Chapter 771 - 693: Golden Chicken Standalone

Chapter 771: Chapter 693: Golden Chicken Standalone

LeBron James.

The Little Emperor was developing at a staggering pace. He averaged 20 points per game in his first season and boosted that to 27 in his second.

This season, he was averaging 29 points per game, currently fourth on the scoring list.

Without a doubt, just as Chen Yu had predicted back at the potential training camp, he was going to become a Hall of Fame-level superstar.

But today, he was stealing the show.

Coming off the bench, he threw down a series of monster dunks, drawing wave after wave of cheers from the TD Waterhouse Center.

But you’re not supposed to be the main character for the East today!

So, as the East’s head coach, Gentry didn’t hesitate to pull him from the game.

Even if you play well, you still need the opportunity to perform.

The key is, you have to know who the big shots are.

The game returned to its normal rhythm.

The one-on-one duel between Kobe and Tracy McGrady repeatedly sent the crowd into an uproar.

Chen Yu was also there, once again making a guest appearance as the West team’s doctor.

He sat next to O’Neal, and the big guy was chattering away, asking Chen Yu who he thought would win the All-Star Game MVP.

Chen Yu couldn’t be bothered to answer him.

’Don’t worry about the AMVP; you should be thinking about the FMVP.’

But tired of being pestered, Chen Yu finally gave his answer.

Tracy McGrady!

Chen Yu felt Tracy McGrady was the favorite to win the All-Star Game MVP.

Holding the All-Star Game in Orlando was a clear sign the league wanted to promote Tracy McGrady.

’Or maybe they wanted to promote James?’

Chen Yu turned his head to look at the opposing bench.

James, who had just been subbed out, was talking to Stoudemire beside him.

They seemed to be having a good chat, but Chen Yu could see that James’s smile was a bit forced.

’He’s probably still pretty bummed about being benched.’

That was just the kind of person he was—too polished, too good at keeping up appearances.

To this, Chen Yu could only say, ’Kid, you’re not qualified to be the main act yet.’

On the court, Tracy McGrady started his dribble with a hesitation move, then, with Kobe defending him tightly, hit a turnaround fadeaway jumper near the baseline.

He already had 17 points.

And that was with Kobe defending him at full strength.

It was enough to prove his scoring ability was in no way inferior to Kobe’s.

It had been five years since ’01, and all that time he had remained in Hill’s shadow, quietly developing his game.

Hill came to Phoenix year after year, and so did he.

He had been refining his skills bit by bit. He was a defensive stalwart, but he was never hesitant to score when needed.

Four seasons of constantly making the playoffs, only to be defeated in the Finals, had forged his experience and his fighting spirit.

And his talent, to be honest, was even greater than Kobe’s.

That’s why Chen Yu truly believed he would win today’s All-Star Game MVP award.

And maybe even the scoring title.

When Hill finally achieved his goals and retired, ceding his role as the core, it would be his time to shine.

It was Tracy McGrady again. A simple dribble, a pull-up jumper, and it was in.

The fluid motion, the elegant shot, reminded Chen Yu of Nowitzki.

Nowitzki had been practicing his fadeaway jumper for quite some time now.

But now, Chen Yu’s team was wrestling with a problem.

During training, Nowitzki had gradually developed a bad habit.

For some reason, he liked to support himself on one foot before leaning back for the shot.

And while balancing on that one foot, he would kick his right leg out.

It was a subconscious movement to maintain his balance.

Chen Yu, Nelson, and the others had even specifically discussed whether kicking his right leg out was a foul.

Of course, it wasn’t.

His right leg didn’t kick straight out; it was bent and drawn inward, still within his own cylinder.

The dilemma was that Chen Yu’s team felt this style of fadeaway was awkward and unconventional.

But for some reason, his shooting percentage with it was quite high.

Now the team was debating whether to correct this issue or to let him continue refining his current method.

Chen Yu had been wrestling with it for over a week, unable to make a decision.

But today, after seeing Tracy McGrady’s shot, a strange impulse struck him. He suddenly felt that maybe he shouldn’t try to correct Nowitzki after all.

The training method the team used was to give Nowitzki complete freedom, letting him find the shooting style that suited him best, as long as it correlated with a high shooting percentage.

So, if shooting off one foot was his own best choice, then it was the method that suited him best.

And if it suited him, just like Tracy McGrady’s jumper, then it was the best.

’So what if he kicks his leg out? So what if it’s weird? As long as it’s not a foul and the ball goes in, who cares how you shoot?’

Besides, on second thought, it wasn’t really surprising that Nowitzki had developed such a strange shooting form.

He was too tall. It was unrealistic to expect him to jump to his apex, relying on hang time and core strength to execute a fadeaway before releasing the ball, like Kobe or Jordan.

So his fadeaway was a sort of "jumped, but not fully jumped" kind of shot.

In that situation, kicking out a leg to maintain balance seemed to be the only option.

Most importantly, he possessed incredible balance, which allowed him to maintain a stable release while supported on just one foot.

Having figured this out, Chen Yu’s mood improved considerably.

He went over to Nowitzki, who was sitting nearby, and told him that when he got on the court later, he could use that weird shooting form.

Throughout the training process, it had been treated as a secret weapon. Nowitzki had never properly used it in a real game.

"Chen, are you sure?"

Nowitzki was taken aback.

Chen Yu nodded and patted his shoulder. "I’m not going to agonize over it anymore. It’s your choice, so it must be the best way for you. Besides, it’s just the All-Star Game. Give it a try. I want to see if it’s effective against top-tier players."