The kid from Cameroon won the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals

In 2011, former NBA player Luke Bamot came to his hometown of Cameroon to host a basketball camp in which two talented children, Joel Embiid and Pascal Siakam, stood out.

Embiid, who liked football at first and later switched to volleyball, soon found that he seemed to be better at playing basketball after participating in Bamot's training camp, so Embiid decided to engage in basketball and planned to go to the United States to practice his basketball skills.

Another teenager, Siakam, wasn't that interested in basketball at the time. At that time, he was a student at the local seminary, and although he was very resistant to it, he listened to his father and studied at the seminary.

Like most children in Cameroon, Siakam dreamed of becoming a soccer player, or attending business school or working for his father in a government agency. By the way, his father was a local mayor.

In a very realistic situation, even in Cameroon, the children who can participate in the NBA star training camp will have families that are either rich or expensive. For example, Embiid, whose father was an even bigger one, was an army colonel, and Embiid originally planned to go to Europe to play volleyball.

In 2012, Siakam graduated from seminary and was invited to participate in Basketball Without Borders in South Africa because of his outstanding performance at Bamot's training camp. At that time, Siakam was not so interested in basketball despite playing basketball occasionally, and he was going to turn down the invitation.

But on second thought, his sister lives in South Africa, he hasn't seen her sister for a long time, and he just took the opportunity of this free trip to visit his family, he just needs to change places to play basketball, why not?

So Siakam embarked on a life-changing journey. In the 2012 Basketball Without Borders event in South Africa, the NBA arranged for Ibaka and Ruel Deng to participate, and when they showed up at the training camp, the kids were crazy and rushed at them, and Siakam asked the trainees who were participating in the training camp, "Who are they?" ”

Slowly, through understanding, Siakam learned the story of Ibaka and Ruel Deng, both of whom worked hard to get out of Africa and play in the NBA, and Siakam learned for the first time that anything is possible if you work hard enough. Interestingly, Siakam and Ibaka became teammates a few years later.

So he played hard in training camp, and he quickly got some attention from American high schools, and he came to Louisville to feel the cultural differences in the United States, and of course, some trash talk from his peers.

Almost every game, he hears trash talk like "your skills are terrible, your hands are too rough". The frustration quickly frustrated Siakam, but he quickly turned those frustrations into motivation, training alone, going to the gym alone, and his opponents were defeated by him one by one.

Siakam has received some college attention, but of course his talent is not at Embiid's level, and the only one who can give him a full scholarship is New Mexico State University. So he moved from Louisville to Albuquerque. If you've watched Breaking Bad, the name Albuquerque is familiar to you.

In his freshman season of 13-14, Siakam was not eligible to play due to academic problems, and he did not play for the entire season. In his sophomore season, when he finally qualified to play, bad news came. His father died in a car accident.

The news almost knocked him down, and at that time, Siakam only thought about giving up everything and returning to his hometown, and no basketball dream mattered. But Siakam was stopped by his mother, who told her son that his father wanted him to keep playing.

From that day on, Siakam's motivation to play became his father's dream of playing for his father's desire to one day play in the NBA. "From that day on, I felt like no one could stop me," Siakam said. ”

That season, Siakam averaged 12.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 blocks per game, making him the best rookie in his league. In his second season, Siakam improved rapidly, averaging 20.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1 steal and 2.2 blocks per game.

He realized that the doors of the NBA were slowly opening for him, but at the same time he was prepared to withdraw and return to college at any time. Finally, in the draft, the Raptors selected the 22-year-old rookie from Cameroon with the 27th pick.

Everyone burst into tears, his brothers, his friends, Siakam's mixed feelings, he thought of the doubts and hardships he had endured all the way to the United States, and most importantly, he thought of his father and his dreams. Finally, he did.

In the Raptors, Siakam still hasn't stopped improving. In his rookie season, he went back and forth from the NBA to the Development League, and that season the Raptors won the Development League championship, Siakam won the FMVP of the Development League, and at that time there was a man named VanVleet among his teammates.

Both men grew rapidly in the years that followed, and together they became the wonders of the Raptors' championship-winning season. Dream also recalled in this year's playoffs: "There are not many examples of me being beaten up in the playoffs, but Siakam in 2019 is definitely one. ”

When Leonard left, Siakam quickly became the Raptors' top name, and his outside shooting improved greatly that offseason, averaging 22.9 points per game and 2.2 three-pointers per game in the 19-20 season, being named an All-Star, All-Team Second Team, leading the team through the first round, and definitely his peak season.

As the Raptors entered the rebuilding period, Siakam's time with the Raptors also entered the countdown, and when he left, he traded back three first-round picks for the Raptors. As it turned out, Siakam was definitely worth that much, as he became the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals a year and a half later.

The kid from Cameroon not only played in the NBA, but also won the championship early. When he started to take charge of himself, he returned to the highest stage and carried the MVP trophy of the Eastern Conference Finals.

To this day, Siakam still has a habit of touching the "4" in his shirt number four times and then the "3" in his shirt number three times, with the 4 representing his three older brothers and father, and the 3 representing his two older sisters and mother.

Siakam then folded his hands and prayed to God and pointed to the sky, knowing that his father would be watching him from heaven.