Chapter 1 In the Summer of '96

In the summer of 1996, if you were to ask Su Feng what he wanted to do most...

It would definitely be to write down this magical, more than magical, experience.

Um...

Um.

If Kobe was lured into the sewer by his own delicious dishes, then Iverson passing the ball to him...

This, it's really unreasonable!

On the court, the White team, with Su Feng and Iverson, attacked first.

And just as Su Feng used his combination of fast and slow to cut into the penalty area, that incredible pass...

It really came!

It was a brilliant bounce pass, and the player who delivered that bounce pass to Su Feng was –

Allen Iverson.

Su Feng didn't think much, caught the ball, and slammed it in with one hand, scoring the first two points for the White team.

2 to 0.

Turning around, it was the Blue team's turn to attack, led by Stephon Marbury.

At this time, Marbury not only had superb dribbling skills, but also a very amazing burst of speed.

In the high post, seemingly to prove that he was stronger than Iverson, Marbury shook from side to side before suddenly driving straight to the basket with a crossover.

Iverson was tenacious and never gave up, but his height determined that he would not be an outstanding defender.

Marbury knew how to use his physical advantages, and so he just ran over him...

*Pa!*

A large hand suddenly stretched out, catching Marbury off guard!

In his senior year, because Swartz was regarded as Lower Merion's biggest weakness, Su Feng had developed a good habit of cleaning up messes for the point guards at any time.

Back in Phoenix, Nash had already felt Su Feng's terrifying help defense ability.

Although he was just a sparring partner today, the good habits developed over a long period of time made Su Feng instinctively step up to help as soon as he saw Iverson being broken through.

Fortunately, at this moment, Iverson didn't say to Su Feng, "Take back that damn help defense."

Marbury made a mistake, Su Feng successfully stole the basketball from Marbury, and then habitually handed the ball to Iverson.

Uh...

Okay, Su Feng really hadn't completely understood the book *On the Self-Cultivation of a Tumor*.

On the court, Iverson quickly rushed to the frontcourt after getting the ball, and although Su Feng followed behind him, it was just the basic quality of a player.

After all, during fast breaks, the forwards should try to keep up to avoid mistakes by their teammates.

However...

"Hurry up, Su, if you're any slower, I won't wait for you!"

On the court, Iverson suddenly glanced back at Su Feng.

Honestly! Su Feng could swear on his left *mimi* that this was definitely the second sentence Iverson had ever said to him in his life.

*Bang!*

On the court, Iverson actually didn't choose to show off with a dunk himself, but instead hit the ball off the backboard.

Su Feng was stunned!

Damn, this is definitely not Iverson.

At this moment, Iverson was almost as if he had been possessed by the future Chris Paul!

The Philadelphia Magician was one thing, but what the hell was the Philadelphia Paul?

Eh, wait, Philadelphia Paul, Philadelphia P...

Philly Paul... Failing Paul?

*Clang!*

Suppressing the urge to complain in his heart, Su Feng followed up with a dunk.

"My God, this is too magical," Su Feng thought in a daze.

Iverson, is he really feeding me the ball?

No, why?

...

On the sidelines, during the Blue-White game, the 76ers' management, Pat Croce, had already made a decision.

"I don't think we need to watch anymore!

Allen's passing, organization, and breakthroughs are what we need," Croce said.

"I agree, Stephon is too selfish.

In comparison, I prefer Allen's passing," Coach John Davis smiled.

Well, after Kobe's perplexing behavior award, it was foreseeable that the 76ers were completely fascinated by Iverson's bewildering behavior...

On the court, you have to say, Su Feng's performance in this 20-minute Blue-White game was actually not bad?

20 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks.

Most importantly, Su Feng not only touched the ball...

But also had a blast.

And Iverson, on the other hand, had 10 points and 8 assists...

Hisss, those stats are too Kobe-esque, aren't they?

Well, 7 of the 8 assists were feeding Su Feng, and the other one was a pass he made when he had no choice after a breakthrough...

