38: 37.

Outstanding people always cluster together.

38: 37.

Outstanding people always cluster together.

Seeing Zhang Yang stare at little Jason, Tatum asked curiously, “What’s up, Jack?

Is there something wrong with Jason?”

“Uh…”

Zhang Yang glanced at Tatum, then back at little Jason, looking back and forth several times before saying, “Is he really your brother?

You and he, this…”

Although Zhang Yang didn’t finish his sentence, Tatum understood.

It wasn’t just Zhang Yang who questioned this; Tatum was dark as coal, while his brother wasn’t exactly pale but wasn’t very dark either.

Tatum exclaimed angrily, “Can’t half-brothers count?!”

Zhang Yang replied, “Right, you just mentioned that his mom is coming to pick him up on Sunday.”

Tatum, holding his chest and panting, tried to stay calm.

Getting worked up could harm his health and might cost him his starting position.

The guy in front of him had improved too quickly.

He had only taught him fast breaks last week, and by yesterday’s team training, he already had a good handle on it.

After teasing Tatum, Zhang Yang suggested, “Then why don’t you just bring little Jason along?

You want to go too, don’t you, Jason?

James, can we add little Jason?”

Little Jason, with eager eyes on the group, nodded his head at lightning speed.

He didn’t know who the chubby guy was, but Zhang Yang and DeRozan were the talented teammates his brother always complained about.

Harden had no objections; the more kids, the merrier.

Seeing Tatum still hesitant, Zhang Yang said, “You need to take care of your brother, right?

You gotta take him out to eat.

If you join James’s birthday party, you’ll even save on the meal.”

Tatum immediately responded, “I’m in!”

Little Jason: “…”

Undoubtedly his real brother.

After dealing with those two, Zhang Yang didn’t invite anyone else.

Although Harden said the more the merrier, it was enough for him and DeRozan to bring one each.

More would seem presumptuous.

However, he hadn’t expected DeRozan and Tatum to have such a connection.

Zhang Yang remembered that when DeRozan revealed his depression later on, Tatum, who had just finished his rookie season, repeatedly publicly supported DeRozan, saying he would always support his good brother.

When he saw the news, he was quite puzzled – the two were a decade apart in age, one just finished his rookie season, and they didn’t play on the same team.

How could they be good brothers?

So, it turns out, he was the younger brother of the strongest teammate on the high school team…

Currently, Tatum is definitely DeRozan’s strongest teammate on the reserve team.

…

The next morning, Thomas drove Zhang Yang to Harden’s house nearby.

Four players going to the party was something that could promote team friendship, so of course, he supported it.

Zhang Yang initially wanted to take the bus, but Thomas volunteered to drive him there.

Unlike DeRozan, who lived in a cheap apartment, Harden bought a detached house in the suburbs last year.

The location couldn’t compare to Thomas’s home, but it was still decent.

Having known him for so long, Zhang Yang also knew a bit about Harden’s family situation.

Life before he was 8 years old was pretty tough for Harden.

He had two older brothers and was raised solely by his mom.

As far back as he could remember, his dad was in and out of jail for drug abuse, theft, robbery, drug dealing… and other crimes.

Finally, his dad abandoned his wife and three sons and ran off.

It was only after his mom struggled to raise the three children and his oldest brother Rodryia started working as a successful barber at 8 that their lives gradually improved.

When Harden’s second brother Roberson finished college and became the quarterback for a minor league football club in the Bay Area, three out of the four family members were working, and their lives steadily got better.

DeRozan chose to stay at Compton High School for several reasons: he wanted to stay with his parents, the Compton High School men’s basketball team had just won third in California, and the coaching staff was strong.

But another reason was money.

Harden’s preference for the big city was a personal taste, and being able to attend Lynwood High School was because his family could afford it.

Following the address numbers, Zhang Yang found Harden’s home and saw a flamboyant red sports car parked in the yard.

DeRozan, Harden, Tatum, Miller, little Jason, and several unfamiliar fourteen-or fifteen-year-old teenagers were surrounding a man in a suit, looking very excited.

The man was shorter than DeRozan, Tatum, and the others.

Zhang Yang couldn’t see his face clearly, catching only a glimpse of his hairstyle — dreadlocks.

