The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 320 - 57 Incitement

Melvin Turpin was not fat as a child; on the contrary, before high school, he was nicknamed "Stick" and "Beanpole".

Because he was tall and thin, he was often ridiculed and bullied by boys his age, and instead of fighting back, he preferred to be alone.

Before entering high school, a youth leader with the same name, Melvin Cunningham, persuaded him to play basketball, and Turpin’s life changed as he found himself on the basketball court.

In his junior year, he had become an inside player averaging 24 points and 15 rebounds, and before heading to the University of Kentucky, he spent one year at a preparatory school in a military academy in Virginia.

There, he not only played basketball but also drummed for a band, participated in various activities, including some military training, all with the aim of looking like a normal person.

He shared the common plight of being a tall giant—front not wanting to be seen as a freak, a stilt walker, or some strange cave-dwelling creature, he just wanted to be treated like a normal person.

Both on and off the court, Turpin was a gentle person, he loved to laugh, enjoyed food, had a lively personality, and harbored no hostility toward most people, even his competitors on the court.

On the court, he worked hard to win, shooting balls into the basket, grabbing rebounds, and doing what the coach asked, without thinking too much about the true meaning of basketball to him.

At Kentucky, he was very happy and had few worries, the only trouble being hunger, then the coach wouldn’t let him eat, and he had to outwit the coach just for a bite of a hamburger.

But when he joined a professional team and became a member of the Clippers, everything changed, and it was nothing like he had imagined.

At first, everything seemed glamorous and wonderful, being drafted high, shaking hands with Stern, coming to the City of Angels, and receiving high expectations.

The team included stars like Bill Walton, Marques Johnson, and Nixon, whom he had only seen on the news and television in the past.

Walton was an incredible center for UCLA and the Portland Trail Blazers, Nixon was once a star guard for the Lakers, and Johnson was similarly renowned, having achieved success both in college basketball and the NBA.

Turpin felt that alongside them, they could form a strong team, play well, win games, and shine in Los Angeles.

But soon he realized he was terribly mistaken; the Clippers was a thoroughly terrible team, from the owner to management to staff, few truly loved basketball.

The team lacked any basketball culture, and the coach and owner were indifferent to the players’ conditions, only wanting them to play normally, while the owner was just interested in making money.

The practice facilities were a mess, housed inexplicably in a military base, without locker rooms, and having to train early in the morning to save money. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Flight routes were altered to use discount coupons, to save money; the hotels they stayed in were always average or even the worst, hot water was not guaranteed, again to save money.

What was worst wasn’t this, in college the conditions weren’t great either, but everyone enjoyed playing basketball together.

The worst was that they didn’t seem like a team, everyone just clocked in for work, the Clippers was like a company where people put in their hours at their stations and left when the time came.

Beyond work, no one cared about basketball, or the team’s wins and losses, and naturally, no one cared about the growth of a rookie or about his weight.

Don Chaney was a good coach, Walton, Nixon, and Johnson were good players, but in the overall poor environment, any individual effort was useless, because there was no positive feedback, the results of the effort could not accumulate.

Turpin played through a lackluster rookie season, the glitzy world of Los Angeles was wonderful, with no one to restrain him, coming late to practice, leaving early, the coach would say a few words, but not scold him like the college coaches did.

He had a lot of money and could indulge in hamburgers, donuts, and all his favorite foods as he liked; he had a penchant for high-calorie foods.

Because as a child he didn’t want to be called "Stick" or "Beanpole" again, he ate voraciously, wanting to put on weight, and thus became nicknamed "Dinner Bell Melvin".

During the offseason when he returned to Kentucky, his college coach, Joe Hall, was shocked by his weight and warned him that if he didn’t lose weight, his rookie contract with the Clippers would be his last in the NBA.

Turpin tried to control his weight, but once back in Los Angeles without Hall’s supervision, his weight quickly rebounded.

Moreover, he felt that his increased weight made him stronger in the clashes, which might be a good thing for fighting in the NBA.

The rough, barbaric culture of the NBA courts was also something Turpin could not adapt to; he could not understand why playing required hurting the opponent in such a manner.

Especially seeing Ah Gan body-slam Lan Bi’er and the "Train" Gilmore, he was deeply shocked, incomprehensible, yet faintly envious.

