The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 2 The Talent of Explosion

A brand-new red Ferrari sports car drove up from the other end of the street. Seemingly attracted by the cheers from the open-air stadium, the driver inexplicably turned his head to glance at the side of the street.

"So tall! Such long arms! He's a promising talent!"

"squeak!"

At that glance, he saw a giant emerging from the crowd, and he instinctively slammed on the brakes.

"Fuck you!"

The car behind nearly rear-ended them, and the driver angrily started cursing.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

Fortunately, there were paid parking spaces available on the street, so the person driving the Ferrari quickly pulled over and parked the car.

Tang Bei took three steps and just stepped out of the crowd when he saw a very nice red car suddenly brake and stop on the side of the street. A black-haired white man in his thirties got out and walked straight towards him.

"Is this my chance to succeed in basketball?" he wondered.

"Hello, I'm Eric Fleischer, may I introduce myself?"

The "opportunistic man" quickly walked up to Tang Bei, extended his right hand, and said expectantly.

They were speaking English, and very quickly, so Tang Bei could only understand the first word.

My name is Tang Bei.

He grasped the right hand extended by the man with the "chance encounter" and spoke in broken, stiff English.

Eric Fouché pronounced the transliteration of "Tang Bei" briefly, then smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tang."

He comes from a basketball family, is an NBA agent, and came to Madison Square Garden to watch the game; tonight's game is between the Knicks and the Bucks.

Out of habit as a professional agent, he would never overlook a young man like Tang Bei, so he specifically stopped the car to take a look and inquire about the situation.

He believes in the saying that opportunity only favors the prepared mind, but luck sometimes comes unexpectedly, and God has already arranged everything.

"Sir, is there something you need?"

Tang Bei's words were interspersed with English, and his tone carried a hint of expectation.

Fleischer then realized that Tang Bei didn't speak English, so he pointed to the outdoor basketball court, made a shooting motion, and asked, "Tang, can you play basketball?"

"Yes, I never lie. Everyone in the surrounding area knows that I'm a great basketball player."

Tang Bei was overjoyed. The treasure chest was right; this person was indeed related to basketball. He just didn't know what kind of opportunity it was.

"OK."

Upon hearing "yes," Eric Fleischer immediately led Tang Bei onto the basketball court.

After interrupting the game and after some negotiation, Tang Bei was given a one-on-one match, a best-of-five series, against a tall, dark-skinned man who was just over two meters tall.

"This is the reward."

Fleischer took out his wallet, took out two twenty-dollar bills, gave one to the big black guy, and handed the other to Tang Bei.

Tang Bei couldn't understand, but he could tell that the white man wanted him to play a game of basketball with the black man, a one-on-one match.

Now that he's in this country and can't go back, he doesn't mind having some contact with foreigners, especially since there's money to be made, so he's even less likely to refuse.

"Don..."

Fleischer took the basketball from the big black man's hands, made a shooting motion, and signaled Tang Bei to attack first.

"OK."

Tang Bei took off his cotton-padded coat, folded it, and placed it and his travel bag under the basket rack. After stretching for a bit, he went onto the court.

"Kid, you're not getting in."

The big black guy blocked Tang Bei on the left wing and started hurling insults at him.

But he didn't dare to underestimate Tang Bei, because Tang Bei was much taller and stronger than him.

He not only used all his strength, but also used his elbows, pressing Tang Bei's lower back with his left elbow and Tang Bei's back with his right.

At this moment, Eric Fleischer passed the ball to Tang Bei, who caught it with his right hand and instinctively lowered his hips into a low horse stance, as if practicing Tai Chi.

However, since it's basketball, his low stance posture is somewhat distorted, which is more in line with the needs of basketball.

The big, dark-skinned guy behind him strengthened his defense, but Tang Bei's low stance was too stable; his feet didn't budge an inch.

In fact, even if Tang Bei didn't use the low stance, the big black guy couldn't move him.

The 110-kilogram black giant was considered tall by other people, but he looked petite next to Tang Bei, appearing to be two sizes smaller.

The next moment, Tang Bei dribbled the ball backward.

The first impact shifted the big black guy's center of gravity, causing him to take a step back.