On closer inspection…

wow!

Zhang Yang’s mind instantly conjured up the image.

“Why is Tyronn Lue here?

I didn’t hear Harden say that this NBA player would come to the birthday party!”

With Harden’s personality, if he could invite an NBA player, he would have boasted about it to me already.

Zhang Yang walked into the courtyard and greeted, “James, sorry, I’m late.”

The young lads were all focused on the NBA player and only realized someone had arrived when they heard the voice.

Tatum spoke up first, “Jack, why did you come so late?

We were just waiting for you.”

Zhang Yang guessed the situation and responded, “There was no training scheduled for today; I practiced free throws for two hours this morning, so I left home a bit late.”

Tatum walked over, put his arm around Zhang Yang’s shoulder, and said, “Jack, this is my uncle Tyronn; he came to see his nephew, who was just in town to hang out.

He heard we were going to James’s birthday party, so he gave us a ride.”

Zhang Yang figured as much—the guy had an NBA player in the family and wanted to show off.

He didn’t expect that DeRozan, having just started high school, would already have connections with NBA players, albeit indirectly…

But it seemed normal.

A talented guy like DeRozan could still hang out with high schoolers who were definitely basketball prodigies, so getting to know NBA players through some twists and turns wasn’t so surprising.

Tyronn Lue looked at his smug nephew and felt embarrassed, but since he was already there, he had to save face for his nephew.

He also took the initiative to reach out to Zhang Yang and said, “So you’re Jack, the super-talented kid Carmelo was talking about?

Hi, I’m Tyronn; I think you know who I am.”

Why does it feel like it’s Tatum’s birthday and Tyronn Lue is adding to the ambiance?

However, the host didn’t seem unhappy; on the contrary, he looked excited…

Zhang Yang silently criticized, shook hands with Tyronn Lue, and said, “Mr.

Lue, I’m Jack, nice to meet you…

I’m a big fan of Allen Iverson.”

Shoot, I still couldn’t resist.

But Tatum just rolled his eyes, as he and his family often teased his uncle in the same way.

“I also like Allen Iverson, and this hairstyle was done for him,” Tyronn Lue said with a smile, pointing to his own head and easily defusing the awkwardness.

There’s no point in being upset with a kid.

Having learned from his unlucky nephew that Zhang Yang was the last to arrive, Tyronn Lue finished his face-saving role, told the kids to work hard at playing basketball because the NBA was waiting for them, and left first.

After Tyronn Lue left, all the young ones gathered around Tatum, asking about Tyronn Lue.

This is a living NBA player, though Tyronn Lue is most memorably known for being stepped over by Iverson.

But first, one must make it to the NBA, and even more, get the chance to play on the finals stage.

The kids were also envious of Tyronn Lue’s career, being able to join the NBA and play with the OK duo, spending the past two years with Jordan, and joining the Magic this summer to play alongside the new scoring champion McGrady…

Of course, Zhang Yang wasn’t one of the kids crowding around; he handed over the gift he was carrying in his left hand to Harden: “James, happy birthday.”

Seeing its shape, Harden said, “A baseball bat?

Thank you, Jack.

By the way, you used to play baseball, right?

Next time I come back, the three of us could go play baseball for fun.”

Zhang Yang agreed; he knew from DeRozan that DeRozan and Harden also quite liked playing baseball as kids, although they weren’t very good at it.

But neither was he, Jack, so they might as well plan to play together for fun.

Now that everyone was there, Harden called his friends and his friends’ friends inside.

His mother had prepared a lot of snacks, pastries, and drinks, and Harden brought out his deluxe Ludo game.

They all played together, and the shadow of a future club prince could already be seen.

The party was a great success with everyone enjoying themselves.

Tatum and Miller attended as friends of DeRozan, and with this, DeRozan officially accepted the two as friends.

Harden’s goal for the party was thus achieved.

And then there was little Jason, this 5-year-old kid who admired ‘Southern California’s number one junior high student’ DeRozan very much.

It just so happened that his favorite NBA star was also Kobe.

Despite the nine-year age gap, the two had quite a good chat…

Asking for monthly votes, asking for recommendation tickets!