It's just that, after the game, when Su Feng wanted to ask Iverson why he passed him the ball, Iverson had already been called away by Pat Croce for a private chat.

Su Feng knew that the conversation that would determine the fate of Iverson and Marbury was about to begin.

"I don't think this is fair."

Just as Su Feng racked his brains trying to figure out why Iverson would pass him the ball, Marbury also walked over to Su Feng.

"Huh?"

"If you put him with me, I can also make great passes, it's not fair!

And we agreed to one-on-one, why do you always help defend Allen?

Isn't he the best defensive player in the Big East?" Marbury glared at Su Feng "resentfully."

Su Feng: "..."

Damn...

How would I know Iverson would pass me the ball!

As for one-on-one, bro, this is five-on-five!

After a long time, Su Feng patted the shoulder of the social youth, Marbury, and said, "Only by transforming the power of complaining about the environment into the power of progress can success be guaranteed."

Marbury: "..."

For some reason, after Su Feng said this classic quote from Romain Rolland, Marbury suddenly felt that Su Feng's image and status instantly became taller.

What he said makes so much sense, I'm speechless!

In fact, Su Feng wanted to tell Marbury, wake up, as long as Pat Croce is around, it's destined that you and I are just sparring partners.

In Su Feng's previous life, Pat Croce was like the Lakers' Jim Buss, one was a loyal Iverson fan, and the other was a loyal Kobe fan.

To a large extent, it was because of Pat Croce's insistence that the 76ers' management decided early on that they would use the top pick to select Iverson.

As a *Human Iverson Encyclopedia*, Su Feng knew very well that in a few days, Pat Croce would be "affectionately" called Pat Iverson by the people of Philadelphia.

Because by then, Croce's desire to choose Iverson would be known to everyone.

On the court, after the trial training, Su Feng prepared to leave, watching Marbury being called away for a talk as well.

Although he was very curious as to why AI would pass him the ball, Su Feng could only temporarily suppress his curiosity because Iverson had not returned to the training hall after being called away for the talk.

Anyway, after entering the NBA in the future, there would be plenty of opportunities, right?

When the time comes, he would ask Iverson properly whether he was bewitched by his looks...

In short, the last stop of Su Feng's trial training career came to a successful end...

"Su, wait a minute."

On the court, just as Su Feng was about to leave, the 76ers' coach, John Davis, walked towards Su Feng.

"I have a few questions I want to ask you, Su." After stopping Su Feng, Davis smiled at Su Feng.

Su Feng looked at Davis in confusion: "Ask them here?"

"Yes, just a few simple questions." Davis nodded.

Su Feng: "..."

Okay, Su Feng was thinking too much.

Look, this is the treatment of a sparring partner!

Not to mention Iverson, Marbury even had the chance to drink tea, but what about him?

Of course, while all these thoughts were going through his head, Su Feng was still smiling politely at Davis.

After all, Su Feng knew himself, and right now, he was indeed just a sparring partner.

"Who is your favorite shooter in the league?" Davis asked curiously.

Su Feng thought for a moment and replied, "Myself."

"Oh?" Davis was a little surprised at Su Feng's answer.

Because in Davis's view, Su Feng was not the kind of arrogant simpleton.

"Because I'm also a shooter, and if a shooter loses confidence, how can his shot be accurate?"

This answer was Curry's answer when the *Splash Brothers* visited China in Su Feng's previous life, when a reporter from China Central Television asked him the question.

At the time, Klay, because he was well-versed in *EQ*, thought that the best shooter was Curry, but he was mercilessly exposed by Curry after a while.

"Klay said that? No, in his eyes, the best shooter must be himself, he's lying." That's how the Little Elementary Schooler answered at the time.

And the reason was exactly the reason Su Feng had just given to Davis.

Just like many NBA free throw masters have some bad habits before free throws, in fact, from a psychological point of view, this is called psychological suggestion.

If you don't let them continue these bad habits, they may not be able to adapt and miss the free throw.

"Su, if it's Game 7 of the Finals, and we have the last chance to make a game-winning shot, would you pass the ball to a teammate or..." Davis pressed on.

