Leonard and George are known as Duncan and Garnett on the 3rd slot, and correspondingly, Lewis (the supersonic period) is known as Nowitzki on the 3rd slot.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="53" > draft</h1>
From Louisiana came a number of outstanding players, such as Bob Petit, Carl Malone, and shark O'Neal, most of them are full of flesh, strong muscles, and fierce men who fight bulls on the court. When Juan Brown's son fell to the ground, she used the surname of legendary rugby star Hamed Lewis as her son's name, hoping that Lewis Jr. would later become a strong man in rugby.
Contrary to his wishes, Lewis chose basketball, and he was slender, running briskly on the court like a fawn, shooting a long-range shot with a soft feel. He didn't get attention until his final year of high school (1998), when Lewis got noticed. That year, he averaged 28.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4.3 steals, and achieved some results and honors: named to usa today's First Team; was named Parade Magazine's High School Player of the Year: a game-high 27 points in the Magic Elite Basketball Tournament and grabbed nine rebounds, making him the MVP of the game.
After graduating from high school, Lewis received invitations from the University of Florida, the University of Kansas, and the University of Houston, but he did not choose to go to college to further his studies, but directly participated in the 1998 NBA draft. Because he grew up in Houston, his mother Juan Brown naturally hoped that Hugh Lewis would play for the Rockets so that he would not have to leave his hometown. The Rockets had also been in contact with Lewis before the draft, and they had three first-round draft picks, promising to definitely choose Lewis. As one of the most widely anticipated rookies, Lewis and 14 other rookies sat in the "Little Green House" and waited for Stern to read out his name. But the Rockets didn't pick Lewis, but Michael Dixon, Turkan and Drew, and it wasn't until 3rd in the second round (32nd overall) that Lewis was selected by the Seattle Supersonics to become the last rookie to emerge from the Little Green House.
"I still often think of the scene of the draft in 11 years," the 1998 draft was the eternal intention in Lewis's heart, "I don't know why the Rockets didn't choose me, I was a child at the time, only 19 years old, full of expectations for the NBA." As fans across the Houston area stared at me, so did my high school teammates, who were partying at the high school coach's house, ready to celebrate my selection by the Rockets. But it wasn't the Rocket that chose me. ”
At that time, the general environment of the league was not favorable to high school students, although the image of high school students had changed, but they could not gain full trust from the outside world, and successful high school players were only rare. Moses Malone has retired, and Garnett and Bryant are still learning how to play. The tame Kemp was kicked to Cleveland by supersonics in the summer, while Maddy sat on the bench in Toronto. At that time, people believed more in muscle and brute force, the 2.13-meter Orovo Candy could become the champion, the big-bellied "tractor" Robert Treller could be selected in the 7th place, and the skinny Lewis could only accept the trickery of fate.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="51" > take off at low speed</h1>
After coming to an unfamiliar environment, Lewis, who was only 19 years old, often called his family to talk about his experiences and hardships during his rookie season. Sitting on the bench, Lewis waited for the opportunity. When Schramf left the team in 1999, Lewis thought he would get a lot of playing time, but it was Ruben Patterson who was reused. Soon after, his fortunes changed dramatically, when Patterson was embroiled in a sex scandal that sent him to Portland with supersonics and the dismissal of coach Paul Westphar and the appointment of assistant coach McMillan as head coach. Under McMillan, Lewis got more opportunities, and he proved the coach's vision with excellent performances.
From the beginning of the 00-01 season, Lewis became the absolute main force of the team, averaging 14.8 points, 6.9 rebounds per game, and shooting 43.2% from three-point range. The following season he averaged 16.8 points and seven rebounds per game. In the summer of 2002, Lewis's rookie contract expired, and he had the opportunity to sign a higher contract, but opted for loyalty, renewing his contract with supersonics for 7 years and 60 million. Halfway through the 02-03 season, the team sent Gary Payton away in exchange for Ray Allen. Partnering with Aaron benefited Lewis a lot, "He taught me what a work ethic is. ”
Lewis's average of points per game continues to rise, and no matter how the team system changes, he can always find a way to score, and with Allen he does the flow production work outside the three-point line every night. When Allen was injured, he was the team's top attacker. It was such a jump shot team that played until the Western Conference semifinals in 2005.
