"That's right, Link, born on January 31, 1984, is only 17 years and 272 days old tonight for his regular season debut. He has broken Jermaine ONeal's record of 18 years and 53 days, becoming the youngest player in NBA history," said Phil Chenier, the Washington Wizards' home commentator.
Link's record for the youngest debut at 17 years and 272 days will not be broken by anyone in the future. Even the youngest player in his previous life, Andrew Bynum, was drafted at 17 years and 249 days old, but his debut record was 18 years and 6 days. In 2005, the NBA and the players' union reached an agreement requiring players to be "at least 19 years old and at least one year out of high school" to be eligible for the draft.
However, during this period, there were no age restrictions for the NBA draft; you only needed to have graduated from high school to be eligible, even if you were 16 years old.
Link, not yet 18, is the youngest active NBA player, bar none. As for Link's peers, most are still in their senior year of high school, and some are even in their junior year, such as LeBron James.
"Link!"
"Link!"
"King!"
"King!"
When Link's name was called, the MCI Center, the Wizards' home arena in Washington, erupted with deafening cheers.
Many fans even shouted Link's player nickname.
This made Michael Jordan slightly pause, thinking to himself, "Is this kid really that popular and hot? My entrance later might not even overshadow him... Wait, there are quite a few people online criticizing him, could these people all be shills he hired?"
The Wizards' player introduction order this season was different from last year...
Link, the number one draft pick, was the first to appear.
Next, players would appear in order from lowest to highest based on their years in the league, fame, and status.
The god of basketball, Michael Jordan, was naturally the last to come out.
"Michael!"
"Michael!"
"Welcome back!"
Many of Jordan's loyal fans at the scene shouted hoarsely, almost fainting from lack of oxygen.
Michael Jordan let out a long sigh of relief and showed a satisfied smile, not forgetting to glance at Link.
After introducing the home team players, it was time to introduce the away team players. The popularity of home players was based on the applause and cheers of the fans, while the fame and strength of away players were directly proportional to the boos.
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...
[New York Knicks (Away)]: Mark Jackson, Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, Kurt Thomas, and Marcus Camby.
[Washington Wizards (Home)]: Link, Michael Jordan, Richard Hamilton, Christian Laettner, and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Popeye Jones was getting old. After training two days ago, his back was sore, and he was absent from this game. Filling in for him was the Buffalo, Jarred Vanderbilt, a heavy interior player standing 26cm tall and weighing 125kg.
Tonight's starting lineups for both teams were almost unchanged from the preseason. However, there were changes in defensive matchups. The New York Knicks' Perimeter Defense ace, The Madman, was matched against Michael Jordan, while Link was defended by the New York Knicks' star player, Allan Houston.
There was no other way; even with Mark Jackson giving his all in the last preseason game, Link still dominated him. Older, shorter guards like him were no different from ATMs in front of Link.
Before the official jump ball between the two teams.
TNT Broadcast Booth commentators Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith were arguing heatedly about Link's performance tonight.
"Buddy, what are you talking about? How is that possible? Regular season games are not at all on the same level as preseason games. Preseason is just a warm-up for professional athletes. I bet this kid won't score 2 points tonight, maybe not even 10 points," Charles Barkley said confidently.
"Sir Charles, Link... he's no ordinary rookie. Before being drafted by the Washington Wizards, he already secured a nearly 100 million dollar mega-contract with Nike. You know these guys are the smartest people in the world..." Kenny Smith said.
As a former professional player and now a famous basketball commentator, Kenny Smith, despite not knowing Link particularly well, trusted that the capitalists who chose him wouldn't make a mistake.
"Even so, this kid can't score more than 2 points. If he really can, I wouldn't mind kissing your ass." Barkley, who officially became a TNT commentator in 2000, naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to piggyback on Link's popularity in order to secure a large commentary contract in the future.
"Sir Charles, please ask me if I'm willing before you make that decision?" Kenny Smith rolled his eyes in annoyance.
On the other hand, Director Zhang and Teacher Sun from Tianchao Sports TV were also broadcasting this game.
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...
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle blew, and both sides jumped for the ball. Marcus Camby, with his superior Jumping Height, won the jump ball.
Mark Jackson couldn't break through Link's defense. Even with Camby's screen, it was difficult to shake off Link's entanglement.
"What's going on? This kid... not only are his footwork faster, but his hands are also faster." Mark Jackson, caught by Link's Death Coil (Gold), felt like he had handcuffs and shackles on.
