Champion, please stay!

Chapter 154, Section 152: The Tragic Elementary School Student
Yi Shui and his teammates celebrated briefly, waved to the fans, and then returned to the bench. When asked by Dan Mali, he replied, "That's enough."

Marley nodded and stopped trying to persuade him. Indeed, 61 points was enough. Unless another scoring rookie like Jordan, David Robinson, or O'Neal emerges who can take off in their rookie season, no one can break that record. Giving them more ball possession would only get them like that second-year player on the other side.

Based on the current draft situation, Maerli believes it will be difficult to produce another rookie like Yi Shui.

Durant also set a record tonight, scoring 40 points on 14-of-36 shooting, but missing 22 shots in a single game, making him the all-time leader in missed shots in a single rookie game!

Mali believes this record is even harder to break than Yi Shui's 61 points.

On Yi Shui's side, although he felt that if he persisted a little longer, played a few more minutes, made a few more runs, and wasted a few more shots, he might be able to score another ten points or so, making the record even more unbreakable, but, as the saying goes, one must know when to quit while one is ahead.

The actions they just took were actually a way of getting rid of me—take away your 60+, I don't want to see you again.

If he goes up again, the other side will probably put up a barricade when he charges.

Getting injured in the rookie season is definitely not worth it.

Moreover, the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt. In those 12 minutes, he scored 23 points, his teammates made 2 of 3 shots for 5 points, the team had 28 points, the opposing team had 25 points, the total score was 99 to 77, the point difference had reached 22 points.

Just as Yi Shui had predicted, after the timeout, the game turned into a 'slam dunk contest'.

Rose's high-flying long-range layup was a beautiful and fluid motion.

The tortoise charged at close range and leaped vertically like a spring up from dry land, its tomahawk cleaving with speed and ferocity.

Curry, unstoppable, charged into the paint and leaped high, seemingly even higher than a tortoise! ​​But as he dunked, the ball hit the rim... Before he could even land properly, his foot slipped and he fell flat on his backside!

Hearing the laughter of the fans in the front field and the laughter of his teammates next to him, Yi Shui covered his face, wondering if he should pretend not to know them.

Both teams were charging in to dunk, but the rookie team was clearly just playing around, while the sophomore team seemed to be venting their emotions.

Moreover, this 'Slam Dunk Contest' also exposed the talent gap between the two generations of perimeter players.

In fact, watching the first half of the game where both teams were playing normally, Al Thornton and Stuckey of the second-year team showed that they were no less capable than Curry and Eric Gordon. Brooks, who was only focused on scoring, was no less capable than Rose and Westbrook in one-on-one situations. Both of them are highly mature second-year players.

But in terms of talent, let's not even talk about the Little Turtle trio and Mayo.

Eric Gordon's talent completely overwhelms all the opposing perimeter players except for Durant.

In the final few minutes, both teams played haphazardly, which the fans enjoyed. The game was no longer in doubt, which was much better than the losing team struggling to catch up... After all, this was a rookie game.

晚上9点55分，终场哨声响起，8分钟时间比分17比22，总比分116比99，新秀队以17分优势获胜，成为10年来第3支击败二年级队伍的新秀队！
After the final whistle blew, the reporters, who had been unable to contain themselves, flocked to the rookie team's bench.

Before Yi Shui could even stand up and celebrate the victory with his teammates, he was surrounded by a barrage of cameras and microphones.

A reporter holding an ESPN microphone asked, "Emperor, were you prepared to break the scoring record tonight? You kept shooting, breaking the all-time record for field goal attempts, completely ignoring everything else."

Yi Shui replied without hesitation, "You guessed right. I came here to break the record. You can only play in the Rookie Challenge twice in your professional career, and as a rookie, this is your only chance. Of course, I have to leave some mark, otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of my time?"

"what?"

This answer completely surprised the ESPN reporter!