"His back-to-the-basket technique is a bit lacking; he probably isn't a professional basketball player," Eric Fleischer thought to himself.

The next instant, Tang Bei dribbled the ball a second time and then collided with the ball.

In his view, a basketball match is simply a contest.

Now that the opponent's center of gravity has been disrupted, we must press our advantage and, with the force of an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, ruthlessly destroy the opponent in one fell swoop.

With a loud "thud," the big black guy let out a muffled groan and flew backward.

"Oh!"

The onlookers erupted in gasps of surprise.

"what?"

Eric Fleischer's eyes widened as well.

"hiss!"

The outdoor basketball court had a cement surface. After the big black guy fell, he slid back two meters, and he couldn't help but grimace in pain.

However, Tang Bei's technique was really not that great. He lost control of the ball, and after regaining it, he suddenly sprang up and delivered a powerful two-handed slam.

"boom!"

With an extremely loud thud, the basketball hoop sank more than a foot, almost collapsing, and the spectators below gasped and scattered.

"Clap clap clap..."

"Big guy, one more!"

The fans watching applauded enthusiastically.

Tang Bei clenched his fist, which was as big as an iron bowl, excitedly shouting in his heart: "Basketball is not difficult. I can run and jump, so I can definitely play basketball well."

"Ouch!"

Eric Fleischer took a deep breath; he knew he might have struck gold.

This ball showed him the amazing strength and explosiveness of Tang Bei.

Explosiveness, in particular, is a crucial quality, and it's extremely rare for a big man. Shaquille O'Neal, the top pick in this year's NBA draft, is a player with terrifying explosiveness.

Of course, he also noticed that Tang Bei's skills weren't very good, but if Tang Bei was still young, that wouldn't matter, because skills can be developed through practice.

If the ball goes in, possession doesn't change; Tang Bei will attack again for the second ball.

He tried to get deep into the paint again, but the big black guy gritted his teeth and defended him, preventing him from getting close to the basket.

But the moment the two made contact, Tang Bei's absolute strength and size overwhelmed the big black guy. The big black guy couldn't withstand it and retreated step by step until he was squeezed under the basket in an instant.

"ball."

Eric Fleischer excitedly passed the ball over.

"boom!"

Tang Bei received the ball with his right hand while backing up against the big black guy, then turned left, knocked his opponent aside, and delivered a powerful two-handed dunk, slamming the ball over him.

"Is this guy even human?"

The big, dark-skinned man was knocked to the ground with a thud, his eyes filled with fear as he stared at Tang Bei, having lost all will to resist.

"Offensive under the basket is too easy!"

Eric Fleischer's eyes were shining.

But he knew that the two were completely mismatched. In terms of strength, weight, height, wingspan, athleticism, and so on, Tang Bei completely overwhelmed the big black guy. This one-on-one fight could end now.

Although this big black guy isn't very skilled, even in the NBA, sometimes talent alone can overwhelm skill.

Talented big men are rare. Although Tang Bei's skills are poor, his talent would definitely make him a star in the NBA.

"Don, did you understand my name? Eric Fleischer, you can call me Eric, name, Eric."

"Do you have a place to stay? A place to sleep..."

After the one-on-one game was interrupted, and after some difficult communication, Tang Bei finally learned the transliteration of Eric Fleischer's name. Fleischer also knew that he had nowhere to stay, so he took him away from the outdoor basketball court.

Tang Bei didn't know what Eric Fleischer was planning, but he knew that this man was his opportunity, so he went with him with a mix of trepidation and excitement.

The Ferrari was too small for Tang Bei to fit in, so Eric Fleischer took him to the Madison Square Garden Hotel across the street.

He really went all out; the Madison Gardens Hotel is a five-star hotel, and a standard double room costs $525 a night, without any discounts.

"Do I look like an old man visiting the Grand View Garden?"

Approaching the luxury hotel, even before entering the main gate, Tang Bei began to feel somewhat uneasy.

His country bumpkin attire was a stark contrast to the surroundings, drawing glances from passersby with undisguised contempt and disgust.

