Chapter 13

On December 8, 2005, at the US Airways Center in Arizona, USA, the post-game press conference was underway.

"… Because the opponent's impact was strong and their counterattacks were sharp, after discussing with the coaching staff, we decided to increase our inside presence in the second half, especially in the battle for rebounds."

Mike D'Antoni, the then-head coach of the Phoenix Suns, was sitting at the center of a long table, addressing the numerous media reporters in the room.

"The Nets have the best point guard rebounder in the league. If Jason gets the rebound, it could easily lead to a fast break. With our defensive strength, it's very difficult to stop their quick attacks. After all…"

At this point, D'Antoni smiled self-deprecatingly and said to the reporters, "After all, our Suns' defense is notoriously poor, ha ha ha…!"

"Ha ha ha…"

D'Antoni's generous self-deprecation triggered a wave of friendly laughter from the media reporters. Many of them noted down this statement, planning to use it as a subheading for today's post-game news.

At this press conference, almost all the reporters' questions focused on the Suns' lineup changes in the second half.

From the final results, the Suns' lineup changes were very successful. Chen Mu, who replaced Tim Thomas as a starter, almost single-handedly changed the course of the game.

As one of the "dual cores" on the Suns, Chen Mu took on the role of a rebounding commander. The Suns' offense and defense became very organized. On offense, Steve Nash orchestrated the plays, constantly looking for opportunities to attack the basket with his teammates. On defense, Chen Mu was also in command, either taking the rebound himself or directing his teammates to position themselves, almost securing every rebound.

This unique combination of inside and outside cores is very rare, especially the role Chen Mu played, which has never been seen in NBA history.

After all, apart from Chen Mu, who has a "cheat" for rebounding, no other player can immediately judge the rebound's landing point the moment the ball is shot.

This near "god-like" skill, regardless of the era, is capable of influencing the course of the game, making it extremely powerful.

In NBA history, there was once a player who dedicated almost all his mental and intellectual efforts to rebounding, becoming a seven-time rebounding champion. Chen Mu might become the next king of rebounding.

"… We owe the victory in this game to my new partner, the big man from China, Chen!"

Back at the press conference, the person answering the reporters' questions had changed from head coach D'Antoni to the team's core player, Steve Nash.

"Steve, I remember Isaiah Thomas once said that he thought Dennis Rodman's rebounding skills and wisdom were at the level of Einstein," a reporter mentioned a well-known story in the NBA, asking, "What level do you think your new partner Chen is at in terms of rebounding wisdom?"

"Ha ha, the Einstein of rebounding, that's a great analogy," Nash laughed. "If Dennis's rebounding wisdom is at the level of Einstein, then Chen's rebounding wisdom is at least at the level of Leonardo da Vinci!"

"Any more questions? You can ask my little brother Chen!"

Nash was very generous. After briefly answering a few questions, he gave the central position to Chen Mu and winked at him as he left.

Apart from Nash, the other Suns players also winked at Chen Mu, seemingly trying to hold back their laughter, waiting to see Chen Mu's first NBA interview.

"Cough, cough…"

Chen Mu pretended to cough and then slowly walked up to the stage.

"Tap, tap, tap"

Perhaps due to nervousness, Chen Mu actually walked with his arms and legs moving in the same direction, a clumsy moment that was captured by countless television cameras and quickly transmitted around the world, becoming a hot topic among fans.

"Tap"

Finally, after what seemed like the longest walk of his life, Chen Mu reached his seat and sat down, looking at the reporters eagerly awaiting his answers, his body stiff with tension. Compared to giving an interview, Chen Mu would rather be on the court. After all, for a rookie, becoming the star of the post-game press conference after the first game is a bit too fast.

"Chen, how did you feel about your first NBA game?"

A reporter raised his hand and asked.

"Uh, good, very good," Chen Mu nodded. "My teammates were very friendly, and we won the game, so I felt good."

"Hmm…"

D'Antoni was relatively satisfied with Chen Mu's response. Although his English still had a Chinese accent, Chen Mu's answer was very appropriate, concise, and correct, with no major issues.

"In your first NBA game, you only played for 17 minutes, but you grabbed double-digit rebounds. And on the court, you also demonstrated an extraordinary ability to judge the landing point of rebounds." Another reporter asked, "Where does this ability come from?"

"Hmm…"

Chen Mu hesitated for a moment, thinking he couldn't tell them about his "cheat." After much deliberation, he finally answered, "Talent, I can only say it's a talent."

