Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 355 The NBA's Strongest Second-Round Pick
Led by Sawakita, Kogure and the others arrived at the open-air basketball court located inside the park.

The basketball court facilities looked new, with the hoops and backboards gleaming and clearly well-maintained.

At this time, a large number of spectators had gathered around the stadium.

They stood or sat, their eyes fixed on the two players on the court, occasionally bursting into enthusiastic cheers and applause.

Soon, Kogure and the others found a gap to watch.

On the basketball court, an elderly man in his fifties or sixties is playing against a young player.

The old man had dark skin and a face full of wrinkles, and looked quite old, but his movements were unusually agile.

What's most impressive is his dribbling skills; the basketball seems glued to his hands, and every movement is effortless.

Even though the young players are strong and energetic, they seem somewhat powerless in front of the older players.

Even though the old man wasn't very fast, the younger players were always a step behind, and the rhythm was completely controlled by the opponent.

For a time, the young players could only grimace and passively endure the opponent's abuse.

shuh~
Soon, the old man easily shook off the young player and accurately shot the ball into the basket.

Seeing this scene, everyone present couldn't help but feel a sense of respect.

Immediately, Kogure stared intently at the old man.

Unfortunately, he didn't recognize him.

For Kogure, the basketball stars he was familiar with were mainly active after the 1990s.

If nothing unexpected happens, this old man was likely retired in the 1970s or 80s.

As for which star player it was, Kogure has a bit of face blindness and couldn't recognize him.

Kogure pointed at the old man on the court and asked, "Sawakita, you're not talking about him, are you?"

"It's him, it's him!"

Zebei's eyes were red as he spoke.

It was so embarrassing to be knocked to the ground by an old man in front of everyone.

That's bad enough, but the worst part is that he still lost.

Zebei was unwilling to give up and continued, "If I were given another chance, I might be able to defeat him!"

Even among American high school players, Sawakita is very strong, probably somewhere between a four-star and a five-star high school player.

His skills are definitely at the level of a five-star high school student; the only thing he lacks is his ability to fight.

Even someone as capable as Zebei was defeated by an old man.

To maintain such superb ball skills at this age, this old man must have had an extraordinary experience.

Beside him, Sendoh asked doubtfully, "Senior Kogure, are you confident?"

"Have!"

Despite the old man's superb skills, his body is no longer what it used to be, so how could he be a match for Kogure?

Kogure was quite confident about this.

Among retired NBA players, Kogure is confident he can defeat them, unless that person is Bird!

Unlike other retired players, Bird still possessed All-Star caliber skills when he retired.

Bird's average stats in his retirement year were better than gOat's rookie year stats, and this was during the tough, competitive era.

The others were not surprised by Kogure's answer; in fact, they had great confidence in him.

Before the friendly match against Farragut Academy, they thought that even if Kogure was stronger than them, he wouldn't be that much stronger.

After the friendly match ended, they finally realized that Kogure had surpassed them by a huge margin.

60 triple-doubles + 55 points, is this the kind of stats a normal person can achieve?

Without seeing the two five-star high school students from Farragut Academy, their combined stats are barely on par with Kogure's.

Among the five-star high school students, Ronnie Fields and Kevin Garnett are both ranked at the top.

After this friendly match, they finally understood.

It turns out that Kogure's strength wasn't limited to this, but rather the small swamp restricted his performance.

This is similar to a top student getting 100 points on a test, because the test paper only has 100 points.

In their minds, Kogure was absolutely a monster.

As for what level Kogure had reached, their limited perspective made it impossible for them to provide a reference.

The match finally ended after a short wait.

The elderly man won again with his superb ball skills.

Just then, a host holding a microphone walked onto the basketball court.

He was wearing a T-shirt with a sponsor's advertisement printed on it, and his face was beaming with a warm smile.

"Let's congratulate Knight on his victory once again!"

The announcer's voice echoed through the stadium via loudspeaker.

The audience responded with enthusiastic applause and cheers.

The old man smiled and waved to the audience, his face radiating a sense of calm and detachment.

