Chapter 1 Listening to Jordan's Games

After advancing to the state finals, Su Feng and Kobe's greatest pleasure these past two days while preparing for the finals has been "listening" to Michael Jordan's games together.

"Michael's here! Fasten your seatbelts, folks! Oh... Michael's shot missed."

"The Bulls are running their signature triangle offense, the ball goes to Michael on the wing, let's see what he'll do this time.

"Wow, Crossover, ho ho, what's this? Hey, Horace (Grant), even though you're Michael's former teammate, you're still standing firm this time... Oh, Michael's step-back jumper missed."

"Michael, Michael! This is his best range, the classic Michael fadeaway... Oh, Michael's fadeaway... missed."

Listening to the commentary on the radio, Su Feng never expected the English version to be so interesting?

Old scoundrel, oh old scoundrel, so you have days like these too?

Of course, Su Feng, who knew history well, was clear that this iron-filled journey was not only a dark chapter after Jordan's return but also a prelude to his return to his peak.

In fact, Jordan's physical condition wasn't at its best at this time, and his competitive state hadn't been adjusted yet.

On the 24th, in the Bulls' game against the Magic, Anfernee Hardaway, "Jordan's successor," gained a lot of fans by scoring one more point than Jordan in the entire game.

And the people who had previously placed high expectations on the Chicago Bulls couldn't hide their disappointment.

But...

Do you guys know, that Jordan, in this "sluggish" state, is about to explode, can you believe it?

If Su Feng remembered correctly, in a few days, Ewing would jump off the Empire State Building to "assist" Jordan.

As the designated background for superstars in the '90s, Michael Jordan would score a whopping 55 points in the game against the Knicks on the 28th.

Of course, Ewing can't be entirely blamed for this, because the one guarding Jordan in this game was...

John Starks.

Jordan's "old friend," and also one of the "heroes" of the Mosaic's championship win last year.

Seriously, the Knicks are just outrageous.

In Su Feng's opinion, the Knicks should really change their name to: Rob-the-Poor-and-Give-to-the-Rich Knicks.

In Su Feng's previous life, opportunities to win championships in the '90s rained down on the Knicks.

However...

The Knicks always managed to open their umbrellas in time and reject all these opportunities.

Besides being professional background players, in a few years, the proud New Yorkers would also pay the price for their arrogance by not being able to recruit a superstar for nearly 20 years in the future.

And then there was no then.

In the future, the Knicks would become the number one target for major American TV stations to complain about during their pre-season previews every year.

……

……

On the 26th, Harrisburg's Capital Sports Arena.

The 94/95 season Pennsylvania High School Basketball League State Finals.

The Lower Merion supporters in the stands had decorated the entire arena into a sea of white.

Even though it was a neutral venue, the players from Erie Catholic High School felt the world's full of malice towards them tonight.

As Erie Catholic High School's ace player, Michael Carter said to his teammates with indignation, "Since everyone chooses to support them, then we'll use our actions to prove that we're no worse than them!"

"Ok."

"No problem."

"Don't worry."

Michael Carter: "......"

Damn, where's your confidence?

We clearly beat them in the division league!

Why are you guys so unconfident?

Actually, Michael Carter had misunderstood his teammates.

Because how could this be called a lack of confidence?

This was just following their hearts...

Lower Merion's aura was as intimidating as it could be, and even Su Feng felt like he was already playing in the NBA.

There was no helping it, who asked the 76ers to be so disappointing this year?

In the eyes of the people of Philadelphia, watching the 76ers was a waste of time, it was better to go to Harrisburg to watch Lower Merion.

On the court, Kobe received a full house of cheers during his warm-up dunk performance.

Su Feng remembered that when Kobe participated in the draft in '96, many Philadelphia fans hoped that the team could find a way to select Kobe.

Because Joe Bryant was a native of Philadelphia, the people of Philadelphia regarded Kobe as the 'Son of Philadelphia'.

"Su, listen, your fame is almost catching up to mine." During the pre-game warm-up, Kobe smiled, patting Su Feng's shoulder.

Well... Su Feng certainly heard the fans in the audience calling his name.

Although the cheers Su Feng received couldn't compare to those for the 'Son of Philadelphia' Kobe, Su Feng still had a lot of supporters thanks to his looks that transcended national borders.

It was just...

Su Feng felt that he would have to teach these foreigners the correct pronunciation in the future, otherwise, being called 'lose, lose, lose' every day was just too unlucky.

Speaking of which, since it was the state finals, it was naturally different from the previous games.

Take tonight's entrance ceremony, for example, each starter from both teams received a separate introduction from the DJ.

