Although Link would participate in team "bonding" activities, it was usually limited to dinners; going to a nightclub with his teammates like tonight was a first.
The other teammates naturally welcomed Link's inclusion very warmly.
Jordan took the group of players to a relatively respectable nightclub.
"Link... if you want to become an NBA superstar, you must be able to withstand outside temptations. Many NBA talents who could have made it to mount rushmore let themselves go after achieving some success."
"Sigh, some became alcoholics, some became gluttons... and then there's women..."
"To be the face of the NBA, you must have positive energy..." In the nightclub, Jordan sat on a sofa puffing on a cigar, speaking with a solemn expression.
As for the other players, Jordan didn't care if they played around a bit.
But Link was different; he was one of only two NBA rookies Jordan thought highly of—the other being number 8 for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Although he used to joke often, teasing Link for not daring to come to a nightclub, now that Link had actually come along, Jordan felt nervous instead.
"Michael, I understand." At this moment, Link, who was studying the complete NBA rulebook, didn't even lift his eyelids. His tone sounded serious, like a student listening to a lecture.
But Jordan, who knew Link well, was perfectly aware that this bastard was just humoring him.
To be fair, Link really didn't want to say another word of nonsense to Michael Jordan, who was full of grand principles...
Uh...
You've got women on both arms, yet you're telling me to stay away from them and have positive energy?
Please, tell the two beauties beside you to leave first, okay?
...
...
During this nightclub trip, the teammates all had a great time with the beauties. For example, the handsome veteran Laettner received contact information from two girls.
The ugliest one, Popeye Jones, uh... naturally, no one was interested in him.
As a super rookie in the league, Link received eight photos with contact information, and some even had hotel room numbers written on them.
This made fellow rookie Brendan Haywood incredibly envious, but Link didn't care at all; he had been used to such things since high school.
As for the god of basketball, Michael Jordan, he received the most photos.
"rookie, help me count how many there are." To show off, Michael Jordan deliberately had Haywood count them in front of Link and the others.
"Wow..."
"Michael, exactly 23... just like your jersey number."
Haywood said in surprise.
"Haha." Michael Jordan immediately burst into laughter, then turned to Link and said, "Link, it seems that even though I'm nearly 40, my charm hasn't faded at all."
"Michael, your hundreds of millions of dollars... are indeed quite attractive." Link really wanted to say, 'You're handsome my ass, who wouldn't be handsome with hundreds of millions of dollars?'
"Just keep being jealous... Link..." Michael Jordan said, somewhat unhappy.
On the other hand, after leaving the nightclub, a series of cold, mechanical electronic system prompts rang out in Link's mind again.
"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for unlocking the hidden badge completion condition—Studying NBA rules in a nightclub."
"Ding! Rewarding the Host with the personality badge—Strongest Commander!"
Personality badges cannot be upgraded.
[Strongest Commander] Function Introduction:
During a game, help interior teammates get into the zone by feeding them 'biscuits'; the more 'biscuits' fed, the better the teammate's form becomes, providing an all-around boost until their potential is 100% utilized.
Of course, this is a one-time effect.
By the way...
Link currently has three personality badges:
[Reapers Scythe]
[Invincible Background Board]
[Strongest Commander]
...
...
After defeating the Indiana Pacers, the Wizards faced the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks in succession.
In the game against the Miami Heat, the Wizards took the victory without shedding blood.
However, in the game against the New York Knicks, the Wizards, who had poor shooting touch from the perimeter, fell to defeat.
This week they achieved a record of 2 wins and 1 loss. Link's stats were also quite good, with a near triple-double average of 25 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 Steals, and 0.3 blocks. However, Paul Pierce, who led his team to a 3-0 record with equally explosive stats, took the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
The Western Conference award went to veteran Gary Payton.
Over the past five days, besides games, Link immersed himself in the training hall.
To be honest...
It's hard for players to do targeted training during the season; they usually 'fix their flaws' during the off-season. But Link was different; he had the sparring partner card. A normal person has 24 hours a day, but Link had 36, and his energy was incredibly abundant, as if he had drunk dragon's blood.
However, to maximize the cost-effectiveness of his training in the short term, Link chose the'specialized and elite' route.
He didn't practice shooting and finishing... after all, the potential for these attributes wasn't very high. Additionally, the current NBA era was very unfriendly to 'on-ball face-up jumpers'. If you brought the Suns-era Durant here, his scoring would likely drop by at least 15%.
Furthermore, Link's current shooting attributes were perfectly sufficient.
In terms of skills, Link practiced 'Ball Handling', not just to improve his ball control, but also to lower his dribbling center of gravity. James Harden could get as low as 20cm from the ground; tall defenders trying to bend down to Steal from him would easily be bypassed, while small point guards would be devoured by Harden's strength advantage.
Of course, Harden's height is 196cm, and Link is 5cm taller than him, so it's impossible to lower his center of gravity to 20cm; he would aim for 23cm or 24cm.
While adjusting his dribbling height, Link's [Ball Handling] base attribute increased by +3, rising to 91 (96).
Next was [Physicality and Athletics]...
Link trained his Explosive Acceleration by running with a parachute, which both Michael Jordan and team head coach Doug Collins felt was reckless. Furthermore, in their view, Link's athletic ability had likely reached its ceiling.
After entering the NBA, Link's physicality had undergone a transformation. Although he still couldn't fly through the air, he was no longer a liability.
This had already exceeded the Washington Wizards management's expectations; they were worried that if Link kept training blindly like this, his body would suffer a backlash...
But in reality...
Link's [Explosive Acceleration] base attribute increased by +5 points to 75 (90); his Explosiveness also increased by 4 points to 68 (84).
Tomorrow, December 16, 2001, the Washington Wizards would challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers away.
To give Ricky Davis a piece of his mind...
Link chose to use the James Harden sparring partner card, and the two played a 100-point game in the alternate dimension.
This match was harder than Link imagined. People outside said Harden's defense was poor, but against Link, who was slow and liked to play with rhythm, Harden defended quite well. Link was nearly stripped numb by him.
Uh...
Harden's Steals were really something...
As for post-ups, Link tried them too, but the effect was poor; he could hardly budge him and could only rely on his height for hooks, but Harden provided plenty of contact, so that wasn't very effective either. Finally, relying on his Stamina bug, after a 7-game battle with Harden, he narrowly won the 100-point match.
3-Star Reward: [First Step Master (Bronze)]
4-Star Reward: [Difficult Shots (Bronze)], [Euro Step Master (Bronze)] (new)
5-Star Reward: [Moment of Dominance: Sharpshooter] Lv1
Link already had First Step Master and Difficult Shots, so they were converted into experience for the same type of badges.
[Euro Step Master (Bronze)]:
When using the Euro Step, stride length and frequency will be slightly increased.
As for [Moment of Dominance: Sharpshooter], Link is currently Lv2. Obtaining Lv1 doesn't grant an immediate upgrade; he needs one more Lv1 to reach Lv3.