NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 510 Decision to Accept Naturalization

Jia Fei's apprenticeship under Kobe Bryant did not negatively impact his reputation. On the contrary, many praised his ambition, noting that despite already being one of the league's top players, he continued to work hard to improve.

On the other hand, the young man from the Philadelphia 76ers, known as the "left-handed magician," has a poor shooting ability and doesn't seem to be working hard to improve. He seems to be wasting his talent by doing nothing all day long.

On August 21, Jia Fei held a mini training camp in Los Angeles. Among the participants were his Clippers teammates Art Mayok, Paul George, Beverley, Harrell, White, Bridges, and Brunson, his close friends Reggie Jackson, Kemba Walker, and Lamb, and his former teammates Horford, Westbrook, and Korver.

Jia Fei holds training camps almost every year, and he has a strong appeal; once he sends out an invitation, there are usually many people who respond.

Training camp days are always so fulfilling and joyful. For basketball enthusiasts, training isn't actually that boring.

Time flies, and it's already the end of August. The new season is getting closer and closer.

During this period, Jia Fei did not respond to the General Administration of Sport of China's decision. He was hesitant. Just as he had thought before, he was not opposed to playing for the Chinese men's basketball team; more accurately, he was willing. However, he did not want to get involved in this mess, fearing that his reputation would be ruined and he would not be able to help the team, which would truly disappoint many people.

Jia Fei discussed this matter with a few close friends, but their opinions couldn't give him the answer he wanted.

Kemba Walker's point is that giving up his American citizenship is somewhat pointless, and playing for the Chinese men's basketball team doesn't seem to significantly increase Jia Fei's already high commercial value.

Lamb meant that the Chinese men's basketball team was not strong, and the news said that the situation there was somewhat complicated. It would not be worthwhile to spend a lot of energy and waste his rest time going there.

Art Mayork unconditionally supported Jia Fei, but he did not express any specific opinion.

Jia Fei wanted to find someone to discuss this with, but after searching around, he couldn't find a suitable person. Feeling somewhat lost, he suddenly thought of Lin Ning.

Lin Ning is a football fan, a Chinese, and an observer. As a representative of his fans, what insightful opinions does she have?

Curiosity drove Jia Fei to contact Lin Ning.

Lin Ning was somewhat surprised that Jia Fei would take the initiative to contact her and even ask her about such a serious and important matter.

"Well, from my perspective, as a Chinese person and a fan of yours, of course I hope you can represent the Chinese men's basketball team and win glory for the country," Lin Ning said, expressing his opinion.

"Do all my Chinese fans think this way?" Jia Fei asked.

“Yes, that’s pretty much the consensus. From what I understand, because of your American citizenship, many of your fans in China don’t want to idolize you, because in their eyes, you’re not a pure Chinese!” Lin Ning said.

Jia Fei agreed with this. Just like in his previous life, Jeremy Lin, as the first Asian to start in the NBA and creating the "Linsanity" phenomenon, played an entire season as the starting point guard for the Rockets, yet he wasn't idolized by many in China, and the government didn't promote him much. Ultimately, it's because he's of Chinese descent. On the other hand, Suning and Yi Jianlian had limited opportunities in the NBA and struggled, yet they still had a large following in China, even if it was just reading articles and boasting from a few Weibo editors.

Jia Fei dislikes being called a "banana" (a person who is Westernized by foreign cultures), but ignoring many of the complexities within China does indeed lead to a carefree life, making this a difficult choice.

"Jia Fei, please allow me to call you that. As your fans, we all look forward to the day you wear the Chinese men's basketball jersey. Although this day has happened many times in my dreams, I always know it's impossible after I wake up. Now that it's possible, I really hope it's true!" Lin Ning's words were natural, yet sincere.

Jia Fei fell silent. After a brief silence, he smiled and said to Lin Ning, "Thank you, Lin Ning. Thank you for telling me your true feelings. I've made up my mind."

"Huh? You've made up your mind? What exactly do you think?" Lin Ning was also surprised, not expecting her words to make Jia Fei make a decision. She was very nervous, wondering if she had done something wrong, and she regretted what she had just said.

"I've decided to become a true Chinese!" Jia Fei said seriously and earnestly.

"Ah—" Lin Ning was so happy she felt like she could fly away. She never expected that her words would make her dream come true!

"So, thank you for your words!" Jia Fei said with a smile.

After making his decision, Jia Fei immediately told Art Mayork about it.

Art Mayork had been waiting for Jia Fei's decision. When Jia Fei decided to accept naturalization in China, he also decided to follow suit.

Jia Fei told several of his close friends and his agent about his decision.

Jia Fei's agent, Jeff Schwartz, does not object to Jia Fei accepting naturalization. Naturalization is not a big deal in this world, nor is it rare. There are many precedents in the world of basketball.

However, Jia Fei's influence as the top player in the league makes this matter even more sensational, but the matter itself is not the reason for the sensation.

Moreover, from a purely commercial perspective, Jia Fei's naturalization will not change anything else. His commercial value will not be affected. The United States is very open in this regard and accepts multiple nationalities. In addition, Jia Fei has never represented them in international competitions. They have too many basketball talents. Even if Jia Fei does not represent them, they can still win championships.

As for Jia Fei's endorsements, they won't be terminated because of his naturalization. On the contrary, many companies in China might even have plans to cooperate with him because of this.

"Oh my god, Ja, you're really amazing. You actually chose to give up your American citizenship and join China. Are you really a 'descendant of the dragon'?" Kemba Walker was clearly surprised.

What surprised Kemba Walker and his group even more was that Art Mayok also wanted to undergo naturalization along with Jia Fei. Jia Fei and his group could understand that Art was of Chinese descent and his ancestors were Chinese, but Art was African. Was he also going to undergo naturalization simply because he wanted to be with Jia Fei?

Indeed, Art Mayork simply wanted to be with Jia Fei—such a pure and simple thought. To follow Jia Fei, he gave up the glitz and glamour of capitalism and chose the idyllic life of socialism; perhaps this was the most correct choice.

Of course, Art Mayork didn't think that far ahead; he simply wanted to follow Jia Fei.