Basketball Terminal

Chapter 13 The End
In the subsequent third round of the scrimmage, a 193cm tall guard named Nate Bradley dominated the court.

He's from Rochester, New York, and was one of the invited players for this local tryout. The 24-year-old is a graduate of Faulkner University. His skill level was clearly superior to the other tryouts; he dribbled, drove to the basket, and shot with ease. In ten minutes, he easily scored 12 points and dished out 4 assists, helping his team secure the victory.

Thus, the three rounds of scrimmage in the morning concluded, meaning the first round of the tryouts was over. Brett, holding the roster, said, "The morning's tests are finished. The coaching team has scored each player's performance. We will select 10 players to participate in the afternoon's tryouts. To the other players, thank you for your participation, and please continue to work hard. Now I will directly announce the names of the successfully selected players: Xavier Murray, Eric Marcos, Vinnie Hughes..."

Brett didn't waste any words, calling out names one by one until the tenth. As everyone whose name hadn't been called yet held their breath, this was their last chance. Brett deliberately delayed, drawing out his words, "The last spot... Victor Lee."

There was a chorus of groans at the scene, with many who failed the preliminary selection complaining.

"I got a lot of points!"

"We clearly won the game?!"

"This is unfair. What are the selection criteria?"

"damn it……"

In short, most people believe they can advance to the next round, but they have to accept the fact that they will be eliminated. This is the reality of professional basketball, with an astonishingly high elimination rate.

This is still the G League, let alone the NBA. Players like Murray and Bradley are already out of the NBA, but they're unwilling to give up and are still trying to use the G League as a springboard to continue their push for the NBA.

Brett offered no explanation. The complaints gradually subsided, and the crowd dispersed. The once bustling sports field, with over 40 people, was now less than half empty. Brett told the ten people who would advance to the afternoon selection to go have lunch and meet back here promptly at 1 p.m.

"Being even a second late means elimination. Punctuality is a basic quality for any player," Brett warned everyone in a cold tone. Here, he was the mastermind with the power of life and death. There were no stars in the Development League; everything was decided by the coach.

When Li Wei heard his name called at the end, he breathed a huge sigh of relief, feeling he had taken another small step forward. The afternoon's trial would undoubtedly be more difficult, but the morning's competition had given Li Wei plenty of confidence.

He realized that while these players would be top performers among amateurs, they were at the bottom of the professional ranks. With his current abilities, dealing with them was more than enough.

Since transmigrating, Li Wei has been preparing for today. Having already graduated from university, and given the mediocre performance of his university basketball team, Li Wei has no chance of participating in the draft or being invited to try out by a team.

While trying to attract attention online, Li Wei spent his days honing his physical fitness and basic skills, and figuring out how to use his special abilities.

Li Wei was the first to discover the ability of Observation Haki. At first, he thought it was a problem with his brain caused by time travel, resulting in double vision. Later, he realized that he could predict the movements of people and objects. This ability is related to his level of concentration; the more focused he is, the clearer his predictions and the longer the time he can recall.

Therefore, Li Wei meditates every day to improve his concentration. But whether there are other methods to improve this ability, Li Wei has not yet figured out.

The second thing he discovered was Armament Haki. On the fifth day after his time travel, he encountered Sam, the school bully who had harassed him in high school, at a laundromat. Sam thought Levi was still the same coward he used to be, refusing to pay for his laundry and humiliating Levi with past embarrassing incidents.

Enraged, Li Wei punched Sam, knocking out two of his teeth. Yet, Li Wei's fist felt no pain; it was as hard as iron. From that moment on, Li Wei discovered that he could control parts of his body, making them hard and powerful for short periods.

This ability is related to one's inherent strength; the better the muscle strength, the stronger the effect. Li Wei supplements his diet with large amounts of protein daily and maintains a high-intensity strength training regimen, but the time is still insufficient. Fortunately, Li Wei's physique already possesses excellent strength; his size and strength are not a disadvantage.

