Luke Ba Weiyuan

Conner didn't want to lose anymore.

One month, 12 games, and only five wins. There was no doubt the Blue Team had had a terrible record so far this season.

The main reason was that Jon Brockman hadn't lived up to Conner's expectations. He'd thought the kid sent down from the NBA would bring the team a few wins, but aside from acting like a prima donna at practice and making mistake after mistake on the court, the guy hadn't shown anything.

At least Conner had been able to reassure himself that Brockman was struggling because he was adjusting to playing the three.

But yesterday's team practice had forced Conner to face the truth: Big White Bear Brockman had no potential to become a small forward at all.

He couldn't shoot or handle the ball. Out on the perimeter, he was nothing but a slow-witted fool. Even Link could humiliate him at the three, and Conner couldn't imagine the disaster it would be to put him there in an actual game.

Speaking of Link, the Chinese-American player had surprised Conner with his performance at practice yesterday. Ever since Brockman had cheap-shotted him in the back of the head, Link seemed like a different person. Usually quiet, he'd actually talked trash to Brockman yesterday.

More importantly, Link's level of play had impressed Conner.

Maybe Link had exploded in front of Brockman because he wanted to get back at him after being humiliated. But no matter what, he'd shown some potential.

Conner couldn't say whether Link could make it to the NBA, but he planned to give him a shot in the G League.

Today, the Blue Team would face the Sioux Falls Skyforce, a team affiliated with the Miami Heat. The Skyforce's most dangerous player was white forward Luke Ba Weiyuan, whom the Timberwolves had selected with the 16th pick in the first round of this year's draft.

Luke Ba Weiyuan had been famous since college. At 6'9" and with a knack for shooting, he could play both forward positions. The Timberwolves had picked him in the draft and immediately traded him to the Trail Blazers. Since the Trail Blazers didn't have a G League affiliate, they'd sent him to the Skyforce to develop.

They were both swingmen who could play the three and the four, but Luke Ba Weiyuan was so much better than Brockman. Conner felt it was unfair. They'd both been sent down from the NBA, so how come the other guy got Ba Weiyuan while he was stuck with Brockman?

If Brockman continued to struggle today, Conner wouldn't mind giving Link more time. If Link didn't play well, he could always put someone else in. After all, this was basketball. There was no limit on substitutions.

But if Link could play well... Conner rubbed his bald head. If Link could play well, that'd be a huge windfall!

A lot of players were like that. Their hard work might not show in their everyday performances, but it could suddenly pay off at any moment. In both the NBA and the G League, there were too many players who'd come out of nowhere to count.

Conner didn't expect Link to play well against Ba Weiyuan, but there was no cost to giving him a chance, and the bald coach was more than willing to try.

The moment Link opened his eyes that morning, his whole body ached.

He'd practiced in the gym until eleven the night before. Yet even after such a long workout, the little white bar in front of him had only moved up a tiny bit.

It seemed that becoming the peak version of Grant Hill would take a tremendous amount of effort. By his estimate, he'd have to train like this every day for at least a month or two to fill the bar.

Link still didn't know whether his old abilities would remain after he leveled up. Everyone knew that Hill's outside shot had been very inconsistent when he was young. Would Link's three-point shooting get worse as he leveled up?

Or would he gradually gain an all-around combination of Hill's abilities from every stage of his career?

The system he'd gotten was far more bare-bones than any of the systems he'd read about in novels. There were no missions, no dialogue boxes, nothing. Just a progress bar and a line of text. It could hardly have been simpler.

But that kind of system had its advantages, too. He could take control of his life through hard work instead of letting the system lead him around by the nose.

So the only way to answer his questions was to train hard and level up as soon as possible.

But he'd pushed himself too hard the night before, and his body couldn't quite take it. Link regretted it a little. He had an actual game tonight, and if his sore muscles affected his performance, it would all be for nothing.

No matter how good you were, you had to show it on the court. What was the point if nobody knew how good you were?

Link shook his head. He couldn't just train mindlessly from now on. He'd have to come up with a proper training plan.

"Beep, beep!"

As usual, just after Link got dressed, Upshaw honked his horn downstairs.

Link hurriedly grabbed two pieces of toast in his mouth and dashed downstairs. It was his first professional game, and he felt both excited and nervous.

After all, he'd never experienced playing in front of thousands of spectators before.

"Morning, Link!"

Upshaw greeted Link from inside the car. He was always so optimistic.

