Kobe: You're Still Practicing Dunks!

Zhou Ze's "rookie wall" was naturally the work of NBA front offices and video analysts.

By repeatedly reviewing game footage, they identified Zhou Ze's biggest technical weaknesses and used them to limit his performance.

The rewards for losing were also very meager.

[Post-Game Reward: 36 Peak Points]

[Peak Points: 143/3743]

After two games, he still had not accumulated enough for even one random draw.

The next day.

The NBA's Players of the Week and Rookies of the Week were announced.

Eastern Conference Player of the Week: Gilbert Arenas.

Western Conference Player of the Week: Marcus Camby. (Looked up the relevant information.)

Eastern Conference Rookie of the Week: Andrew Bogut—a name that made Zhou Ze sick.

The 2005 draft was a weak one. Bogut averaged 9.4 points and 7 rebounds per game, and both his stats and on-court performance were mediocre, but the rookies in the Eastern Conference from his class were even worse.

The selection for Western Conference Rookie of the Week, however, sparked a huge debate.

Deron Williams.

Chris Paul.

Zhou Ze.

The twin star point guards of the 2005 class and the soft big man—each of the three had his own strengths, and fans argued endlessly over them.

But in the end, the league gave this week's Western Conference Rookie of the Week award to Zhou Ze.

Even though Zhou Ze's play had started to decline in the games against the Grizzlies and Clippers, his stats were still dazzling compared to the other rookies.

In the NBA's second week, Zhou Ze averaged 18.5 points, 5.25 rebounds, 3.25 assists, and 2 steals.

His scoring average was still the highest among all rookies in his class.

And there was also...

In the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Zhou Ze exploded for 33 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal, while breaking the NBA record for made three-pointers in a half.

Once the results were announced, Paul's and Deron's fans naturally voiced their dissatisfaction.

"Without Kobe, Zhou wouldn't even be worth dog shit."

"I admit Zhou's stats look great, but they're massively inflated. Remember, he's playing next to Kobe."

"Zhou's just a stat-padder. He's stolen so many of Kobe's shots."

"I think he should change his name to Dracula Zhou. He's sucking Kobe's blood dry on the court, enjoying the benefits brought by Kobe's offensive threat."

"Zhou doesn't deserve this award."

And so on!

Although the outside world was filled with criticism, Zhou Ze was delighted.

[Congratulations to the host for winning Western Conference Rookie of the Week. Reward: 300 Peak Points.]

[Peak Points: 443/4043]

Zhou Ze drew again.

He spent 400 Peak Points and gained two chances at a random draw.

He drew 1 random attribute point and added it to [Jump Speed], raising it to 80 (115).

In addition, he obtained a new badge—[Aerial Operations (Bronze)].

[Aerial Operations (Bronze)] Function Description:

1. When performing an alley-oop with a teammate, burst acceleration upon activation +5, jump speed +5, vertical leap attribute +3.

2. To upgrade to the next stage (Silver), complete a total of 5,000 alley-oop dunks in games or training.

At present, Zhou Ze's jump speed had risen to 80. With the boost from [Aerial Operations (Bronze)], his jump speed during alley-oops reached 85. For an interior player, that was already not slow.

His vertical leap increased by 3, directly reaching 118. It seemed he would have to be even more careful around the bottom of the rim in the future. After all, he did not want people calling him "Stupid Ze."

Most importantly, there was the "burst acceleration upon activation." The moment his teammate released the pass, Zhou Ze could accelerate a second time over a short span. That was downright absurd.

Once defenders had adapted to your speed, a sudden second acceleration would leave them struggling to react in time.

As for needing 5,000 alley-oop dunks to advance to a Silver Badge, that was no difficult task for Zhou Ze.

The VIP reading experience had been optimized. Tap the middle of the screen to bring up the menu, where you could conveniently select "Settings," "Previous Page," "Next Page," or "Back to Top."