There was another ability that even Li Wei himself wasn't sure about. He discovered that when the game progressed to a certain point, and he became increasingly excited, he seemed to exert a powerful "pressure" on his opponents.

This was something his opponent told him during a pointless challenge. The opponent said, "Towards the end, I didn't even dare to attack when I saw you." At first, Li Wei thought his opponent was just afraid of him, but gradually Li Wei realized that this "fear" might be influenced by some kind of ability he possessed. Later, Li Wei looked through the wall full of comics left from his previous life and suddenly remembered—could this be the so-called Conqueror's Haki?
Li Wei was once a kind boy full of fantasies. Perhaps when he decided to end his life, those fantasies, along with his transmigrated soul, enveloped his body, allowing his life to continue in another way.

As he left the stadium, Levi ran into Uncle Davis and reporter Scott Mitchell, who invited him to lunch. Levi readily agreed, and they got into Mitchell's car to go to a nearby Chinese restaurant to eat.

Davis failed the morning test and was ineligible for the afternoon selection. However, for him, just participating in the morning selection was enough; he already had news material.

"Let's skip the afternoon test, I can't handle it." Davis waved his hands repeatedly. He knew that the selection test in the afternoon would be quite painful, and his 62-year-old arms and legs couldn't withstand the strain.

Scott Mitchell is very interested in Levy, a reporter for Net Daily and a contributor to the Nets' affiliated media outlet, writing news reports and columns for the Nets.

However, his ranking is relatively low. With the Nets making such a fuss lately, including the Harden trade, he was assigned to interview a former G League rookie because he doesn't get the most popular interviews and articles.

Li Wei was a new bright spot for him, and he kept asking Li Wei about his past experiences at the dinner table. Li Wei showed Mitchell his social media accounts, and Mitchell showed great interest; this guy was actually a popular online player.

He'd already started sketching out a story in his mind about how a popular basketball player works his way into the Development League. If he succeeded, it would be a romantic, inspirational tale. If he failed, it would be a realistic, tragic tale of an ordinary person. In short, he could write about any ending.

But Li Wei said, "My goal is to get into the NBA and become the best player in the league."

Scott Mitchell suppressed a laugh, nodding perfunctorily while chewing his food. Davis, standing nearby, said, "I believe in you. You played very well. And you have a lot of potential. I'll be waiting for good news from you."

Whether genuine or not, Davis's encouragement touched Li Wei. This 62-year-old grandfather figure always maintained an optimistic and positive spirit, offering encouragement and support to everyone.

It's no wonder that at his age, he still has the motivation to pursue his dream of playing professional basketball; it's truly admirable. Li Wei, grateful for Davis's encouragement, said he would definitely do it.

The afternoon's trials were indeed as Davis had predicted, much more rigorous than the morning's selection process. It started with a half-hour physical fitness test, high-intensity shuttle runs, vertical jumps, and lateral movement drills – a true test of endurance for everyone.

Two players couldn't keep going and ran to the trash cans on the sidelines to vomit. Needless to say, their physical condition was such that they were eliminated.

After a short break, they practiced three-on-three half-court tactics. Brett asked them to quickly master several basic offensive and defensive tactics in a short period of time.

Speed, precision, and accuracy are all crucial. Without prior training or practice, this test assesses each individual's fundamental tactical skills. Standing on the field, lost in thought, making positioning errors, or failing to pass accurately will result in elimination.

Finally, the 10 players were divided into two teams for a full-court 5vs5 scrimmage, a comprehensive assessment of their abilities. The game was untimed and had no timeouts; it just went on until the head coach decided it was time to stop.

The trial lasted from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., a grueling three-hour ordeal that left the players participating in the second round of selections exhausted. Six out of ten vomited, three suffered cramps, and two collapsed to the ground afterward, saying they would never participate in selections again.

Brett used this extreme pressure to assess the players' overall qualities, and the entire process was recorded on camera.

After everything was over, he told everyone to go back and wait for notification; there would be a result within two days. However, he already had the best candidate in mind, but he still needed to discuss and confirm with the coaching staff.

(End of this chapter)