Chapter 7

On June 1, 1993, in Chicago, Illinois, USA, as the city that had been the focus of global basketball in recent years, the NBA Eastern Conference Finals were being fiercely contested between the city's pride, the Chicago Bulls, and the New York Knicks. With the Eastern Conference Finals between Chicago and the Knicks drawing closer to the final result, it could be said that at this time, the city had become the focus of the world, with everyone eagerly awaiting the scene of Jordan and the Bulls advancing to the finals for the third consecutive year.

Unlike the intense NBA atmosphere in Chicago, another gym in the city was filled with a different kind of basketball charm.

"Alice, did you really make me spend 10,000 dollars to come to this godforsaken place?"

At the Chicago Rookie Combine, Lin Han looked at the bustling crowd around him and the rookies who were already warming up on the training ground, preparing for the upcoming physical tests, with a look of dissatisfaction.

This training camp was no different from the rookie training camps organized by individual NBA teams. After all, one usually didn't have to pay to enter the camps organized by NBA teams, but Lin Han had to spend 10,000 dollars to come to this Chicago Rookie Combine.

He had worked hard for over half a year for Ma Jian, and the lucky money he had saved over the years amounted to only 15,000 dollars. To enter this special rookie training camp that Alice highly recommended, he had to put all his savings on the line.

As a player who had already registered for the NBA draft, the NBA had never had many requirements for players registering for the draft. Generally speaking, if a player was from the United States, they just needed to have graduated from high school and be at least 18 years old to register. While the NBA draft registration process was indeed simple and the requirements were not high, being selected by an NBA team was a different story. After all, there were only 27 NBA teams, and each team generally had only two draft picks per year.

Therefore, after the NBA draft each year, a large number of undrafted young players were left behind. Many young players participating in the NBA draft, especially those who were not the focus of the entire country, would attend many rookie training camps. Even the highly regarded players in the country would participate in these camps to improve their draft positions, as it was a great platform to showcase themselves.

In Lin Han's original plan, he intended to try out at the Utah Jazz's rookie training camp. After all, he was from Utah, and the Jazz would not create too many obstacles for him. Even if the Jazz did not think highly of him, they would not prevent him from entering. So, trying out at the Utah Jazz's rookie training camp was a great opportunity. However, the final result was that when Alice, the shameless girl, learned about the Chicago Rookie Combine, she forced him to come to Chicago.

This directly cost Lin Han 10,000 dollars. Since he had no experience in NCAA Division I games and his college statistics were abysmal, and he was not a genius player invited by the Chicago Rookie Combine, Lin Han had to pay to enter.

"Big dummy, be content. It's just 10,000 dollars. Do you know what the Chicago Rookie Combine and the Orlando Rookie Combine represent? In a hundred years, even if you had a million dollars, you wouldn't be able to enter these two camps with your current skills. In a hundred years, these two camps will have only 50 fixed spots each, and almost all 50 participants will be selected. Therefore, these two camps are known as the 'Genius Camps,' and only genius players can enter."

"So, during that period, almost all the best scouts from NBA teams would gather at these two camps. The NBA teams' emphasis on these combined camps far exceeded their own team camps. Even a hundred years later, many NBA rookies would only participate in the Chicago or Orlando Rookie Combines, almost ignoring the other team camps, because after these two camps, their draft positions would be almost determined."

"Moreover, you can think about it yourself. In such a gathering of geniuses, after all the geniuses are compared on the same platform, a rough estimate of who is better and who is worse can be made. If you can hold your own in training, testing, and competition with these geniuses, teams will soon take notice of you. So, being here is much better than going to other messy camps and competing with low-level opponents. Even if you perform outstandingly in those messy camps, no one will pay attention to you because your opponents are too low-level."

"Although the current Chicago Rookie Combine is not as prestigious as it will be in a hundred years, I just scanned the venue, and all NBA teams' scouts are here, most of them being the chief scouts of their teams. So, as long as you perform well here, you will officially enter the radar of all NBA teams."

Although Lin Han was scolded by the girl and gained a deeper understanding of this highly recommended place, he was still very troubled by the 10,000 dollars, which was two-thirds of his savings.

"Quick, quick, Anfernee Hardaway is starting the physical tests!"

"Where, let me see. My God, his sprint speed is so fast? Even faster than Bobby Hurley, who is considered the best point guard in this year's draft. Hurley is 20 centimeters shorter than Hardaway, yet his sprint speed is still not as fast as Hardaway's!"

"It's not that Hurley is bad, but Hardaway is too strong! Among this year's rookies, probably only Chris Webber can match him. However, the Orlando Magic, who have the first pick, seem to have already decided to select Hardaway. It looks like Hardaway will be the number one pick this year."

"Will there really be an outside player as the number one pick this year? Jordan never achieved that. If Hardaway can really become the number one pick this year, he will truly be a perfect player before entering the NBA."

"Indeed, he is a truly perfect player. Without considering his NBA career, even Jordan can't compare to him. In the history of basketball, no player has ever been the top player in high school, the best player in their first NCAA season, and then won the national player of the year for two consecutive years. Last year, he even led the NCAA team to defeat the best basketball team in history, the US Dream Team, led by Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. After the game, he was personally chosen by Jordan as his successor. Although many players are hyped as Jordan's successors, Hardaway is the only one personally chosen by Jordan. In the NCAA team, there was another Jordan successor, Grant Hill, but clearly, in Jordan's eyes, Hardaway is stronger than Hill."

The commotion, a huge commotion. When Lin Han saw the somewhat thin black player walk onto the training ground for the physical tests, he did not expect such a large commotion to occur. After all, many star rookies had already gone through the tests, such as Chris Webber, one of the most popular players in the country and a future top forward in the NBA. Even when this super rookie went through the tests, it did not make all the scouts' eyes widen or stop all the other rookies from their training and warm-ups to focus on him.

