Misunderstanding Incident

"Number 3 belonged to Drazen Petrovic, Number 11 to Arvydas Sabonis, Number 10 to Dejan Bodiroga..."

Laso was only in his forties, a textbook middle-generation coach.

Still, he seemed quite patient. Even though Sun Hao was just a rookie, Laso reminded him of each one.

All the numbers he mentioned had either been retired by the team or would be retired in the future.

In other words, Sun Hao could not choose any of them.

Sun Hao nodded. He had heard of all those players, and they were all European superstars outside the NBA.

There was no need to say much about Sabonis. He was the King of Europe who had beaten a whole host of NBA superstars into submission.

Drazen Petrovic was one of the most lamented players of his era.

As a European player, he had averaged 20+ points per game in just his fifth NBA season, then raised that to 22.3 points in the following season.

And in both of those seasons, he had led his team into the playoffs as its franchise star.

Unfortunately, a car accident had taken his life.

Many people regretted it for him, saying that if his career had continued, he would have surpassed Ginobili.

Both of their jerseys had already been retired by Real Madrid.

Dejan Bodiroga was even more legendary. He was widely acknowledged by countless stars as the strongest player outside the NBA.

Over an eighteen-year career, he won eleven MVPs and ten European league championships of various kinds.

Though he had not yet achieved all of that in his career, he was already a towering figure in the game.

In fact, Bodiroga had been Real Madrid Team's number one ace last season, averaging 18.6 points per game.

In the extremely slow-paced European Basketball League, that made him a superstar among superstars.

But like Fernando before him, he chose to leave Real Madrid in the new season.

Of course, for a legendary player like that, having his jersey retired after leaving was highly likely.

Sun Hao looked over the available options and finally chose Number 9.

It was not because turning 6 upside down made 9, nor because there was some other connection between 6 and 9. It was because Yi Jianlian wore Number 9.

The two of them had once agreed to begin their professional careers together. Now that it had not worked out, he would wear Yi Jianlian's number first.

If they could not be together, then wearing his jersey meant they were still together!

After choosing his jersey number, Sun Hao went to meet his teammates.

Both starters, Bodiroga and Fernando, had left, but Real Madrid Team was deep with talent and remained extremely strong.

Sun Hao was mentally mature, and he quickly got along with his teammates.

He also saw several familiar faces on this team.

Pablo Prigioni.

An Argentine guard born in 1977, a 1.9-meter-tall backcourt player.

Historically, Prigioni spent most of his career in La Liga and won the ACB League's Best Point Guard award three times.

It was not until 2012, when he was thirty-five, that Prigioni entered the NBA. After playing three seasons, he retired from the NBA.

Compared to Rodriguez, whom Sun Hao had faced in the EBA League, this man would truly prove that age was no barrier.

Of course, those were things that would happen in the future. At present, Prigioni had only just begun to make a name for himself.

Micic had left, and the team had not found a replacement, so Prigioni directly became the Starting Point Guard for the new season. He had benefited the most.

Raul Lopez.

A Spaniard born in 1980, two years older than Sun Hao. He was eighteen and around 1.8 meters tall.

Sun Hao also remembered Lopez quite clearly. Historically, he represented Spain at the Beijing Olympic Games and performed well, and he also played two years for the Jazz.

Though injuries plagued his career, he did not officially retire until 2016.

One man filled one spot. The reason Sun Hao had been promoted to the second team earlier was because Lopez had been promoted to the first team.

The two had not known each other before. Having arrived at Real Madrid Team one after the other, they would directly compete for the backup Point Guard position in the new season.

The two guards were direct rivals. After spending time together in training, Sun Hao also discovered that their styles were very similar. Both were pass-first floor generals.

That was also a characteristic of 1990s basketball. Every position had its own duty: a Point Guard organized and sorted out the offense, and players were selected accordingly.

Besides them, there was also Jorge Garbajosa.

Garbajosa was highly talented. After joining the NBA in 2006, he averaged 8.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in his first year, won Rookie of the Month for December, and ultimately made the All-Rookie First Team.

Unfortunately, he suffered a major injury in his rookie season and faded out of the NBA within a couple of years.

His experience was somewhat similar to Yi Jianlian's.

During the new season's Training Camp, Sun Hao's offense-oriented style surprised and troubled head coach Laso.

Because of the system, he had now grown to 1.72 meters, but even at that height, he was only big enough to play Point Guard.

Historically, offensive Point Guards were not accepted by the world until Rose won MVP in 2011, while set-shooting Point Guards did not emerge until Curry in 2014.

In other words, Sun Hao's style was far too ahead of its time.

Though Laso was not an old coach, he still naturally excluded Sun Hao from the rotation and used Lopez more often.

Having been tempered in the second-tier league, Sun Hao already had experience with this sort of situation.

He did not change his style. Instead, he intensified his shooting practice within the system.

As a transmigrator, he knew that while a set-shooting style was ahead of its time, it could still be developed early.

Rose's breakout had to do with the NBA abolishing the Hand-check rule, but Curry's breakout had little to do with the rules.

In fact, plenty of people had played that way before Curry. Arenas was one representative.

Put simply, Point Guards not shooting Three-pointers was an unwritten convention, not an impossibility.

As long as he could make his shots, a coach would naturally dare to put him on the court.

By then, it was already the end of the 1990s. Point Forward, a new position represented by Pippen, had already begun to appear.

Even Pau Gasol was a playmaking center on the European stage.

No one said that playmaking had to be done by Point Guards.

The rigid functions of basketball positions, with everyone sticking to their own role, were no longer something that could not be changed.

