Calling the coach his father, borrowing money from Chinese Internet celebrities for dinner, he became an NBA superstar who received $270 million

Snails and basketballs

2024-06-29 10:19

This is an embarrassing group photo, with Cade Cunningham on the left and Scottie Barnes on the right, standing in the center is Chinese player Wu Yonghao, who later became the NBA2021 draft pick, Barnes was selected with the fourth pick, and Wu Yonghao became a basketball celebrity.

This photo was taken when Montverde High School, when Cunningham was Wu Yonghao's roommate, but Barnes and Wu Yonghao had the best relationship, Barnes, who was from a poor family, often needed to rely on Wu Yonghao's help to eat, he often borrowed money from Wu Yonghao, but as an international student, Wu Yonghao's family was not short of money at all, and he never let him pay it back, and Barnes has never forgotten this kindness.

Even if he was drafted by the NBA and got a 4-year, $33.06 million rookie contract, from a poor boy who couldn't eat to a multimillionaire, his friendship with Wu Yonghao has never changed, the two have kept in touch, and have also connected live on social media platforms, this summer, Barnes flew to China to play a 2v2 basketball game with Wu Yonghao.

In contrast to some of the NBA stars who have passed away but are still on their toes, Barnes, who is in his prime of play, is humble and friendly, respectful of his opponents, and makes a good impression on his fans. The player with excellent quality and character has recently received a big gift package - the Raptors see him as the core of the team, and the two sides have agreed to a contract extension, which will be officially signed on July 7.

It is reported that this 5-year contract extension with a maximum salary of up to $270 million, if Barnes is selected to the best team next season (first, second, and third teams), he will receive $270 million, even if he can't be selected to the best team, this contract will reach $227 million, which is still the largest contract in the history of the Raptors so far.

On August 1, 2001, Barnes was born in a poor family in West Palm Beach, Florida, USA, with four children, and his father's irresponsibility, he lived in a repressive family since he was a child - his parents often quarreled, often did not see his father, did not feel his father's love, and cold and starvation became the norm.

At that time, the only thing that made him happy was to follow his brother to the court to play, he was quite talented in basketball, tall and long-armed, very explosive and endurance, very fast, and most importantly, he learned basketball skills very quickly, and became a well-known school team core in the sixth grade of primary school, and was favored by John Simpson, the head coach of AAU Wellington Wolves, when Simpson invited Barnes to join the team, Barnes's mother repeatedly confirmed that there was no money to spend before agreeing to let him join.

There is no mother who does not think about her children, but when food and clothing are a problem, there is really no money to pave the way for Barnes's future, but fortunately, Barnes met the first noble Simpson. Simpson took Barnes to his training camp, and Barnes did not fall behind when playing against players who were older than him, but what Simpson did not expect was that Barnes, who was known for his excellent endurance, was exhausted after 30 minutes of training, and after inquiry, he learned that the child had not eaten for a day.

When Simpson found out, he bought Barnes food and later prepared a new pair of sneakers for him. With no money to rent a house and a place far from home, Barnes often had to stay with his teammates, and after two weeks he had almost all of his teammates' homes, and he had to carefully ask Simpson if he could keep him overnight, and Simpson not only agreed, but invited him to live at home every week, and then asked him to come to the house every day to train with his son, do homework, play games, etc.

Simpson not only gave Barnes a place to live, three meals a day, but also cared for Barnes like a father, which moved Barnes, who lacked fatherly love since he was a child, and one day he cried and asked Simpson, "Can I call you Dad?" Simpson said gently: "Of course, you can call me Dad, you can call me coach, you can call me whatever you want, and you remember that no matter what happens in the future, I will always be there for you." ”

Under Simpson's cultivation and care, Barnes grew rapidly, and in his freshman year of high school, he led Newman High School to a 19-8 record, successfully reached the semifinals of the 5A state championship, and with his outstanding performance, he was not only selected into the best freshman team in the United States, but also won the favor of the U16 national youth team, helping the U16 national youth team win the Copa America.

In his sophomore year of high school, he transferred to Nova Southeastern University High School, where he led the team to a 36-2 record and helped the team win the first 5A state championship in school history. He was then re-named to the U.S. national youth team and helped the team win the championship with seven straight wins.

In his junior year of high school, he led the team to defend the title with outstanding performances. In his senior year of high school (American high school is a four-year system), he transferred to Montverde Academy and became teammates with Cunningham, Wu Yonghao and others.

He often borrowed money from Wu Yonghao for dinner, and returned it to Wu Yonghao when he had time to do part-time work, but most of the time Wu Yonghao did not ask for his money, and often took the initiative to lend a hand, Barnes, who knows how to be grateful, has been helping Wu Yonghao train, trying to keep him up with the rhythm of other teammates, with their joint efforts, Montverde College achieved a 25-0 record, and Barnes was selected to the best high school team in the United States and won the favor of many universities.

Simpson spent a few days analyzing the pros and cons of Barnes, and the University of Florida's tactical position promised a lot of benefits for players who were ready to enter the draft at the end of their freshman year, and in the end they turned down many prestigious schools such as Duke and Kentucky in favor of the weaker University of Florida.

In his freshman season, he helped the team to a 17-6 record and led the team to the round of 16 of the NCAA National Championship, where he played 24.8 minutes with 10.3 points, 4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks.

Barnes has a height of 2.03 meters, an arm span of 2.21 meters, a strong physique, very good confrontation, fast movement, strong explosiveness, great offensive and defensive potential, and he played point guard in college, and his control skills are also excellent among players in the same position, the ball intelligence is also good, and he has a good shooting touch, and was finally selected by the Raptors with the fourth pick in the first round.

When he was chosen, there was a gray-haired white old man next to him, that person was the first mentor Simpson who treated him like a son, he could change his fate through basketball, in addition to his innate talent and acquired efforts, Simpson also contributed to the guide, if it weren't for Simpson's appearance, Barnes might not be able to train well because of starvation, and his skills could not reach the level of the NBA. After he was drafted by the Raptors, Simpson didn't ask for anything in return, just hoped that Barnes would continue to work hard and write his own story in the NBA with his feet on the ground.

Barnes did not disappoint his mentor, in his rookie season, he averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks per game, shooting 49.2% from the field, and he beat Mobley, Cunningham and others with an all-around performance to win the best rookie. In his second season, he averaged 4.8 assists per game, 1.3 more than in his rookie season, and the rest of his stats were not as good as his rookie season, which is a problem that rookies encounter after being thoroughly studied by opponents.

Fortunately, he broke through the bottleneck this season, averaging 19.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, shooting 47.5% from the field, and the three-point shooting rate has also increased from 28.1% to 34.1%, at the age of 22, he has grown into an offensive and defensive playmaker who can pass, and after Siakam left the team, Barnes was established by the Raptors as the core of the future team and received a five-year, $270 million contract extension.

As the core of a team, Barnes needs to improve a lot of things, the biggest problem is the ability to attack, when the team needs him to stand up and score, his arsenal has not been enriched to the point of scoring to get what he wants, but compared to those young players who are serious about the subject, Barnes is worth cultivating and looking forward to, he is now good in attack and defense, very versatile, only need to polish the scoring means, he can go to the next level, I hope he can one day become the new king of the north!

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