NBA: This center is incredibly strong.

Chen Yan's missed free throw followed by a rebound and putback dunk reignited the entire arena, but the momentum did not subside.

In the following matches, Chen Yan seemed to have designated the penalty area as his own territory.

The Grizzlies tried to limit him by double-teaming him, but his powerful strength was not just for show.

Swift, the first player to come up and try to block, was pushed back two or three steps by Chen Yan with a low shoulder. Harrington, the second player to help defend, hadn't even gotten his footing when Chen Yan had already taken off and slammed the ball into the basket over the defender.

The referee's whistle blew frequently. Although Chen Yan's free throws were still clumsy, he had learned to be smarter: if he missed the free throw, he would rush for the rebound; if he couldn't reach it, he would try to steal it. With his incredible jumping ability, he managed to make seven in-and-out plays in the crowd.

Magic head coach Doc Rivers watched from the sidelines, shaking his head and laughing, and decided to let Chen Yan play a little longer.

The preseason is a time to fine-tune the roster and evaluate rookies, but Chen Yan's performance far exceeded expectations.

The rest of the game was uneventful, with the Magic maintaining a double-digit lead and dominating the Grizzlies.

In the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies attempted a comeback, but the Magic steadied themselves, and after Chen Yan made consecutive blocks on the defensive end, the game was essentially over.

Rivers called a timeout and substituted Chen Yan and others.

Chen Yan walked back to the bench, took the towel handed to him by assistant coach Van Gundy, and wiped the sweat from his face.

Just then, a bottle of Gatorade was handed to me from the side.

"Well played, newbie."

His voice was languid, with a touch of Florida's characteristic drawn-out tone.

Chen Yan turned his head and saw McGrady leaning back in his chair, his long legs stretched out far, a rare smile on his usually sleepy face.

He pushed the water bottle forward a little more and added, "That offensive rebound... tsk... I'm not going to go for that stuff anyway."

Chen Yan took the water, but before he could thank her, the seat on the other side sank in.

"Young man, your health is your most valuable asset. Your playing style is too aggressive; you need to be careful and protect yourself," Hill, who had been through it all, advised.

Chen Yan paused for a moment, then nodded.

His injury resistance is barely passable; he can't withstand his own injuries. If he wants to play all 82 regular season games healthily, he needs to exchange for an injury resistance badge.

Chen Yan plans to redeem the item once he has enough emotional points.

Hill didn't say anything more, but patted his shoulder lightly, but with great meaning—as if to say: The road ahead is long, don't hurt yourself.

In the back row of the bench, Darrell Armstrong craned his neck, gestured with his hand to indicate Chen Yan's arm, and clicked his tongue in amazement: "Dude, what did you eat to grow that arm? If you elbowed me like that, I'd probably fly straight into the stands."

His words immediately drew laughter from his companions.

They knew all too well how powerful Chen Yan's elbow was; it was a deadly weapon capable of piercing solid wooden boards.

John Amich was surprised to see that the team's key players had all acknowledged Chen Yan's abilities; he hadn't expected this day to come so soon.

As for impressing the head coach, it's only a matter of time.

There's no other way; if we can't beat them, we have to join them.

Amich forced a smile and said, "Congratulations, Chen."

Chen Yan nodded, understanding the meaning behind Amich's words.

He didn't expect that a single preseason game would win over most of the team and bring him one step closer to becoming a starter.

Back on the field, the game was nearing its end.

Ultimately, the Magic easily defeated the Grizzlies 98-84, securing a winning start to the preseason.

陈岩的数据定格在22分、16个篮板、5次盖帽，命中率高达80%，罚球……只有7罚2中。

But that doesn't matter anymore.

"Ding! The match has ended. Congratulations to the host for gaining 10086 emotion points."

Nearly 10,000 people came to watch the preseason games, which is already quite good.

Most fans came for McGrady and Hill.

They never expected that a preseason game, which was meant to be a warm-up match, would unexpectedly uncover a "treasure trove".

Chen Yan already had a premonition that even more fans would come to the Magic's home game next time.

Shortly after the game ended, Chen Yan stood up from the bench and followed his teammates toward the players' tunnel.

"List!"

At the players' tunnel entrance, a middle-aged white man wearing glasses jogged over, holding a recorder. His press pass on his chest bore the logo of the Orlando Sentinel.

Behind him followed a photographer carrying a video camera, the lens cap already removed.

Chen Yan paused, somewhat surprised, yet it was also understandable.

"Can I take a few minutes of your time?" The reporter caught his breath, a professional smile on his face, but with an undisguised excitement in his eyes. "I'm Jason White, the beat reporter for The Sentinel. Your performance tonight—to be honest, our pre-game story was 'Fifth pick's debut still needs time to adjust,' but now we have to scrap everything and start over."

Chen Yan paused for two seconds, then nodded and said, "No problem."

Jason pressed the red button on the recorder and asked the first question: "22 points and 16 rebounds, with an 80% field goal percentage. For a rookie coming off the bench, those stats would be amazing in any era of draft. How would you rate your performance tonight?"

Chen Yan thought for a moment and said frankly, "Not bad, you basically played to my strengths. I think I could do better in rebounding and defense. The team selected me for these roles."

Jason quickly jotted down two notes in his notebook, then looked up and asked, "That play—two consecutive offensive rebounds, followed by a dunk while still hanging on to the basket. To be honest, I've been in the industry for twelve years and have seen plenty of amazing debuts in the preseason, but a play like that with 4 points and 3 rebounds is really rare. What were you thinking at the time?"

"I wasn't thinking about anything." Chen Yan's tone wasn't harsh; it was more like stating a fact. "The ball didn't go in, so I went to steal it. I got it, and there was someone in front of me, but I was taller and stronger than him, so I just went for it."

The cameraman looked up from behind the viewfinder and exchanged a glance with Jason—the kind of look that said, "We might actually have some footage."

Jason continued, "When the Magic selected you with the fifth pick, there were some comments—you know, about the physicality of Asian players, about how rough your technique was. After tonight, what do you want to say to those comments?"

Chen Yan remained silent for longer than ever before.

"I can't control what people say. All I can do is—every time I'm on the court, grab the rebounds I'm supposed to grab, block the shots I'm supposed to block, and dunk the shots I'm supposed to dunk. One possession at a time. Just like tonight."

Jason put away the recorder and said, "One last question—the regular season is about to start. Do you feel ready?"

Chen Yan did not hesitate this time.

"Ready. But the rest..." He paused, then continued, "Just let the opponent get ready."

Jason extended his hand: "Thank you, Chen. Good luck."

Chen Yan squeezed his hand, carefully controlling the pressure, then turned and walked towards the end of the passage.

The photographer turned off the camera and turned to Jason: "This kid... doesn't talk like an 18-year-old."

Jason looked down at the few lines he was quickly scribbling in his notebook. After a moment of silence, he said something that sounded more like a fan than a reporter: "22 points and 16 rebounds in the first preseason game. He didn't say a single nice thing in the interview, just got straight to the point."

He closed his notebook, tucked it into his coat, and said, "Let's go, the manuscript has to be finished tonight. I've got the title in mind—'He's not here to adapt, he's here to rule!'"