"How was work at the car wash yesterday?" Link opened the car door like he'd done countless times and fastened his seat belt.

"Same as always. Didn't make much, but enough to eat for two days. Link, today's the actual game. How do you feel?"

Upshaw was looking forward to today's game, but not because of himself. He was looking forward to seeing Link play.

Two days ago, he'd watched Link put on a three-point shooting clinic at the outdoor court in the neighborhood. He'd even lost to him in a one-on-one game.

Yesterday, Upshaw had seen Link personally destroy that "prince" sent down from the NBA. Brockman's face had looked worse than if he'd eaten shit, and Upshaw still remembered it vividly.

Today was the third day since Link had been discharged from the hospital. Upshaw had no idea what unbelievable thing he'd do next.

"It's my first professional game, so I'm a little nervous," Link said, then noticed Upshaw looking at him in surprise.

He hurriedly slapped his forehead, realizing that this wasn't his first G League game. More precisely, it wasn't the first G League game for this body. But for Link, it really was his first game.

He'd let that slip without thinking.

Not wanting to arouse suspicion, Link quickly corrected himself. "I mean, it's my first game since getting out of the hospital, so I'm a little nervous."

"Don't be nervous. Whatever you do, don't be nervous. If you turn the ball over twice as soon as you get on the court like last time, Conner will have you glued to the bench. By the way, I looked up the Skyforce roster during my break yesterday. Guess who your opponent is today?"

"Who?" Link had been so focused on training yesterday that he'd forgotten to look up his opponent.

"Luke Ba Weiyuan, once the top high school player in Nevada! He averaged 21.9 points per game in the NCAA last season! And he was sent down from the NBA! Do you know what that means? If you can beat him, a lot of NBA teams are bound to notice you!"

Upshaw chattered excitedly beside him while Link searched his memory for anything about Luke Ba Weiyuan.

He remembered the guy. Before Link had traveled through time, Ba Weiyuan had been one of the Heat's rotation players in 2019.

In his previous life, Luke Ba Weiyuan had never made a name for himself in the NBA. He'd bounced around from team to team throughout his career, always a fringe player.

In other words, this opponent wasn't as strong as Upshaw and the others thought. They just didn't know that yet. In their eyes, Ba Weiyuan was still a promising prospect with plenty of talent.

"Link, Link! Are you listening?"

"Uh... yeah, I'm listening, Zeke. Where were we?" Link tried to cover up the fact that he'd zoned out with an awkward grin.

"I was saying that if Brockman plays badly today, you've got to seize your chance. So give it everything you've got. I'll pass you the ball!"

As he spoke, Upshaw held out his fist to Link. They bumped fists lightly and continued driving toward their NBA dreams.

The seats in the arena were mostly empty. It looked like not even a quarter of them were filled.

Even so, the cheers from the crowd were loud enough to make Link nervously lick his lips. The G League averaged only around 2,000 spectators, but this kind of crowd was already enough to overwhelm him.

"Link, don't zone out today! Stay on the bench and be ready at all times. I don't want you going out there and turning the ball over repeatedly like last time!"

Just as Link was staring blankly around him, a bald man in a suit shouted at him. The man was Vixen Conner, head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue.

"Uh... okay." Link nodded mechanically. He looked around at the jersey he was wearing and at the hulking Black men standing beside him, then swallowed.

He'd really made it. He was standing on a professional basketball court! Sure, it was only a game in the NBA G League, but it was professional basketball all the same!

It wasn't Link's first NBDL game, and yet it really was his first NBDL game. At that moment, Link's body no longer belonged to its original owner.

While the rest of the team gathered to encourage one another, Link stood off to the side, seemingly lost in thought again.

But his mind was racing. He was remembering all the unbelievable things that had happened to him over the past few days.

He'd woken up in a hospital, inexplicably gained Grant Hill's abilities, received a system that could make him stronger, and beaten a vicious player on the verge of the NBA at practice...

And now he was finally here, standing on the court for a professional game.

Suddenly, Link heard cheers erupt from the stands. He turned and saw a strong white player waving to the crowd.

Link didn't recognize the face, but judging by the fans' reaction, it had to be Luke Ba Weiyuan.

Link's opponent today, and his stepping stone to the NBA.

Link took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Was he supposed to spend his whole life as a professional player nobody knew, struggling to make ends meet?

No. From now on, he was going to leave that kind of life behind.