It was only then that Kogure finally realized that this was a commercial promotion.

He looked around and noticed simple promotional boards placed at the edge of the stadium.

Are there any audience members still in the audience who want to challenge Knight?

The host looked around, trying to get the audience involved.

After a brief pause, the host took a deep breath and continued in an even louder voice: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a rare opportunity! If you successfully challenge Knight, you will receive a sports gift package carefully prepared by our XX Company! This package includes the latest Nike sneakers, jerseys, and various sports accessories, with a total value of over one thousand US dollars!"

These words caused a stir among the previously silent crowd.

"I want to challenge Knight!"

It was at this moment that Kogure stepped onto the basketball court without hesitation.

Seeing that people were participating, the host breathed a slight sigh of relief, as long as the conversation didn't become awkward.

As for whether Kogure can defeat Knight, he is not optimistic.

No matter what, Knight was an NBA superstar before. Even though his body is not what it used to be, his basketball skills and game experience are still far beyond what ordinary people can match.

Kogure observed Knight up close and finally sensed a hint of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before!
However, he couldn't remember it for the time being.

Kogure couldn't help but ask, "Sir, may I know your name?"

"Nate Archibald!"

Upon hearing the name, Kogure was visibly surprised.

He initially thought the other person was just an ordinary NBA star, but it turned out that the other person was one of the NBA's 50 greatest players.

However, compared to the other 50 greatest stars, Knight Archibald is really not well-known.

This may be related to the fact that his peak period was relatively short!
Knight Archibald, 185 cm tall, played point guard and was nicknamed "The Little Elf". He was selected by the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) in the second round, 19th overall pick of the 1970 NBA draft.

He was selected to the NBA All-Star team six times, won the NBA All-Star MVP in 1981, was selected to the All-NBA First Team three times, and was selected to the All-NBA Second Team twice.

Most importantly, he averaged 34 points and 11.4 assists per game in 1973, winning both the NBA scoring title and the NBA assist title.

He is also the only player to win both the scoring title and the assist title in the same season.

Among his achievements, his average of 34 points per game broke the league's scoring record for guards at the time, and his 910 assists per game that season, averaging 11.4, also broke the NBA record.

Therefore, he was not only selected to the NBA All-NBA First Team, but also named MVP by Sporting News.

Unfortunately, in the following season, Knight Archibald played only 35 games due to injury, averaging only 17.6 points per game.

These honors are also the main reason why he was able to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the NBA's 50 Greatest Players and 75 Greatest Players.

Just like Oscar Robertson's triple-double average, as long as no one breaks Knight Archibald's unique record, his status will be difficult to shake.

Let us once again observe three seconds of silence for Big O!
Therefore, Knight Archibald is considered one of the best second-round picks.

In this era, another second-round pick comparable to Knight Archibald is Willis Reed. Rodman?
Rodman wasn't good enough for this era; let's wait until he helped Jordan win his second three-peat.

Nikola Jokic?

He is currently at the cellular level and will not be born until next year.

As a legendary figure in NBA history, Knight Archibald certainly deserves a special title.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Kogure blurted out, "I'm so excited! I've finally seen a live 'little fairy'!"

Knight Archibald: I'm not fucking dead yet...

However, Knight Archibald didn't mind, because he could sense Kogure's excitement.

Kogure was a little embarrassed and quickly turned to the host to change the subject: "However, I have a request!"

"What are the requirements?" The host frowned slightly, looking somewhat surprised.

He didn't expect this seemingly ordinary challenger to propose additional conditions.

"Let him rest before we compete. I don't want to take advantage of him when he's in a bad state!"

Kogure's answer surprised the audience, and many of them spontaneously applauded him.

The host instinctively looked at Knight and asked, "Knight, what do you think?"

By this time, the former NBA superstar's jersey was soaked with sweat.

Although he is in good shape, he is getting old after all, and after several consecutive challenges, his stamina is starting to give out.

Knight Archibald did not answer immediately, but began to re-examine the challenger before him.