Listening to the people around him, Lin Han clearly felt that this player named Anfernee Hardaway was like Jordan on the NBA court, a pride of the era!

"Jordan's personally chosen successor, the most perfect player so far?"

Lin Han looked at Hardaway's figure, muttering to himself uncertainly. Jordan was the most perfect player in his heart, and he was unsure if this player, also called the most perfect, was really as good as Jordan.

...

...

"Anfernee's state today is not very good. It seems the media has had a significant impact on him recently."

At this moment, Lin Han was closely watching Hardaway's every move during the physical tests, and all the scouts at the venue were staring intently at Hardaway, as they were the most important group at this training camp.

"Yes, he hasn't adapted to these changes yet, but even so, his talent is not comparable to Hurley or other players."

"Right, he is the best player among all the rookies this year. I really envy the Orlando Magic's luck. Last year, they used their first pick to select the most talented big man, Shaquille O'Neal, and this year, they have the first pick again to select the most talented outside player, Anfernee Hardaway. Just thinking about the combination of O'Neal and Hardaway is scary."

"Perhaps, in two years, the Orlando Magic will become an even more terrifying team than the Chicago Bulls!"

After Anfernee Hardaway and Bobby Hurley, the two genius players, finished their physical tests, the extremely focused and tense atmosphere at the venue returned to normal.

And after Anfernee finished, the next group was Lin Han's turn to go on the field.

Although he had been watching for a long time, when it was his turn, Lin Han still felt very nervous. Not just a little nervous, but extremely nervous.

This was a 10,000-dollar opportunity to compete with the most talented group of rookies in the country, and Lin Han did not think he would have another chance like this.

So when he walked onto the testing ground, Lin Han found his legs were not very cooperative.

"Bro, don't be nervous. It's just a physical test. This is the stage for top geniuses, not for us. So, even if you don't perform well, it's okay."

Just as Lin Han felt his legs trembling, his shoulder was lightly patted. He turned around to see a very mature black player smiling at him.

"Thanks, I'm Lin Han, 19 years old, from Utah. You're right, I was too nervous."

After a brief pause, Lin Han smiled at the mature rookie who was comforting him. The 10,000 dollars spent on this opportunity had made Lin Han overly anxious and nervous.

"19 years old? Such a young rookie is quite rare. It seems you are a genius player," the mature black rookie said teasingly, but Lin Han blushed when he heard this. He knew what the black rookie meant. Generally, 18 or 19-year-old players participating in the draft were mostly high school students, and those who had the confidence to enter the draft were usually geniuses, and the best of the best.

However, it was clear that Lin Han did not belong to that group.

"Sorry, I was just joking. You're not upset, right? Are you less nervous now?" The black rookie saw Lin Han's awkward smile and continued to laugh, "I'm Bruce Bowen, from California, 22 years old. I hope we both do well in the upcoming tests."

Bruce Bowen? This kind-hearted good guy is Bruce Bowen? Looking at the black player with a warm smile, Lin Han gave him the title of 'Big Good Guy.'

...

...

With Bruce Bowen's help, Lin Han was no longer nervous when he went on the field, but when the physical tests officially began, and he saw a player he had considered to be just as ordinary as himself perform better than him in almost all the tests, Lin Han almost felt like he was about to collapse.

Both were listed as shooting guards. In terms of height, Bowen was taller; in terms of wingspan, Bowen was much better; in the three-quarter court sprint, Bowen could leave him two body lengths behind; in the full-court shuttle run, Bowen could lead him by a quarter of the court; and in the standing reach, there was no need to compare. Even in Lin Han's strongest area, jumping, he did not seem to be better than Bowen.

When Lin Han and Bowen were both drenched in sweat after completing their physical tests, Lin Han's gaze toward Bowen was no longer friendly. This 'Big Good Guy' rookie had made him very sad.

"Damn, is this an ordinary player who is not a genius? Are you mocking my intelligence?"

Looking at Bowen, who still had a warm smile and handed him a towel, Lin Han gritted his teeth in his heart.

Of course, Lin Han was now full of resentment toward Bowen, almost to the point of being overwhelmed by it. However, this made Bowen very confused. What was wrong with this young man?

It seemed Bowen had not yet realized his problem.

...

...

"Why are the physical test results of the last group so poor? And how did this Lin Han get in here?"

As the director of this training camp, Chris Wood, received the rookie reports from his assistant in his office, he almost roared when he saw the physical test results of Bruce Bowen and Lin Han. Especially when he saw that Lin Han's three-quarter court sprint was over 3.9 seconds and his full-court shuttle run was 13.5 seconds, his face turned ashen. If Bruce Bowen, although not outstanding, was still considered a decent rookie, then Lin Han was completely out of the league.

"Bruce Bowen's NCAA statistics are good, although his physical attributes are average, his personal skills are quite distinctive. But this Lin Han, he hasn't even played in the NCAA Division II. In a low-level team, he averaged 2.5 points, 3.5 assists, 0.5 rebounds, 0.1 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game?"

"Such statistics, such a player, are you sure he's not some old man from the street? Even those old men would have better statistics."

"Regardless of how he got in here, if you ever dare to admit such a player to this genius training camp again, you're fired!"

Soon, after the training camp director, Chris Wood, roared in his office, Lin Han quickly became a celebrity in the training camp, and the discussions about him were as heated as those about Webber or Hardaway.

This young man, who was still unaware, did not know that he had become the 'odd one out' in the mouths of these genius players.

; Page Turn AD Start

; Page Turn AD End