However, when the DJ announced the average stats of the starters from both teams, three role players on Lower Merion silently lowered their heads, while Su Feng and Kobe held their heads high, full of vigor and vitality.

Rassman, Stewart, and Swartz weren't complaining, of course.

They just felt that they were getting too much out of it...

They were letting down Kobe and Su Feng for their patient guidance.

It was them who were dragging Kobe and Su Feng down!

Well, in Su Feng and Kobe's opinion, their adorable teammates must be thinking that way.

……

……

On the court, with the starters from both teams ready, the finals were about to begin.

In the stands, unlike in the past, there were three times as many NBA scouts and NCAA scouts in attendance today.

For the scouts, once they discovered promising talent, they would usually adopt a "long-term observation" approach to evaluate the player.

Of course, historically, there were also many cases where scouts misjudged players.

But most of the time, the scouts' scouting reports were like a verdict, determining your future.

At center court, Kobe was still responsible for the jump ball tonight.

Erie Catholic High School's center, Nelson, had decent physical talent, but compared to Kobe's jumping ability, which far surpassed his peers, Nelson could only sigh in admiration.

Pa!

Lower Merion on offense, amidst the deafening cheers, Robbie - I am a mature shot-rejecter - Swartz quickly passed the ball to Kobe after dribbling past half-court.

Kobe nodded with satisfaction, then began to observe Su Feng's movements.

If you were to use a lyric to describe Kobe's state at this time, it would be: My eyes are only on you and no one else...

Erie Catholic High School had obviously studied Su Feng's style and play.

The team's small forward, Gray, had been closely following Su Feng, not giving him a chance to escape his sight.

But, as a shooting machine without emotion, would Su Feng be afraid just because someone was following him?

And, would Kobe give up passing to Su Feng just because someone was following him?

Don't underestimate the trust between these two!

On the court, as soon as Su Feng ran to the left 45-degree angle, Kobe's pass arrived in his hands.

Kobe nodded at Su Feng.

Su Feng returned a received-it look to Kobe, then pushed off his legs, hung in the air, and flicked his wrist!

Clang clang clang~!

Su Feng: "......"

To be fair, Su Feng really didn't intentionally want to miss, after all, the system wouldn't recognize intentional misses.

Damn, am I destined not to be worthy of receiving Kobe's passes?

You should know, Su Feng, who had successfully persuaded Kobe for this state championship battle, wanted to go on a massive stat-padding spree.

But Su Feng never expected that what he padded...

Was actually a pile of miss value comparable to "grasshopper meat."

On the court, Su Feng didn't have time to think too much, because Lower Merion failed to grab the offensive rebound, so Su Feng quickly retreated to defend.

But, just then, suddenly—

"Ding! The number of long-range misses by the host in a valid game as determined by the system has met the requirements!"

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the [Solar Flare] badge."

"[Solar Flare] badge, current level:..."

On the court, Su Feng didn't have time to check what exactly this suddenly popping up [Solar Flare] badge was.

Because as soon as Erie Catholic High School's core point guard, Michael Carter, broke through Swartz's defense, Kobe arrived in the nick of time, directly stealing the basketball from Michael Carter's hands.

And then, Kobe quickly passed the ball to Su Feng!

Su Feng didn't have time to think too much, taking the opportunity to fast break and score the first points for Lower Merion.

2 to 0!

And at this time, Su Feng finally had the opportunity to check out this newly acquired badge.

"What the hell!"

"Hey, don't think I haven't played 2k, in 2k you have to make the shot to get badges, how come here... the style is all wrong..."

Su Feng never dreamed that it turned out...

Missing shots could really forge peerless divine weapons.

"So that means, my previous two games... I missed for good reason!"

Ahem, let's get down to business.

After checking out the extremely chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur) badge called [Solar Flare], Su Feng suddenly took a deep breath.

"[Solar Flare] badge, current level: Bronze.

Badge activation condition: The system detects that the host's touch is ice cold.

Badge activation effect: Within 6 minutes, increase the host's shooting percentage in his shooting hotspots by 10%.

Passive effect: Increase the host's long-range shooting interference resistance by 5%.

Note: Except for the first time the host obtains this badge, the host can only unequip this badge before the start of each game (or daily training), and after unequipping it, it will take 24 hours to re-equip it."

"What the hell is 'ice cold touch'?"

While Su Feng was lost in thought, on the court, just as Kobe came over to bump chests with him—

"Ding! The system has detected that the host's touch is ice cold!"

"According to the host's shooting data from the last 20 games, the host's shooting hotspots are: right 45-degree angle (three-pointer, mid-range), left 45-degree angle (three-pointer), left corner."

"[Solar Flare] badge, activated!"

……