All I Really Want Is To Play Basketball - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Dominator of Pennsylvania!

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

Su Feng helped Lower Merion defeat Ridley with an astonishing result of 90 – 69. After he got home, he was overwhelmed by an unprecedented feeling of exhaustion.

He drank two bottles of nutrient fluid, but that didn’t help either.

“So tired!”

Su Feng thought sadly as he collapsed on the sofa.

“No!

“No way!

“I’m a man! I can’t give up so easily!

“It’s just 100000 Brick Shot Points!

“Tsk! I can ask Kobe to train with me for two more hours every day next week. That way I’ll easily earn it back!”

Although Su Feng hadn’t been able to gain the bonus points via the task called Pity, he had now realized that there were hidden tasks.

“But how do I trigger these tasks?” Su Feng wondered.

…

With various speculations about the hidden tasks, Su Feng participated in the next three matches of the Pennsylvania High School Basketball League and led Lower Merion to victory in all three games.

As of now, Su Feng and Kobe had become even better at coordinating with each other. In the words of the other members of Team Lower Merion, the pair could bring victory to the team even if the other three players were not doing their jobs at all!

In the three matches, Su Feng had achieved an average of 24 points and 5 rebounds per game, and Kobe’s results were 32 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 4 blocked shots per game.

Kobe was an all-rounded player, which was what Su Feng had not been able to do back then. However, in the “Lower Merion Column” of the Philadelphia Evening Post, the journalist Markson had made excellent remarks about Su Feng.

Aside from listing Su Feng’s statistics, Markson had even quoted his brother, the scout for the NBA’s Miami Heat, Jackson’s professional comments.

A while ago, many Pennsylvania basketball experts had released reserved opinions about Su Feng’s true abilities. But recently, it had become an undeniable fact that Su Feng had become the second center of attention in the eyes of the scouts and journalists present at Lower Merion games.

Moreover, Su Feng had earned himself a small share of fame in Philadelphia.

When Lower Merion was competing against other schools, not only students, some parents would come to support the school their children were attending.

And Su Feng left a strong impression on all the Philadelphia citizens who watched Lower Merion matches.

Su Feng’s playstyle was not as aggressive as Kobe’s. Instead, there was an element of grace and elegance in his way of shooting.

In addition, when Su Feng was playing, the audience somehow had an urge to “kneel down” to him.

Moreover, Su Feng’s acts of bravery and justice in the previous term had further boosted his popularity in Philadelphia.

But Su Feng didn’t become complacent.

After all, all the NBA professional players had been civilian heros in their high school or college years.

…

It was the end of November. On the 24th of November, Kobe’s father, Joe, invited Su Feng to their place to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Joe could see the change in his son’s personality after he had met Su Feng. Kobe had become much more lively.

Now Joe’s biggest regret was that he hadn’t been able to give Kobe a younger sibling. Joe believed that having a younger sibling would have made Kobe more outgoing.

Actually, Kobe had two older sisters.

On Thanksgiving Day, it was Su Feng’s first time meeting Kobe’s elder sisters, Sharia and Shaya.

At first, both Sharia and Shaya had been surprised that Kobe had found a friend whom he could click with.

They had thought that Kobe’s only friend since he was young was the basketball.

However, after a chat with Su Feng, the two sisters were both convinced that their brother had made a good friend.

Su Feng was a talkative and humorous young man. He soon gained the liking of Kobe’s sisters.

Su Feng had also noticed that Kobe’s eyes had never left him when he was chatting with his sisters.

He knew that his stare was a warning.

But Kobe’s worries were unnecessary.

Honestly speaking, Su Feng preferred blondes with voluptuous curves.

At that time, the Bryants were a close-knit family. Su Feng was prepared to give Kobe sound advice when he met Vanessa eventually…

He wouldn’t ask him to break up with her. Instead, he would suggest that Kobe should communicate more with his family.

Who wasn’t rebellious in their youth?

“Su, you can come to my place on Christmas Eve and Christmas. We have a vacant room upstairs,” Kobe said after the Thanksgiving dinner.

“Then we can watch the NBA Christmas games together,” Kobe added.

Su Feng pondered for a while and accepted the invitation. Speaking of which, the 94/95 season was a magical season…

In order to keep up with the pace of the times, Su Feng had developed the habit of reading newspapers everyday after his transmigration.

As of now, the NBA games had been going on in exactly the same way as what Su Feng could remember.

Things had become difficult for the past champion, the Houston Rockets. Would you believe that the most reliable person by Olajuwon’s side in this season was actually Kenny Smith, who was soon going to retire and start his new career as a commentator?

At that time, the Houston Rockets hadn’t acquired Clyde the Glide1, and Tomjanovich hadn’t shown his trump card yet.

It appeared that the Houston Rockets were losing the game. But when Tomjanovich unleashed his full potential, it wouldn’t be far from the rise of the Houston Rockets. That was the most famous motivational story in the 1990s.

In the new season, the most popular team was the Orlando Magic, which had had the best results so far.

Following Jordan’s retirement, Anfernee Hardaway had soon risen to fame as “Jordan’s successor”.

Early in the 93/94 season Rising Stars Challenge, Hardaway had achieved an average score of “15+5+5” per game. That made him an idol to many future NBA swingmen.

However, after the Orlando trip with Kobe, Su Feng hadn’t taken an interest in Hardaway.

In Su Feng’s former life, Hardaway had been severely overrated.

