In February, during the second-to-last regular season ga of the ACC conference, Wake Forest hosted the Maryland Terrapins.
This should have been a rather ordinary college ga.
But before the ga, Paul was unusually excited.
The reason was... the man with nurous titles like "The Chosen One," "The King," and "The Akron Hamr" had taken precious ti out of his busy NBA rookie season to be a special guest at this ga.
According to Paul himself, his friendship with LeBron Jas began at the 2003 McDonald’s All-Arican Ga.
"Actually, we’d heard of each other long before that. In that ga, I gave him several spectacular assists, and he ignited the arena with explosive dunks."
In the locker room before the ga, Paul excitedly shared with his teammates how he t Jas.
"It’s incredible; I can’t believe he actually ca to watch play today."
It was indeed incredible—as Zack walked into the arena and saw the incredibly "aged" face on the sidelines, he ntally comnted on the then-just-turned-19-year-old Jas.
As soone from the future, Zack knew very well what the na LeBron Jas would an for the NBA 20 years later. Generally, future basketball fans would describe him as "the NBA’s longest river." At this mont, however, spirited and ambitious was his truest depiction.
Zack noticed that even dressed in casual clothes today, Jas exuded an aura of regality visible to the naked eye. "He truly deserves to be the man who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated at 17," Zack thought.
Inside the arena, as Paul stepped forward to chat with Jas, he suddenly grabbed Zack and said, "You co with ." Then, after a pause, Paul looked up and added, "With you there, I’ll feel more confident."
Clearly, Paul at this mont wasn’t the close friend of LeBron’s that Zack rembered, who Jas would later describe with "our friendship transcends ti, beginning with our mutual admiration in gas." Paul felt both excited and a little nervous about Jas’s visit today.
Yes. Even though freshman Paul had learned how to remain calm under pressure, he was still just a young man who would turn 19 three months later.
In stark contrast to Paul’s deanor at the mont, Jas then showed initiative and warmth. His words gave Zack the illusion that he and Paul were already long-ti friends. But the next second, inadvertently, he would use his socially adept words to remind Zack that he had specially taken ti out today to cheer for Paul.
After these short few minutes of small talk, Zack knew that Paul had most likely been reeled in by Jas. Because Jas had not only given Paul ample respect but also, with his seemingly understated yet perfectly tid reminders, subtly made Paul owe him a huge favor.
"LeBron, your presence here today is truly unbelievable. Thank you for taking the ti to watch my ga," Paul said after another heartfelt embrace with Jas.
From instant admiration to confiding in each other, if Zack rembered correctly, the friendship between Paul and Jas would enter a period of rapid developnt in the coming year. At this mont, Zack felt a bit superfluous and wanted to leave the stage to Jas and Paul, but who would have thought that Jas would imdiately shift the topic to him? "You’re ’The Principal’? I’ve heard of your reputation. I hear that in front of the restricted area you guard, even ’The Landlord’ has to pay rent."
What incredibly heartwarming words – eting Jas’s gaze, Zack realized that His Majesty the King was clearly well-prepared today.
"Don’t be nervous, man. Chris and I are good brothers, and you’re his closest comrade-in-arms. I think you can totally consider one of your own," Jas said with a laugh, patting Zack’s arm, which felt like it was forged from steel.
It was just an opening line ant to build rapport, but combined with Jas’s warm deanor and his current status in the basketball world... for a mont, Zack felt that even he was almost swayed by Jas.
In this opening, Jas first elevated his relationship with Paul to that of good brothers. Then, he asked Zack to consider him as one of his own. The King’s sincerity in trying to win over the Wake Forest Twin Stars was evident.
In fact, if you know Jas well enough, you’d realize he had been planning for his future from a very early age. Whether it was the business empire he would build, or his vast number of "LeBron’s brothers" in the future, whenever Zack read the autobiographies of players from Jas’s era, he would be surprised to find that LeBron Jas always appeared at just the right mont, like a fated benefactor.
For example, Paul at this mont. Zack clearly rembered that Jas would not only offer Paul various suggestions as an experienced veteran in the coming year but also actively act as a psychological counselor to help Paul overco setbacks when he faced difficulties on the college court.
Zack wouldn’t question the friendship between Paul and Jas, but he also didn’t want to get involved. So, when he noticed Rachel Carlyle’s figure appearing in the arena, Zack felt like he found a savior and imdiately found an excuse to jog over to Rachel.
Jas was greatly surprised by this. Because today, he did intend to recruit Zack. In the 2003-04 season, as Yao Ming gradually grew into an NBA star center, the prospects of the Chinese market across the ocean could only be described as excellent. And Zack’s identity as a Chinese player naturally made Jas think highly of him.
