Two: Players at the Bottom of the Food Chain

"The discharge procedures have been completed, and the doctor said that you have no problem at all. Let's go, we have a game the day after tomorrow."

In the afternoon, when Link had accepted the fact that he had changed from an ordinary diaosi graduate to a professional player, a tall and strong-looking black man walked into Link's ward.

The tone of the listener seemed to be very familiar with Link. Link thought about it carefully through his memories, and also figured out the relationship between this guy and himself.

Zeke Upshaw, a professional player as obscure as Link, an ordinary senior player in the NBA Development League. It was also undrafted at the beginning, and has played in the G League for three years, but still has not been favored by any NBA team.

But like most people, Upshaw still hasn't given up on his dream and is still full of yearning for the NBA. So, still stay in such a big dye vat as the G-League.

And in the Oklahoma Blues, Upshaw and Link are also good friends. As a yellow-skinned person, when Link first joined the team, he was somewhat excluded by everyone. But only Upshaw was extremely friendly and enthusiastic to Link.

When I heard that Link had not found a house to rent in Oklahoma, Upshaw invited Link to his house for a few nights. Today, Upshaw also often invites Link to dinner at his house.

Upshaw was a real good guy, if Link was to judge. This may be related to his years of experience as a bottom professional player.

As a player at the bottom of the food chain in professional basketball, Upshaw knows the hardships of every G League player. Therefore, he can be considered sympathetic to Link.

"What's the matter, buddy? Did you fall stupid? So I said, it's not a good thing to work too hard during confrontation training. Don't worry, the team has already paid for your medical bills, you don't have to worry about the cost of calling an ambulance yesterday. ." Upshaw smiled and patted Link's shoulder.

In the United States, emergency medical care is very expensive. It costs thousands of dollars to take an ambulance. After being sent to the emergency room by ambulance, the examination fee in the emergency room is more than three times that of the conventional department. Looking at an emergency, tens of thousands of dollars are definitely inevitable.

Link also remembered a joke he heard in a previous life, saying that an American college student fainted suddenly on the road. And the last words he said to the crowd before he completely lost consciousness were: "Don't call an ambulance!"

But now what Link was thinking about was the ambulance, he was trying to adjust to the good friend he suddenly got.

"Thank you for picking me up, Zeke." Link didn't know what to say, so he could only say thank you to this teammate who worked hard to chase his dream.

"Do we need to talk about this? Let's go. I went to my house for dinner this afternoon. My mother bought some good chicken thighs. You will have a good time tonight."

Upshaw said, and walked out of the ward with his arms around Link's shoulders. He was still not used to Upshaw's enthusiasm, but having one more friend is not a bad thing.

※※※

Walking on the streets of Oklahoma, Link is full of curiosity about everything around him.

Although Oklahoma is not a big city, when he was a fan in his previous life, Link also jokingly called Oklahoma "Ok Village" like everyone else.

But as a person "going abroad" for the first time, everything in Oklahoma is enough to make Link's eyes dazzled.

"I said, why are you so weird today?" Upshaw noticed Link's strangeness and asked with a frown, "You obviously fainted during training yesterday, but after all the inspections, nothing happened to you. No. It shouldn't be, the inspection was wrong."

Upshaw said, rubbing the back of Link's head with his hand.

"I'm fine, Zeke. It just feels like I've slept for a long time." Link, who was silent all the way, quickly took Upshaw's hand away.

If he doesn't say anything again, I'm afraid he will be exposed.

If it is discovered that his soul does not actually belong to this body, it is estimated that the Pentagon will send someone to drag Link to slice it.

The two chatted without a word all the way, and finally walked into a dilapidated-looking block. This is Upshaw's home, and where he grew up, in an unremarkable dark corner of Oklahoma City - Calvin District.

When he was in China before, the American cities in Link's impression were all bustling metropolises. But to be honest, the situation in Calvin District is not comparable to China at all.

The roads in Calvin are old and full of potholes. In the alley, countless homeless people gathered together, staring at the passing pedestrians with desperate eyes. A few guys in loose-fitting clothes are mysteriously trading something on the street, and wherever there is a wall, it's always filled with graffiti.

Although this is the first time to come to the United States, as a person living in the era of information explosion, Link has never eaten pork and seen pigs running.

No doubt he was in a poor black neighborhood at this time. If it wasn't for Upshaw by his side, Link didn't even know if he could still walk safely on the road now.

On the border of Calvin District, a small-looking two-story building was Zeke Upshaw's home. Next to the house is a half-court basketball court surrounded by barbed wire. According to Upshaw himself, that's where his basketball originated.

"Mom, I'm back! And Link, thank goodness his head is unscathed." Upshaw yelled from outside the house before he even got in.

