NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 286 Do you want to get MVP?

The following day, Jia Fei participated in the open training session before the All-Star Game.

The training was very simple and almost non-existent; it was purely for the purpose of a media appearance.

The Hawks' five players were the highlight of the All-Star Game. Five All-Star players from the same team—that's amazing!

On December 3rd of last year, the NBA and its jersey sponsors officially unveiled the 2015 All-Star Game jerseys. Compared to previous All-Star Game jerseys, this season's jerseys feature a simpler design with white and black as the main colors, intended as a tribute to the host city (New York).

The most notable change to this season's All-Star jerseys is the removal of the obvious element that distinguishes the East and West divisions – color.

The NBA officially stated that Eastern Conference players will wear white jerseys, while Western Conference players will wear black jerseys. In addition, accessories such as jersey numbers, arm sleeves, wristbands, and headbands will be blue for the East and red for the West.

Jia Fei looks good in any color jersey. He has the face of an idol star and a tall figure, making him a perfect "walking clothes hanger." He is not only a darling of sports brands, but many fashion brands have also been paying attention to him and want to sign him as their spokesperson.

Nike launched an All-Star edition of Jia Fei's signature shoe, the "Jia Fei 1". Since its release, the Jia Fei 1 has seen a surge in sales, thanks to Jia Fei's outstanding performance this season and his team's league-leading record. It is currently ranked among the top 5 best-selling signature shoes, making Nike a fortune.

At practice, Running Man became the most active member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. He seemed to be able to joke and chat happily with anyone; he truly is a natural social butterfly, with brothers all over the league. However, who his real brothers are, only he himself probably knows.

"Jia, I really like your crossover. It reminds me of AI. Oh, by the way, AI is also my idol!" The Running Man member chatted with Jia Fei with a smile.

Jia Fei thought to himself, "You have a good eye, you even noticed that, but whether you're a fan of AI is debatable. Idolizing AI shouldn't involve constantly making silly mistakes! And what's with all this complaining and shrugging at the referee? AI isn't the kind of crybaby who's always looking for the referee!"

"Really? I also really like your passing (passing the buck)!" Jia Fei smiled as well.

"Are you interested in the MVP award?" the Running Man member asked mysteriously.

"Uh... this..." Jia Fei was a little speechless. He hadn't expected the other person to suddenly bring this up. What, you want to help me get MVP?

The Running Man cast is still waiting for Jia Fei's reply; his smile is rather creepy.

"I'm not very interested, thank you for your kind offer!" Jia Fei shrugged and politely declined. He really wasn't that interested in the All-Star MVP award. Winning something was fine, it was better than nothing, but if it meant owing Running Man a favor, he'd rather not. He never liked owing people anything, especially favors. If Running Man invited him to team up with them in the future, it would be hard to refuse.

A hint of surprise flashed in the Running Man's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and gave his signature smile: "It's okay, you're still so young, you'll have plenty of opportunities in the future!"

Jia Fei smiled and nodded. He couldn't help but admire how eloquent the Running Man cast members were; they were practically the pinnacle of conversational skills among NBA players.

In this respect, Du Xiaoshuai, who only talks about wanting to drink other people's bathwater, could never catch up to someone who attends a certain crazy interest-giving training camp in his entire life.

Carmelo Anthony has a baby face that completely belies his age, even though he's actually in his thirties. He's rumored to have connections to organized crime; it was said that when the Running Man cast was about to be targeted, they asked him to step in and resolve the situation.

New York is his territory, and as the host, he seemed to be in a good mood.

The eldest sister was selected as an All-Star starter, and she's even older than Carmelo Anthony. Previously, many believed that his departure from the Lakers would lead to a significant decline, not only because of his age, but also because he wouldn't get as many open looks after leaving Timberwolves.

But the facts tell us that his great performance with the Lakers wasn't due to his skill as a blacksmith; he was inherently very strong.

Many people have always looked down on the "big sister" (a nickname for a player), thinking she's a softie, but that's just her style. White centers in the NBA have always been criticized as soft, but more and more teams are starting white centers. On the contrary, those black, muscular players are finding it increasingly difficult to find job opportunities.

While he might not be considered a top-tier superstar in the NBA, he's a top-tier center in FIBA. He could be considered the best center in Europe!

After the open practice, the All-Stars gave interviews to the media.

Jia Fei was surrounded by cameras and microphones. As the top vote-getter in this year's All-Star Game, the star player of the team with the best record in the league, and the only Asian player in this year's All-Star Game, his popularity speaks for itself.

New York City is the largest metropolis in the United States and has a large Chinese population. Chinese restaurants and Chinatowns are ubiquitous here. If you shout something in Chinatown, you might just get a few fellow countrymen to turn around and look at you.

Following the interview, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hosted a press conference.

Compared to his predecessor David Stern, Adam Silver seems somewhat cunning in both appearance and demeanor. Jia Fei doesn't like this man, yet Silver publicly expressed his approval, saying that Jia Fei, as an Asian, will help the NBA achieve better and deeper promotion in Asia, and so on.

Jia Fei knows he's already the All-Star vote leader, but he hasn't received the kind of preferential treatment he received with the Cavaliers (like Running Man) or Harden (like with the Rockets). It's about the actual situation, not just what others call "favored son" calls.

Anyone can brag. He claims he's surpassed Jordan, but does anyone believe him? He claims he can have sex seven times in one night, but does anyone believe him? He claims he's 30 centimeters tall, but does anyone believe him?

After Adam Silver finished spouting his nonsense, the All-Star individual competitions began.

First comes the Shooting Stars Contest, then the Skills Challenge, followed by the Three-Point Contest, and finally the Slam Dunk Contest.

Jia Fei did not participate in the individual events, but his teammate Korver participated in the three-point shooting contest.

Jia Fei is most concerned about the dunk contest, after all, he has participated in it before and even won the championship.

The players participating in this year's All-Star Slam Dunk Contest are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Plumlee, Oladipo, and LaVine.

Jia Fei was also puzzled. "Giannis and Plumlee, why are you two big men participating?" Of course, there have been championships won by big men before, like Howard and Blake Griffin. But both of them are 7 feet tall, and even if they're good at dunking, their style is inherently less aesthetically pleasing.