Wang Yi was in the East, so if he wanted to make the Finals, he had to go to the West.
Staying in the East meant certain defeat.
You could say Wemby had become Wang Yi's personal nightmare.
"Zebra, welcome to Toronto."
Wemby gave an awkward smile. "My name isn't Zebra. It's Wembanyama."
"In China, your name sounds a lot like 'zebra,' so that's your nickname. People might get your name wrong, but they never get your nickname wrong."
Wemby had always steered clear of Wang Yi's sharp tongue. Looking resigned to his fate, he said, "Call me whatever you want. As long as you're happy."
After they parted, Wang Yi gave Axton a quick hug too. With a mysterious smile, he said, "X, welcome to the NBA."
Axton wasn't sure what he meant.
He simply nodded politely. "Thanks!"
The screen showed the starting players for both teams.
The Raptors' starting lineup was completely unchanged from last season.
It was still Wang Yi, Zhang Jiacheng, Hachimura, Dowding, and Pang Bo.
The only difference was that Hachimura was a year older.
Judging by the preseason, he didn't seem to be in great shape.
But that was normal. Most veterans took their time finding their form during the Regular Season. They didn't come back at full strength like younger players.
Of course, the team wasn't going to stick with one fixed lineup for the entire season, like they had last year after Wang Yi made that bold declaration.
This season, Wang Yi and Coach Dako had agreed to try several lineup combinations and find the two or three that worked best.
They'd use those two or three lineups as their starting options, choosing different ones to match up against different opponents.
The Spurs' starting lineup was as follows.
Point Guard: Axton Downey,