He had prepared his answer in advance. No matter whether Yi Shui denied it or changed the subject, he could press his advantage. But how could he continue to ask questions after this answer?
In a moment of shock, the ESPN reporter felt a hostile gaze from those around him.

Reporters: We have no problem asking this kind of question, but could you wait until we've finished asking our other questions? You're being so blunt, what else can we ask? Are you trying to hog all the answers? Don't you know the people at the New York Imperial are honest and say what they think?
...

After dealing with the media and receiving the Rising Stars Challenge MVP trophy, Yi Shui was surrounded by current superstars and legends who teased him.

Clearly, most superstars and legends no longer simply regard Yi Shui as a rookie, but rather as a young superstar who is on par with them, or at least will be on par with them in the future.

Tonight, most of the audience saw Yi Shui racking up points, while some thought he was artificially inflating his score.

In the eyes of superstars and legends, Yishui is just a place to rack up points.

But there are techniques to getting high scores!
When it's time to score, play one-on-one; when it's time to score off-ball, score off-ball; when it's time to recklessly rack up points, rack up points recklessly. The key is that you can rack up points in all of these situations!

The timing of switching tactics was also excellent, and the opponent's psychology was perfectly grasped.

Not only are they strong in immediate combat and talented, but they also have high football intelligence!
Back in the locker room, a New York player who had fallen on his butt while dunking, feeling annoyed by the team leader on the way back, started a tirade demanding that the team leader treat him to a meal.

Yi Shui certainly wouldn't refuse. Without his teammates' cooperation tonight, he wouldn't be able to score more than 60 points. He would just keep playing one-on-one. Breaking the record wouldn't be impossible, but he probably wouldn't even be able to break 50 points, unless he's aiming to create a record of missed shots that no one else can surpass, like Durant.

But he wasn't familiar with Phoenix, so after thinking about it, he called the head coach who had been there for several years.

Mike D'Antoni, who was vacationing in Miami and had just finished watching the Rising Stars Challenge live, was stunned when he received a call from his players who had broken a record and were now going out to have fun. They called him to ask where it was more fun to be the head coach.
But thinking of Yi Shui... D'Antoni sent Nash's phone number to Yi Shui. When it comes to where to go for fun, his other disciple knows more than him. He's long since outgrown his old ways.

After hanging up the phone, D'Antoni tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. He then called Walsh to complain about Yi Shui's actions...

Back in Yishui, after receiving Nash's number, he immediately called. Upon hearing about the 'record-breaking party,' Nash readily agreed and booked a private club—the kind where even elementary school students who are a month shy of drinking age can go.

Everyone had a great time at the party... except for the elementary school students. Ayesha, who works as a reporter in Phoenix, heard the news and came along.

Curry was furious when he saw Yi Shui winking and making faces at him while hugging two female college students!

Seeing that Yi Shui paid the bill for tens of thousands of dollars, Curry felt relieved and had gotten his revenge!
Nash really opened Yi Shui's eyes tonight. This guy took two high school girls who were supposedly just turned 18 to a hotel... Although he had heard that Nash and his wife were now doing their own thing and not caring about each other anymore, these two little girls could have been born if Feng Zhizi had been a little more mischievous when he was young!

...

After a night of fun, Yi Shui was full of energy the next morning as he participated in the NBA's official event.

He once had a fantastic idea: before a home game, he could go to the sidelines and flirt with a minor celebrity he liked, then have sex during halftime to recover his energy after the first half... But he quickly dismissed the idea; there wasn't enough time for him to mess around with it.

Moreover, if it gets exposed, even if his parents are very resilient, they'll probably still come to New York with Seven Wolves cigarettes to beat him up.

Being a womanizer is fine, after all, it's happening in America, in the NBA, and in New York.

But such immoral behavior is something that teachers and parents certainly cannot accept.

He himself couldn't accept it, so he could only think about such bizarre operations.

