James Harden?

On the way.

Li Chen asked, "Hey, kid, what's your name?"

The chubby kid hugged the basketball and said happily, "Sir, my name is James. James Harden."

"Huh?" Li Chen was a little surprised, and his steps came to a halt.

He never would have guessed that the child laborer he'd hired for a hundred dollars would turn out to be the future superstar James Harden.

Noticing that Li Chen had stopped, James Harden stopped too and turned around, asking in confusion, "Sir, what's wrong?"

Li Chen came back to his senses and shook his head. "Nothing."

Half an hour later.

"Wow! It's huge!"

When they arrived at Paravilla Stadium, Harden let out a string of amazed exclamations. He touched the basketball, then the floor—everything was new and exciting to him.

It took a while for his excitement to settle down.

After a moment, he asked, "Sir, can I practice here? Of course, I mean after I finish my work."

Li Chen gave the chubby kid James Harden a strange look and thought, You probably won't get the chance.

Though that was what he thought, he readily agreed aloud. "Of course."

Li Chen then explained James Harden's duties.

A moment later, James Harden thumped his chest confidently and promised, "Sir, go ahead and pass me the ball. I'm good at this."

An hour later, the chubby kid James Harden was drenched in sweat, staring at Li Chen as if questioning his entire existence.

"Sir, do you always practice like this?"

James Harden felt Li Chen was doing it on purpose, definitely getting back at him for saying earlier that Li Chen didn't deserve to be named Player of the Game.

Li Chen thought it over seriously, then shook his head. "No."

James Harden gritted his teeth. Just as I thought. Hmph! Petty Easterners.

Li Chen continued, "Usually, I'm by myself, so without anyone passing to me, things go a little slower."

James Harden was speechless.

All right, all right! I admit I was wrong about you, you Easterner. But this training is way too insane!

James Harden asked again, "Sir, do NBA players all train this hard?"

Li Chen shook his head. "No. Usually, they train for around three or four hours."

Only after hearing Li Chen's explanation did James Harden relax. Thank goodness. If playing in the NBA really meant working this hard, I don't know if I could stick with it.

A little after six that evening, Li Chen told James Harden he could leave.

James Harden happily took his hundred dollars and headed home.

The only disappointment was that he hadn't gotten to practice at the stadium.

He was simply too tired. He could barely lift his arms.

After watching the chubby kid James Harden leave, Li Chen called up his Character Attribute Panel and looked at the experience value next to the Open Three-Pointer icon: 23867/30000.

If I put in some effort, I can reach A-rank tomorrow.

At four the next morning,

Li Chen arrived at Paravilla Stadium as usual to begin his training for the day.

But when he reached the stadium, he discovered that the lights were still on, and he could hear the sound of a basketball being played now and then.

Li Chen was puzzled. Could it be Wang Zhizhi? Right, he's the only one on the Clippers who'd be here.

Unlike Kobe, Li Chen didn't look down on people for not working hard.

He had always believed in not forcing his own ideas on others.

Of course, with Li Chen's current standing on the team, he wasn't in a position to do that anyway.

When he pushed open the door, he was about to tease Wang Zhizhi about being so diligent.

Then he saw the figure and froze.

The figure sank a beautiful fadeaway jumper, then turned around with a cool, casual air and said, "You're late."

When he came back to his senses, Li Chen shrugged. "What are you doing here? And this is the Clippers' training gym. How did you get in?"

Kobe replied coolly, "I told the guy at the door I was here to see you, so he let me in."

I guarantee that guy's a fan of yours. Li Chen groused inwardly, then pretended not to know and asked, "So what did you come to see me for?"

"I wasn't satisfied with what happened in the last game. I heard you had a habit of getting up early to practice, so I came."

Li Chen was speechless. So he came here to pick a fight!

Still, Li Chen was delighted. That was Kobe!

Practicing with him would improve Li Chen by an immeasurable amount.

A moment later, the two began playing one-on-one. At first, Kobe toyed with Li Chen, beating him like a little kid. In the blink of an eye, Kobe had taken a 10–1 lead.

Kobe gritted his teeth. Damn lucky bastard.

But as time passed, Kobe was astonished to find that Li Chen's defense kept improving. His attacks were no longer as unrestrained as they had been at the start. He often had to battle Li Chen for quite a while before he could score.

Only then did he realize that this Eastern man was just as physically gifted and strong as he was. All he lacked was experience.

Still, the victory belonged to him, the Black Mamba. Kobe Bryant feared no challenge.

At six in the morning, Kobe left in high spirits.

Seeing Li Chen's worn-out, shell-shocked expression as he departed made Kobe feel a lot better.

Before leaving, he took the initiative to exchange phone numbers with Li Chen and said he'd come by often to practice with him.

After watching Kobe disappear from view, Li Chen's formerly lifeless expression instantly turned to excitement.

That's right. He'd only put on that miserable look for Kobe.

After all, Kobe had come to beat up a rookie like him. If Li Chen had looked excited about it, Kobe wouldn't have been happy, and naturally wouldn't have kept coming back to be his sparring partner.

So Li Chen had to make sure Kobe enjoyed himself. That way, he'd train Li Chen without complaint.

If Kobe knew what Li Chen was thinking, he'd definitely curse him out as a sly old fox.

Li Chen eagerly opened his Character Attribute Panel and looked at his defense stat. To his delight, it had increased by a full ten points.

Simply put, defense relied on footwork, experience, and an understanding of basketball—all things Li Chen lacked.

Li Chen's basketball IQ on the attribute panel was [85], which wasn't low. He simply lacked experience.

During those two hours, Li Chen hadn't seriously tried to attack at all. He'd kept his eyes on Kobe, studying his defensive habits.

Of course, even if he had tried, it wouldn't have made a difference against Kobe. It was safe to say he'd gained a lot from the session.

After breakfast, Li Chen practiced the hundred-meter dash for another hour. He had no choice—his first step was much slower than Kobe's. He had to make this a priority.

After an hour of sprint training, Li Chen rested and waited for his teammates to arrive so he could train with the team.

On Thursday, January 23, 2003, they had to travel to Utah to face the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.

So that afternoon, they'd take a plane to Salt Lake City, Utah, home to one of the league's most hostile arenas.