After answering a few more questions, Chen Mu's first post-game press conference ended. After leaving the press conference, Nash invited the players to a high-end restaurant for a big meal.

During the meal, Chen Mu noticed that the Suns players were very mindful of their bodies. Despite being in a high-end Western restaurant with delicious steaks and fine wines, most players still strictly followed their own dietary plans.

"If I can stay with the Suns and integrate into this positive atmosphere, it will definitely be a good thing!" Chen Mu thought to himself.

After dinner, Chen Mu said goodbye to his teammates and returned to the apartment his agent, Duffy, had rented for him to rest. Just as he finished washing up and was about to go to bed, he suddenly remembered something.

"Right, I haven't redeemed my SP points yet!"

"Beep, beep, beep"

In fact, after the game ended, the magical notification bar in front of Chen Mu's eyes disappeared, but a small, semi-transparent button remained in the corner.

This button had a gear-like shape. Chen Mu tried to press it, and with a "beep," a semi-transparent list interface appeared in front of him.

"Hmm, SP point statistics, badge statistics, technical statistics, teammate satisfaction analysis, team chemistry…"

The list had several different icons arranged in categories, with a layout very similar to the game interface from the original timeline, except for the lack of options like "start game." All other options were available.

"SP point redemption space… that's it!"

After a bit of searching, Chen Mu found the button to enter the redemption space. After a series of operations, a white light flashed, and Chen Mu felt himself enveloped by a strange force. Then, a blinding white light flashed, and he felt as if he was being dragged into a tunnel, instantly losing his balance.

"Thud"

A short while later, Chen Mu landed on his butt, blinking to adjust to the blinding white light around him. He found himself in a white space with no visible boundaries, everything seemed very supernatural.

"Am I in a game, or has the system followed me to this timeline?" Chen Mu looked around, curious about this mysterious space, and smiled to himself, "What a wondrous space, like a dream of Zhuangzi and the butterfly!"

"Tap, tap, tap"

After taking a few steps, Chen Mu found an operable list floating in the air. It had several options, including ability redemption, SP point inquiry, badge redemption, and signature move redemption, with a rich variety of content.

"Beep"

When he clicked on the SP point inquiry, the list flashed, and an option page appeared in front of Chen Mu. On the side of the page, there was a scroll bar-like operation area that could be manually scrolled by Chen Mu.

"Game task list."

When he clicked on this option, a long list appeared in front of Chen Mu. Upon closer inspection, it was very similar to the game.

Scoring 10 points in a single game, starting as a starter, playing for 30 minutes, achieving 100% shooting accuracy, getting 5 steals in a single game, getting 5 assists in a single game…

Each task had a small space left behind it. For tasks Chen Mu had completed, a green checkmark appeared, while for those not completed, nothing appeared.

"Um, I've completed 5 offensive rebounds and 10 rebounds in a single game… damn, only two…!"

At the bottom of the list, a small line of text reminded Chen Mu that the data for single-game tasks would reset at the end of each season. This means that after receiving the rewards for these tasks in this season, he could still receive them again in the next season if he achieved similar data.

In his first NBA game, although Chen Mu's rebounding skills amazed everyone, his poor performance on offense, with only 1 out of 5 shots made for 2 points (a dunk from Nash's pass), meant he did not complete any scoring-related tasks.

In addition to game tasks, there were also season tasks, which were cumulative data tasks for the season. These tasks also reset at the end of the season and could be completed repeatedly.

Furthermore, there were career tasks and Hall of Fame progression options, each with data-based tasks.

"Teammate evaluation analysis."

When he clicked on this tab, Chen Mu saw his teammates' evaluations. In his first game, Chen Mu's exceptional rebounding performance earned him some trust from his teammates, earning him a "B-" rating for the game.

Since he had only played one game, Chen Mu's average teammate evaluation was also "B-."

In each game, in addition to earning SP points based on data, the game's outcome, teammate evaluations, and coach evaluations also affected Chen Mu's point accumulation.

Currently, Chen Mu had 90 SP points.

"Right, since there are these values, there must also be an evaluation of my current abilities. Where is it…?"

After a bit of searching, Chen Mu found his current evaluation in one of the tabs. The numbers that appeared made him pause, and he chuckled bitterly.

"Name: Chen Mu; Age: 17; Overall Evaluation: …"

Chen Mu's finger hovered over the number, and he was lost in thought for a long time.

"Overall Evaluation: 47…!"