The Love for Basketball Reaches its Peak!

22 consecutive makes.

That means... at the fifth spot in the right corner, Su Yan also had to sink all five shots.

Seems easy, but it's actually tough.

Seems tough, but with Su Yan already on a 17-streak, his teammates all felt it was entirely possible.

"Swish!"

"Swish!"

"Swish!"

Between breaths.

Su Yan nailed another three in a row, reaching 20 consecutive makes, with only two shots left—yet no one doubted his hot hand anymore.

When he shot, it was a guaranteed three-pointer.

"Swish!"

"Swish!"

Not a single miss.

After bricking the first three balls, Su Yan drilled 22 straight three-pointers, a perfect finish.

Overall: 25 shots, 22 makes, shooting percentage: 88%.

To borrow a classic phrase from novels, four words: terrifying beyond compare!!!

Then again.

Think about it—peak Curry could go 96-for-100 in practice.

Su Yan's [Max Level Three-Pointer], which surpasses Curry, only managed 25-for-22, 22 straight... that's it.

Perfectly reasonable, right?

Su Yan didn't think much of it—just routine.

But the Knicks' players didn't see it that way. Every single one of them was stunned, as if they'd seen a ghost.

"Da... damn accurate!"

McGrady's scalp tingled.

"You call this an undrafted player?"

"Shooter" Gallinari's head was spinning; he felt Su Yan's three-point shooting was way, way, way more precise than his own!

"Hahaha!"

Coach D'Antoni laughed heartily. "An 88% three-point percentage, and if you ignore the first three warm-up shots, that's 100%. This three-point shooting is insane!"

He was genuinely thrilled.

To bring the Suns' "Run and Gun" storm to New York, Su Yan's three-point accuracy was essential!

That was step one of the plan.

Now step one was complete, and... it exceeded expectations.

"Good!"

After the test.

D'Antoni beamed and gave Su Yan a thumbs-up.

He praised him in front of all the players, saying: "Yan will be an excellent mismatch defender. He also has the most elite three-point shooting in this league. Combine the two. After Su Yan grows and adapts to the NBA's game intensity over time, he'll become an 'Elite 3&D' player. This is fantastic. Yan, in the next game, you'll replace Gallinari and start as the Small Forward."

Then he looked at Gallinari and asked: "Any objections?!"

"None."

Gallinari shook his head. "Su Yan has shown greater shooting talent than me. He deserves to start."

Of course.

The reason Gallinari agreed so readily wasn't just Su Yan's three-point skill.

Su Yan treating him to a late-night meal last night also helped.

When you see a player favorably, even with a good impression, whatever they do, you'll go along with it.

This... this is the starting lineup?

Su Yan was a bit surprised.

Last night, he was still begging the coach for a chance to play, just like Mitsui Hisashi.

Today, he skipped the bench entirely and was promoted straight to the starting lineup.

This shift... was truly too sudden.

Gallinari, last year's lottery pick—specifically the 6th pick—had already shot 44% from three-point range in his rookie season.

This year, he averaged 2.4 three-pointers per game, ranking third on the Season Three-Point Leaderboard.

He was second only to the Rockets' Aaron Brooks and the Magic's "Hundred Million Man," Rashard Lewis.

As a sophomore, Gallinari's mastery of the three-point shot was already quite impressive.

His rookie season averages: 6.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.1 blocks.

This season so far: 15.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.7 blocks.

In just one year, his growth had been remarkable.

With him playing this well, Su Yan had pushed him out of the starting lineup based on just 5 minutes of game time plus the Second Physical Test.

How to put it.

You could say Su Yan's three-point shooting was deadly accurate, or you could say the coach had a sharp eye for talent.

But you also had to admit—Coach Mike D'Antoni absolutely loved "Run-and-Gun Tactics"!!!

The starting Small Forward position was set.

Gallinari had no objections, and the other players had even less to say.

The Second Physical Test was also over.

Everyone congratulated and praised Su Yan a bit, then gradually went back to their daily training.

Su Yan went to the rest area to take a break.

His heart sank as he fell into thought.

"Good skills got me from begging the coach to play to being promoted to the starting lineup ahead of schedule.

Good relationships meant that even though I took the spot almost by force, my teammates weren't angry.

Everyone even smiled and greeted me.

Good relationships came from my generosity—treating everyone to a big meal earned their goodwill.

Good skills came from... system rewards.

And to improve my skills, besides daily training, the other method I knew of now was to keep leveling up, which would give me Level Privilege Gift Packs.

The LV1 Privilege Gift Pack was [Max Level Three-Pointer], and the LV2 Privilege Gift Pack was [Off-ball Movement LV1].

Both were tied to skills.

To get the Privilege Gift Packs, I needed to keep spending and accumulating experience points. To spend money, I had to earn it.

In short.

The source of everything feeling so comfortable and smooth right now was... making money!!!"

With money, skills improved, the coach's attitude was good, my popularity was high, and I could land big contracts and major endorsements.

With money, spending a little on social niceties kept things smooth with teammates—not only was it pleasant, but it also saved a lot of trouble.

The key point.

Right now, the fastest way for me to make money was to play well, getting Advanced Stats every game as much as possible.

That would earn the most money.

It would make the whole process a perfect closed loop.

As expected of you, Crazy Money-Making System.

After sorting out his thoughts, Su Yan's love for basketball reached an unprecedented height—its absolute peak!!!

One day later.

9 PM.

The Knicks were set to host the Pistons at home.

Two years ago, the Pistons could still make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, but that was the last peak after their 2004 championship.

Now.

Hamilton and Prince were old, often plagued by injuries.

Billups and Rasheed Wallace had left.

35-year-old Ben Wallace could no longer compete with younger, stronger new players in terms of physical talent.

The Pistons Five Tigers had scattered—some gone, some injured. The "Bad Boys II" had lost their former glory.

Still.

A starved camel is bigger than a horse.

Their 11th-place record in the Eastern Conference still looked far more respectable than the Knicks'.

If the Knicks wanted to win, they couldn't afford to be careless—especially against the "fierce, brutal style of play" carved into every Piston's bones.

8:30 PM.

Both teams were already warming up in the arena. Only half an hour remained until tip-off.

The stands were packed nearly to capacity. The fans were roaring with wild enthusiasm.

New York was America's largest city.

Even with their terrible record, they never lacked popularity. That was also why Su Yan could gain so many fans from just one game.

If you listened closely, you could hear many female fans shouting Su Yan's name.

If you looked carefully, you could see a hot blonde holding up a banner. You might think it was a cheer.

Actually.

Written on it was a hotel room number—and it was specifically for Su Yan to come find her after the game!!!