Lillard's pupils contracted as he saw Yuuto's fingers graze the ball.
It's over!
That was his truest thought in that moment.
Clang~
The ball clanked off the rim. Reeves Nelson secured the rebound and clutched it to his chest.
The Wildcats had no choice but to foul.
"Relax. Even if you miss, we still win."
Yuuto patted his teammate's shoulder.
In situations like this, making even one free throw would effectively end the game.
But that invisibly added enormous pressure.
Reeves nodded, some tension easing.
He stepped to the line, took several deep breaths, adjusted his rhythm, and released.
One second later.
The free throw dropped.
Lillard and the entire Wildcats squad closed their eyes in despair.
No chance now!
Even if they hit their next three, they'd still trail by two—and then they'd have to gamble on UCLA missing free throws.
But Reeves didn't give them that chance. He sank both attempts, ending any suspense.
93-87!
That was the final score.
Yuuto played 37 minutes and 23 seconds, posting a game-high near-triple-double: 39 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, plus 3 steals and 4 blocks.
He was the undisputed game MVP!
...
"Starting today, Yu will be a name impossible to ignore in the basketball world!" —Associated Press
"Damian was excellent. I have no doubt he has All-Star potential, but tonight simply didn't belong to him or his team." —ESPN
"I can guarantee right now: if you want Yu, you need at least a top-two pick to have a chance." —Los Angeles Times
"Yu pulled the trigger—his final offensive and defensive plays ended the game. Is the next Chinese number-one pick coming? Are you ready?" —Sports Illustrated
The moment this marquee matchup ended, articles sprouted like mushrooms after rain.
This was one of March Madness's biggest attractions.
Watching talents battle talents.
They'd fight tooth and nail for draft position, creating collisions that left viewers breathless.
Lillard had become tonight's casualty.
He knew that early elimination would affect his draft stock.
At least according to ESPN's projections.
In this moment, Dame's heart ached so much he nearly wanted to cry.
As for Yuuto—
He was mobbed by teammates, basking in the cheers and screams of the entire arena.
"We can already conclude: even if UCLA gets eliminated next round, Yu won't fall past top three."
Another analyst continued: "No—what we should be discussing now is whether Yu or AD has a better chance of being the number-one pick in the 2012 NBA Draft!"
"That depends on which team is lucky enough to win this year's lottery."
This wasn't exactly a deep draft class.
But Yuuto and Anthony Davis gave NBA teams tremendous confidence—both had number-one pick potential. Who went first would depend on whether the lottery winner needed a guard or a big man.
Currently, the league's worst team was the Charlotte Bobcats.
This franchise had been tanking since the season started, currently sitting at a miserable 5 wins.
Such historically awful numbers left Bobcats fans unable to hold their heads up. Home attendance revenue had hit an all-time low.
After all, no fan wanted to watch their team get pummeled at home over and over.
Besides the Bobcats, the Washington Wizards weren't much better—barely double-digit wins, projected to finish under 20.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, who'd drafted Kyrie Irving last year, followed closely.
Their mission this season was developing Irving; they had no expectations for wins.
Then came the Nets, Raptors, Pistons, and Bucks.
All these teams were actively tanking, making the Eastern Conference utterly boring.
No surprise there.
The Heat's Big Three were too intimidating. No one saw a path through the East, so teams started collecting lottery ticket pieces early.
The West wasn't much better—the Hornets, Kings, Warriors, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, and others were also tanking.
If Yuuto's memory was correct, this year's Eastern Conference eighth seed only needed 35 wins—that "lucky" team was the Philadelphia 76ers.
Of course, this was partly due to the early-season labor dispute. The 2011-2012 season was a lockout-shortened campaign.
The NBA regular season shrank from 82 games to just 66.
But the Bobcats—a team that couldn't win 10 games all season—still left everyone speechless.
The good news?
They were about to reap their reward.
The NBA trade window hadn't opened yet, but numerous teams had already contacted the Bobcats' front office.
They wanted to trade for Charlotte's draft pick.
Currently, the Bobcats had the best odds at the number-one pick—worst case, they'd get second. The trade value was enormous.
"Boss, there are many teams interested in our pick right now."
"Reject them all. We're not trading our pick this year."
In 2010, Michael Jordan had paid $275 million to become the Bobcats' majority owner.
The basketball god had unmatched accomplishments on the court. But when it came to evaluating talent, Jordan was infamously terrible.
Players he liked almost always became busts.
Kwame Brown was his "masterpiece" in the front-office career—no shortage of mockery there.
Someone with Jordan's personality wouldn't take that lying down. He was determined to prove his doubters wrong.
Right now, today's newspaper sat on his desk.
The cover showed Yuuto's game-winning shot.
"This rookie is still far from what I was in college, but if he has even fifty percent of my skills, he'll dominate the league."
Jordan puffed his cigar, supremely satisfied.
He absolutely loved this UCLA freshman.
Especially that fadeaway—it had his signature style written all over it.
As for Anthony Davis?
Also excellent. Problem was, those clueless NBA executives back in the day were too obsessed with big men, which was why he'd been drafted behind Hakeem Olajuwon.
And what happened?
Michael Jordan became the league's one true God!
Now Jordan planned to prove it again—this time as an owner.
"Mitch, we've been winning too much."
"...We're about to set a record, Michael."
Bobcats GM Mitch Kupchak was exasperated.
To lose, they'd deployed every tactic—traded away all their useful players, cratering the team's market value.
Publicly they claimed it was to develop last year's pick Kemba Walker, but they'd truly lost an absurd amount.
"Trust me. Our ticket prices will go up. Fans will happily pay to see this rookie—and the market behind him. We'll make it all back with interest."
Jordan was supremely confident, as if Chinese sponsors were already lining up to throw money at him.
He'd even prepared to personally train this rookie.
Not too much. Fifty percent of his game would be enough.
With just half of what Jordan had, the Bobcats could rise immediately.
Because his name was Michael Jordan!
The Trail Blazers had also inquired, but Charlotte rejected them without hesitation. Nate McMillan had no good options.
They'd even offered All-Star big man LaMarcus Aldridge—still not enough to move the Bobcats.
"Should we keep gambling?"
...
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