A Unique Talent

Five-on-five tryouts were the best way to reveal a player's true ability.

While you couldn't judge whether a player was good or not based on a single game, combining their on-court performance with what people already knew about them would at least allow for a clearer assessment.

Link dragged over a small stool and sat by the edge of the court, experiencing what it felt like to be a coach for the first time.

The moment he sat down, he noticed Jokic staring at him from the court. When Jokic realized Link was looking back, he immediately turned his head away.

The league and team Jokic played for weren't particularly well-known, even by European basketball standards, let alone among Europe's top teams.

So even in Europe, Jokic rarely got to see European superstars, much less NBA superstars!

Now that he had suddenly come face-to-face with people he had only ever seen on television, it was only natural for Jokic to sneak a few extra glances.

But his round physique and wandering gaze made him look far less imposing than the other prospects.

Jokic was placed on a team with the Grizzlies' key target, Joe Harris, and Dinwiddie, who had only just recovered from a serious injury.

On the other side were Jerami Grant, Jordan Clarkson, K.J. McDaniels, and Jokic's opponent, Stanford University's senior big man, Dwight Powell.

Link had some impression of Powell as well. Though his college stats hadn't been anything outrageous and he never became an NBA star, he would later become an important rotation player for the Dallas Mavericks.

He had what it took to survive in the NBA.

So for the current Jokic, Powell was undoubtedly a formidable opponent.

The game began quickly. At the opening tip, Jokic's old-man Duncan-level vertical leap made Link's face turn