In the morning, Yi Shui, Curry, and Nate Robinson participated in a charity event for the triathlon participants. Curry noticed that Yi Shui had taken three female college students away again, but was still so energetic the next day; he thought, "God is a girl!"

Last night at the party, one of my teammates had a few drinks and seemed to have taken some drugs. He made a move on a female student that Nash had invited in public. Curry couldn't help but glance at her a few times, and Ayesha noticed his actions. Last night, he was drained by his mixed-race girlfriend... His legs were shaking when he walked during the event!

After the public service campaign ended, Curry finally had some time to rest and catch up on sleep at the hotel. He still had work to do in the afternoon, participating in the All-Star Game open practice.

Because there were cameras filming, Yi Shui felt that everyone was putting on an act throughout the training process... He was also one of the 'everyone'.

During practice, James showed his leadership again, urging his Eastern Conference teammates to work together to help Iverson win the MVP award.

However, Iverson didn't wait for anyone else to respond before stepping forward to refuse: "I already have two All-Star MVPs, I'm not interested in this."

Averaging just over ten points a game this season, and he's already vying for MVP? Putting aside the expressions of Pierce, Garnett, and others who don't even bother with James, Iverson himself would be too ashamed to admit it.

Only Iverson responded; everyone else reacted coldly. James was a little embarrassed, so he changed his target and urged everyone to help Wade win the MVP award.

There were more people responding this time, after all, Wade was the champion and Finals MVP three years ago. After a year of injury, he returned to his peak this year, ranking first in scoring and Player of the Month... The tone for tomorrow's All-Star Game has been set.

Yi Shui and David Lee did not participate in this discussion.

Yi Shui felt that as a rookie with no experience and no championship, it was best to keep quiet, after all, there were still players from the 90s;
David Lee, who was drafted as an alternate for New York, had no right to speak.

As evening fell, Yi Shui, Curry, and Nate Robinson reunited to participate in the triathlon.

The second day of the All-Star Carnival, officially known as the Comprehensive Events Day, includes the Skills Challenge, Three-Point Contest, and Slam Dunk Contest, as well as one or two 'rotating events' beforehand.

This year's rotating events are the Shooting Stars Contest and a new event, the 'Alphabet Action Shooting Contest'.

Yi Shui and two others watched both events from start to finish. The Shooting Stars competition was somewhat interesting. In the end, Afflalo led the Pistons to defeat Duncan's defending champion Spurs, Fisher's previous runner-up Lakers, and Barbosa's host team Suns to win the championship.

Yi Shui estimates there won't be another "Alphabet Action Shooting Contest".

The rules of the game, simply put, are that players use a part of their body to represent the five letters of the word "horse" from front to back. Once a shot is made and certified by the referee, the player moves on to the next letter. The first player to complete all five letters wins.

The participating players were Durant, Mayo, and Joe Johnson. All three were clearly unaware that the new tournament was like this; they were completely bewildered when they heard the rules. And this, it seems, is exactly the effect the league wanted…

Although the match wasn't very interesting at first, the reactions of the three players were quite funny.

However, as the competition progressed, all three players became less willing to cooperate. The referees, who had been strictly judging the standard of their movements, eventually had to relax their standards to avoid making the game impossible. In the end, Durant won the championship in what seemed like a farce.

Durant is someone who can't keep things to himself; he looked grumpy when he raised his glass, enjoying the boos from the All-Star Weekend. Fans got annoyed after seeing that.

This new event was a failed attempt.

Finally, at 8 p.m., the main course arrived!

Yi Shui also perked up to watch the game, and when the host introduced the participating players, the fans in the stadium cheered enthusiastically again!

Like Yi Shui, fans also think this year's Skills Challenge is very exciting.

Before the All-Star Weekend, Derrick Rose, ranked second on the media's rookie list; Tony Parker, the 07 Finals MVP; Devin Harris, a strong point guard averaging 21 points and 7 assists per game this season; and Chris Paul, the defending champion of this tournament and the league's best point guard!