It was said that Hardaway would have been a legend if he hadn’t been injured. But in fact, even if he had been perfectly healthy and fit, he could never be as strong as the four greatest shooting guards1 that would come into public attention in the future.

In Hardaway’s entire career as a professional basketball player, his best results had been achieved in the three seasons when he fought by O’Neal’s side.

In the 94/95 and 95/96 seasons, Hardaway’s field goal percentage had even exceeded 50%. He had achieved a stellar average score of more than 20 points per game. Coupled with his remarkable playstyle, he had won himself a great number of fans.

However, in the 96/97 season, Shaq left Orlando for the west. At that time, Hardaway hadn’t been suffering from his injuries yet, but his performance had taken a plunge.

In that season, Hardaway’s field goal percentage had plummeted to 44.7% during his 59 matches for the Orlando Magic.

After O’Neal left, there was only one season where Hardaway’s field goal percentage actually exceeded 45%. In other seasons, his percentage had been fluctuating around 40%.

Although his injuries had caused an adverse impact on his career, which was undeniable, his best performance wouldn’t have been possible without O’Neal.

For instance, in the 94/95 and 95/96 seasons, O’Neal hadn’t gained weight yet. He was a buff young man.

When O’Neal and Hardaway played the pick-and-roll tactic outside the three-point arc, who would you defend against first if you were their opponent?

O’Neal had been an unstoppable force in the NBA, which had allowed Hardaway to put his strength into full play. At O’Neal’s side, Hardaway could break through the opponents’ defense and carry the ball to the basket with his excellent dribbling skills, or he could launch a shot confidently.

But Hardaway’s glorious days had come to an end after O’Neal had left the team. Without O’Neal’s assistance, Hardaway was unable to unleash his true potential when hand-checking was still allowed. It was no surprise that he injured himself with his playstyle.

When the four greatest shooting guards were dominating the NBA in Su Feng’s previous life, there had always been some basketball fans claiming that they preferred Hardaway to any of the four best shooting guards.

Well… Su Feng didn’t want to judge their personal preferences.

But he wanted to tell them that he wouldn’t care whether they liked the four greatest shooting guards or the four greatest centers, or even the four greatest power forwards. With determination, money, and some resourcefulness, everyone could get their idol’s signature.

But Hardaway??

Hmm…

Unless the Chinese soccer team could enter the World Cup once again.

No, even if they could, you might not get Hardaway’s signature.

That’s probably the most insulting comment about the Chinese soccer team…

In fact, Hardaway was not just anti-social. He was a proud and calculating man.

Why did Shaq decide to leave the team? That’s because the Orlando Magic management had refused to pay O’Neal more than Hardaway, worried that it might upset Hardaway.

Here’s the question. Who told them that Hardaway would be angry if his salary was lower than O’Neal’s?

One might argue that it was an unhappy incident because the two of them had contradictory values and that O’Neal had unfortunately fallen into the trap set by the clever Hardaway.

But in the end…

Hardaway’s performance declined year by year after O’Neal left. Everyone knew that.

Following O’Neal’s joining, the Lakers had a rough start. However, O’Neal reestablished his standing in the NBA after securing three championships in the beginning of the 21st century.

Although Kobe had been heartbroken in Orlando, he was still a fan of the Magic because he had O’Neal’s signature and a photo with him.

If Su Feng remembered clearly, Kobe was a firm supporter of the New York Knicks at the finals not so long ago!

Sss!

Should he ask for Kobe’s opinion again?

…

Time flew. It was December in the blink of an eye.

Su Feng had been enjoying throwing bricks with Kobe…

Just kidding. Su Feng had even stopped wishing good luck to his opponents.

That’s because those opponents were far too weak!

In Su Feng’s fromer life, Kobe had almost won the state championship with his own strength alone. Their chances of victory had been further increased with Su Feng’s joining.

Thanks to Su Feng’s assistance, Kobe’s performance had improved significantly.

In addition, Kobe was fond of passing the ball to Su Feng, and that was not just because of the good food Su Feng had made for him.

After all, led by Su Feng and Kobe, Lower Merion had achieved a record-high 15-win streak. At that time, Su Feng’s field goal percentage was almost insane…

The local media at Philadelphia had even given Team Lower Merion the nickname “Junior Chicago Bulls”.

After 15 matches, Su Feng had accomplished an average score of 23 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game, while Kobe had a contribution of 29.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 3.8 steals, and 3.4 blocked shots per game.

Su Feng’s average field goal percentage was 48.5%, three-pointer field goal percentage 44.5%, and free throw percentage 100%. In comparison, Kobe’s average field goal percentage was 51.5%, three-pointer field goal percentage 31%, and free throw percentage 79%…

At his current rate, Su Feng would soon be invited to join the “50-40-90 club”.

He was invincible!

Quoting the Philadelphia media’s words, the Philadelphia Twin Towers had dominated Pennsylvania!

Worried that Su Feng might become complacent, Kobe had put in even more effort in his one-on-one duels with Su Feng recently.

“Ha, Su, you are a real bricklayer.”

“Su, I’ll shave your head if you miss the next shot!”

“Don’t give up, Su! You are almost better than me now. Work harder!”

Honestly speaking…

Su Feng was rather annoyed by the proud look on Kobe’s face whenever Su Feng was defeated.

But when he saw the continuous inflow of the Brick Shot Points…

Su Feng decided that he should let Kobe brag about his achievements for now.

As expected, Kobe was his personal cheat!

…