He thought of those boys who once mocked him as "stick, beanpole," and how satisfying it would be to slam them to the ground just like Ah Gan if he met them again.

But it was just a thought, he felt it wasn’t worth it. It’s just a game, he thought, play until you can’t play anymore.

It wasn’t until that collision that he was traded to the Pistons, where a man named Bill Lan Bi’er appeared in his basketball career.

This infamous white slave master began supervising Melvin Turpin, making him lose weight, fight, and play properly—Turpin sometimes wondered if Lan Bi’er was enjoying the pleasure of a slave master whipping black slaves.

But Turpin also felt happy, the Pistons weren’t the demon’s den or the thug’s nest people imagined them to be; on the contrary, the place was very clean off the court, everyone was self-disciplined, and nobody used drugs or committed crimes.

Daley was an outstanding coach, very good at interacting with players. He was always dressed sharply in a suit, giving Turpin a lot of advice, and working with Lan Bi’er to supervise Turpin’s weight loss.

The team’s leader was Isiah Thomas, this deeply thoughtful Chicagoan who always had a smile on his face and controlled the team in his unique way.

He never shouted orders at you, but spoke in a soft, gentle tone that made you feel like he was negotiating with you. However, if you didn’t obey, didn’t do as he said, he would instantly turn against you and throw you out of the gym and the arena.

This kind of sudden flip often caught the young players off guard. The next time you saw him, you would be nervously anticipating because you never knew when the smile on his face might suddenly vanish.

Thomas carried this "angel/demon" dichotomy, both on and off the court. He charitably handed out money to strangers, proposed "No Crime Day" to the Detroit city government, allowing the city known for high crime to have almost no police dispatches for one day—at least, that’s what Detroit’s publicity department told the fans and reporters.

On the other side, he was irritable and rash on the court. Of small stature, he had a fiery temper, a lot of subtle moves, and was known for punching opponents in the back, as well as his best skill: instigation.

He wasn’t a strong man. He had difficulty confronting bigger opponents, so he always stirred things up, agitating not only the opponents but also his teammates, creating a tense atmosphere, especially in critical games.

Now, during the game against the Trail Blazers, at halftime, the score was 67:60 with the Trail Blazers leading by 7 points.

In the Pistons’ locker room, Thomas, who was pushed by Porter towards the end of the second quarter, had already calmed down. He wasn’t furiously ranting in the locker room.

He just sat next to Turpin and whispered, "Melvin, you’ve got to do something in the second half. We can’t just be oppressed, especially when it comes to morale."

Turpin didn’t quite understand what Thomas meant by "do something," to whom, so he had no choice but to ask, "Do you mean... should I keep an eye on Porter? Teach him a lesson."

Thomas smiled and said, "He’s not worth it. I have no issues with him; he’s not the key player, while I am Detroit’s key player."

"Key player." With that, Turpin understood that Thomas was asking him to go after Gan Guoyang.

Turpin dared not refuse, but he also dared not outright declare, "I’ll make sure to knock out Ah Gan."

He was confident in getting knocked out by Ah Gan, though.

Thomas didn’t specify either. He just patted Turpin and returned to his spot to listen to Daley give the second half’s offense and defense arrangements.

Turpin once again fell into a great hesitation. On one hand, like Lan Bi’er, he dared not; on the other hand, he didn’t dare to go against Thomas’s intentions, otherwise his days with the Pistons would be difficult.

This dilemma was so vexing that Turpin didn’t catch any of Daley’s tactical layout; his mind was filled with the thought of hitting or being hit—mostly being hit.

The image of Gan Guoyang slamming Lan Bi’er to the ground kept replaying in his mind, only now the protagonist was Melvin Turpin himself.

The halftime break quickly ended, and the players from both teams re-entered the court. Turpin was still starting in the second half.

Standing on the court close to Gan Guoyang, Turpin felt the absolute strength of his body, the muscle lines sharp as if chiseled.

Turpin almost immediately dismissed the idea of fighting with this guy, because it could end up deadly, and that wouldn’t be worth it.

Yet, at the very moment this thought sank into the abyss, a voice from the depths caught him, "Give it a try~ Just try, let those who look down on you feel your power, Melvin."

The voice was as fine as a thread, almost nonexistent in the noisy and immense Silverdome, yet it firmly tied to Turpin’s heart.

He really wanted to give it a try.