It starts with the summer union in Las Vegas: an era has arrived that belongs to the Vemban Yama
Originally compiled from: The Ringer
Written by Tyler Parker
原标题：Dispatch From Vegas: The Wemby Era Has Begun
Before the game, off topic
The Bucks vs Nuggets game Friday afternoon, by the start of the fourth quarter, the audience at Thomas and Mack Center was full. A man sitting in the row below me wore a white Venbanyama Spurs jersey. Crunch, bleached milky white. He has a tattoo of a sarcophagus on his left arm and is getting ready to enjoy some chicken tenders. It looks excited, anxious, and ready to go. There was one more game before the French alien's debut, but the atmosphere was already warm. The man from New Jersey sent and received messages with voice commands on his Apple Watch. One of the texts said, "Sometimes you have to give in." Another one says, "I love you." He smiled into his watch, ate another piece of meat, and continued, "She knows what I can bring to the table."
Everything in the venue is ready. You can see a lot and you can hear a lot. Tim Duncan's jersey, Tim Duncan's shirt, and a vest — with a Halloween photo of Duncan and a blindfolded Tony Parker pointing a gun at fake Joey Crawford. And shirts. So many Duncan's peripheral shirts. If you just happen to be passing by, you'll think these shirts are handed out to everyone at the door. And there are also many people wearing Venbanya polo shirts. A lot of San Antonio Spurs' No. 1 jersey is running around. A father in a Bunban shirt sits next to his son in a Jeremy Sohan jersey. Both wore hats on their backs, and the son fumbled for a hot dog. Kiro's "I Hope" played on the portable speaker, and the father listened fascinated, nodding and pointing to the court. The boy followed the direction of his father's hand, looked at the place his father had indicated, and nodded as well.
Other things to see: legendary coach Jerry Takanian's clothes hanging from rafters, Venbanyama jersey at Mets 92, Michelb's Super Courtside experience, and one kid said, "For some reason, the blue shape looks better." There are a lot of sportswear, a lot of vintage outfits, a lot of cross-body bags and bucket hat combinations. And so many Austin Reeves jerseys. The amount is staggering. There was a man wearing a purple Kobe jersey, a Tommy Bahamian sun hat, and a yellow fanny pack. The sweatshirt was not tucked into his pants, and he put his belt bag on the outside, wrapped around his waist like a belt on a skirt.
An elderly couple walked by wearing the same Bunban jersey, and it looked like they had been waiting for the day since Leonard left. There was a man with arms as thick as a plane tree, wearing a smuggled McDowell All-American League jersey, and two polo jerks chatting at a place lined up for beer.
"Do we need a break after golf?"
"Of course."
Behind them was a woman wearing a Cousins Kings jersey. She has a giraffe tattoo on her arm, and she discusses the absurdity of San Francisco's real estate market with a salaryman. She ordered two Coors lagers, "Give myself and a friend a glass." ”
When the game was almost over, I found a place to watch the next game. There's a guy who recorded a video in the walkway upstairs and he said, "I bet $2,000 here that he's going to be a **** (incomprehensible exaggerated trill), and I'm about to watch his first game here." The flow of people in the passage forced me down the steps. I stopped at the top of the stairs and looked at him for a while. He was young, probably in his early 20s, wearing a pair of shorts with an ice cube-like pattern on them. He wasn't happy with the first shot and then came again. A friend helped him with his cell phone, while a welcoming family of six waited to walk to their seats. There's a mom, a dad, two Giannis' jerseys, two Booker's jerseys. The father stared at the child who recorded the video with great disgust and looked like he wanted to throw him to the floor, but said nothing.
Later I saw the kid and realized that instead of ice cubes, he had dice on his shorts. He was walking past Alvin Gentry. Gentry stood in front of a coffee shop in the main square, right next to a sign selling $15 acai bowls, shouting at a man, "Hey, how's your son?" But this time I didn't wait for his answer - there will be a game to watch right away.
Debut
Summer League spectators are ready for everything and want to release their love. They want to scream. They want to be louder. Thomas and the good folks at the Mack Center have been longing for the Frenchman, ready to start the rest of their basketball lives. The place is basically packed with people. Only some empty seats remained at the top of the gymnasium, but anyway, it was packed with people who wanted to see Venban Yama. All of the Hornets' starters came out with only a few applause. And the Spurs are noticeably more popular. Venbanyama, for some reason, is the fourth to appear. And poor Black Wesley was the last finale to appear - the cheers and roar in the stadium suddenly plummeted when Wenban appeared.
Sometimes you just go to an amusement park and it will definitely rain. And sometimes what seems inevitable never happens. A group of Lakers fans drunkenly criticized and suggested Venbanyama's performance: "Back play," for example, and, "It's a talent you can't buy." Every time he received the ball, everyone in the stadium was full of anticipation, waiting for him to come and shoot. If the ball was in his hands, in less than half a second, fans started telling him to shoot. And if he goes one-on-one with a defender, the people in the stadium become very hungry and start clamoring for him to perform. And every time he touches the ball, the court reacts as if he's just a few points away from the all-time scoring record.
