Stephen Curry had an embarrassed look on his face, spreading his hands as he helplessly explained that he was about to turn 14. This statement caused fellow rookies Brendan Haywood and Gerald Wallace to be slightly taken aback as well.
Although Dell Curry was a shooter-type player, his physique wasn't considered small for a shooter; no one expected his son to be such a little guy.
Link also felt it was a bit of a pity; if it were seven or eight years earlier, he could have seen Curry's 'little chili' and pulled the little rubber band on his basketball shorts.
"Link, can you give me an autograph? I'm a loyal fan of yours!" Stephen Curry walked up to Link, holding a pen and a basketball.
Link was slightly stunned. This... Link truly hadn't expected that Stephen Curry, his future idol star, would actually be his fan right now. Snapping back to reality, Link smiled and signed for Curry.
Watching Curry jump for joy after getting the signed basketball, Link stood up with a smile and rubbed his head vigorously. The force was a bit much, making Curry's scalp feel a slight sting, but since it was his idol's hand, Curry didn't refuse and instead met it with a smile.
Even though Stephen Curry was his idol in his past life, still... this guy had only let him clear the [Three-Star Reward] yesterday.
So what if he's a star player I like?
I'll still mess with him!
You have to know, even Kobe had been hit with a game-winner by me.
"Stephen, listen to me. You will definitely become an NBA player in the future, and you will have a legend of your own!" Link suddenly pulled back his smile and spoke very seriously.
The teammates nearby all nodded in agreement. Uh... it wasn't that they thought Link could predict the future, nor did they believe this thin, pale-skinned little kid in front of them could enter the NBA. But almost every NBA player is a professional master of dreams, and they would all encourage children to chase their basketball dreams.
Stephen Curry couldn't help but be shocked, looking at Link dumbfounded as he said in disbelief, "Link, are you serious?"
"Of course! You can definitely do it," Link said with a smile.
At this moment, a smile bloomed on Curry's face again. With a determined tone and firm eyes, he said, "Link, actually, I also believe I can do it, even though they don't believe in me."
The 'they' Curry mentioned referred to the people around him. After all, in the sport of basketball, an extra inch of height means an extra inch of strength. If you don't have relatively outstanding static talent, you need to have exceptional running and jumping talent, and the current Stephen Curry had neither.
"Uh... Link... it's a waste of talent for this kid not to go into sales."
"He and this little guy Stephen are really... one dares to say it, and the other dares to believe it!"
Michael Jordan couldn't help but complain in his heart.
…
…
Tonight's starting lineup for the Raptors was Alvin Williams, Vince Carter, Morris Peterson, Antonio Davis, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Hakeem Olajuwon served as the Raptors' starting Center tonight. Although his barefoot height was only 208cm and he was already 40 years old, his post moves were still a threat. This season, he was averaging 7.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.5 Blocks.
For the Washington Wizards' starting lineup, Michael Jordan's return caused Hamilton to slide up to the small forward position.
Doug Collins sent out a starting lineup of: Link, Michael Jordan, Hamilton, Randolph, and Haywood.
After the game started, the Washington Wizards wanted to attack the Raptors' paint; after all, Olajuwon was truly too old. However, an aging tiger is still a tiger. With plenty of Stamina at the start, Olajuwon first gave Hamilton a big Block as he cut to the basket for a layup; soon after, when switched onto Link, he used his excellent defensive awareness to interfere with his mid-range jumper. After the successful defense, Vince Carter took the lead for the Raptors and, under Michael Jordan's pursuit, showed off a gliding dunk.
The Washington Wizards were a bit dazed by the start. At the first official timeout, it was 2 to 12, with the Raptors holding a 10-point lead.
After the timeout, the Washington Wizards did not adjust their offensive strategy, still wanting to get into the paint. Carter was defending Michael Jordan, but the ball was still in Link's hands. Link still ran a high-post pick-and-roll with Haywood. Olajuwon still chose a hard hedge, and Link used his first step to blow past him. During his peak, The Dream's Speed was fast enough to keep up with a small forward or even some slower shooting guards, but the current Dream's body was always half a beat slower than his consciousness; although he could effectively predict the direction of Link's drive, he just couldn't keep up.
Link successfully drove past Olajuwon three times in a row, forcing the Raptors to collapse their defense. At this time, Link's passes were always precise—yes, precise, not just 'relatively precise' like in the mid-season... After his teammates caught the ball, they could immediately launch an attack, either shooting or driving.
By the end of the first quarter, the Washington Wizards had tied the score at 28-28. When the second quarter began, Link and Michael Jordan were resting on the bench. However, in just three minutes, Carter led a group of Raptors bench players to another 8-0 run, widening the gap to 8 points again.
"Beep!" Washington Wizards head coach Doug Collins called a timeout. Fans in front of their TVs saw Link, who had just stood up and was preparing to take off his warm-up gear to enter the game, get pushed back down by the coach.
"Oh man..."
"What kind of rotation is this?"
"Why put Michael Jordan in but not Link?"
"I'm still waiting for Link's career total points to break 2,000 tonight."
The fans waiting in front of their TVs couldn't help but get anxious.
In his rookie season, Link could average 25.1 points. Before this game started, Link's career total points had reached 1,974. He was only 26 points away from his career total points breaking 2,000. As for the youngest 2,000-point player, that would undoubtedly be Link's…
There was no helping it; who told Link not to go to college? Besides, he was an excellent student with both good character and academic performance... He entered the NBA just after turning 17.
Oh…
Of course, the most important things were his 'immediate impact' and 'growth potential.' A rookie averaging 25.1 points is a standout even in the long history of the NBA.
Currently, Link had already scored 10 points and was only 16 points away from the 2,000-point career milestone. This was why the fans were so anxious.