Although completing even one alley-oop was difficult in an intense game, training was another matter. He just had to stand beneath the basket and have someone toss him the ball.

He would try to complete 5,000 alley-oop dunks within ten days.

Zhou Ze tentatively set himself a plan.

The next game was two days later, when the Lakers would host the New York Knicks, led by the lone wolf Stephon Marbury, at Staples Center.

During those two days off, aside from team practice, Zhou Ze worked on his three-pointers and alley-oops.

Zhou Ze planned to officially add the alley-oop dunk to his arsenal.

Zhou Ze was fast, so it was easy for him to create alley-oop opportunities. Previously, his explosiveness had been too slow; if he had not completely shaken off his defender, he could easily be disrupted.

But his decision to practice dunks nearly drove Kobe mad.

"Bastard..."

"Bastard, what the hell are you thinking?"

"Don't you know more and more teams are starting to figure you out? And you're still over here practicing dunks?!"

"Can't you practice something useful and break through that damn rookie wall of yours already?"

Fire surged in Kobe's eyes. He wanted nothing more than to drive an elbow into Zhou Ze's face.

According to Kobe, Zhou Ze should have been practicing how to fight for rebounds.

Zhou Ze's rebounding awareness was terrible, and his box-out technique was nothing to write home about either.

His body was clearly so strong and his speed so fast, yet his rebounding was so awful.

Besides rebounding, Zhou Ze also needed to work on his finishing around the rim and his low-post footwork. Even Andre Iguodala, a swingman, could guard him.

But Zhou Ze's next words made Kobe's face go completely dark. His fists clenched, and his teeth ground together.

"Kobe, are you telling me to practice rebounding because you have no confidence in your own shot?"

Kobe took two deep breaths and forcibly calmed himself down.

Then he fixed Zhou Ze with a blazing stare. "One-on-one."

In Kobe's view, there was only one way to vent his anger: one-on-one.

Zhou Ze and Kobe's one-on-one drew a crowd of teammates.

"Zhou, how many times does this guy have to get beaten before he admits defeat?" As a rookie from the same class and the youngest player in the NBA, Andrew Bynum truly could not understand why Zhou Ze still dared to challenge Kobe one-on-one.

If it were him, after getting crushed two or three times, he would start avoiding Kobe.

But Zhou Ze...

His obsession with beating Kobe was stronger than his obsession with picking up girls.

"Until he wins." Kwame Brown, currently the biggest bust of a No. 1 pick in NBA history, said firmly.

"Come on, how is that possible!"

"That's Kobe!"

"With Zhou's clumsy dribbling, terrible post-up game, and limited finishing ability, how could he possibly do it?"

Sasha Vujacic, who believed Zhou Ze had bullied him and had never gotten over it, spoke with extreme disdain.

As the one-on-one continued...

Zhou Ze was still getting beaten up one-sidedly.

But the word "give up" never appeared in his eyes.

At that moment, on the court, Zhou Ze tried to shoot but was stripped by Kobe's quick hands, forcing him to pick up his dribble.

"Rookie, what can you do now?"

"This is what you get for practicing that useless crap."

Kobe looked at Zhou Ze, who had stopped with the ball beyond the three-point line. Though there was mockery in his tone, there was even more frustration at his failure to live up to expectations.

With Kobe crowding him, Zhou Ze had only one option: force up a shot.

"Whoosh!" Using his height advantage, Zhou Ze launched the ball over Kobe's contest.

Yet in the next instant, Kobe realized in astonishment that Zhou Ze had not aimed at the basket, but at the backboard.

Without the ball, Zhou Ze tried to force his way past Kobe's right shoulder, but Kobe blocked him. Zhou Ze lightly raised his elbow and gave Kobe a shot.

Kobe immediately clutched his chest.

With a BOOM, Zhou Ze hung from the rim with both hands and said to Kobe, "Bro, are you gearing up for a career in Hollywood?"