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Cameron Gekud
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Be picky about food.
It's not that James avoided eating certain foods out of consideration for his competitive state, but simply chose his mouth.
PJ Tucker is not interested in eating beef stew.
It was the 2008-09 season, Tucker was somewhere in Ukraine and played for BC Donetsk in the Ukrainian Super League. When Tucker saw the central European staple food, he decided that he would rather eat something else during the team dinner.
Tucker plays ball overseas.
"At team dinners in Europe, everyone eats the same thing," said Tucker and Chris Owens, teammates of BC Donetsk University and colleagues of the University of Texas. "There is no special food. There may be chicken or steak, but you didn't get a customized meal. "
Tucker thinks there must be a McDonald's nearby, but they are not close enough to open the door. Owens said, so that night Tucker used all the food he could find, a few snickers.
"The next day," Owens said with a smile, "we were on the bus that day, and Tucker said,' Dude, I'm willing to pay you $65,438+000 for a chicken sandwich.' "
When his attention is not on the substitute of team meals, he will look for high-end fashion items in the competition.
"When we play in Ukraine, he always goes to Gucci store," Owens said. "He is always in the Louis Vuitton store.
"He will go to any kind of fashion shop nearby. Although he won't spend money on it, he just has an eye addiction. He will study it. Tucker also loves some small brands of fashionable clothes. "
Shoe king tucker
Tucker's taste in clothes and sneakers is as gorgeous as possible-which is far from the working class spirit he embodies on the court. Tucker has established himself as the ultimate blue collar and team adhesive in the NBA during his time with Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors, Houston Rockets and now Milwaukee Bucks. Before the trade deadline on March 25th, he was bought out by the Rockets and joined Milwaukee.
Tucker and the alphabet brothers
Tucker's career spans three continents 1 1 teams-every team has a story, and the 36-year-old veteran power forward stood on the biggest stage in the NBA for the first time.
However, compared with the stage of the finals, Tucker's sense of elite fashion or every funny action or story he brings to the team's locker room is more legendary than his presence on the court, thus making a short power forward (only 6' 5, 196 cm) play in the NBA for ten years.
Adhesives that any team needs.
After being selected by the Raptors in the second round in 2006, Tucker spent a season in the NBA-he played 83 minutes with the Raptors-and then went overseas. In the next four years, he traveled to various leagues in Europe, went wherever he had the opportunity, and had his presence in Israel, Ukraine, Greece and Italy, and achieved varying degrees of success.
Rocket tucker
Tucker's ability to play a role in the small ball lineup began to show its edge in the European League, which became the reason why he became the head coach of Bamberg and later Suns, Rockets and Bucks, and also made him stand out among many super scoring champions in the NBA.
At that time, Bole Fleming of Tucker later recalled that what impressed him most after he chose Tucker was the way Tucker held the team together in the locker room.
Fleming, who is now the assistant coach of Chicago Bulls, said: "At that time, we had an old Serbian, and his English was not very good. PJ established contact with him and established a good friendship with him.
"American player, young German player, he has the ability to connect everyone in the dressing room." This trait can be traced back to Tucker's freshman year playing in Texas. "
Before the advent of smart phones, few people photographed players wandering around in colorful clothes. At that time, Tucker often appeared in front of work in fancy clothes and sneakers, and gave some advice to his teammates like a senior blogger. His communication injected vitality into Tucker's competition on the court.
Tucker and locker room.
Tucker's role in stabilizing the locker room is also an important reason to attract Bucks, who brought him from Houston to the team at the March trade deadline to help Milwaukee find the last breakthrough-to enter the NBA finals this season.
"His laughter is the reason why he is so charming. If I hear his laughter in the room, I know Tucker must be working again, "said Rick Barnes, Tucker's head coach in Texas. "The players like to be with him."
By the same token, many players and coaches who worked with Tucker worked so hard to support him and the Bucks to create the miracle of winning the championship this year. Bucks trailed the Sun by 2-/kloc-0, and entered the fourth game. NBA Finals (9 pm Beijing time on Wednesday).
Aggressive competitors.
Tucker faced kevin durant almost every second on the court in seven games against the Nets in the Milwaukee Eastern Conference finals.
Throughout the series, Tucker expressed his joy in trying to lock in one of the greatest scorers in league history.
"This is the playoffs, man," Tucker said in that series. "I don't know what people think of me, but I have dreamed of this scene all my life-entering the playoffs and defending the best player in the world (kevin durant), just like a soldier, winning or I will die there."
Durant and Tucker had an argument.
"I am realizing my dream. I will not be fearless. I'm fighting for every inch of the field. You may not understand that Kevin and I fight every year. I defend his playoff every year. Defending such a great player is something to be proud of. "
In recent years, there may be no better example than his performance against Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the 20 18 Western Conference Finals. In Game 6 when the Rockets lost, Tucker knocked out three teeth. After a short answer, the seventh game played for 45 minutes. I spent most of my time defending Durant and got 14 points 12 rebounds and 4 steals!
"At that time, the Rockets hit 27 three-pointers in a row, but he hit about 15 three-pointers with perseverance." After the game, Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni praised Tucker's eight offensive rebounds that night without reservation.
Rocket tucker
"All he did was keep the team competitive in the game until other players found their form and played some balls, which I couldn't see in other players. Only Tucker continued hope for this game. " Former Rockets coach D 'Antoni said.
"All this is priceless for trying to build a champion team. Tucker is the best. "
Booker's mentor
Tucker is one of the few reliable points in the Phoenix team. In his more than four seasons, Sun has changed four coaches, and he is also committed to the team's medium-term reconstruction plan. During that time, he experienced a lot of pain. Although the Suns were worried about winning the top spot in the season rankings, he refused to give up the game.
But Tucker's most lasting influence on the Sun may be that he coached this budding superstar and won two victories in their first championship: Devon Booker, who came to the Sun as a lottery player at the age of 18 before his fourth season in Phoenix.
Tucker carved Booker's number on his shoes.
"I know he will be great," Tucker said of Booker. "Yes, he is not only excellent, he has a fighting spirit that most young players don't have. As his teammate at that time and the predecessor of the team, it was my job to make him better. "
As for the bucks' chances of winning the 202 1 championship, maybe Tucker did a good job.
"I have seen them (Booker and Tucker) fighting and talking on the training ground many times," said former Suns guard leandro barbosa. "[Tucker] is a player with excellent defensive skills and physical fitness. He took it to Devon Booker, who accepted his suggestion humbly. Every time he plays PJ, I tell Booker,' If you can beat him successfully, you can beat anyone successfully.' "
Tucker defended Booker.
The same mentality is also an important part of how Tucker made himself an NBA champion. Every time he steps on the court, his opponents know that they will have a long night.
He brought this belief to the bucks. After Sunday's victory, the Bucks have now won three consecutive victories at home, which is the ultimate affirmation of Tucker's career. But no matter what this round of NBA finals is, it will not change the way Tucker influenced so many people in his basketball career.
"He is one of the people you don't want to fight, but everyone wants a PJ- Tucker."