Chapter 426: Godfather Chen Yan, The Fastest First Step
After talking with Nash for a while longer, Chen Yan headed into the kitchen to help.
Tonight's spread was too big for Alejandra to handle alone. Nash was the kind of family man who actually cooked, not the kind who just claimed he could, and Chen Yan had done enough work in the kitchen to be useful.
With 3 people moving around, the food came together quickly.
The table was full of Thanksgiving staples, turkey, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, Indiana pudding, and cranberries.
American turkey was dry. He had never been used to it at first. After a few bites, though, he started to understand the appeal, especially once the sauce went on.
At the dinner table, Chen Yan, Nash, and Alejandra talked easily, culture, hobbies, funny stories, little life details. The one topic they avoided was basketball. That was their work. Bringing it into a holiday dinner felt like volunteering for overtime.
Midway through the meal, Chen Yan got a call from Taylor Swift.
He greeted Taylor and her parents over the phone. Taylor had wanted to bring him to her family's Thanksgiving dinner. She had met Chen Yan's parents already, but he had not met hers yet. This time, his schedule was too packed, so it had to wait.
Good nights always passed quickly.
Before leaving, Chen Yan took a photo with the whole Nash family as a keepsake.
Bella and Lola each wrapped their arms around one of his calves, refusing to let him go. It was so ridiculous it made everyone laugh, including Nash and Alejandra.
"Chen, the girls really like you," Alejandra said, smiling.
"If you leave right now, they'll probably stay up all night," Nash added, laughing.
Chen Yan could only sigh. This was the downside of being too popular. He drew attention from everyone, young and old, men and women.
So he played babysitter.
He carried Bella and Lola back to their room, told them a story, and coaxed them to sleep. Thankfully, the twins were well behaved. In less than 15 minutes, both were out.
With the kids asleep, Chen Yan finally got ready to head home.
Nash and Alejandra walked him to the door.
"Kids are like that," Nash said. "Sometimes they're adorable, sometimes they're impossible."
"Bella and Lola are the cutest twins I've ever seen," Chen Yan said with a genuine smile. "I really like them."
"They like you a lot too," Alejandra said. Then she paused, exchanged a look with Nash, and asked, "Chen, would you be Bella and Lola's godfather?"
Godfather?
Chen Yan froze for half a beat. That concept was not something he grew up with. After Nash and Alejandra explained it, he understood the idea. It was an honorary role, a second father figure chosen from someone the family trusted deeply, someone who would be present in the child's life and look out for them.
It was not a casual request. It was trust.
Nash had spent more than a year around Chen Yan, on the court, off the court, in planes, hotels, locker rooms, and pressure moments. He knew Chen's character. He believed Chen was reliable.
Chen Yan, honestly, did not expect it.
He and Nash were close, but in Chen's head, they had not crossed into this kind of family level bond yet.
"It's an honor, but…"
Seeing his hesitation, Nash's smile faded a little. "Chen, do you not want to?"
Chen Yan waved his hands quickly. "No, of course not. That's not it. It's just… I don't even have kids of my own yet, and now I'm a godfather. It feels a little strange."
Nash laughed. "What's strange about it? It's settled."
Just like that, Chen Yan ate Thanksgiving dinner and somehow walked out with a new title.
Godfather.
On the drive back, he told Taylor about it.
Taylor was delighted. Nash's twin daughters were famously cute. She casually said she wanted 2 daughters like that someday.
Chen Yan told her he would absolutely do his part.
The conversation drifted from there.
…
The next day, November 24, the Suns hosted the Utah Jazz.
Utah was solid, a mid to upper tier team in the West. Their biggest strength was their stable core, Deron Williams outside, Carlos Boozer inside. Their weakness was simple: they lacked a true superstar who could take over a game whenever he wanted. In a Western Conference crowded with elite talent, that ceiling mattered.
Utah was also a team that leaned heavily on home court. Without the altitude advantage, their edge dulled.
Some fans still treated the Jazz like a nightmare matchup because of what they had done to Houston in past seasons. The roster fit had been brutal. Boozer and Mehmet Okur could stretch the floor, pulling Yao Ming into uncomfortable space. Deron also punished Houston's weakest link at guard, controlling games with strength and pace.
But those advantages did not translate the same way against Phoenix.
The Suns' frontcourt was flexible, and their perimeter firepower was overwhelming.
Right out of the gate, Stoudemire used his explosiveness to secure the first possession.
Phoenix did not rush. They flowed into a half court set, and Nash swung the ball to Chen Yan.
Stoudemire came up like he was about to screen, faked it, then rolled hard.
Chen Yan hit him with a quick bounce pass. The timing was perfect, and the Jazz defense split open. Okur tried to rotate over, but his feet were half a step late.
Stoudemire rose and finished off the glass.
0 to 2.
"Do not let anyone get open," Jerry Sloan barked from the sideline, already irritated. "Stay with your man."
That first bucket lit a fuse in Stoudemire.
Phoenix's first 3 possessions of the quarter all ended with him. Two strong takes to the rim, one high post jumper. He scored 6 straight points using his cleanest, most reliable weapons.
Nash and Chen Yan exchanged a glance, then nodded to each other.
Tonight, Stoudemire had the engine running hot. They were happy to feed it. They spent the quarter prioritizing spacing, passing, and tempo, letting Amar'e carry the scoring load.
