500 Three-Pointers, Hit Rate Must Be Above 95%

"This rookie's physicals are passable—barely makes the grade."

Head coach Mike Brown muttered to himself as he looked over Su Yi's physical test report.

After all, during this offseason, GM LeBron had pressured the front office to make upgrades, but no All-Star was willing to come to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Partly because the city wasn't much to speak of, but more importantly, the team had a ball hog—LeBron James!

Just look at Larry Hughes.

In the 04-05 season, Larry Hughes averaged 22 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.9 steals per game with the Washington Wizards.

But after coming to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Larry Hughes only managed 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.5 steals.

Every stat took a nosedive.

Stats represent your bargaining chips when negotiating contracts with a team, especially for someone at the All-Star level—numbers are the most straightforward measure.

And coming to the Cleveland Cavaliers meant your market value would drop. Who would want that?

So during the offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers didn't recruit any superstar help for LeBron James.

Since they couldn't recruit, they had to work the draft.

Head coach Mike Brown saw potential in Su Yi's shooting talent and recommended rookie Su Yi to the front office.

The front office figured Su Yi's draft position wouldn't be too high, and they didn't really have any other rookies they wanted to pick, so they ultimately agreed with head coach Mike Brown and selected Su Yi.

If Su Yi ever found out, he'd give head coach Mike Brown a big slap!

Su Yi: "So you're the bastard who brought me, a LeBron Hater, to the Cleveland Cavaliers ********"

Su Yi would curse out Mike Brown's ancestors for eighteen generations every day.

"He's actually decent—better than we expected," assistant coach Otte chimed in.

"Then let's test his shooting next, see if he's as accurate as he was in the NCAA," Mike Brown said.

As soon as Mike Brown finished speaking, assistant coach Otte looked over at Su Yi in the distance and called out, "Su, come over here!"

Su Yi heard assistant coach Otte calling him and immediately jogged over, greeting the two, "Hello, Coach Brown, Assistant Coach Otte."

They both nodded.

Then Mike Brown got straight to the point: "Su, the reason our team drafted you is because of your accurate outside shooting. Now show us what you've got!"

With that, Mike Brown pointed at the court and continued, "Both baseline corners, both 45-degree angles, and the top of the arc—100 three-pointers each. Hit rate needs to be above 95%. Got it?"

Su Yi nodded. He knew this was an opportunity.

If he pulled it off, it would be like a carp leaping over the dragon gate—at least guaranteeing him some playing time.

"Then start," Mike Brown said.

As soon as Mike Brown finished, Su Yi headed toward the court.

Meanwhile, three staff members got ready to feed Su Yi balls at any moment.

Assistant coach Otte looked at Mike Brown and asked, "He just finished his physicals—shouldn't we give him some rest?"

Mike Brown shook his head. "This is how you see the real deal."

Mike Brown stared at Su Yi's figure in the distance and muttered to himself, Don't let me down.

Su Yi's actions also drew the attention of his teammates, and quite a few started betting on how many of the 500 three-pointers Su Yi would make!

"Beep!"

At the staff member's whistle.

Standing at the left baseline corner, Su Yi jumped, hung in the air, and released the ball with a textbook form.

The ball arced gracefully through the air.

Swish.

Without stopping, Su Yi took the ball from the staff member, his movements fluid and seamless—catch and release, one after another.

Swish. Swish. Swish. ...

Ten in a row, twenty in a row, thirty in a row...

At first, the watching teammates didn't care much, but as Su Yi's streak kept climbing, they started to get interested.

Especially LeBron James, who relied on teammates to space the floor since he lacked technical finesse—his eyes lit up as he watched Su Yi.

Swish!

With that make, Su Yi sank all 100 three-pointers from the left baseline corner.

Without any pause, Su Yi quickly moved to the left 45-degree three-point line and continued shooting.

Even after already taking 100 shots, Su Yi's form remained exactly the same as when he started, as if he were a carbon copy.

Seeing this, Mike Brown couldn't help but nod. He was quite satisfied.

Then Mike Brown turned to assistant coach Otte and asked, "Otte, what do you think?"

"Exceeded expectations. Besides his outside shooting, Brown, are we overlooking another one of his strengths?" Assistant coach Otte replied.

"What strength?"

"Extraordinary physical stamina. The physical test just ended, and he's already taken over a hundred shots in a row while still maintaining his starting form. His jumping height and breathing rhythm are very stable. Is that normal for a player's stamina?"

Assistant coach Otte countered.

Prompted by assistant coach Otte's reminder, Mike Brown couldn't help but observe.

Indeed, just as assistant coach Otte had said, Su Yi possessed not only deadly accurate outside shooting but also extraordinary physical stamina.

On the other side, his teammates were all discussing Su Yi's shooting among themselves.

In particular, the team's second-in-command, Big Z, sat directly beside LeBron James and said, "LeBron, if he can grow up quickly and become our asset, maybe we can break out of the East this season!"

Seeing Su Yi's incredibly accurate outside shooting, Big Z already had a picture forming in his mind!

LeBron James didn't respond to Big Z's words. Instead, he said, "Let's watch and see!"

Amid everyone's chatter, Su Yi had already completed 100 three-point shots from the left 45-degree angle.

Still not a single miss—200 consecutive makes.

Next, Su Yi moved to the top of the arc and slightly slowed his pace.

To be honest, he was starting to get a little tired.

From then on, he adjusted himself before every shot before releasing, ensuring his accuracy that way.

"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!"...

It took longer than the first two positions, but he still kept the streak alive—300 consecutive makes!

This left Mike Brown and his teammates utterly amazed.

Even Donyell Marshall, the record holder for 12 three-pointers in a single game, admitted he couldn't hit 300 in a row.

Everyone was looking forward to seeing whether Su Yi could make 500.

Su Yi: You guys can eat shit!

"Clang!"

Su Yi missed his first shot on the 333rd attempt.

This made Mike Brown and his teammates inwardly lament the missed opportunity, but hitting 333 in a row was already incredibly impressive.

For the remaining 166 three-pointers, Su Yi missed 6.

In total, out of 500 three-pointers, Su Yi missed 7!

His shooting percentage was a staggering 98.6%, completing the task Mike Brown had set.

After finishing, Su Yi felt like his hands weren't even his own anymore.

Su Yi thought to himself: If it weren't for the physical test, I might not have missed a single one of those 500 shots!

Ever since his three-point rating hit 90, hitting 400–500 in a row during regular practice wasn't even a problem.

Let alone now that it was already 96!

Su Yi guessed that the final gap of 10 points lay in actual combat against defensive pressure from opposing players.