But the performance of the literary class is not all bad. Despite just 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks on 2-of-13 shooting. But there are also some shiny moments. Even standing on the top floor of a stadium with hundreds of rows, you can see him himself, his proportions are very similar to cartoon characters; On the defensive end, it's clear that his sweeping ability is great. But he was also not very active at times and did not fly around there. It's an inexplicably boring show. Some confusing disappointment.
Bunban tried to perform dream footsteps in the first five minutes or so of the second quarter, but lost his way forward in footwork and missed. A Lakers fan stood up, put his hands in his face like Kevin in Home Alone, and screamed as if he had witnessed a murder.
There was a sound of iron hitting from the rebound. Constant missteps. Lack of self-confidence. Halfway through the third quarter, Kay Jones and his Marcus Smart hairstyle jumped, caught a high ball over Venbanyama's head and slammed it in. The sound of the gymnasium sounds like the sound of an airplane taking off. Jones' finish was impressive, he felt really good afterwards and after a round or two, after being fouled and falling to the ground, he did a push-up to get back on his feet. Push-ups are always fun because it's never a must. Unless you're in karate or street fighting, many times it's faster to stand up normally.
Later in the third quarter, Bunban was stuck and Brandon Miller almost picked him up and squeezed him out of his ass. It's so hot outside, it's Las Vegas, and you wonder if you're seeing something. The images presented to you by your eyes look like lies. You look around and mumble, "What happened?" The man staged one of the most surreal shooting shows in basketball memory in recent years here nine months ago. And now he was defeated again by Kay Jones? Then Bunban missed another goal.
By the end of the third quarter, Thomas and Mack Center Court sounded like they were keeping a vigil. The audience was already ready for the miracle, so excited to see this rising star enter the league, so ready for him to rule the league and put on a big show. It should have been a fresh start. They come to the entertainment capital of the world to dazzle themselves, but this is not the case.
Towards the end of the game, I saw Dice Shorts and his cameraman climbing the stairs upstairs in the distance. They looked frustrated and shot some shots to try to cope. Sometimes you can see photos of Dice Shorts on his phone. Sometimes he can be seen clapping. He can sometimes be seen shaking his head. Once they switched angles. I saw him screaming at his phone and then pointing at it and saying something. They sat near the top of the arena, looked at the numbers on the scoreboard, looked disappointed, seemed to be betrayed, and were very angry. 、
Second game
Anyone would be wrong to think that Bunban's first game performance would spoil public curiosity — Thomas and Mike Center were packed even more in the Spurs' second game against the Blazers on Sunday. Tickets have long been sold out. In the taxis who come here, drivers wear a Route 66 button covered in road signs and fireworks motifs, constantly switching between classic rock and talk stations. From the car stereo came the wild rocking sound. Sometimes foreigners can be heard on the stereo saying, "We can go on a secret date." Sometimes it's some AM radio station that says, "I can't find any Vietnam War night vision goggles anywhere." And another time, we got stuck behind an 18-wheeler truck, and the driver said, "It's always great when there's a big truck in front of you and you can't see anything." However, the players are likely to be disappointed with Bunban's defense. Then came more information from the radio: "Reports of UFOs are far beyond normal."
As soon as you enter the venue, the hall is crowded with people, and groups of people move slowly. Women in bikini tops and Balenciaga sneakers weave through the long lines in front of merchandise and franchise stores, careful not to spill their margaritas. A guy with bleached hair and slippers was talking on the phone in the bathroom. He brought his mouth close to the microphone, as if speaking in a hands-free manner, and said, "You guys don't do anything."
The venue was almost full of people and began to be lively again. Maybe the atmosphere wasn't as "anything is possible" as Kevin Garnett once said, and maybe more skeptical this time, but the audience was still hopeful and still on the side of Venbanyama. The casting director said that when an actor comes in for an audition, everyone in the room wants him to be the best candidate for the role. They will cheer for the actors. They will also want the best the actors can be. And the audience of the summer league also treated Bunbanyama in the same way. He was about to enter a warm room, a room ready to greet him. Mistakes happen and free throws need to improve, but talent is so tempting, so fresh, so weird, that's what you've always longed to see here.
This time, Wenban's performance is more in line with his expectations in people's minds. 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 steal. In Las Vegas, a city that will always have a second chance, he shines.
Such outstanding performance is truly presented, but it still gives a glimpse of the room for improvement in skill and level. When Venbanama vividly demonstrates his strength, his talent is visible to the naked eye, and his ceiling is like the Sistine Chapel - the sky is his limit. There are wild shots, there are incredible splits, and you can hear the cheers of the audience every time you touch the ball. Fans love him, cheer for him, and be wary of him as the year's champion leads the Spurs on the court in an attempt to complete a major comeback, despite a narrow defeat. When Venbanyama missed a one-legged three-point jumper near the end of the game, it seemed to signal that there was still some distance between his current offensive prowess and his astronomical potential.
NBA audiences, like many people, come to Las Vegas hoping to see some legendary talent show that they will remember as well. In the end, Venbanyama also presented these audiences with a wonderful performance. That's what those superstars can do, showing boundless energy. He is a space invader. Don't let the slow heat of the opening trick you. The next takeover of the alliance is coming. The basketball world is also ready to welcome with open arms – aliens are coming.