In simple terms, Stoudemire was the carry. Nash and Chen Yan were the support.
And Stoudemire delivered.
He finished the first quarter with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block. His scoring bursts did not look like Kobe or Chen Yan, not that kind of perimeter avalanche, but among bigs in the league, Stoudemire's explosiveness was absolutely top tier.
At the end of the first, the Suns led 30 to 22.
In the second quarter, the bench unit, led by Azubuike and Grant Hill, hammered Utah's second group again. Barea also played well, throwing 2 timely passes in transition that led directly to scores.
"White Chocolate" Williams had arrived, and it clearly put pressure on Barea. The team joked that Barea had not shared a bed with his wife for 15 days just to stay sharp. Considering his wife was a famous beauty and a Miss Universe winner in 2006, that kind of discipline was almost heroic.
By the time the starters returned, the lead had grown to double digits.
30 to 42.
Once the starters checked back in, Stoudemire stayed aggressive.
On the first possession, he caught near the free throw line, took 1 dribble, and powered through for a strong 3 step finish.
30 to 45.
Boozer was strong enough to hold position, but he did not have Stoudemire's mobility. When Amar'e attacked him face up like that, Boozer mostly had to absorb it and hope the help arrived in time.
The crowd loved seeing Stoudemire explode.
Of course, what they loved even more was when the big 3 exploded together.
But Chen Yan did not look hungry yet, and Nash looked even more relaxed, only 3 shot attempts so far.
That was Nash. If his teammates could score, he would happily choose passing over shooting.
For most teams, when the star guard is scoring a lot, fans relax. For Phoenix, it was almost the opposite. If Nash was firing nonstop, it usually meant something was wrong, the offense was stuck, or the flow had broken.
Just as it started to feel like a pure Stoudemire night, Chen Yan suddenly decided to take the spotlight anyway.
Nash held the ball at the top.
Chen ran from the left baseline to the right, using Stoudemire's screen to spring into the corner.
Utah did not dare switch. Stoudemire was destroying matchups, and giving him a guard would be an automatic 2 points.
With the defense pinned, Chen got space.
Nash hit him right on time, the pass arriving like it was guided.
Chen caught in the corner and lifted into a shot motion.
Andrei Kirilenko, his defender, fought over the screen and closed hard, covering ground in 2 long strides.
Chen raised his elbow slightly and sold the fake.
Kirilenko left his feet.
Chen waited.
He was not in a rush, and he did not force it. He let Kirilenko fly past, then leaned back for a clean fadeaway.
A perfect look.
Then the arena heard a sharp, brutal sound.
Block.
On the replay, Kirilenko landed, jumped again instantly, and used that ridiculous length to swat the shot from behind.
Even Chen Yan looked surprised.
Kirilenko had vanished from his vision a moment earlier.
But that was Kirilenko's gift. At 206 centimeters with a 228 centimeter wingspan, plus quickness and bounce, he was built to erase shots that felt safe.
Chen got tricked.
Kirilenko sprinted the other way.
Boozer caught, found Deron, and Deron took 1 dribble before firing a long pass that led Kirilenko straight into a 2 handed dunk.
1 play, defense and offense, and Kirilenko ignited the Jazz bench.
Kirilenko turned and roared, fired up, and by coincidence the direction of that roar was straight at Chen Yan.
Sometimes misunderstandings start with something small.
Chen Yan was not petty. But someone blocked him, then shouted in his direction.
A young star ignoring that would feel unnatural.
So Chen responded.
On the next possession, after some physical jockeying, Chen demanded the ball with his back to the basket at the right 45 degree area near the free throw line.
Stoudemire and Diaw slid to the weak side, clearing the floor.
Chen backed down with a few strong bumps, then spun baseline.
As he turned, the dribble and the burst blended into one smooth motion.
Kirilenko tried to recover.
He could not.
Chen's first step after the spin was too fast, a sudden explosion that left even an elite defender a fraction behind.
The old generation speed demons, guys like Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady, were past their peak. In a recent media poll asking which active player had the fastest first step, Chen Yan got more than 50% of the votes.
The league had a new face for that title.
Chen was not surprised. His speed was already elite, and with his explosiveness and the [Lightning First Step] skill stacked on top, if he still could not own that nickname, he might as well quit.
That nickname even landed him his first endorsement for baby diapers.
The slogan was simple.
"Fastest Lightning First Step, Q Diapers."
Chen caught close to the rim.
After 1 dribble, he took off.
Boozer rotated over, trying to meet him at the basket.
Chen palmed the ball with 1 hand and rose into the collision space.
In mid air, it looked like a reverse layup.
What Chen finished was not a reverse layup.
It was a reverse dunk.
He spun 360 degrees to evade Boozer, then hammered it down.
Boom.
Powerful, clean, and almost too stylish for a regular season possession, like he had borrowed a dunk contest move and forced it into real basketball.
When Chen landed, Boozer stared at Kirilenko with a wounded expression.
Kirilenko was the one who got beat, and Boozer ended up being the background.
Chen roared as he ran back on defense, passing right by Kirilenko's ear.
The momentum Utah had built vanished in an instant, crushed under a single statement dunk.
And the Jazz did not realize it yet.
This was only the beginning of Chen Yan letting his emotions out.
.....
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