The competition was also very exciting. The defending champion, Paul, who was the first to compete, finished the race in 33 seconds, which is a good result. In some years, he could have won the final.

However, Harris, the second competitor, finished the race in 31 seconds, and Parker, the third competitor, finished in 32 seconds, eliminating Paul from the competition early...

Rose, the last to perform, narrowly defeated Parker in 31.7 seconds, advancing to the final alongside Harris.

In the final, Harris didn't have the same smooth run as in the preliminaries, and it took him four passes to score! His final time was 42 seconds.

Rose, who came on later, had some trouble with his shooting, but his passing, ball handling, and layups were all smooth. He finished the game in 35 seconds, defeating Harris to win the championship.

Next up were Yi Shui and Curry, and it was time for the three-point contest!

When Yi Shui stepped onto the court, the crowd erupted in cheers!

According to media reports, package tickets accounted for more than 60% of the total tickets at this year's All-Star Carnival, and most of the fans in the frontcourt witnessed Yi Shui set a rookie record of 61 points in a single game, which was described by the media as an "iron record".

Curry was ignored and used to it, but the other four contestants, Kapono, Bibby, Lewis, and Granger, were all very unhappy.

Tonight, Yi Shui wasn't very lucky. He was the first to play and his shot didn't go well. Although he had practiced after deciding to participate, it wasn't difficult to find the right angle during the game. With the boost from his exclusive skill 'Performer', he felt great.

It was hard to find the rhythm when I was shooting! It was completely different from training. I was rushing to shoot, racing against the clock. After the top of the arc, I just kept shooting and only got 16 points.

第2个上场的连庄卫冕冠军卡波诺，唰唰直中，拿到22分；第3个上场的刘易斯，也投出了21分的优秀表现；当第4个上场的毕比拿到19分后……易水提前出局！

Curry laughed and patted Yi Shui on the back: "Big, what a pity, what happened to the promise of good luck to win the championship? Hahahaha, watch my performance instead!"

But soon, Curry, the fifth player to take the court, stopped smiling. When he took his first shot, he put all his strength into the shooting motion, and it felt like he was floating!
He felt weak during warm-up, but he had been weak all day. He didn't take it to heart. How could 25 or 50 shots possibly be a challenge for him?

Now that he's really at the point where he has to shoot 25 balls in one minute, he finds it really difficult!

After shooting from the first two spots, Curry only made two regular shots! At the top of the arc, Curry finally got accurate, making 4 consecutive shots, but unfortunately he missed the last colored shot, bringing his score to 6 points.

The left 45-degree angle was also decent; three regular balls and one fancy ball were scored, earning 5 points and bringing the total to 11.

But at this point, Curry's mind was in turmoil. He missed the colored ball at the top of the arc, and he was already "sentenced to death." He only scored 2 points in the first two spots, and he could only miss one regular shot in the next 3 spots at most in order to catch up with Bibby... But that wasn't the most important thing. After shooting the first two spots, he had already given up hope of making it to the finals. What he was thinking was that he had to score at least more points than Yi Shui!
He missed a colored ball at the top arc and a regular ball at the left 45-degree angle, leaving him with only 6 points in the left bottom corner. He must score all of them to surpass Yi Shui's score.

But shooting is something you can't rush, especially when you're completely exhausted.

Curry missed his first three shots from the left corner! Although he made his last two shots, he only scored 14 points!
Curry was visibly shaken when he saw Yi Shui laughing heartily on the sidelines!
Curry is so happy to see Yi Shui pay the bill last night, he feels like crying now... Last night, he specially opened a bottle of red wine worth over $8000 to bleed his boss dry!
Curry returned to the sidelines dejectedly. Yi Shui was about to make a joke when Curry looked up and said, "Big, can I reimburse you for your All-Star Weekend expenses later? Installments are fine too!"

Yi Shui: "Huh?"

"I just bought a house and paid for the renovations, and now I've spent all my money..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)