Soon, a short, plump black woman opened the door, wearing an apron and a kind smile on her face.

"I just said, God bless Link. Come here boy, let me see. God, I was half scared when Zeke told me yesterday that you passed out."

Upshaw's mother looked at the back of Link's head with concern, then hugged him. Although this made Link a little embarrassed and overwhelmed. But he was unfamiliar with life, but he felt a touch of warmth in his heart.

Yes, Link in his previous life lacked the love of his parents since he was a child. It has been a long time since he had experienced the feeling of home...

After entering the door, Link looked around. From the old broken sofa and messy living room, he could see that Upshaw's family was not rich.

Upshaw's father was in prison because of flour, and it was his mother, the kind lady just now, who pulled Upshaw and his sister together.

Although Upshaw is now a professional player, there is no doubt that an NBDL-level player cannot bring much change to the family's economic conditions.

Unlike NBA stars who have a minimum annual salary of several hundred thousand dollars, the total salary cap of G League teams is only $200,000. Compared with the NBA, it is simply a drop in the bucket.

Upshaw, a "veteran" with three years of G League experience, is earning $19,500 this year. That's right, not 1.95 million, nor 195,000, but 19,500! one year!

For comparison, the average annual salary in the United States is $40,000! Therefore, although they are called professional players, Upshaw and Link's income can only be regarded as the middle and lower classes in the United States.

"Link, tomorrow's training, you should be fine, right?" Zeke and Link chatted on the sofa while Mrs. Upshaw was busy in the kitchen.

"Uh...to be honest, there is a problem." Link smiled awkwardly, although playing in the NBDL was less than $20,000 a year. But now the situation is that Link is likely to be unable to even eat this bowl of rice with an annual salary of 20,000 US dollars.

It's true that Link was a basketball lover in his previous life, but his basketball level was a real car accident scene. Back then in college, he couldn't even get into the college team. So now a poor self appears in the body of a professional player, can he play professional basketball? Link was very skeptical.

"What's wrong?"

"I... I just came out of the hospital, and I don't know if I can keep myself in shape. Otherwise, after dinner, will you accompany me to the stadium next to me to warm up?"

Link actually wanted to see before tomorrow's practice if he could still play basketball. If not, it's better to be a gardener with the father of this world as soon as possible... After all, as an older rookie who has played in college for four years, Link is already 22 years old this year. He can't waste his great youth in the G League.

It was a rare opportunity to start over, and Link certainly didn't want to live a poor life again. Dreams are good, but people always want to have a good meal. It's not a problem to spend so much on basketball dreams every day.

"Okay, I'll accompany you to exercise after dinner. But in my opinion, you should be fine." Upshaw readily agreed to Link's suggestion.

"Hehehe..." Link had no choice but to cover up his nervousness with a hypocritical, slightly embarrassed laugh.

Play basketball with a professional player? Guess it's going to roll over.

※※※

In the new book period, I will open a separate paragraph for everyone to talk about. Ask for recommendation, ask for recommendation, ask for recommendation, this is the priority, how important these data are in the new book period does not need to be repeated. You guys don't have to vote for me in the future, but in the new book period, please leave your votes to me.

Because of these data, I have the opportunity to make a big recommendation. The recommendation is good, and the results will naturally rise. After the grades are up, I will definitely be able to write happier personally. I'm not going to say that I write for the purpose of dreaming. Writing is of course my hobby and dream, but like Link, people always want to eat right.

Then talk about the update, the new book period can only guarantee two updates, because the number of words required for the sports category to be listed is very small. If the number of words updated every day is too many, the book will be on the shelves within a few days of opening. And once it hits the shelves, I'll forever miss out on a lot of referrals.

Many readers have said that it's like a new book by a certain god. But people always have a reader base there, and they can have a lot of collections even if they are not recommended. And I am different, I have to accumulate bit by bit in the new book period. Therefore, I have to extend the period of the new book as much as possible, and I can only update it twice a day. I hope you understand. The two shift times are 12:30 and 17:30 every day, and generally will not change unless there is an accident.

But the recommendation votes will not make everyone vote in vain. It is tentatively scheduled to start with 5 updates on the day of the launch (tentatively, there may be more), and a chapter will be added for every 5,000 recommendation votes, and there is no ceiling. If you want to watch my update on the day it goes on the shelves, then kill me with a ticket. Even if I stay up late, I will give you livers. My old friends of the update all know, I dare not say much, but there is definitely a lot. After it's on the shelves, it's enough.

I can think of so much for the time being, and I will tell you what I think of later. Thank you for your patience to read, thank you for your support.

Finally, ask for recommendation, ask for recommendation!