"His strength must be quite good!"

After weighing the pros and cons, Knight Archibald accepted the terms and then sat down to rest on the sidelines.

Kogure followed and struck up a conversation with Knight Archibald.

"What, you know Bird?"

Knight Archibald looked surprised when he learned that Kogure knew Bird.

He was Bird's teammate.

In the 1980-81 season, Knight Archibald won the NBA championship with the Celtics.

Of course, he was already on the verge of retirement at that time.

As we all know, most of the guys look older than they are. For example, the future famous gOat had the face of a middle-aged man when he first debuted.

Knight Archibald wasn't much better off, which explains why Zebei and others thought he was an old man in his fifties or sixties.

In fact, Knight Archibald is only 46 years old this year.

"Six months ago, I attended the McDonald's training camp, and Bird was the head coach!"

"It seems you're quite capable!"

Being selected for the McDonald's training camp means one must be quite capable.

Of course, it's just good, at least that's what Knight Archibald thinks.

"Bird even sent me game tapes!"

Kogure began to increase his bets.

"It seems he thinks highly of you!"

Sure enough, Knight Archibald paid even more attention to it.

As for his one-on-one duel with Bird, Kogure didn't say it aloud.

After about ten minutes, Knight Archibald finished his rest.

The two sides decided to go first by flipping a coin.

As for the rules of the duel, they are the same as the one-on-one match with Garnett last night.

There are 11 balls in total. As long as you make a shot, you can continue to have possession of the ball until you miss.

The host tossed a coin, and the face up gave Knight Archibald the first shot.

Knight Archibald breathed a slight sigh of relief, shrugged, and said, "Looks like I'm in luck!"

Knight Archibald is 185 cm tall and weighs 68 kg. He is a small, fast, and agile point guard.

That's why he's called 'Little Elf'!

However, after retiring, he gained a little weight and his weight reached 80 kilograms.

For a height of 185 cm, 80 kg is just within the normal weight range.

"Not always!"

Kogure shook his head and then passed the ball to the opponent.

Upon receiving the ball, Archibald did not probe but immediately opted for a crossover dribble.

Kogure seemed to have seen through Archibald's intentions, and quickly moved to the side, blocking his path of breakthrough.

Archibald quickly pulled the basketball, attempting a crossover dribble to break through.

His steps were not fast, but he was very agile.

Unfortunately, Kogure successfully blocked it again.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kogure closed in and unleashed Death Coil, giving his opponent no chance to breathe.

During this process, Kogure took the initiative to fight back. His body was strong and powerful, and every confrontation made Archibald suffer.

For a moment, Archibald felt at a loss.

slap~
In the midst of the fierce confrontation, Kogure discovered an opening and made a steal.

Archibald could only watch helplessly as the ball was taken away.

"I was careless and didn't dodge!"

As an NBA legend, Archibald is still very concerned about his image.

"Could this be a player who specializes in defense?"

This was Archibald's first reaction; Kogure's defense put him under immense pressure.

That's absolutely NBA-level defense!
If he were still in the twilight of his career, he wouldn't have been so easily dispossessed by Kogure.

This also put him on high alert, fearing that he might accidentally capsize in a ditch.

"It's my turn to attack!"

Kogure arrived outside the three-point line.

"bring it on!"

Archibald passed the ball to Kogure and immediately marked him.

He was aware of his weaknesses; his explosive power was not what it used to be, and he could only make up for it with defensive experience.

However, Kogure was no ordinary person.

Cross step!
Immediately, Kogure also used a cross step.

Unlike Archibald, he had a longer stride and a faster pace.

Archibald was clearly affected and was easily defeated by Kogure.

"How can it be!"

Archibald could only watch helplessly as Kogure's back receded, his heart filled with shock.

He discovered that Kogure was almost on par with him in the crossover step, a breakthrough technique.

At that moment, Archibald's heart was filled with helplessness and frustration.

shuh~
After breaking past Archibald, Kogure drove straight to the basket and scored a layup.

(End of this chapter)