NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 139 Buying a New Car

Sharapova withdrew from the Western Bank Classic at Stanford University due to injury that prevented her from continuing the match.

On July 31, Jia Fei received a phone call inviting him to participate in a basketball training camp.

"Who invited you?" Kemba Walker asked curiously.

“It’s LeBron!” Jia Fei said calmly.

"LeBron, he actually invited you to his training camp!" Kemba Walker was very surprised. He couldn't believe that LeBron James, the current best player in the league, would invite Jia Fei. What a big deal! Every player he takes a liking to is exceptionally talented.

"You've agreed, haven't you!" Kemba Walker couldn't imagine that Jia Fei would refuse.

"I didn't agree!" Jia Fei said seriously. "I refused!"

"Huh?" Kemba Walker could hardly believe his ears; he had actually turned down James's invitation.

"Yes, I refused!" Jia Fei remained calm.

"What's the reason? I'd love to know the reason!" Kemba Walker couldn't think of a reason for Jia Fei's refusal.

"I said I had something to do and couldn't go, so I declined!" Jia Fei shrugged, appearing quite relaxed. He genuinely didn't want to attend James' training camp. What would he learn there? The Eight Steps of the Heavenly Dragon? How to form a team?

Since Jia Fei had already refused, Kemba Walker couldn't say anything more.

February has arrived...

With Sharapova back in her home country recovering from her injury, Jia Fei can naturally focus more on training.

Time flies, and it's already October.

In mid-September, Jia Fei traveled to Atlanta, the city where the Hawks are based, with Art Mayork.

Jia Fei didn't have a deep impression of Atlanta; his strongest impression was that the city seemed to have hosted the Olympics.

Atlanta is located in the eastern United States, situated on the Appalachian Plateau at an elevation of 350 meters. It is one of the three largest highland cities in the United States, the largest industrial and commercial city, the 9th largest metropolitan area, the capital of Georgia, and the seat of the Fulton County government.

It is both a historic city and a burgeoning industrial and commercial hub, as well as a cultural and healthcare center. Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola are headquartered here.

Before Jia Fei and Art Mayork arrived, Kemba Walker joked, "You two can drink all the Coke you want there!"

But when Jia Fei and his group arrived, they found that the price of Coke here was about the same as in New York, not much cheaper. And this stuff isn't expensive; most ordinary people can afford it. Surely an NBA professional player with a multi-million dollar contract couldn't afford it? Of course, that's all a joke!

Agent Jeff Schwartz has already rented apartments for Jia Fei and Art Mayork. Both apartments are in the same complex, small one-bedroom units.

The house is small and the rent is cheap, only $1200 a month.

Jia Fei's requirements were simple: to be as close as possible to the Hawks' training facility and game arena; that was all. Art Mayork's requirements were even simpler: to be as close as possible to Jia Fei; that was all he asked for.

Jia Fei's best buddies have changed from Reggie Jackson and Lamb during his time with the Thunder to his former teammate Art Mayok.

Art Mayork, who regularly surfs the internet and reads the news, sensed that the Hawks signed him largely because of Jia Fei's connections. He didn't feel disrespected; he was self-aware enough to know how difficult it was to survive in the NBA. Why not use connections? What's the value of face? The dollars in the contract are what truly matter!

Moreover, this contract wasn't given to him by Jia Fei, but by the Hawks. When the Hawks gave him this contract, Jia Fei hadn't even signed with the Hawks yet!

Jia Fei's rented apartment and Art Mayok's rented apartment were located on the same floor, one above the other. Jia Fei's apartment was 301, and Art Mayok's apartment was 401.

“Art, I think we need a car. It’s quite a distance to the supermarket from here. We can’t always take the subway when we go out to buy things, can we?” Jia Fei said.

Art Mayork said, "That makes sense. What kind of car do you want to buy?"

"Um..." Jia Fei really hadn't decided what car to buy. In the US, the most common vehicles on the road are pickup trucks and Japanese SUVs. He rarely saw Volkswagen cars here. You know, in China, Volkswagen is a national brand, and a VW badge alone is worth 5 yuan.

"Let's go take a look. Let's buy a new car. We've already signed a big deal. We're not buying a house, but we can't afford to buy a used car!" Jia Fei laughed.

Art Mayork said, "Yes, I'm thinking about what kind of car I should buy!"

Jia Fei said, "How about I buy one first and we drive it together? We can talk about buying a car later if you want to."

Art Mayork nodded, deeply moved. Jia Fei was saying this out of consideration for him; his contract was small and his salary low, so Jia Fei and Kemba Walker had always treated him to meals, and they usually paid the bill when they went out.

These two were truly good friends, and they never looked down on him, so he didn't feel like he was being given charity.

The two took a taxi to a dealership, where Jia Fei bought a Toyota Highlander for US dollars. He didn't buy a Land Rover or BMW mainly because he was worried about the hassle of repairs. Repairs in the US are very expensive, but that wasn't the main issue; he had the money to afford them. The main problem was that both BMWs and Land Rovers had particularly high failure rates. You buy a car as a commuting tool, not as a father figure to worship at home.

Jia Fei also felt that people in the US were very rational when buying cars. They didn't want refrigerators, color TVs, or large sofas; they didn't even want large sunroofs. Even the base models had fabric seats. Cars here were just tools, not symbols of status. No one here considered buying a Ford or Chevrolet an act of patriotism. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, and Kia were everywhere. Buick, which was wildly popular in China, didn't sell as well here; you couldn't even find a GL8…

After buying the car, Jia Fei and Art Mayor drove to the supermarket for a shopping spree, buying a lot of delicious food before heading home.

Jia Fei felt that having a car was really convenient, while not having one in the US was incredibly inconvenient. There were far fewer buses and taxis here than in China, and sometimes you had to wait a long time to get around.

Jia Fei and Art Mayork have officially settled down in Atlanta, and they are full of expectations for the new season.

Time flies, and it's September 29th, the annual NBA Media Day.

As a major signing for the Hawks this season, Jia Fei will naturally attend the media open day event.

This isn't Jia Fei's first time attending Media Day. This is his third season in the NBA, and he participated in Media Day twice during his two seasons with the Thunder, so he's quite familiar with the process.