it in?

At this time, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in his ears, as if it came from the Clippers bench on the sidelines:

“Shoot！ (Shot)! ”

It seems to be Smart. Is it Smart?

At that moment, he seemed to be struck by the word, like a bison that was hit in the wilderness and fell to the ground, the surrounding light gradually disappeared with the closure of the outline of the eyes, and the overwhelming crows flapped their wings and appeared from unknown dark corners, they are too many to count, you will never see them on weekdays, and once the corpses appear, they will come from the darkness, as if they are darkness, the darkness is not a whole, but particles that can gather and disperse like crows, It is a sinister smell of corruption.

His mind flashed back to that afternoon when he first touched basketball, on the basketball court at the Summit Lake Community Center on Crohill Street, where he received a pass from his teammates like a running forward and put the ball in the basket with his left hand — yes, he was actually left-handed, but he ended up shooting with his right hand, which always made his shots seem a little awkward. He had to practice again and again to get the hand that wasn't supposed to be responsible for shooting to get used to the muscle memory of shooting, and this went on for more than twenty years and will continue to do so, just as he and the people around him wanted to send him to that throne, and he longed for that throne, but he didn't seem to wonder if it wasn't there for him in the first place. Isn't it where he should be in the first place, and where he really wants to be happy, strong, and fulfilled?

That afternoon, he and his team lost the game. Later, in the finals of the AAU, they also lost the game. The smell of failure breeds the fear of death in the depths of the darkness of the human heart, the darkness brought about by the cry of a squirt in the twilight forest or a dead mouse devoured by ants reduced to its shell, a darkness that does not actually exist in the daily experience of people today but lurks in ancient memories to ensure that they do not get lost in the fear of death. James suddenly realized this in his mind, he knew everything, time became extremely slow, and he discovered the hitherto undiscovered eternal realm between the three-point line and the basket, the distance of 23.75 feet is an unbridgeable river in time and space connecting the human world and the underworld.

He felt like he could barely move, letting time leave him flying forward, the part of his body that had left his body behind as he rode through the roads of Akron, Thomton Street, Stewart and Calhoun Funeral Homes, Rushes Market, Akron Automation Screw Products, United Motors Building, Bissell Baptist Church, Arlington Church, Goodyear Tire's Clock Tower......

“Shoot！”

“Ping！”

A bullet from an unknown dark corner of the chaotic streets of Akron struck the 9-year-old, who fell in the shadow cast by a red-brick apartment building with red-framed windows on Copree Street, Akron's main thoroughfare, just one street from Elizabeth Park. Red blood poured out, and against the red brick wall, he was like a downed bison, never to stand up again.

The cold voice of the TV announcer came from the void:

LeBron James missed a three-point shot, and Leonard grabbed the rebound. The game is over, the game is over. ”

(End of chapter)