Allan Houston, using a teammate's back screen, barely managed to get half a step ahead of Hamilton, but Mark Jackson, wanting to pass, was delayed by Link's long arms, missing the best Passing opportunity.
With a height of 24.5cm and a wingspan of 221cm, Link almost completely enveloped the 185cm tall Mark Jackson. The next instant, with a "bang!" Link's long arm struck out, fiercely cutting at the basketball. The strength of a wing player quickly stripped the ball away.
"Great defense..."
"This is why Link was chosen by us with the number one draft pick!"
Steve Buckhantz said passionately.
The Wizards went on a fast break, and Link was quickly met by Allan Houston.
"rookie, I advise you to pass the ball..." Link dribbled to the top of the arc, and Allan Houston's voice rang out.
Link dribbled one step to the left, then quickly passed the ball to Michael Jordan, who was cutting in. Facing The Madman's tight defense, Jordan took one dribble after receiving the ball, then gathered it and drove hard. However, The Madman didn't lose out in the confrontation. Jordan pushed off the ground, and his Explosiveness in that instant was even faster than The Madman's.
Jordan, holding the ball in his right hand, tried to find an angle for a bank shot, but Marcus Camby's timely help defense again put pressure on Jordan's layup. With a "clang!" the layup clanked off the rim.
"Fuck!" Jordan cursed, then quickly retreated on defense, showing no signs of being a 38-year-old veteran.
Both teams had a poor shooting touch at the start, with consecutive misses.
For the Wizards, Jordan missed his first shot, but the next two mid-range misses were contributed by Link.
The first to break the scoring drought was not a perimeter player, but a put-back by Marcus Camby.
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...
"rookie, you can forget about scoring easily under my defense." Allan Houston, after successfully defending Link twice, continuously trash-talked.
Trash-talking generally serves two purposes: first, to vent one's emotions; second, to attack and influence the opponent's mentality, making them anxious.
In the TNT Broadcast Booth, Charles Barkley grinned and said, "My dear Kenny, although the number one draft pick's defense is good, it's not easy for him to score against NBA regular season level defense."
But as soon as he finished speaking...
Barkley's face was as if slapped hard by an invisible hand.
Facing Allan Houston's defense, Link moved off-ball, came to the elbow area, and received a pass from Laettner. Allan Houston, arriving a step late, was directly faked out and jumped by Link with a simple pump fake.
That's right...
Although Link missed his first two shots, in Sharpshooter Allan Houston's mind, Link's shooting accuracy was not much worse than his own. Allan Houston, who was faked out, was also startled, not expecting Link, as a rookie, to have such a stable mentality, and that he didn't shoot immediately when such a good open shot opportunity appeared.
After faking out his defender, Link drove into the paint, jumped off the ground, and completed a powerful dunk before Camby's help defense arrived.
Although Link's Jumping Height was limited, his arms were long, so he didn't need to jump much to dunk, giving the illusion that he had more energy left. Well, yes, it was indeed an illusion; even when Link dunked quickly without defense, it was pretty much at this height.
"Wow..."
"This is too unreasonable..."
"Before the game, we all thought Link would score his first NBA points with a mid-range shot or from mid-range, but we never expected it to be... a dunk."
"However, Link's decision to drive in for a powerful dunk was not reckless; he observed that Camby's defensive attention was drawn to Jordan, and he could only focus on one."
Link, who completed a powerful low-altitude dunk, hung on the rim, and bent his knees upon landing to reduce the impact.
2-2. Link broke the scoring drought for the Wizards with a dunk, and Link noticed the team's morale visibly improving.
Although dunks and mid-range shots are both 2 points, their impact on team morale is incomparable.
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...
Link used the Buffalo Vanderbilt's screen, changed direction with a crossover, and went left. Allan Houston was caught on the screen. After dribbling forward one step, Camby stayed in the paint and didn't close out. With a "swish!" he hit a mid-range jumper.
After scoring, Link smiled and said to Allan Houston, "Buddy, your defense is really good. The first quarter is already halfway over, and I've only scored 11 points..."
Allan Houston was speechless and couldn't help but inwardly complain about the coaching staff. Who the hell said this damn rookie was slow? Damn it... he's clearly very fast and slippery!
15-2!
In his regular season debut, Link had scored 11 points just halfway through the first quarter. As for the great god of basketball, Michael Jordan...