Why did Jas think highly of Zack as a Chinese player? Because you can question everything about LeBron Jas, but when it cos to his attitude towards the Chinese market, regardless of his motives, LeBron is the undisputed GOAT. Especially compared to that scumbag Michael Jordan.
But... what Jas never expected was that Zack seed completely uninterested in his recruitnt. Didn’t he know my status? Or did he think my status was too low?
At a critical mont, in the arena, after coughing twice at Jas, Paul subtly hinted at the unusual relationship between Zack and Rachel with his eyes, while saying, "Those two... you understand, LeBron."
Hearing this, Jas suddenly understood and also felt a little relieved. "He has good taste," Jas comnted.
anwhile, Rachel, completely unaware that she was just a tool, was caught in a sudden wave of happiness. "That’s LeBron Jas! Don’t you want to talk to him more?" Rachel asked curiously.
Zack shook his head and said, "You know, it was a hard decision to make, but the mont I saw you on the sidelines, I couldn’t wait to co to you."
At this mont, recalling Zack’s excellent performance yesterday, Rachel’s cheeks flushed slightly as she said, "Since you’re here, why don’t I give you a quick interview?"
Seeing this, Zack smiled and said, "My pleasure."
Tonight, Paul was pumped up by Jas’s arrival, so after the ga started, his teammates, including Zack, intentionally tried to help Paul shine. In just 8 minutes, Paul had already scored 15 points. The Maryland guard guarding Paul was shorter than him and couldn’t threaten his shots at all.
On the court, during a Wake Forest offensive possession, while fighting for an offensive rebound, Zack, after getting the ball, chose not to attack himself but instead passed the ball to the periter. Then, from the right wing at a 45-degree angle, Paul received the ball and scored his 18th point of the ga with a three-pointer.
On the sidelines, Jas enthusiastically applauded his good friend, exclaiming, "Chris can do anything!"
However, Rachel, sitting right behind Jas, was very unhappy with the Demon Deacons’ possession. Because from her understanding of Zack, after grabbing that offensive rebound, Zack should have perford an inspiring dunk.
Admittedly, a three-pointer is worth one more point than a dunk. But... with the Terrapins posing no threat to the Demon Deacons, this arena clearly needed energy from Zack tonight.
"Hey, ’Principal,’ I spent a whole month preparing for this ga. Why have you been passing all the ti? Do you look down on ?" At this mont, Gary Dickson, the Maryland power forward who had been guarding Zack all ga, also expressed his dissatisfaction. As a passionate fan of Zack, even though they were at different schools, Gary Dickson had always looked up to Zack as his idol.
"For this ga, I adjusted my diet and actively prepared to get myself into the best possible condition... But you, do you really look down on that much? You know, I’m also a Division I NCAA player," Dickson continued to complain to Zack.
Since he had also suffered from obesity during his freshman and sophomore years, and after learning about Zack’s past experiences, Dickson, who was graduating this year, had been greatly looking forward to this match against Zack. In Dickson’s eyes, Zack was a role model for people like him who had lost weight, but tonight, Zack’s performance had deeply disappointed him.
Seeing this, Zack smiled at him and said, "Alright, since you want to see go all out so badly, then next, you’d better be ntally prepared."
Dickson was overjoyed and said, "Bring it on!"
On the court, after defending Maryland’s offense, Wake Forest had possession. This ti, Zack actively called for the ball from Paul, and after dribbling and accelerating past Dickson’s defense... he soared with thunderous force and rcilessly punished the Maryland hoop with a powerful one-handed dunk.
This one-handed slam dunk was not only powerful, but Zack’s entire sequence from takeoff to completing the dunk was also quite stylish, reminiscent of Vince Carter in his pri.
"Hey, Maryland, you better watch out! The UFO from China has now taken flight!" the live comntator passionately exclaid the mont Zack completed the dunk.
On the sidelines, Jas was also amazed by Zack’s dunk. Although Jas had heard rumors about Zack before coming to Wake Forest, it wasn’t until he saw him in person that he realized Zack possessed athletic talent disproportionate to his height.
After using a model fine-tuner, Zack’s height in February had grown to 206.5 centiters, and his height with shoes on was nearly 210 centiters. Generally, players of this height, while enjoying the benefits of their stature, often suffer from issues with coordination and flexibility due to their height. But Zack, his movents were as agile as players around two ters tall.
In the restricted area, after landing from the dunk, Zack looked at Dickson, who had just returned to defense, and asked, "What’s your na?"