He found riding an elevator for the first time quite novel, but the space was too cramped for him, and he almost bumped his head when he went in.

Upon arriving on the 16th floor, Eric Fleischer called a waiter to open the room. He went in first and turned on the lights.

Tang Bei followed him into the room, curiously looking around at the room, which was extremely luxurious to him and resembled a palace.

The room had beautiful lights, a telephone, a TV, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a sofa, and a nice bed, though it was a little short.

He didn't have any of these things at home; his house was a thatched hut.

Standing at the doorway, he hesitated to move, because the floor was covered in a beautiful carpet, and his new cloth shoes were covered in dust and mud, and he was worried about soiling the carpet.

"Tang, come in quickly."

Eric Fleischer noticed Tang Bei's barely concealed nervousness and quickly pulled him aside.

Judging from Tang Bei's expression, he knew that this young man had probably never stayed in such a high-class hotel before, so he immediately began to introduce it.

"Tang, you can use this phone to order food and other services, even prostitutes, haha, just kidding. You can't order prostitutes, I won't pay."

"There are drinks in the fridge, how about a Coca-Cola?"

"No, I don't have any money for you."

"Don't like Coca-Cola? We also have Pepsi, want some?"

"NO."

"Okay, you may not like them now, but you will like them later. Here, this is the bathroom. You can use towels, bath towels, toothbrushes, and other such items."

"I recognize a toilet, but this is a latrine?"

"Oh, okay, I forgot you can't understand. Here, I'll demonstrate for you."

Next, Tang Bei experienced how to open the refrigerator to get a drink, how to use the toilet and water heater, as well as the hot and cold water taps, how to use tissues, how to use the bathtub, and so on.

While Tang Bei was taking a bath, Eric Fleischer called over a waiter who added a section to Tang Bei's bed with several stools and then propped it up with pillows.

After barely sleeping for more than ten hours on the plane and then wandering the streets of New York for seven or eight hours, Tang Bei was quite tired. He washed up and went to bed.

Eric Fleischer didn't dare leave, fearing he would never find Tang Bei again, which is why he booked a double room.

After Tang Bei went to bed, he went outside the room, took out his phone and contacted his subordinates at the company, asking them to find him a translator overnight.

Actually, Tang Bei wasn't asleep; he was looking at the screen of the treasure chest.

The screen was like a small virtual television screen, not obstructing his view. As long as he had a thought and shouted "treasure chest" in his mind, it would appear.

[Host: Tang Bei]

Position: Center

[Body: Height 213 cm, Arm span 230 cm, Weight 136 kg, Hand length 25 cm, Hand width 28 cm, Standing reach 2.87 meters]

[Attributes: Strength 98, Stamina 90, Jumping 85, Injury Resistance 90, Speed ​​80, Flexibility 90, Balance 90, Coordination 95, Reaction Time 95, Explosive Power 95]

[Center Fundamentals: Shooting 41, Dribbling 48, Hook Shot 37, Floater 35, Layup 70, Dunk 90, Strength 95, Footwork 90]

[Center Advanced Skills: Post-up 89, Low Post Back-to-the-Basket 60, Low Post Face-up 55, One-on-One Defense 87, Help Defense 75, Block 90, Steal 66, Rebound 80, Pick and Roll 60, Playmaking 20, Tactical Ability 40]

"Is this what data-driven basketball ability is?"

After reviewing his stats several times, he gained a very clear understanding of his basketball abilities.

If his level is 100, then his physical attributes are indeed very good, but his basic skills and many advanced skills are too poor.

This is not surprising, because he has never seriously practiced basketball.

The ability to perform advanced basic and advanced skills such as layups is likely a result of combining one's own physical attributes and conditions.

Once attention shifts away from the toolbox, the screen automatically disappears.

He started thinking about how to play basketball in the future and how to improve his skills.

"Since the horse stance can increase one's stability, it shows that some martial arts techniques can indeed be applied to basketball."

"Essentially, both martial arts and basketball involve the control and application of the body and strength, which means I can try to apply more martial arts or combat techniques to basketball."

However, he doesn't yet have any ideas on which techniques to apply; this needs to be tested in training and competitions.

(End of this chapter)