The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 17 Participating in the Official Joint Tryouts for Rookie Camp

On April 8th, Tang Bei returned to New York.

Eric Fleischer is divorced and now single with no children, so he arranged for Tang Bei to move into his home so that he wouldn't have to spend money on rent.

Renting a one-bedroom apartment in a decent neighborhood in New York City now costs over a thousand dollars a month, and even in less desirable locations it can still cost over a thousand dollars, making renting a poor investment.

The next morning, Tang Bei met his personal trainer, Kerry Osman.

Like John Liu's salary, this money was covered by Eric Fleischer's brokerage firm, serving as an investment, and Tang Bei didn't need to spend any money.

Kyrie Osman is almost forty years old, 208 cm tall, and weighs 125 kg. He has two seasons in the NBA and is skilled at coaching big men. He is also good at physical training.

He was not only responsible for Tang Bei's training, but also helped Tang Bei familiarize himself with the various rules, basic skills and tactics of the NBA.

In addition to training, Tang Bei also has to learn English from John Liu in order to have some communication skills before entering the NBA.

With an English learning card in hand and his own good learning ability, he was confident that he would have no problem with this.

After eight matches and training, some of his techniques have improved.

基本功方面，投篮和运球、上篮、扣篮、步伐各提升1级，现在是42和49、71、91、91级。

进阶技能方面，篮下单打和低位背打、单防、协防各提升1级，现在是90、61、88、76级。

Rebounding and tactical skills have improved significantly, with the former increasing from level 80 to level 85 and the latter from level 40 to level 55.

Pick and roll ability has been upgraded from 60 to 68.

These three skills have improved significantly, mainly due to increased experience in playing the game.

On April 19th, the NBA regular season ended, and two days later, the playoffs began.

"Ringling..."

At 11:30 a.m. on the 23rd, Old Zhou, the postman, arrived at Yijie Village, Huanghuadian Township, Wuqing County, riding his green bicycle after a bumpy ride.

He slammed on the brakes in front of Tang Bei's house, as if he knew the way well, and shouted loudly as he got out of the car, "Tang Zhongchu, Tang Zhongchu..."

"Hey, hey, here I come! Who is it?"

Everyone in the family was still busy in the fields, except for Liu Damei who was preparing lunch at home. The old lady came out as soon as she heard the noise.

Old Zhou pulled a remittance slip out of his bag and waved it around, saying with a mixture of surprise and envy, "Auntie, this is Tang Bei's remittance slip. There are ten thousand US dollars in it. He's made a fortune in America!"

"My, my grandson, really sent money back from America?" Liu Damei's eyes reddened with joy, and her voice trembled.

"How could it be fake? This is a remittance slip. Have your son, Tang Zhongchu, take his ID card and this to the post office to collect the money."

Old Zhou handed the remittance slip to Liu Damei and asked her to sign a receipt. Liu Damei couldn't write, so she pressed her fingerprint on the slip.

"That good-for-nothing Tang has really made something of himself!"

Watching Liu Damei close the courtyard gate, Old Zhou sighed.

Soon after, the rest of the Tang family returned home and were overjoyed upon hearing the news.

After lunch, around 1 p.m., Tang Zhongchu and Tang Bin each carried a machete on their waists, and together with the thoughtful Tang Yu, they went to the town's post office.

Halfway there, they discovered a little tail following them. It turned out that Tang Ning had secretly followed them. They couldn't get rid of him, so they had no choice but to take him along.

The $10,000 was converted into RMB at the exchange rate, which was more than 57,000 yuan. Of this, 20,000 yuan was deposited in the credit union, and the rest was taken home to pay off debts.

The little girl, Tang Ning, was drooling over the various snacks and treats on the roadside. Although she knew her older brother had sent money back, she didn't dare to take any. Then, as she passed a general store, she saw a bright red schoolbag hanging on the wall. Her eyes widened, and she stopped in her tracks.

"Let's go, Fourth Brother," Tang Yu urged.

Tang Ning glanced at Tang Yu, then at her schoolbag, but neither left nor spoke.

"You two hurry up, what are you dawdling for?"

Tang Zhongchu was carrying more than 30,000 yuan and was so afraid of being targeted that he was on edge and suddenly shouted loudly.

Tang Ning glanced at Tang Zhongchu, then at her schoolbag, but remained silent and didn't leave.

Tang Yu, quick-witted, saw through her sister's little scheme and cautiously said, "Dad, Fourth Brother's schoolbag is in terrible shape."

Tang Bin added, "Dad, the fourth child's schoolbag is the one I used before. Why don't we buy her a new one? Didn't the eldest brother just get that..."

Tang Zhongchu looked at his three children's old clothes and shoes and said, "It's not convenient now, but we'll buy them later. I'll buy each of you a new set of clothes and shoes."

"Okay!"

Tang Ning cheered and took off running.

"Slow down."

Tang Yu happily chased after him and called out.

On the 25th, two days after the start of the NBA playoffs, Tang Bei received an invitation from the NBA's joint tryouts for rookie camp.

The event will take place from May 11th to 18th at the Chicago Arena, the home arena of the Chicago Bulls.

The first day was a physical test, the second day was a basic skills test, and the third and fourth days were five-on-five scrimmages between rookies.

The last few days will include lectures and training courses on tactical systems, league rules, professional ethics, and how to deal with the media.

In addition, teams can conduct one-on-one interviews and exchanges with players in the last few days to gain a deeper understanding of them.

In addition, the league arranged for the rookies to watch Game 5 of the second round between the Bulls and the Knicks at the Bulls' home court on the 12th.

One more thing: the NBA draft lottery will be held at Memorial Arena in Portland on the 15th.

The draft was also held in Portland, marking the first time the NBA had conducted its lottery and draft ceremony outside of New York.

On the 10th, Eric Fleischer brought Tang Bei and John Liu to Chicago and arrived at the Hampton Hotel, which was arranged by the authorities.

There were NBA headquarters staff in the lobby. After registering his information, Tang Bei received a room key for a standard double room on the eighth floor.

He fiddled with the room key with some curiosity. When he played in the CBA before, the team didn't have much money, so he stayed in small hotels and motels. They didn't have room keys; they used regular keys.

The NBA only provides accommodation for rookies; agents and others have to pay for it themselves, so Eric Fleischer booked a separate double room.

The three entered the elevator, and the elevator doors slowly closed, but at the last moment they were blocked by a large hand. As the elevator doors opened, a young white man was seen outside, followed by a middle-aged white man carrying luggage.

When Christine Lightner saw Tang Bei, she was first taken aback, and then her eyes flashed with undisguised disgust.

Not long ago, a reporter interviewed him and mentioned that there was a Chinese player in the CBA who said he was more talented than him and would also participate in this year's NBA draft. That's when he learned about Tang Bei.

Even Shaquille O'Neal was overshadowed by him, let alone a Chinese person. In his mind, Tang Bei was just a piece of dog shit trying to climb over him to get ahead.

“Christine Leitner is more famous in the NCAA than Shaquille O’Neal,” John Liu said in Chinese.

(End of this chapter)