The change happened in the summer of 2007. After the Supersonics drew the number two draw, they chose Kevin Durant of the University of Texas, a small forward similar to Lewis's type. Lewis had no intention of leaving, but offered to stay with the Tron Sonics, who held several team records at the time. But when the team traded Allen to the Celtics, he knew he wasn't far away.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="57" > billion yuan fat</h1>
In the scarce free agent market for big names in 2007, Lewis was a big fish. Rockets, Magic, Heat, Knicks, Cavaliers, Celtics, Warriors and Trail Blazers, all eight teams are Lewis's suitors. Wilkens, though, said the Supersonics plan to renew Lewis' contract. According to league regulations, supersonics could be given Lewis a 6-year top salary contract at that time, with an average annual salary of about 15 million, while other teams could only issue contracts for up to 5 years. Not only that, but the Supersonics can also offer a 10.5 percent salary increase per year, compared to just 8 percent for other teams.
The Rockets were eager to make up for their mistakes in that year's draft and bring in Lewis, but the team could only offer a 5.5 million mid-class contract. The shy Houstonians played the affection card, hoping that Drexler would finish the out-of-town child with a breakfast, but in the end he failed to do so. Finally, after nine seasons at the Supersonics, Lewis moved to Orlando. His agents, Tony Duterte, Supersonic general manager Presti, and Magic general manager Smith reached a deal that was originally set for 5 years, but according to the rules, supersonics had a special case of trading so that Lewis's one-year salary did not have to be counted in Orlando's total salary. On July 11, the contract was officially signed, 6 years 118.2 million.
Admit it, when you saw Lewis's contract amount at the time, you must have been thinking, the NBA is crazy?
118 million? Just him?
Yes, the once-in-one All-Star player is reliable, but every season at the SuperSonics, he plays the role of Robin at Batman's side — just a wingman. The season before the Magic, he had the prettiest stats of his career: averaging 22.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and averaging 20 points per game in the previous three seasons — but 118 million, lewis couldn't believe he could make that much, his original psychological price was 5 years and 90 million, "the NBA must be crazy," Lewis said, "but God is normal."
This is where the controversy arises. The tenth contract in history to exceed 100 million yuan, to a 28-year-old guy who has no eye-catching statistics except for 20 points per game and has only been in the All-Star Team once. Critics are willing to give up, and all kinds of sarcastic and sarcastic voices are everywhere. Outsiders believe Lewis must show his superstar performance to prove that he is worthy of the contract. However, this was not within Lewis's plan, and the Magic did not ask him to do so. "It's not that hard to make 20 or 25 shots in one night, I can do it perfectly," Lewis said, "but it's not a better option for our whole team." "He only does what is good for the team. After Lewis joined, the Magic, which had a regular season record of 40 wins and 42 losses, improved to 52 wins and 30 losses in the 07-08 season, and reached 59 wins and 23 losses in the 0809 season.
Smith is an idiot? After becoming the general manager of the Magic in 2006, he made several "big deals" including: signing Lewis, dumping Milisic, and letting the latter go to make Smith bear a lot of infamy, but the Black Cypriot has always been depressed and has never exchanged talent; selected Gotatt to find a qualified substitute for Howard; signed Pietrus in exchange for Alstom, which greatly deepened the depth of the backcourt. In that season's Manager of the Season, Smith ranked behind nuggets Watson and Cavaliers' Ferry, but the team he built reached the Finals.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="31" > a star! </h1>
After coming to Orlando, Lewis had a lot to learn and adjust. First of all. He has to get used to partnering with a center with super dominance. Lewis previously averaged 38.6 percent from three-point range, and in fact for most of his career, he was Seattle's most effective low-post weapon because the team's seven-footers — Jerome James, Fortson, Robert Swift — were incompetent on the offensive end. In Orlando, however, the lows belong to Howard.
Secondly, on the No. 3 position, Turcoglu and Lewis clearly overlapped, and in order to achieve the optimal configuration of the lineup, Lewis, who moved more quickly, was pushed to the position of big forward. In Seattle, Radmanovic and Lewis rarely started at the same time, in part because the West is full of good big forwards. But in the East, where the internal strength is relatively weak, the frontcourt composed of Lewis, Turkoglu and Howard is enough to cope.
