(The original text was published on October 20, with the content of basketable Nets player Watanabe Xiong, published on the star stand website)
My fifth season in NBA has finally begun!
Today, I would like to share with you my views on basketable nets and raptors. One is the team I will play for in the new season, and the other is the team I have stayed for in the past two seasons.
I feel that I have some deeper fetters with basketable nets. Nine years ago, I just set foot on the land of America, which is known as the hometown of basketball in New York. I have experienced many things that can be called milestones in my life here. Now walking on the streets of Brooklyn again, with the fallen leaves falling in autumn, different memories welled up in my mind.
Four years ago, I just graduated from George Washington University and was taken to NBA teams for trial training. I hope any of them can choose me at the draft convention, the first team participating in the trial was just basketable nets.
Later, I took part in the trial training of the other seven teams, including wizards and Eagles, but the trial training of basketable nets was still the best I felt, so I got the chance to represent basketable nets in the 2018 summer league, which was the beginning of my NBA career.
If you have noticed the appearance of my summer league, you will find that I was really thin at that time, hahahaha.
In fact, I had a connection with Brooklyn long before the summer league.
In March 2015, I was a freshman at that time and was participating in the Atlantic 10 division championship. The venue of the tournament that year was the Barclays Center, which was also the first time I entered the NBA team’s home stadium. The next year I took part in this tournament again, which was also held in Brooklyn. I remember that the competition that year was very cruel and I was eliminated directly after losing one game. Only when you win the championship can you be eligible to participate in the NCAA championship. The feeling of being eliminated for two consecutive years is really frustrating.
Now I am back to Brooklyn to play basketball!
In late August, I signed the contract with basketable nets, but it was just a training camp contract, not a formal contract. As other players are cut one by one, I don’t know if I can stay after the start of the new season.
I have played four seasons in NBA, but I can only get a training camp contract. To be honest, I have begun to doubt whether my ability really stops here. I have never felt depressed about the team’s decision, but disappointed with my performance.
I have never been on the team’s opening list in the past few years. For me, I have always felt like standing on the edge of the cliff. We must first ensure that we can survive in the training camp, otherwise there will be no follow-up if we are not careful.
I think, this time I have to start again, I have to start from the bottom 1.1 o’clock.
A series of injuries made me very worried again. From June to September, I couldn’t practice for several days. Now I can say that at that time, I almost lost confidence in whether I could enter the team’s opening list. However, I also thought that so many players didn’t even get the invitation to the training camp. This year, I got such an opportunity again. I must be grateful for it and do my best.
The teammates around me left one after another, and I fought all the way to the last game of preseason, chasing my dream of becoming a key player in one of the strongest teams in NBA.
Finally, before the start of the new season opener, Sean Marks, general manager of basketable nets, officially told me that I became one of the 15 players on the opener starting line-up list. I sincerely thank him for giving me this opportunity.
He told me, “Watanabe, you deserve it!”
In fact, the list of the opening match does not necessarily need to be full of 15 people, while a team with stars like basketable nets may have 14 people, but the reason why basketable nets chose to keep me, because I believe I have a foothold in the team in the new season. The words of General Manager Max convinced me of this point. At that moment, I experienced both the ease of the brutal competition in the training camp and the joy of being recognized.
But I understand that it is far from the point where I can really relax.
After the start of the new season, there was still no guarantee for my contract. I still stood on the edge of the cliff as usual, even though I already had my position on the lineup list. So I know very well that I don’t have a second to waste, and I will continue to fight for the new season.
The day after this article was published, that is, October 21, there was a competition of special significance to me. The second game of the season was against the Raptors at home, and the Raptors were the team I played for two seasons.
I really love Toronto, a magnificent and peaceful city. The feeling given to me there is wonderful. Lakes and natural beauty can make me feel real peace. What surprised me most was that I met many friends who had nothing to do with basketball in Toronto. Before that, I had never made any friends in basketball circle with diplomacy.
I played in Raptors for two seasons. In the first season, due to the new Crown virus, I mainly stayed in Florida. So in fact, I only played in Toronto for one season, and the feeling of first coming to Toronto in the second season was unforgettable in my life. Walking around the city, you can hear many people calling me “Watanabe!” This surprised me very much. I was glad that so many people came to see me play and supported me so much.
The fans in Toronto were really enthusiastic. Even after I left the team, many people sent me private letters expressing blessings through social media. For me, Toronto is absolutely unforgettable, whether it is the people here or the city. I believe I will find a chance to visit Toronto every year in the future, and I want to take this opportunity to say thank you.
Thank you very much to people in Toronto!
But…… From now on, Raptors are my opponent. Although they were my teammates and knew me very well, I couldn’t retreat after stepping on the court and spare no effort to win. Basketable nets has some of the best scorers in NBA, such as Durant and Owen. I guess Raptors will assign special defensive tactics to them. Although it is not entirely certain, when I played basketable Nets last season, I carried out the special defensive tactics against Durant and Owen. Raptors will change their tactics frequently in the competition. I am looking forward to seeing their attempts, and I will try my best to defeat them.
Since my NBA career, I have been trying not to forget one thing:
Only 450 people in the world can play in NBA, which is the peak stage of basketball.
There are 0.45 billion basketball players in the world, 450 of whom are only 0.0001 percent.
So far, NBA is the basketball sports league with the highest threshold. Even some players will say that it is more difficult to survive in NBA than to enter NBA. Most NBA players only have a career of 2-3 years. Every season I am on the verge of being eliminated, at the bottom of the lineup list, but I can’t forget the real time. I have been one of those 450 people for five years, I am very proud of this.
Whether I am a player from Japan or not, I am very proud. This is the lifelong dream of a child who once sat in front of the TV to watch NBA. I dream that I can play on such a stage. Now my dream has lasted for five years.
As a member of basketable nets, the most important thing for me at present is to show my ability to the team and find a suitable role in the team. This team is made up of super stars, but I believe there will be a role suitable for me here, and I can succeed in it and help the team win the game. This goal is what I need to pursue throughout the season, just like what I did in the preseason, to be the kind of player that the team needs.
Four years later, I returned to Brooklyn.
It has been a month and a half since I signed the training camp contract and moved here. This city is very livable, and it feels like returning home after going out for so long.
I especially like the DUMBO community in Brooklyn. Whenever I need a rest, I will go there and have something to eat. It is sandwiched between two beautiful bridges-Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge. You can see Manhattan on the other side by the river. The renovated cobblestone and red brick buildings create a good atmosphere. I can’t go out for a while until I know more about Brooklyn. I believe I will love this city more.
I want to make full use of every day I stay in NBA and work hard until the end of the season. I hope that when people pass by me, they can shout at me, “Watanabe!”
Original: Yuta Watanabe
Compile: Li Taibai
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Player autographed