Chapter 671 - 596: The Championship Belongs to Devil’s Mountain

Chapter 671: Chapter 596: The Championship Belongs to Devil’s Mountain

It was as if someone had suddenly cranked the volume knob in a dead-silent room; Chen Yu’s ears were instantly filled with cheers.

Behind Chen Yu, someone—he couldn’t tell who—kept repeatedly yelling, "FUCK!"

Beside him, Stern, Russell, Jordan, Tyson, and Michael Jackson all rose to their feet and applauded.

On the bench, an ecstatic Carter was jumping up and down on the spot, pulling Kobe into a fierce hug. He looked even more excited than if he had hit the game-winner himself.

The fast-talking, perpetually passionate announcer at Madison Square Garden Arena was already rattling off a torrent of flowery praise for the shot at lightning speed.

A true resurrection from the brink of defeat!

Chen Yu clapped vigorously. ’For a moment there,’ he thought, ’I considered letting the original result stand and not giving Durant and his team the chance to use the No. 3 Artifact Card.’

After all, Oden had been the first to score 50 points, so the game should have been over. But he’d had a moment of weakness.

And then, to Chen Yu’s surprise, Durant actually sank the game-tying shot.

With only 3 seconds left, everyone knew he was going to take the shot, and that it would be a three-pointer. The defense on him was as tight as it could possibly be, yet he still made it.

All you could say was, the kid was clutch!

’This kid has a big heart,’ Chen Yu thought. ’He’s the kind of guy who’ll thrive in high-pressure games in the future.’

On the court, Harden was already draped all over Durant, waving his arms and screaming his head off.

Durant was roaring too, pounding his chest to vent his excitement. This time, luck was on his side.

’No!’

Durant looked fiercely up at the scoreboard. ’I’m the one who seized fate by the throat and slapped it across the face.’

The next moment, Durant pushed Little Jordan off him.

’The game isn’t over yet.’

After 50 points, it was sudden death. A new jump ball, and whoever won possession and scored first, won the game!

Durant looked toward Oden.

Not far away, Oden stood with his hands on his hips, his face not showing much frustration.

Their eyes met, and you could almost see the sparks fly between them.

His opponent hadn’t given up.

And Durant certainly wouldn’t give up either.

From the very beginning of the show, Oden had been the undisputed star. Almost all the media attention was focused on him.

They called him "the Great Emperor," a once-in-a-century super-genius, the next Bill Russell. They said that once he entered the league, every team would go crazy for him.

’Back then, I was just a nobody,’ Durant thought. ’Just like it’s always been, nobody believed in me.’

’But I never gave up. I kept working hard. I beat one opponent after another to get here. So not even Oden can stop me now.’

"DeAndre, it’s all on you!"

Durant’s gaze was firm.

Little Jordan pounded his chest. He didn’t say a word, just nodded forcefully.

’If I don’t win this jump ball,’ he thought, ’forget Durant and Harden—I won’t be able to forgive myself.’

The two sides once again stood at the center circle.

Holding the basketball, Danny Crawford looked at Oden, then at Little Jordan, and couldn’t help but smile.

’In less than two years,’ he thought, ’I’ll probably be seeing these two kids in the NBA.’

He took a deep breath and tossed the ball into the air.

The instant the ball reached its apex and began to fall, Little Jordan shot up like a coiled spring that had just been released.

’I touched it!’

The feel of the ball on his fingertips sent a jolt of joy through Little Jordan. ’If we win the championship, I’ll have played a part!’

Durant reached out and secured the ball.

Once again, he had the initiative.

’The final play!’

At this moment, the eyes of twenty thousand people in the arena and tens of millions of viewers watching on TV were all fixed on Durant.

He brought the ball up the court himself.

Patterson, his defender, faced him as if confronting a great enemy, staring intently at Durant, his face taut with tension.

Just as Patterson was debating whether to call for a double-team, Durant made his move.

Since he was 11, he had been training professionally under the guidance of Taras Brown.

Brown didn’t let him play streetball. He made him run relentlessly at Devil’s Mountain and practice his dribbling and shooting countless times every day.

He told Durant that when talent doesn’t work hard, hard work beats talent.

So in this moment, memory seemed to merge with reality. Durant felt as if he were back in that dilapidated gym, with no air conditioning, only an old ceiling fan creaking overhead as his younger self started his dribble and went into a pull-up jumper.

Years of sharpening the sword, all for this one shining moment.

Patterson hadn’t lost his position. He jumped incredibly high, defending as well as he possibly could, but he could only watch as the ball left Durant’s hands and, right before his eyes, swished through the net.

After landing, Durant stood stunned for three seconds, then raised his arms amidst the roar of the crowd.

He flapped his arms like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, a cool, badass expression on his face.

’I won! I’m the champion!’

He roared at the camera that rushed up to him.

"Mom! Did you see that? I won!"

His mother hadn’t come to the arena, but Durant was sure she was glued to the TV, watching him.

"Kevin!"

Just then, Harden, who was beside him, suddenly tugged on his arm.

Durant turned his head and saw a group of people walking quickly out of the players’ tunnel.

The middle-aged woman in the lead was none other than his mother. Wiping away tears of joy, she jogged toward him.

Durant froze for a second, then hurried to meet her.

It wasn’t just Durant’s mother; Little Jordan’s mother, Harden’s parents, and even the families of Oden and his two teammates had all arrived at the arena.

Oden, who had been composed until now, broke down the moment he saw his mother.

The giant, who was over two meters tall, bowed his head in shame before his mother, pursing his lips. "Mom, I let you down."

Before the game, he had called his mother and told her he would win and bring the championship trophy home to her. Unfortunately, he had broken his promise.

"No, you didn’t let me down. In my heart, you’re the best," Oden’s mother said, rushing to hug him. Seeing the surging crowd in the stands, many holding signs with her son’s name, she was already bursting with pride.

「On the sideline.」

Watching the young players on the court hugging their families and celebrating, Stern was suddenly reminded that they were just fifteen and sixteen-year-old kids.

After a moment’s hesitation, Stern suddenly turned his head. "Chen, have you ever considered selling the idea for this show to the league?"

Nationwide auditions, a format mimicking the NBA’s, documenting each kid’s growth, friendships, and teamwork—all closely tied to their dreams. Stern suddenly felt the show was simply perfect.

He suddenly felt that it wasn’t enough for the league to simply provide some resources; the league should own a show like this to teach kids across the country who are chasing their dreams about the meaning of hard work.

Chen Yu, who was in the middle of applauding, paused for a moment, then quickly smiled. "David, I’d be willing to sell the show to you, but I doubt ABC would agree."

Right now, the show was jointly owned by Chen Yu and ABC.

It was such a massive hit, a ratings miracle. Even if Chen Yu wanted to sell, there was no way ABC would.

Besides, as far as Chen Yu knew, other networks, like NBC, were already planning similar shows.

NBC didn’t have Chen Yu’s resources, so they were taking a different approach, planning a show about how to make it into the National Football League.

Stern looked a little disappointed, but he quickly composed himself, nodded at Chen Yu, and prepared to present the award to the championship team.

The championship belonged to Devil’s Mountain!

And there could only be one MVP: Kevin Durant.

As he accepted the MVP trophy from the hands of the legendary Bill Russell, Durant felt as if his heart was about to explode with excitement.

Amidst the applause of the entire arena, he shyly raised the trophy for a moment before quickly handing it to his mother beside him.

In his heart, if there could only be one MVP, it would undoubtedly be his mother.