novelhk Chapter 1: I'll do anything, just not play basketball!
Chapter 1: I'll do anything, just not play basketball!
In September 1995, Chicago, known as the Windy City, was already not very warm; temperatures around 10 degrees Celsius were definitely not the most comfortable.
But at this moment, the whole city of Chicago was in chaos, with excited and cheering people everywhere and people spontaneously taking to the streets to celebrate.
Of course, it's not about Black Lives Matter or free shopping; today, the whole city is genuinely excited.
Just a few hours earlier, the Chicago Bulls held the league's annual Media Day, which is actually the first full appearance of every team in the league after the entire offseason's trials and reorganizations!
The reason Chicago fans were so crazy and excited was because their god, the city's hero and idol, the famous Michael Jordan, said something at Media Day.
"This year, we are the champions!"
Yes, just that one sentence is enough to drive the entire city crazy!
Although Jordan returned to the Bulls at the end of last season's regular season after saying his famous "I'm back!" and led the team to a stellar 13-4 record, in the playoffs, the long-absent Jordan couldn't withstand the young "Shaq" and "Penny" and was swept out of the game by the Magic with a score of 4-2.
Although the Bulls lost, everyone could see that neither the Bulls nor Jordan were at their best last season, especially Jordan. After two incredibly unsuccessful years in baseball, he only showed less than 70% of his potential last season.
As the NBA's number one obsessive, Jordan ended his vacation and began a crazy training session less than 10 days after being swept out of the playoffs by the Magic!
His training results can be seen from his perfectly defined muscles, radiant spirit, and unwavering confidence displayed at the media day... The basketball god is back!
That's why when he arrogantly challenged the entire league at media day, saying "We are the champions," no one thought he was arrogant or conceited; all Chicagoans just thought he was crazy!
It's been two years! Does anyone know how we Chicagoans have been coping these past two years?
We have to endure having Pippen, who is strong but not all that great, as our leader, and then getting repeatedly kicked in the ass in the playoffs by teams like New York, Miami, Charlotte, Orlando, Indiana, Phoenix, and San Antonio...
Well, Chicago has been ridiculed by almost the entire league for the past two years!
There was no way around it; Jordan had enemies all over the league.
But now, a Jordan at 100% is back!
All of this made the team so perfect, and everyone on the team so pleasing to the eye!
Jackson's fox-like smirk, Rodman's reckless and roguish demeanor, and Pippen's bitter face.
Even that pale-faced, frail Asian prospect who's better suited for movies than basketball, they all seem so likable!
Yes, this year's Bulls also have an Asian rookie who looks like a total pretty boy!
His name is Lin Tian, 22 years old, Chinese, and he was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the NBA draft this year with the 52nd overall pick.
Lin Tian graduated from the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, an NCAA-level institution. As one of the top eight Ivy League schools, the University of Pennsylvania's psychology department is renowned worldwide and was the first institution of higher learning in the world to establish a psychology department. Furthermore, Lin Tian received a full scholarship when he was admitted to this prestigious program at the University of Pennsylvania!
In addition, Lin Tian has a perfect face full of oriental features, enough to make countless girls unable to take their eyes off him at first glance, coupled with a height of 191 cm, a wingspan of 205 cm, and a perfect figure of 33 cm... well, that is.
Of course, Lin Tian, who came to the United States to study in junior high school, also had a very good family background. In this era, ordinary people could not afford the exorbitant cost of studying in the United States.
His parents were among the first in China to go into business. With a good background and excellent foresight, the Lin family had already accumulated eight figures in assets by the early 1990s!
From any perspective, Lin Tian is a young talent, with top-notch family background, knowledge, appearance, ability, and physique!
Normally, someone like Lin Tian would either shine in the field of psychology after graduation or return to his hometown to inherit the family business. But Lin Tian chose the path of playing basketball!
This is similar to Schwarzenegger deciding to retire from acting and go into politics, or O'Neal switching careers to teach kids how to shoot free throws and three-pointers.
In particular, Penn is completely different from its neighbor, Pennsylvania State University. Penn is an academic powerhouse that has produced countless celebrities in politics and business, but in sports, it is so bad that it is simply unbearable to watch.
Penn State University, on the other hand, is a powerhouse in the NCAA, not only dominating the Big Ten Conference but also being the alma mater of many NBA players!
It can only be said that Lin Tian, Penn University, and the NBA are completely unrelated!
Lin Tian had only one attitude towards these doubts and denials: I'm willing! I like it! It's none of your business!
During his four years at the University of Pennsylvania, a school that offered no basketball scholarships and paid no attention to basketball, Lin Tian devoted himself wholeheartedly to training. In those four years, he broke various records and achieved the best team record in the history of this basketball wasteland!
In his senior year, Lin Tian led his teammates to make it into March Madness for the first time in the school's history. Although they were easily defeated by UCLA in the first round with an astonishing score of 77:40, making it into March Madness was enough to ensure that Lin Tian's name would be forever recorded in Penn's history!
From at least some perspectives, Lin Tian is already a "renowned alumnus" on par with Buffett, Franklin, and others!
During his senior year, Lin Tian averaged 22.4 points, 6.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. Although these numbers seem like lottery picks, Lin Tian did achieve these numbers at Penn, a basketball wasteland.
In the eyes of scouts and NBA management, his stats are worlds apart from those of Damon Stoudemire, the "Little Mouse" from Arizona, who is hailed as the best guard of the year, averaging 22 points, 7 assists and 1 steal per game!
This fully demonstrates that similar statistics from different teams against different opponents can have completely different effects and impacts!
This is why Stoudemire was the 7th pick in the first round, while Lin Tian, after giving it his all, was only selected by the Bulls in the second round, 52nd pick, barely making it into the NBA!
As for why Lin Tian didn't pursue a promising career as a doctor or a rich kid, but instead chose to play in the NBA, the reason is quite simple—
This is Lin Tian's second life!
He's from another time!
As a time traveler, Lin Tian has a cheat code, but this cheat code makes him very helpless.