The next day.
April 13, 2001.
8:30 PM.
The McDonalds All-American Game was being held at the Cameron Indoor Stadium in North Carolina.
All 9,314 seats were filled; it was a packed house.
Multiple television media outlets were broadcasting live, such as ESPN2 Channel, FOX-Sports, and ABC.
Furthermore, scouts from at least a dozen NBA teams were present at the scene.
The Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Seattle SuperSonics, Washington Wizards, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, and so on.
Compared to the past, tonight was indeed the game with the highest exposure Link had ever experienced.
"Fuck Link!"
"Link, you can't even outrun my grandmother, and yet you dream of entering the NBA."
"Link, if you can complete a dunk in the game, I'm willing to eat shit!"
"King of the Low-End Tiers, tonight you are destined to be a hole in front of Wagner!"
Quite a few of Link's haters showed up at the scene holding banners.
Seeing the slogans on these banners, Link couldn't help but laugh out of anger. Hmph, these people really knew how to have fun. If this were back home, banners with such insulting words wouldn't even be allowed into the stadium. However, this might also have been intentional on the part of the organizers.
As the first high school player to appear on Sports Illustrated, this year's ABCD Training Camp MVP, Texas Mr. Basketball, and the Texas High School League Finals MVP, Link was a major talking point. To describe it in terms from twenty years later, he was a 'natural-born traffic magnet.'
For Link, who was under countless spotlights, a single poor performance would lead to being swallowed by the massive wave of public attention; but for the event organizers, as long as he could bring them buzz, it was still a good thing.
Of course, besides the haters, many of Link's supporters also came to the scene.
...
...
The East-West All-Star Game, starting lineups for both sides:
[Western All-Star Team]
Point Guard: Link; Height 201.7cm; Weight 95kg.
Shooting Guard: Chris Thomas; Height 198cm; Weight 84kg.
Small Forward: Daniel Ewing; Height 198cm; Weight 93kg.
Power Forward: David Lee; Height 206cm; Weight 109kg.
Center: Tyson Chandler; Height 216cm; Weight 107kg.
[Eastern All-Star Team]
Point Guard: TJ Ford; Height 183cm; Weight 79kg.
Shooting Guard: Dajuan Wagner; Height 188cm; Weight 91kg.
Small Forward: Julius Hodge; Height 198cm; Weight 92kg.
Power Forward: Kwame Brown; Height 211cm; Weight 113kg.
Center: Eddy Curry; Height 211cm; Weight 129kg.
...
...
After the game began, both sides immediately showed a lot of hostility.
On the Eastern All-Star Team's first offensive possession, Dajuan Wagner, dribbling at a 45-degree angle outside the right-wing three-point line, signaled for his teammates to clear out; he wanted to play Link one-on-one. Facing the future fastest player in the NBA, the coach naturally wouldn't let him match up directly; instead, he played the 1-spot on offense and the 2-spot on defense.
"Lucky kid, your luck ends tonight!"
"Hmph, you think you can stop me?" Wagner looked at Link with cold, sharp eyes.
With Link primary guarding him, Wagner felt slighted. With that Speed of an old lady crossing the street, he wanted to defend him? Was this some kind of joke? Also, back in the ABCD Training Camp, he had only lost to this guy because his shooting touch was off.
As soon as he finished speaking, Wagner did a simple between-the-legs dribble, then exploded with the ball, lowering his Center of gravity to accelerate, wanting to use his Speed to tear through Link's defense.
Having anticipated the drive path, Link blocked him in advance. With a 'thud,' the two collided. Spectators in the front row could clearly see Wagner's body sway slightly; even though he held the offensive initiative, he was still at a disadvantage in physical confrontation. Almost simultaneously, Link lowered his waist and reached out for a Steal, his long arm darting out. With a'smack,' the basketball in Wagner's hand was touched, but unfortunately, it wasn't stripped away.
But Link didn't give up. Using defensive sliding steps, he pressed his body even closer to Wagner. While providing plenty of physical contact, he continued to harass him, like a clutching Claw.'Smack!' This time, not only did he Steal the ball, but he also immediately initiated a fast break.
"Great defense!"
"Yeah!"
"Those defensive footwork and body control abilities are truly impressive. With that kind of press-up defense, even many second or third-year NBA players find it hard to control their bodies and end up getting whistled for a defensive foul by the referee."
A Chicago Bulls scout in the stands couldn't help but praise Link's defensive awareness and fundamental defensive skills.
Link pushed the ball forward. Although those first two steps of acceleration weren't particularly fast, they weren't as slow as the rumors on the internet suggested. Moreover, once his Speed fully picked up, he was quite fast. Julius Hodge, the 201cm tall Swingman with excellent athleticism who was primary guarding Link, actually failed to catch up immediately. As Link drove to the basket, he caught a glimpse of Hodge behind him loading his knees for a chase-down block. With a 'whoosh,' he took off on one foot, twisted his body in mid-air to avoid the block, and hit a reverse layup off the glass.
After scoring, Link retreated on defense while performing the arrogant 'playing the air guitar' celebration towards Wagner. Of course, doing this move was not just to provoke Wagner, but also to increase his shooting percentage for this game.
Wagner suppressed his anger and continued to challenge Link one-on-one in the next two possessions. Compared to the first time, he was more cautious in the following two attempts and wasn't stripped by Link, but he was defended so well that he couldn't drive to the basket and could only rely on high-difficulty Mid-range Jumpers to force a solution.
However, these heavily contested shots missed twice in a row.
"0-for-3 guy! Who exactly is the defensive hole?" Link transformed into an evil little Shakespeare, delivering trash talk right to Wagner's face.
Wagner was just about to speak.
Link suddenly raised his volume and roared, "Answer me!"
Wagner's face turned ashen.
But Link was relentless and asked again, "Who the fuck is the King of the Low-End Tiers?"
"Answer me!!!"
These two shouts left Wagner dumbfounded; at the same time, he subconsciously looked toward the fan in the stands holding the banner.
However... that fan, at this very moment, very consciously tucked away the banner that read: 'King of the Low-End Tiers, tonight you are destined to be a hole in front of Wagner!'
To this...
Wagner:...