NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 391 Reclaiming the Ticket King

On January 13, the NBA officially announced the second phase of voting results for the 2017 New Orleans All-Star Game. Jia Fei continued to lead all players in the voting results, followed closely by his former teammate Du Xiaoshuai in the West, while Running Man continued to dominate the East.

On April 15th, the Clippers will host the Lakers.

Just like the previous game, it was still at Staples Center, only the floor color changed, and it became the Clippers' home arena.

However, the result was the same as the previous game: the Clippers defeated the Lakers by a large margin, achieving a six-game winning streak.

Two days later, in the same place, the Clippers hosted the Thunder.

贾飞全场贡献50+12+7+4+1，快船主场大胜雷霆，迎来7连胜。

In the latest regular season MVP rankings, Jia Fei surpassed his former teammates Westbrook and Harden to take the top spot.

Westbrook's stats this season have been phenomenal, currently averaging close to a 30+ triple-double, and his ability to lead the team single-handedly has created a compelling narrative. The only downside is that the Thunder's record has dragged him down a bit.

Harden's stats and record are both good, but the arrival of 58 has taken away some of his stats and attention, and his story is not as compelling as Jia Fei's or Westbrook's.

Jia Fei's comeback was indeed surprising. In just one season, many people had already forgotten that this man had won the regular season MVP at the age of 23. Clearly, the 2015-16 season belonged to the "Little Boys" and "Running Man," who stole the spotlight and made many people forget Jia Fei's glory in the 2014-15 season.

On January 20, the NBA officially announced the starting lineups for the 2017 All-Star Game in both the Eastern and Western Conferences, which also means that the final voting results for this year's All-Star Game have been officially released.

Jia Fei ranked first among all players in fan votes, player votes, and media votes, winning the All-Star vote king again after a season's absence!

The All-Star starting lineup has also been announced!

On the Eastern Conference side, the three frontcourt players are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jimmy Butler, while the two backcourt players are Kyrie Irving and DeMar DeRozan.

In the West, the three forwards are Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard, while the two guards are Jia Fei and his brother.

Because Jia Fei plays shooting guard this season, his voting position is guard, which means that his presence prevents both Harden and Westbrook from starting. The Western Conference guard pool is simply suffocating. Jia Fei, Westbrook, Westbrook, and Harden – only two out of four can start; it's utterly unfair. If Westbrook and Harden were in the Eastern Conference, at least one of them would be a starter, but unfortunately, they're in the West.

Jia Fei's move to the West ultimately took away some people's share of the pie. When he played the small forward position, even the expressionless guy was out of the starting lineup. When he played the shooting guard position, Harden and Westbrook were out of the starting lineup.

Those who said Jia Fei didn't dare to go to the West to prove himself didn't dare to utter a sound. He came, he came to the West, and he's still the top vote-getter and leading in MVP voting. Isn't that enough?

On the evening of the 20th, the Clippers defeated the Timberwolves at home, achieving their longest winning streak of the season at eight games.

After an eight-game winning streak, the Clippers currently have a record of 35 wins and 9 losses, continuing to rank second in the Western Conference.

Jia Fei has indeed been riding high lately. He just won the vote, became a Western Conference All-Star starter, ranked first in the MVP race, and his team's record is also so good.

It's worth noting that although the Warriors are ranked first in the league, the addition of Kevin Durant has deprived both Durant and his brother of the opportunity to compete for the regular season MVP.

Jia Fei wouldn't defend them. It was their own choice, so who's to blame? Besides, even in terms of individual statistics, they are far inferior to any of the three players currently on the regular season MVP list.

On January 22, the Clippers narrowly lost to the Nuggets on the road, ending their nine-game winning streak.

On January 23, Jia Fei and his teammates arrived in Atlanta on a chartered plane. They would play the Hawks away the following evening.

Atlanta is naturally a familiar place for Jia Fei, where he played for three seasons. There, he rose from a role player to an All-Star, and later an MVP. It was here that he won his championship ring.

“Jay, we’re back again!” Art Mayork said with some emotion.

"Yes, we're back, but we're just passing through!" Jia Fei smiled slightly.

The Hawks currently have a decent record, ranking 7th in the Eastern Conference and have a chance to make the playoffs. Relatively speaking, the competition for playoff spots in the East is not as fierce this season, and with the Hawks' stable system, their chances of making the playoffs are still quite high.

However, it's unlikely they'll make a significant impact in the playoffs. The team's strength has clearly declined since the departures of Jia Fei and Horford.

On the evening of January 24, at Philips Arena, the home stadium of the Hawks.

Jia Fei and Art Mayork went to the stadium early to practice, a habit they maintained even when playing away games.

That evening in the visiting team's locker room, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers began his pre-game preparations.

Jia Fei felt a little uncomfortable preparing in the away team's locker room of this stadium, but he knew that this discomfort was only temporary and that he would never return to this team.

During pre-game practice, Jia Fei and Art Mayork went over to shake hands and hug the Hawks' coaches and players.

"Jia, you're back!" Hawks head coach Budenholzer hugged Jia Fei tightly, as if he had seen a long-lost relative.

"Yes, Coach, I'm back!" Jia Fei was also very emotional when he saw Coach Buden. Compared to Lao Li, who was good at making chicken soup, Coach Buden was simply a white moonlight! But there was nothing he could do, his head coach was Lao Li now.

The Hawks made a special tribute video for Jia Fei, which was played before the game. Seeing the video, Jia Fei's eyes welled up with tears. People have feelings; although he had left, it didn't mean he needed to forget everything that happened there.

The fans at the scene gave Jia Fei a warm round of applause, and Jia Fei waved back.

Many fans at the Philips Arena tonight were wearing Jia Fei's No. 3 jersey. Everyone misses this man, and he is right here in the arena.

This match was broadcast live across the United States, and Tencent also streamed it live. The commentators were Wang Zixing and Su Qun.

Wang Zixing exclaimed, "Teacher Su, I'm almost moved to tears. Jia Fei must be very touched too!"

Su Qun adjusted his glasses and nodded: "Jia Fei is a man of strong emotions. He must also recall his time with the Eagles."

A flood of memories washed over Jia Fei; he knew this stadium even better than he did at Staples Center. But this familiarity was now tinged with a sense of unfamiliarity. Yes, he was now a player for the away team.

Many Hawks fans still love Jia Fei and are unhappy about his departure, while also criticizing the management's incompetence. In fact, Jia Fei didn't want to leave from the beginning; he gave the Hawks many opportunities to re-sign him, but the team hesitated on various issues, ultimately allowing the Clippers to benefit.