[Old General Record] The beast that longs to identify with: Al Jefferson!

Innovation and retro seem to be two words that are extremely positive and negative, but from some perspectives, they are unexpectedly compatible. Each innovation is based on the experience brought by retro. Just like the Renaissance, the current NBA ecosystem is also at the subtle boundary between innovation and conservatism.

With the league's constant headaches for the smoothness of the game, the abandoned rules in the past are gradually emerging, such as: the rules of challenge for high school students.

The current NBA draft is no longer allowed to run for high school students, but in the past there was no limit. Especially after Garnett, McGrady, Kobe, James and others emerged, talented high school students and players have also become the first choice for all teams in the league. In addition to these superstars, there are also Chandler, Eddie Curry and others, who have entered the league due to this trend.

But there are also many negative teaching materials among them, and Al Horford is one of the victims of this group of high school students.

This high school student from Mississippi broke the team history records in four years in high school, and even scored god-level data per game of 42.6 points, 18 rebounds and 7 blocks in the last year of high school. Such an amazing performance made Jefferson transform into the fourth high school student in the United States in 2004. With the fuel of various factors, this young beast in the penalty area decided to join the NBA.

After joining the Celtics with the 15th pick in the first round, Jefferson began to face higher-level opponents, he was no longer as unstoppable as he was in high school. His previous style of playing based on his figure and size has gradually been studied. He averaged only 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in the rookie season, although he was finally selected for the All-Rookie Team.

But the expectations of the fans for this newcomer are far more than that. What is worrying is that Jefferson gradually suffered an ankle and right knee injury the following year, and the whole season was stopped and stopped, which also caused many fans to question the former No. 1 high school center in the United States.

Fortunately, it was proved later that these doubts were redundant. After recovering, Jefferson began to lose weight in order to reduce the burden on his legs and chose surgery to remove the ankle spurs. Jefferson's various choices all declared that he would show his skills in the new season.

Time comes to the 2006-07 season. Because the team's center Perkins, Olovo Candy, Theo Ratree and others are absent, Jefferson is ordered to take on the starting job in danger. This time he is lucky to seize the opportunity. He first scored a career-high 29 points and 14 rebounds in December 2006, and then scored 32 points and 18 rebounds in the game when facing the Nets in March of the following year.

Judging from the data, Jefferson seems to be slowly realizing his talent potential.

And just when everyone, including Jefferson himself, thought he could stay in the Celtics for a long time, a large-scale transaction that affected the league's territory occurred. Garnett left the North Wilderness and became a part of Boston, and Jefferson naturally became one of the most valuable trading chips. It was from this time that Jefferson gradually brought a stigma label that was difficult to clean up.

When he first arrived in the Great Northern Wilderness, the Timberwolves gave this highly anticipated young man a high enough treatment. He first gave a five-year long appointment, and then received the guarantee of his starting position. It seems that there is a sign of correcting Jefferson to take over the Wolf King, and Jefferson has lived up to expectations and has played an All-Star performance in Minnesota for three years, but unfortunately, he was unable to bring the Timberwolves back to the playoffs in the end.

After spending Minnesota time which is not perfect or too bad, Jefferson once again became the team's bargaining chip, and this time he came to the Utah Jazz. In this team with a long and glorious history, Jefferson is still the core rotation of the inside line that the team relies on with the same beginning and the same ending. He can still contribute 20+10 per game All-Star data per game, but he has never helped the team to a higher level. Even though he has gradually changed his playing style, in the hearts of fans, he will only remember a data brush named Jefferson.

Perhaps influenced by outside rumors, after becoming a free agent, Jefferson made an unexpected choice: to join the Charlotte Bobcats.

Led by Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson, the Bobcats also had a brief glory, but soon fell to the bottom and became the league's super bad team. As a big insider who was at his peak, he actually chose to join the last train of the league. Not to mention fans of other teams, even Bobcats fans, they couldn't believe it.

But even though there are many questions, Jefferson then gave the answer at the media conference:

"This is a young team, and I think I will get more room for play here."

A short sentence contains a lot of content behind it. Jefferson hopes to prove that he is not a data brush in the fans' mouths by leading weak teams in the league. So did Jefferson succeed in the end?

From the end of the matter, he did succeed. In these short three years, Jefferson transformed into the second-in-command team behind Kemba Walker, and gradually became the favorite player of Charlotte's home fans.

Unlike the teams that have played for before, Jefferson has become the essential big brother of the team in Charlotte, and his personal skills and game experience are the best among the Bobcats.

Judging from personal data, Jefferson averaged 20+10 points throughout the season, but even so, many fans still think that Jefferson is a data brush, but from the overall situation of the team, Jefferson completely relied on his own to bring the Bobcats into the playoffs.

The Bobcats averaged only 35% of the three-point shooting percentage, ranking ninth from the bottom in the league; and the team's averaged most assists came from Walker, who had 5.5 times, which was enough to know the sluggishness of the Hornets' peripheral firepower and shooting percentage, while Jefferson still forced himself to contribute steadily under the opponent's inside encirclement.. What's even more amazing is that Jefferson averaged 26 points per game with a shooting percentage of more than 50% in the last 23 games of the season, which was the personal data Jefferson handed over due to injury from plantar fasciitis.

carried the team back to the playoffs with his own strength and was selected for the Best Third Team. For Jefferson, he seemed to have found the best destination he had always dreamed of, but the story seems not that simple.

Due to forced play during plantar fasciitis, Jefferson began to suffer injuries in the next two years. In addition, the league trend changed, traditional low-post centers are no longer the team's core target, and Jefferson's slightly slow maneuvering speed has forced the team to reduce the playing time of the best-ranked center, which is only two years away from his highlight moment.

Ironically, Jefferson's career trajectory always seems to be in a loop. After becoming the core of the team, he took a sudden turn for the worse. Even though he had already put down his self-esteem and focused on playing with the team's victory, the dilemma he was in still has not changed.

In his last year at the Hornets, Jefferson spent most of his time as a substitute. As the playing time decreases, Jefferson's personal data on survival is also avalanche. He is only 31 years old this year, so he should seize the peak tail and fight for the last long-term contract. Although the season almost helped the Hornets beat the Heat in the playoffs to advance, they gradually faded out of the league after playing style that was not in line with the contemporary trend. At the age of 33, Jefferson had to leave the NBA sadly.

Looking back at this long 14-year career, Jefferson has been struggling with outside doubts. Fans agree with his ability, but have always questioned his leadership ability; and whenever he seems to be at the peak, he will soon fall to the ground.

But even so, Jefferson still longed to be praised. After coming to Charlotte, Jefferson established his peak story here, one best team and two playoff trips. Although it only took three years, he gained much more than the first nine years of his career.

Although it seems not perfect enough, this may have been the best redemption for Jefferson's career.