Chapter 261: Raising the Flag (2)
“Joining you was the best decision I ever made!”
Gay meant every word. Once seen as a wasted talent, he had nearly lost all hope before Chen Yilun arrived, convinced his career was headed nowhere.
But then things turned around—he became the veteran anchor and spiritual leader of this Galactic Warship.
In this environment, Gay shed his old laziness, threw himself into training, and helped guide the younger players.
The young guys respected him deeply, and Gay had finally found new purpose.
In truth, Gay still had plenty left in the tank. If not for Chen Yilun, he would’ve soon ended up on the Spurs—right before the Kawhi Leonard standoff.
After Leonard left for the North, Gay would have carried the Spurs’ frontcourt, launching a full-blown second peak and delivering countless classic moments.
“Stick around. We’ve got a lot more championships waiting for us to win.”
After Gay came the team’s second leader, Butler.
After polite handshakes with Commissioner Silver and Ranadive, Butler swaggered his way over to Chen Yilun.
“Ready for the new season?”
Seeing Butler acting like his usual clownish self, Chen Yilun couldn’t help laughing.
“Relax, boss!”
Butler immediately slipped on his ring and flexed his muscles at Chen Yilun.
“I didn’t slack off this summer. I’m gonna blow you away this season.”
“Good!”
Butler was always dependable. When Jokić waddled into training camp dragging all that extra weight, Chen Yilun felt like the sky was collapsing.
Last in line was Durant, and the crowd erupted with their loudest cheers the moment he stepped forward.
Still shy as always, Durant took the ring from Chen Yilun in a hurry and went straight back to his teammates.
“Ladies and gentlemen!”
Once the last ring had been handed out, the DJ’s voice boomed through the arena again.
“Please lift your eyes to the rafters!”
A banner covered in black cloth was hanging high above the court.
As everyone looked up, the staff pulled the cloth away. A brand-new championship banner now hung permanently over the Golden 1 Center.
“Wooo!”
Seeing the flag, every fan jumped to their feet, heads tilted back toward the purple banner above, shouting with primal joy.
Competitive sports are the wars of peacetime. Sacramento emerged victorious last season, and the gleaming O’Brien Trophy in the display case—along with the banner hanging high above—stood as their spoils of war.
“Guys, we’re winning tonight, and we’re winning beautifully.”
Malone stood on the sideline, watching his players still buzzing with excitement.
“Our opponents might not be strong, but don’t get careless. Understand?”
“Understood!”
Hearing Coach Malone, the players dropped their joking attitudes and refocused.
“Run the usual wings today. Kevin, you had your fun last game—take a step back and let others work tonight.”
In the previous game against the Thunder, Durant had gone off for 38 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists, leading the Kings to an easy win.
So Malone returned to his “equal distribution” approach: Durant already had his big night, so today he’d yield the spotlight.
Durant wasn’t happy.
“Coach, come on. I only got to be the main guy once—I’m not even warmed up yet! Let me go again!”
“No way!”
Before Malone could speak, Butler jumped in.
“Opening night was yours. Now Awards Day too? You think you’re the only one who gets to shine?”
He shoved his way next to Gay.
“Today’s me and bro Gay’s show. You wanna steal the spotlight from the elders?”
Gay, still fiddling with his ring, looked up in confusion when Butler bumped him.
“Oh—right!”
Catching Butler’s look, Gay snapped back instantly.
“Oh, right, right. Kevin, today’s a big day. You already had your turn—let Jimmy and me have this one.”
Durant, who had been ready to argue, could only back down when the veteran spoke.
If it were just Butler, Durant would have argued. But if Gay wanted minutes, Durant always gave him the respect he deserved.
Gay stepping aside first was the reason the locker room had stayed stable.
Without him, all these prideful young players would’ve torn the place apart long ago.
“Man, you’re playing?”
At Gay’s words, the whole team perked up. LeVert bounced to his feet, excited.
“I heard you don’t play much anymore, but you’re still a monster. Today I finally get to see it!”
“Hahahaha!”
Gay burst into laughter.
“Alright then. Today I’ll show you youngsters how us old heads play basketball!”
...
Meanwhile, as the Kings were buzzing with excitement, Chen Yilun quietly slipped over to the visiting bench.
Tonight’s opponent was the Utah Jazz. With Hayward leaving over the summer, the Jazz had officially entered rebuilding mode.
“Shixiong, let’s grab dinner tonight. It’s been forever since we last met.”
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder, standing courtside, responded with a restrained smile when he heard Chen Yilun’s invitation.
One of the league’s best mid-career coaches, Quin Snyder had once been a hardcore member of the Spurs coaching tree.
Back in 2007, he was already coaching the Austin Spurs, the organization’s affiliate team.
Had Snyder followed the standard Spurs path—spending two years as Popovich’s assistant before taking on a head coaching role—he would have been one of the coaching tree’s true heirs, even capable of challenging Budenholzer for the successor role.
But after three years coaching in the G-League, Snyder resigned and went elsewhere as an assistant.
So he never became part of the core Spurs circle.
And unlike the sunny, outgoing Brown, Snyder wasn’t a social type, so his presence in the Spurs network was always low-key.
Feeling the genuine warmth in Chen Yilun’s words, Snyder paused, then smiled and nodded.
“It really has been a long time, my guy.”
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