The meeting finally ended in a pleasant and peaceful atmosphere. With admiration and belief in Min Congda, everyone left the meeting room with satisfaction and devoted themselves to preparations for the new season.
Admiration is inevitable. Any general manager who takes a rotten team like the Clippers to a quasi-dynasty in four years is a huge achievement.
Modern basketball is no different than in ancient times, with fewer teams. It can rely on loopholes in the system to build a championship monopoly empire like the Celtics.
The rise of any team is bound to be full of hardships, repeated failures, repeated trials and errors, the weather is not a holiday, the year is not in my hands, etc., which fully reflects the difficulty of the highest competitive sports.
But Min Congda used his "unique" draft vision, "different" management system, and strong basketball talent to complete the impossible task.
In a place like the NBA where strength is king, he is the king who accepts people's worship.
In mid-October, not long after the team's training camp started, the Clippers' official media and Fox Films released the team's latest documentary "Apocalypse", which was released in theaters in North America.
Although Jordan Peele and Michael Key usually make various comedy films, they are equally skilled in feature films.
The Clippers have accumulated a whole season of material. From being invincible at the beginning of the season, to losing to the Cavaliers to end the winning streak, to suddenly changing coaches and sending away Steve Kerr, exchanging assistant coaches with the Cavaliers, the team changed their style, and in the middle Livingston's touching return, Anthony Davis' painful growth as a rookie, all the way to the playoffs where he destroyed the Lakers, slaughtered the Grizzlies, and finally faced the Heat and the Galaxy, losing a home court. Won three consecutive away games and won the championship without any danger. The content can be said to be full of ups and downs.
The most important thing is that many shots and interviews of Min Congda were added to the documentary to illustrate Min Congda’s concepts of “everyone has a ball to play with”, “victory is not important, basketball is more important”, and “championship is not everything, but basketball is everything” deeply ingrained in the documentary.
The first shot at the beginning of the documentary is neither the Clippers' championship, nor the championship parade, nor the Clippers' arduous training, nor a review of last season - these are the routines of ordinary documentaries.
The beginning of "Apocalypse" imitates the classic movie "The Godfather" and opens with a monologue by one person, that is, an interview with Min Congda.
When he was interviewed by Espn reporter Purcell on the sidelines, he made a long speech about "friendship first, competition second", which set the tone of the entire documentary.
This makes "Apocalypse," the fourth documentary about the Clippers team, fundamentally different from other sports documentaries - including "The Wave," the third documentary that the Clippers acquired for $180 million.
"The Wave" is essentially a traditional sports documentary, telling a traditional inspirational story about struggle, hard work, victory and championship.
"Apocalypse" is different. In the words of director and screenwriter Jordan Peele, "When the fourth part of the documentary is filmed, it also means that we have been following the Clippers team for the fourth year. To be honest, we didn't even think about it at the beginning. We never thought we would be able to follow a professional team for such a long time. We thought it would just be a one-time, brief filming job. But it turned out not to be. The Clippers are so different. Smart has injected extraordinary energy into the Clippers. The team culture and genes, whether it is tactical concepts or basketball philosophy, he is very advanced. I use the name "Apocalypse", in fact, I want to show that his appearance is like an apocalypse, for the Clippers This team has sent a light, a very bright and special light."
Michael Key also said at the premiere, "In four years, we have witnessed the growth of the Clippers. This is definitely not a simple story of struggle and inspiration, nor an American dream in the traditional sense. It is more profound and vast. , involves the value of life and the basic view of the world. This is the collision of civilizations. I believe that Smart Min’s impact on basketball, the NBA, and even American society may be underestimated. He will become a totem in the future, and of course now in the Clippers, he is already a totem."
After four years of hard work, Peele and Key have become well-known in the film and television industry. Their short film "Basketball and Key" has been widely welcomed by people.
"The Wave" set a box office record for sports documentaries, and their high praise for the fourth film "Apocalypse" triggered a movie-watching craze in North America.
"... In competitive sports, it is a human instinct to strive for victory for honor or money. So you see, football, basketball, and various sports commercial events are doing so well, so many people are crazy about them. But Like Dr. Naismith, valuing people's healthy development is a noble character and great sentiment. The earliest purpose of sports was to strengthen the body and find the joy of life. But now, everything has been distorted. How many people have fallen on the road to chasing victory. Injuries, stimulants, drugs, and the pain and suffering that accompany life. Many people who love sports programs..."
Min Congda's "nonsense" during the interview with Purcell was repeatedly played on thousands of big screens across the United States. These words challenged the value system of North American commercial sports and ultimately triggered comprehensive and profound thinking among the public - —Of course, this is a story for another day.
In the video, a lot of Min Congda's lectures to coaches and players were added.
For example, after losing a game, he comforted the players by saying, "Failure is not terrible. It depends on what you gain from failure."
After winning, remind the players, "Victory is nothing in the face of time. Remember the process, not the result."
During the training, I kept telling the coach, "Substitute more players so that everyone can play. Pay attention to everyone's development and create more lineups!"
The coaching staff meeting repeatedly emphasized, "We must insist that everyone has a ball to play. The Clippers are not a Shura field where the fittest survive, but a big family where everyone can develop in an all-round way."
This is the first time that Min Congda's remarks have been exposed to the public on a large scale. They are completely different from the past sports documentaries that people have remembered as "cruel, hard work, discipline, and doing whatever it takes to win."
Isn't this too fantasy?
The audience was shocked, but the fact that the Clippers won two consecutive championships was before their eyes.
At the end of the film, it is still not the scene where the Clippers defeated the Heat and won the championship.
But in the second game, when Haslem and Randolph had a conflict, Min Congda rushed off the court desperately and hugged Haslem.
The Clippers ultimately lost the game, but Min Congda left the court with his head held high, leaving everyone with a shadow and winning applause from the fans.
The two-hour documentary basically became a "collection of Min Congda's quotations". These deviant remarks in the sports circle made the audience feel very fresh.
The movie's reputation quickly spread among fans and moviegoers. The movie's box office performance is quite impressive and it is gaining momentum. The Clippers are going to make a lot of money again.
Min Congda was invited to attend the premiere, but the guy refused and didn't go. Later, he secretly went to a small cinema to watch the entire film.
During the movie watching, Min Congda's main psychological activities were:
"Did I fucking say that?"
"What nonsense is this?"
"What kind of crazy talk is this?"
"When did I say that?"
"This was also filmed? When did Gouzhi record it?"
"Wow, isn't this nonsense? Did I say something like this?"
"This ending... this person looks like a dog."
(End of chapter)
