Jordan believes Link has a more promising future playing as a shooting guard.
In Michael Jordan's opinion, Link has already learned 75% of his techniques. Although his athletic ability is slightly inferior, he can completely compensate with technique and static talent.
As the god of basketball, Jordan's performance on the court is beyond reproach, but his judgment of people... is truly not to be complimented.
Of course, this doesn't mean Jordan never got it right; it's just that with predictions, if you make enough of them, you're bound to be right sometimes.
...
...
The Wizards' first regular season game of the NBA 2001-2002 season is on October 30, 2001, which is still 10 days away.
During this time, besides training, Link has also been looking at houses, or rather... villas, to be precise.
Unlike ordinary NBA rookies, Link, who signed a big contract with Nike, has financial resources comparable to All-Star players. Kenyon Martin, the number one draft pick in 2000, is practically 'poor' compared to Link.
NBA salaries vary by team; some are paid weekly, while others are paid monthly. Additionally, tax rates differ in each city.
But unfortunately, after viewing three villas, none of them captured his heart.
Furthermore, during this period, Link engaged in a 'hundred-percent battle' with another NBA superstar, Dennis Rodman.
In the third game, Link, relying on his touch, built a 20-12 lead, and what happened next left Link dumbfounded.
"Alright, you brat, you're a stubborn maniac who won't give up until you win the game..."
"It's too boring, really too boring. I'd rather go to a bar and look at pretty girls with this much effort..."
Dennis Rodman said, then directly gave up.
Link defeated Rodman 100-12, directly completing the Five-Star Challenge. Since he had previously completed the Three-Star Challenge with Rodman, after clearing it, he could only receive 'Four-Star Rewards' and 'Five-Star Rewards'.
Four-Star Rewards:
[Charge Rebound Master (Bronze)] (new) and [Tip-Off Maniac (Bronze)] (new)
[Charge Rebound Master (Bronze)] Introduction:
1. When charging for a rebound (including Defensive Rebound), Explosiveness, Explosiveness, and Jumping Height basic attributes each +3.
2. To upgrade to the next stage (Silver), you need to complete 30 charge rebounds.
[Tip-Off Maniac (Bronze)] Introduction:
1. When tipping off, Explosiveness basic attribute +3.
2. To upgrade to the next stage (Silver), you need to complete 30 effective tip-offs.
Five-Star Reward:
[Dominance Moment: Rebound Maniac] Lv1.
1. After entering Dominance, you can see the landing spot of rebounds, but only for long rebounds beyond 17 feet.
2. Players can freely activate Dominance, each lasting 2 minutes, with a cooldown of 23 hours and 58 minutes.
3. To upgrade a player's Dominance level, it needs to fuse with a Dominance of the same level and type.
"What the heck..."
"Damn, is this Rebound Dominance that bad?"
Link was actually a little disappointed.
Although he could predict the landing spot of rebounds, it was only for "long rebounds" outside a 17-foot radius with the hoop as the Center.
Basketballs that bounce that far are mostly from Three-Point Shots, or missed dunks...
However, this is an era where big men rule the paint, and the number of long rebounds is significantly less than in the small-ball era; furthermore, to put it bluntly, these long rebounds aren't contested, but rather picked up.
What? System, do you want me to become the king of picking up scraps?
...
...
The Wizards have 2 days left until their first NBA regular season game.
The American media is heavily promoting the return of Michael Jordan and the debut of NBA number one draft pick Link.
"Although Michael Jordan is one of the greatest players in NBA history, he is now 38 years old, and I don't think he still has the ability to influence games. As for the young kid, I will soon show him with practical actions that the regular season and preseason are two completely different games." — Sprewell the Madman Latrell Sprewell said in a pre-game interview with the media.
"I don't know if 38-year-old Michael Jordan can still fly? But I do know that Link... the rookie... certainly can't fly; yes, even though we played against each other in the preseason and he even defeated us, he will soon understand that the preseason is just child's play." — New York Knicks starting Center Marcus Camby said.
"What? Are you kidding me? How could we possibly set up a special defensive strategy for a rookie? Our main defensive target is only one person—Michael Jordan." — New York Knicks star Allan Houston said.
