"The physical test report from the Chicago Joint Tryout Center shows that the Chinese Magician, Link, has grown over 203 cm, and his athletic talent has visibly improved. His tall stature allows him to defend multiple positions, and his help defense awareness and rebound contesting are particularly active. He possesses excellent court vision and decision-making ability, excelling at creating opportunities by reading the defense. I believe he is a Jason Kidd with a size 2 increase!" — Reported by USA Today.
"Excellent Mid-range Shooting, along with a small back-to-the-basket post-up game and footwork techniques, he possesses the innate conditions to become an 'offensive kaleidoscope.' Although his explosiveness and Speed are not fast, his coordination is good, and his First Step explosiveness is not slow. Without a doubt, he is the most outstanding point guard among this year's draft prospects!!!" — Reported by ESPN.
"OMG! Link, he must have the short sleep gene and be born with double bones. His daily training hours far exceed those of his peers, his energy is incredibly vigorous, and he has no injury risks. If Link falls out of the top three picks, it will be a regret for those teams." — Reported by Sports Illustrated.
"Hype? This is undoubtedly the biggest hype in NBA history. Link is only a late first-round level player, but the media, in order to attract eyeballs, has hyped him up as a top number one draft pick candidate. If he really becomes the number one draft pick, he will be the biggest bust in NBA history." — Reported by Rivals.
Even though Sophia Clarke was Link's rumored girlfriend, Rivals still spared no effort to criticize him.
Link had long since grown accustomed to this.
...
...
After the Chicago physical tests, Link was once again pushed into the spotlight.
But unlike when the ABCD Training Camp ended...
Even Link's most extreme haters didn't believe he would go undrafted this year; the worst-case scenario was still making it into the first round.
The haters questioned Link's qualification to be the number one draft pick, or even a lottery pick.
Even though Link outshone the high school big three and a Host of talented first-year players in the McDonalds All-American Game.
They still firmly believed that Link only had immediate combat power but no potential for development, at best becoming a second-tier star who could lead a team to the playoffs.
The difficulty for a guard to become the number one draft pick is indeed much higher than for an inside player.
NBA teams are extremely strict in selecting number one draft pick guards. Throughout NBA history, only one number one draft pick guard has been a bust (with All-Star selection as the passing line), and that bust was due to a strange illness.
Other than that, no NBA number one draft pick guard has been a true bust.
...
...
About another week passed, bringing them to May 20, 2001.
On this day, Link rejected a 3-year, 10 million USD sneaker endorsement contract from Reebok.
An average of 3.33 million USD per year was an astronomical figure in 2001, but it didn't exceed the endorsement contract Kobe signed before entering the league.
Once signed, he wouldn't be able to complete the main quest issued by the system—[Chosen One] (the Host needs to become the high school player with the highest sneaker brand endorsement fee before entering the NBA).
For this reason, Link rejected Reebok's multi-million dollar endorsement contract.
Although this decision left his family and friends puzzled.
Especially Link's aunt, who earnestly told Link that even if he couldn't adapt to the NBA in the future, he would still be a multi-millionaire. Wouldn't that be great?
This multi-million dollar endorsement contract would tempt any high school graduate, no matter how talented you are, who can say what will happen after entering the NBA?
But I am Link...
Sports Illustrated's proclaimed "The Chosen One".
ABCD Training Camp founder Sonny Vaccaro also put in considerable effort to build momentum for Link's draft.
The documentary has been uploaded online, and eye-catching topics such as "short sleep gene," "born with double bones," "continuous growth," "golden developmental period," and "awakening of athletic talent" all came from Link's documentary.
A senior executive from Sports Illustrated once called Link, asking him to get a tattoo, a "The Chosen One" tattoo, and claim it was a birthmark.
Link refused this.
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...
The day after tomorrow, May 22, 2011, Link will fly to Los Angeles to participate in the Los Angeles Clippers' individual tryout.
After the joint physical tests, draft prospects receive individual tryout invitations from multiple NBA teams. Tryouts usually take place in the team's home arena's auxiliary gym, mostly in training facilities. Large stadiums have a "main arena" and multiple "auxiliary arenas."
Otherwise...
If the Los Angeles Lakers are playing a game, then the Los Angeles Clippers would not be able to conduct team training.
In the past 3 days, Link has received individual tryout invitations from 7 teams.
They are: Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards, Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and Seattle SuperSonics.
Except for the Houston Rockets, Link will attend tryouts for the other 6 teams.
Draft prospects are swamped during this period, even lacking the desire to train, but Link continues to train diligently as always.
It's just that the progress is getting smaller and smaller now.
No choice, a large part of the potential for various attributes has already been tapped.
To merge player templates next time, I need to accumulate 3,000 Goat points.
However, this did not affect Link's training enthusiasm.
Today, Link plans to challenge the [All-Star (DeMar DeRozan 13-14 Season) sparring partner card].
Not long ago, Link challenged the other half of the 'Trash Bros' — Kyle Lowry.
At that time, Link was a bit 'high-handed,' thinking that since the opponent was so short, he could definitely win, but he only reached the four-star challenge.
The three bronze badges he obtained were all ones he had received before, such as First Step Master, Hop Step Master, and Ankle Breaker. However, they were all upgraded to silver badges as a result.
...
...
Compared to his last one-on-one with Kyle Lowry, Link has improved significantly. Facing DeMar DeRozan, who is strong offensively but weak defensively, Link didn't defend well in the wide-open space of a 1v1. A true 1v1 is completely different from a localized 1v1 in a game.
A true 1v1 would magnify Link's disadvantage in athletic talent.
However, in the first Hundred-Point Battle, Link scored 71 points.
In the second Hundred-Point Battle, Link scored 73 points.
By the third Hundred-Point Battle, Link retreated to within the Three-Point Shot line on defense, maintaining a distance of more than half a body length at all times, trying to cover as much as possible with his long arms. Although DeRozan is known as the "Mid-Range Prince" and a "classic shooting guard," he lacks First Step explosiveness, making it difficult for him to shake off defenders with his first step. Additionally, his Mid-range Shooting range isn't very far, with many shots coming from below the Free Throw line.
On the defensive end, DeRozan's physicality is also insufficient.
Ultimately, Link sealed the win against DeMar DeRozan with a Mid-range Shooting.
101 to 98!
All challenges completed.
Three-star reward: [First Step Master (Bronze)] (Already owned, converted to 200 badge upgrade experience points)
Four-star reward: [Contested Drive (Bronze)] and [Catch and Shoot (Bronze)] (Already owned, converted to 200 badge upgrade experience points)
Five-star reward: [Moment of Domination: Gods Weapon] Lv1