In the first month of fulfilling the billion-dollar contract, Lewis let down all those who waited to see himself and the magic joke. The Magic are 14-4, Lewis is averaging 19 points, five rebounds per game, and moving quickly on the court, trying to maintain the integrity of the team's defense, and it's hard to blame him for not being worth so much. In fact, the market does not have any standards, indicating that "the annual salary of twenty million needs to do something", not to mention, the Magic team is willing to give, is it required lewis to refuse? Like Lewis himself said, he would only do what was good for the team. "Dwight is the team's first choice, Turkgru is the second, I'm the third point of attack," Lewis said, "and my mission is to stand up at key moments and help the team win." ”
His arrival completely overturned the magic's original tactical system. The simultaneous appearance of two small forwards not only speeds up the attack and defense, but also frees up enough offensive space for Howard, who is not rich in scoring skills. He and Turkglu were on both wings, often leaving defenders at the same time: nervously aiming at the inside and staring at the outside shooters. Unlike other teammates, Lewis is a deadly shooter with a high shooting point and a fast shooting speed, coupled with a height of 2.08 meters, making it difficult for defenders to interfere with his shots. Lewis's dribbling is not good, and it is difficult to see him attacking with the ball, but he is flexible, good at observing the situation on the field, and can often run out of the air and catch the ball and shoot. His clever swim on both wings allowed Howard to gain more space on the inside, while freeing Upglo and Nelson, who were able to shoot and pass more. After Lewis joined, the Magic's three-point shooting number rose from 28th in the league to 2nd, and the three-point shooting rate rose from 13th to 4th. "One star and four stars" was formed.
Many players perform well in the regular season, but once they reach the playoffs, they are judged to be two. But in the 07-08 season, Lewis performed very well, his regular season statistics were 18.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, but the playoffs were upgraded to 19.5 points, 72 rebounds, and the Eastern Conference semifinals relied on Lewis to score 33 points in one game to avoid being swept out by the Pistons. In the 08-09 season, Mr. 20 Million still shined, and as the Second Scorer of the Magic, he was once again selected to the All-Star Team, and once again gorgeously transformed in the playoffs. Especially in the Eastern Conference Finals, Lewis fully proved his worth, supporting Howard with 48% of the three-point shooting rate. In the first game of the series, Lewis scored 22 points and 9 rebounds, and the Magic rose from a 15-point trail at halftime to hit a three-point shot on Vallejo's head in the last 14.7 seconds. With this goal, the Magic stole a victory at the Quickloan Sports Center, giving the previously indispensable Cavaliers a loss in the first playoff game.
In addition to the one-column Howard, clevelanders also failed to defend Lewis and Turkglu, the Cavaliers could not find a corresponding player to defend the 2.08m forward combination, and their misplaced attack and defense caused many problems for the Cavaliers. The Magic eliminated the Cavaliers to reach the Finals, much to the surprise of many connoisseurs.
In the second game of the Finals against the Lakers, Lewis performed eye-catchingly, and the Magic had a chance to win a victory at Staples. Lewis shot 12-of-21 that night, 6-of-12 from three-point range, scored 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, and scored 18 points in the second quarter. Unfortunately, after the Magic missed the last hit in regular time, they lost to the Lakers in overtime. In the third game, he scored 21 points, 5 boards and 5 assists, and the Magic narrowly defeated the Lakers 108-104 to win the first Finals in the history of the team. But the young Magic eventually lost 1-4.
It was the most spectacular season in the magic's history and the last of Lewis's career.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="67" > and eventually won the championship</h1>
In the 2009–10 season, Lewis played just 57 games and averaged just 14.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. The Magic reached the Eastern Conference Finals in two 4-0 attempts before being beaten 4-2 by the Celtics. The following season, the Magic struck a deal with the Wizards, with Lewis and the much-maligned Mr. Arenas swapping owners, but the former still did not find his form, and his average score per game also slipped to 11.4 points.
On July 11, 2012, the Heat announced that they had signed Lewis on a veteran contract. In the 2012-13 season, Lewis played in 55 games for the Heat, averaging 5.2 points per game and shooting 38.9% from three-point range. Lewis only got 12 minutes of playing time in the first five games of the finals, and didn't even get a chance to play in the first and fourth games. In the third game, Lewis scored 5 points, which was all his points in the Finals. On June 20, 2013, the Heat beat the Spurs 95-88 at home to win the NBA championship 4-3, and Lewis also won the first championship ring of his career with the team. Although he is not a leading actor, he has no regrets in his career.
In 14 years, Lewis retired from the NBA, ending a 16-year career.