The Washington Wizards' first regular season opponent is the New York Knicks.
The American media interviewed them before the game. Facing Link, who performed well in the preseason, most Wizards players didn't take him seriously. This was then exaggerated and taken out of context by reporters.
Sprewell the Madman, Marcus Camby, and Allan Houston indeed did not consider Link a "key figure" for the Wizards. However, the New York Knicks' starting Point Guard, Mark Jackson, highly praised Link in his interview with reporters.
It's just that the media, who love to create hype and conflict, did not release Mark Jackson's words.
On the other hand.
Link was still conducting the team's 5v5 training before the regular season.
Running off-ball to the elbow, Link received a Passing from Laettner. Facing the rushing Washington Wizards' backup Point Guard, Tyronn Lue, he took a step, directly getting half a defensive body length past Tyronn Lue. After firmly planting his second step, Link leaned in, using his absolute strength advantage to directly push Tyronn Lue to the ground.
Lue, though a role player, had quite good Explosiveness and defensive anticipation. Last season, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Lue was famously 'crossed over' by Iverson in the Finals, but in the subsequent 4 Finals games, he significantly reduced Iverson's offensive efficiency.
"Wow..."
"Wow..."
The Wizards teammates watching couldn't help but exclaim.
"Mr. Doug, have you noticed, Link, his First Step seems to have gotten even faster?" Assistant Coach Larry Drew said from the sidelines.
"Hmm, yes... it certainly has gotten faster. It seems he's put a lot of effort into his footwork recently." Head Coach Doug Collins smiled and nodded.
Link's First Step indeed became faster.
Explosive Acceleration basic attribute +1, increased to 68 (70)
Improvement in Body Coordination, Core Strength...
Strength basic attribute +1, and this 1 point of attribute is entirely Core Strength. The current Link is no longer a 'rookie beginner' who just obtained a player template; the potential to be tapped is getting smaller and smaller, and every tiny step forward requires several, or even a dozen, times the effort as before.
However...
Compared to other players, Link's improvement efficiency is dozens of times higher.
In addition to that, there's also...
Link's First Step Master was promoted from [Silver] to [Gold] in this team training.
In a 5v5 game, 500 effective First Steps are easier to upgrade than most badges.
Second only to Death Coil and Off-Ball Movement...
That's right.
Link also upgraded these two badges to "Gold".
Currently, Link has three Gold badges—First Step Master, Death Coil, and Off-Ball Movement.
The remaining badges, such as Double Team Master, Ball-Handling Steal Master, etc., are mostly "Silver" badges, with a few recent ones, such as Charge Rebound Master and Tip-Off Maniac, being "Bronze" badges.
Link, with Death Coil (Gold), is a nightmare for players with slower Explosiveness and insufficient Strength. Once he latches onto them, they are either stripped of the ball or forced to stop, rarely able to break free.
The prerequisite for Death Coil to work is that Link needs enough Explosiveness and Lateral Movement to keep up with his opponent's footwork.
As for Off-Ball Movement...
To be honest, Off-Ball Movement (Silver) is a bit underwhelming. After all, the basic attributes for Explosiveness and Explosive Acceleration are too low. Not to mention the opponent's Point Guard, even a slightly faster shooting guard or small forward would require considerable effort to shake off...
But after Off-Ball Movement was promoted to "Gold," it underwent a qualitative change based on Link's technical characteristics.
The shooting guards and small forwards who could previously keep up with Link can't easily do so now.
Although Point Guards can still keep up with him, the tall Link can go to the weak-side elbow to play one-on-one.
...
...
The date is October 30, 2001.
Washington Wizards Home Arena!
MCI Center Arena!
20,674 seats, completely sold out.
The Washington Wizards fans' enthusiasm was unprecedented.
Before the game began, both teams' players entered.
As the number one draft pick, Link was the first player to enter.
The Washington Wizards' home announcer, Phil Chenier, introduced him with his passionate voice: "Please give a warm round of applause to our number one draft pick—Link."
"Haha, although the game hasn't officially started yet, Link... has already created a new record on the NBA court tonight," another live commentator, Steve Buckhantz, said with a laugh.