In China, it wasn't just short-video creator Xiao Ke.
Many independent basketball commentators had also started discussing Wang Yi's performance today.
The most notable was Xu Jingyu from Yu Shuo Sports.
Xu Jingyu was plain-looking and spoke with a thick northeastern accent.
Still, he had attracted plenty of attention and even occasionally appeared on Tencent NBA Live Broadcast Room.
At that moment, Xu Jingyu glanced at his phone and said:
"Someone asked whether Wang Yi could make it. Whether he can make it depends on how consistent he is."
"Judging from these two games, he's a bit like Linsanity back in the day. What was Linsanity? At first, he was the typical guy who only got on the court during garbage time. Then, all of a sudden, he blew up overnight."
"But why couldn't he keep it up? Once you blow up, your opponents are definitely going to study you and make adjustments."
"His physical gifts were limited, and he wasn't all that powerful. So when opponents started targeting him, he gradually stopped being able to play like that."
"Wang Yi is a lot like him. He blew up after these two games. And judging by his performance so far, Wang Yi's physical gifts are average, and his ability isn't at the top level either."
"But there's one difference: he doesn't handle the ball. Look at his play style—he's a classic 3D Player. What do the Lakers need most right now? 3D Players. So there's no question Wang Yi can get a guaranteed contract with the Lakers and enough playing time."
"But if you're saying he can play at an All-Star level, that's still a long shot for now. Unless—unless he puts up the kind of sustained, consistent, out-of-this-world 3D performance Klay Thompson does."
"But is that possible? I think it's a big stretch."
Just two hours after his video went up, it had already received tens of thousands of comments.
Most of them were saying Wang Yi was amazing.
There were haters, too.
But given Wang Yi's performance in this game, there were clearly far fewer haters than before.
Wang Yi knew nothing about any of this.
The next morning, he was already awake at five thirty.
The game had ended the night before, and after attending the press conference, it had been midnight.
There was no way he could get up at four in the morning like last time.
As soon as he woke up, the system began issuing a quest in his mind:
[Please select a training task] [Training task 1: Make 10,000 three-pointers.] [Task reward: Three-point Percentage increased to 50%] [Training task 2: Perform 1,000 lateral shuffles.] [Task reward: Lateral movement speed increased by 20%]
When Wang Yi saw the two tasks, his first instinct was, of course, to choose task 1.
A 50 percent Three-point Percentage—how terrifying would that be?
Even Steve Kerr, one of the greatest shooters in history, had only shot a little over 45 percent from three over the course of his career.
If he could reach a 50 percent Three-point Percentage, that would be absolutely incredible.
But when he saw the 10,000 three-pointers, Wang Yi furrowed his brow.
Although shooting threes with his left hand would put less strain on his right wrist, it wouldn't eliminate it.
If he shot 10,000 three-pointers, his right wrist injury might get worse again.
In that case, he might as well work on lateral shuffles.
His natural talent was average, and his lateral speed was only about mid-tier.
But if he could increase it by 20 percent, he'd be among the best in the league.
That would take his defensive game up a whole level!
It seemed the system was determined to turn him into a 3D Player.
It made sense. If he wanted to make it in a short time, the most effective path was defense and three-point shooting.
With that in mind, Wang Yi said in his mind:
"I'll take the second task."
The system's mechanical, emotionless voice sounded:
[Task accepted.]
After accepting the task, Wang Yi couldn't hold back any longer and headed to the Training Hall.
As usual, he jogged for half an hour, then went to the UCLA Rehabilitation Training Center.
The security guard had been woken up by him, but he didn't complain at all.
In fact, he greeted Wang Yi warmly:
"Wang, you're up early! I saw your game-winning shot last night. You were so cool. When can I get your autograph?"
The guard was a loyal Lakers fan, too.
For most of his life, he'd worked at the Lakers' arena and Training Hall.
Wang Yi said, "Anytime."
The guard nodded. "That's great! I'll come find you in a bit. By the way, you sure are dedicated. I've only ever met one person as hardworking as you. Do you know who?"
"Kobe Bryant."
Wang Yi answered without hesitation.
In the NBA, Kobe Bryant was famous for his work ethic.
The guard nodded and laughed.
"That's right! Keep it up, brother. I hope I get to see a second Black Mamba in the near future."
Wang Yi just smiled and said nothing.
Becoming the second Black Mamba would certainly be an honor.
But he didn't want to be the second anyone. He only wanted to be the first Wang Yi!
One of a kind!
He entered the Training Hall and took off his jacket.
Wang Yi got into position.
Then he began shuffling to the left.
He shuffled five quick steps to the left, then swiftly shuffled five steps to the right.
A countdown immediately appeared in his mind.
[Task progress: 1/1000] [Time remaining: 2 hours 59 minutes 58 seconds]
It seemed the system had given him three hours to complete this task.
Completing 1,000 lateral shuffles in three hours wasn't much of a problem for a professional athlete.
But Wang Yi soon realized something was wrong.
When he slowed his lateral movement, the system didn't add to his progress.
He had to go all out with every shuffle. He couldn't let up for even a moment.
That made the task much more difficult.
Just think about it: going all out with every lateral shuffle took an enormous amount of stamina.
After 50 shuffles back and forth, Wang Yi was already starting to pant.
But he didn't dare slack off for even a moment.
He kept going and completed another 50 shuffles.
His legs were already starting to feel weak.
His knees were aching, and his ankles felt heavy.
This kind of high-intensity lateral movement put tremendous strain on his ankles and knees.
He stopped for a moment, caught his breath, rested for two minutes, then started shuffling again.
In an hour, he completed 600 lateral shuffles.
It looked like he could finish the task without much trouble.
But Wang Yi knew the real test was only just beginning.
As his stamina dropped, he got slower moving back and forth.
And each time he rested, he needed a little longer.
After two hours, he had completed 900 lateral shuffles.
He collapsed into a chair nearby, gasping for breath.
"Huff—huff—"
His chest heaved like a bellows.
He was drenched in sweat from head to toe.
He felt like he was almost completely out of strength.
Every task the system gave him pushed him to the brink.
Just then.
Clatter—
The gym's main doors opened.
Two figures hurried out.
James and the older security guard.
Seeing how exhausted Wang Yi was, James said:
"Wang, you should work hard, but don't push yourself too much. You still need to get eight hours of sleep every day."
Wang Yi answered weakly, "Mm."
The older guard had two bottles of water and a hamburger in his hands.
He said to Wang Yi, "Wang, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? I got these for you."
Wang Yi didn't bother being polite. He nodded and said, "Thanks."
He was so tired that he barely had the strength to reach out and take them.
The guard placed the water and hamburger on the chair beside him.
Wang Yi rested for more than ten minutes.
Then he wolfed down the hamburger and drank half a bottle of water.
He rested for another five minutes.
He checked the time. Forty-two minutes and twelve seconds remained.
He didn't dare rest any longer.
He struggled to his feet and continued practicing his shuffles.
Seeing this, James asked:
"Wang, aren't you practicing your threes today?"
Wang Yi was too busy to answer, so he just shook his head, then nodded.
He'd practice later in the afternoon instead of now.
The guard pointed at Wang Yi and said to James, "LeBron, he's working even harder than you."
James put on an expression of embarrassment.
Jokingly, he said, "Guess I should work harder. If I don't, these young guys are going to walk all over me."
As he spoke, he began warming up, too.
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