Of course, Sun Hao knew very well that this would not be easy. So, just as he had done in the Oro League, he remained patient and trained hard.

Training Camp passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the 1998–1999 La Liga season officially began.

Real Madrid Team's first opponent was Barcelona Team.

Just like in the EBA League, this game drew enormous attention. The arena, which held over six thousand people, was packed to the brim.

Because someone on the team was injured, Sun Hao did not make the rotation, but he did make the twelve-man roster and was assigned to the very end of the bench.

During pregame warmups, Sun Hao saw two people he knew on the opposite half of the court.

Pau Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro.

Navarro's nickname was The Bomb, and he had once been called the best player outside the NBA.

But because he spent most of his time playing in Europe, Sun Hao did not know much about him.

Big Gasol, however, was someone Sun Hao knew all too well.

Gasol's nickname was an affectionate nickname fans used for him.

Because his style leaned toward finesse, all sorts of so-called experts viewed him as soft when he was with the Grizzlies.

After going to the Lakers and winning two straight championships with Kobe, he completely shed that label and was called one of the most skilled big men of the twenty-first century.

In terms of influence among international players, he ranked only behind Nowitzki and Yao Ming, on the same tier as Ginobili and Parker.

Even without mentioning those future accomplishments, Sun Hao had already heard Raul talk about this prodigy when he first arrived in Spain.

Before him, the last player to complete a Three-Step Jump within a year had been Gasol.

"Sun."

What Sun Hao had not expected was that while he was warming up, Gasol actually came over to greet him.

Sun Hao naturally recognized Gasol, but he still looked at him in confusion.

"They told me you were Pau Gasol the Second and said I had to come take a look."

As Gasol spoke, he turned and glanced toward his own team's side.

Sun Hao followed his gaze and saw a group of Barcelona Team players laughing.

This was probably their prank on Gasol, the new player.

After all, the two sides were bitter rivals. Only a newcomer like Gasol would fall for it.

"My country has a famous saying: There were no roads in the world to begin with, but when enough people walked them, they became roads. You walked this road before me, so I'll accept being Gasol the Second."

Seeing those veterans prank Gasol, Sun Hao deliberately refused to let them have their way. Instead, he struck up a friendly conversation with Gasol.

Gasol thought about it for a moment, then nodded seriously.

"That is a very philosophical saying. The person who said it must have been a great man."

"He was originally a doctor, then became a writer, and finally became a great man."

"A doctor? My parents are doctors too."

Gasol seemed to have a very gentle personality. He actually started chatting with Sun Hao just like that.

Though it was their first meeting, their similar experiences meant they had no shortage of things to talk about.

The Barcelona Team veterans had been waiting to watch a show, but when they saw Sun Hao and Gasol chatting so harmoniously, they immediately lost interest and turned away one after another.

"Good luck."

Seeing that, Sun Hao knew he had accomplished what he wanted. He patted Gasol on the arm and spoke.

"You too."

Gasol really did seem like a nice guy.

After the warmups ended, Sun Hao returned to the far end of the bench.

The game began quickly, and Real Madrid Team completely suppressed Barcelona Team from the opening tip under Garbajosa's lead.

As the defending champions from last season, they had lost starting Point Guard Fernando in the Offseason, but they were still the strongest team in La Liga.

Gasol and Navarro both got playing time during the bench stretches, but their performances were somewhat raw, and they could not help the team change the situation.

By the end of the third quarter, Real Madrid Team had already built a lead of as many as twenty points over Barcelona Team.

The final quarter became pure garbage time for giving players experience.

Sun Hao was substituted in with five minutes remaining.

La Liga placed greater emphasis on tactical coordination than the Oro League, so Sun Hao did not get many chances to shoot.

He took two shots, both essentially desperation heaves after the play had broken down.

But he fully displayed his ability, making one of his two Three-pointers for 3 points.

Scoring in his first appearance was already a very good start for a young player who was only sixteen.

The only slight regret was that Gasol was higher in the rotation, so Sun Hao did not get the chance to match up against him on the court.

Sun Hao did not think much of scoring his first La Liga points, but the later development of the matter completely exceeded his expectations.

The very next day, he received a call from his parents.

The first thing his parents asked over the phone was whether he was playing basketball or soccer, leaving him completely bewildered.

Only after some conversation did he learn the truth, and he could not help laughing and crying at the same time.

"Chinese guard scores a goal for Real Madrid Team, new-generation player rises to prominence."

That was the headline in a domestic sports newspaper.

A guard scoring a goal, and using the phrase "scores a goal" at that—it was obviously deliberately riding soccer's popularity.

Just like UC's shock-content department in the future, anyone who saw it would buy the paper to see what kind of miraculous guard this was.

As for whether the content inside had anything to do with soccer, that was another matter entirely.

That was why his parents had called immediately.

In other words, this was purely a Misunderstanding Incident.

But what Sun Hao had not expected was that as the news drew attention and spread, the influence it brought him was actually greater than when he won MVP in the Oro League.

For the first time, quite a few domestic fans learned that across the ocean in Spain, there was a Chinese guard named Sun Hao playing basketball there.

P.S.: I noticed none of you are voting for me. There are over 7,000 favorites, yet I cannot even get 1,500 recommendation votes a day. You're all bullying me. If you keep bullying me, then I'll, I'll... act cute for you!

Sob, sob~ ┗|｀O′|┛ Let's go~~

Thanks to Xianglai Yuanqian Naihe Qingshen, Jun Yi Molou 22, and Undying, Immortal, Eternal, and Indestructible for the rewards. Thank you, bosses, for your support~