Dickson replied, "Gary Dickson."
Nodding, Zack said, "I rember your na now. Gary Dickson, starting power forward for the Maryland Terrapins in NCAA Division I."
Hearing this, Dickson felt a warmth in his heart and said, "I’m graduating this year. Give a ga I’ll never forget, Principal!"
At this mont, if the University of Maryland coach knew the reason for Zack’s sudden burst of energy on the court, he would surely have an urge to kill Dickson.
On the court, Wake Forest’s offensive possession. After getting into the low post, rembering Duncan’s teaching, Zack used rhythm to shake off Dickson, turned, and banked it in, adding two more points for Wake Forest.
He could drive forcefully from the high post, or post up in the low post. Since Duncan’s coaching session, Zack had beco the nightmare of all power forwards in the ACC conference.
At Lawrence Joel Veterans morial Coliseum, Zack took over the rest of the first half. By halfti, Zack had tallied 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. In the team’s scoring ranks for this ga, he successfully surpassed Paul, becoming the team’s leading scorer at halfti.
This Terrapins team wasn’t strong overall, but Zack, starting slowly and then surging in the ga, created an illusion for all the scout experts who watched the ga: compared to two months ago, he could now control his performance at will.
In the second half, Zack only played for a few minutes before being substituted. As the lead grew larger, Coach Prosser didn’t want to risk keeping Zack on the court.
"He’s grown step by step, becoming the team’s interior core. His next stop is definitely the NBA, but before heading to the NBA, he’s like Tim Duncan back in the day, systematically taking down opponents one by one. Sheldon Williams is a defeated foe, and Sean May can only rely on teammates to barely hold on. I’m now curious to see how far he can lead this Wake Forest team in the upcoming March Madness," Rachel thought to herself on the sidelines, while writing the news draft for tomorrow’s school newspaper.
Of course, while writing, Rachel didn’t forget to gripe about Zack in another notebook: aside from his excessive stamina in a certain area, he currently has no weaknesses. After a pause, Rachel added in her notebook: Too much stamina isn’t always a good thing. After all, that’s 7 inches (18 cm) in a normal state.
Half an hour later, the ga ended, and Wake Forest earned a thunderous applause from the ho crowd with a 60-point victory.
"Hey, Zack, LeBron invited us. He wants us to go to a JAY-Z concert this sumr," Paul said after the ga, not complaining about Zack stealing his thunder during the match.
"Sorry, Chris, I think I have to decline that invitation," Zack said, looking down at Paul.
Hearing this, Paul looked puzzled. "That’s a JAY-Z concert." In Paul’s opinion, even if Zack had special training during the sumr, it wasn’t so urgent that he couldn’t take so ti for this.
As for Rachel, who was currently walking towards Zack?
"Hey, listen, man, I know you’re hitting it off with that female news anchor, and I know your usual attitude towards training, but this is a great opportunity for us to exchange ideas with LeBron and ask him for NBA experience," Paul told Zack with a serious expression.
But Zack remained unmoved, saying, "I know all that, Chris. But this sumr, my parents are coming to visit . You know, I haven’t seen them in a long ti."
At this mont, Zack was telling Paul the truth. Because "he" (the previous self) dared not return to China during his self-destructive period, and now that Zack had shone this season, Zack Yong and his wife, missing their son more and more, eagerly wanted to co to the US to spend so ti with their beloved son during the sumr. Zack didn’t refuse this. Because after inheriting everything from "him," he couldn’t keep neglecting "his" parents.
"Oh, I see. I misunderstood you, I’m sorry, Zack..." Unlike NBA players who never t their biological fathers, Paul, having both parents since childhood and receiving a good family education, had always placed great importance on family. Therefore, as a "family man," Paul would wholeheartedly approve of Zack spending the sumr with his parents.
Of course, Paul didn’t know that while spending ti with his parents was important, Zack hadn’t fully disclosed everything to him.
Well, the main reason Zack didn’t want to accept the invitation was... he was worried he might get involved if JAY-Z and "Diddy" ever got into trouble together in the future (Note ①). Although there was no definitive conclusion about JAY-Z before he ti-traveled, Zack didn’t want to waste ti verifying it. In this life, he only wanted to make a na for himself in the NBA.
As Rachel said... at this mont, systematically defeating opponents in college basketball was his greatest joy in life!
Note ①: I won’t explain too much about "Diddy." As for JAY-Z, a famous Arican rapper and music producer, the main case he was involved in was the accusation of molesting a 13-year-old minor.
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