However, this time, before Davis could finish speaking, Su Feng interrupted him.

"I'll shoot it myself, because as a shooter, if I'm not sure I can make every shot, then why am I even playing basketball?" Su Feng replied truthfully.

Davis nodded, "Keep up the good work, kid, I have faith in you."

Su Feng: "..."

Okay, Su Feng wasn't Kobe, and he could tell that Davis was just complimenting him.

...

After finishing all the trial training, Su Feng gave himself a short vacation for the next two days.

On the 13th, Kobe also finished all his trial training and returned to Philadelphia.

The two little blacksmiths immediately started chatting when they met.

Kobe boasted to Su Feng about those stories that Su Feng already knew by heart...

And Su Feng told Kobe that during this tour of the United States, he had played against Barkley and Payton.

"What did you say? You really had one-on-one matches with Charles and Gary?"

Kobe's eyes widened, and his expression was so envious.

"Yeah..."

And he had played more than one game with Barkley!

It's just that every time he thought about how that Flying Pig was afraid of hurting himself and causing him to suffer heavy losses, Su Feng got angry.

Damn it, he promised to beat me to death!

No, nothing at all!

Barkley didn't even give Su Feng a chance to shout "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river..."

Because after that one-on-one match, Barkley took Su Feng and Nash out for a big meal.

"By the way, did you watch the Finals?

It's a pity, the Bulls almost swept the Sonics," Kobe said, putting his arm around Su Feng's shoulder.

"I watched..."

Just like in Su Feng's memory, the Bulls went straight to a 3-0 lead against the Sonics.

But just when the whole world thought the Sonics had already surrendered, Karl changed his formation in the crucial Game 4...

Payton and the Sonics' forwards successfully defended Jordan into Kobe, and the Sonics pulled back a game, avoiding being swept.

And next, according to history, the Sonics would pull back another game.

It was just a pity that even though Old Rogue was still Kobe in the final Game 6...

This time, the entire Bulls team stood up.

With Michael Jordan shooting 5 for 19 from the field, Pippen, Rodman, Kukoc, Longley, Harper, and Kerr joined hands to carry Jordan to the throne.

Basketball is still a sport of five people.

Jordan couldn't turn on the switch to God mode every game. In fact, in the second three-peat, Jordan was mostly just an old blacksmith.

After all, even Michael Jordan couldn't resist the passage of time. He was no longer the omnipotent basketball player of '91.

"By the way, why aren't you eating?" After eating nutritional meals for more than a month, Kobe finally returned to Philadelphia, so naturally, he wanted to have a feast.

But, while eating, Kobe noticed that Su Feng didn't seem to have much of an appetite.

"I really envy people who can still eat."

Of course, Su Feng didn't have an appetite because he had played against Payton.

So, after watching the battle between the Bulls and the Sonics, and looking at Payton, who was giving it his all, Su Feng was silent...

Difficult...

If he didn't put in ten times the effort in the coming summer to close the gap between himself and these superhumans, Su Feng felt that it would be too difficult to achieve his dream of becoming a basketball star.

Su Feng had read a lot of basketball novels in his previous life, but in this life, after growing up by stacking armor and taking beatings along the way, Su Feng realized that there was still a gap between reality and novels.

Because in reality, these monsters are much more exaggerated than in novels. You can't reduce their strength just by criticizing them a few times.

"If you're not going to eat it, give it to me." Kobe suddenly said, looking at the steak in front of Su Feng, still not full.

Su Feng laughed because, difficult as it may be, didn't he have Kobe as a cheat?

"Kobe, let's train together this summer," Su Feng suggested.

"Nonsense, if you don't train with me, who are you going to train with?" Kobe said without a doubt.

"Come, come, this one's for you, this one's for you too, eat more."

"Too... too much, okay, I was only planning to eat to 60% full, now I'll eat to 80% full."

...

Su Feng and Kobe's happy times continued until the 24th.

It's worth mentioning that on the 17th, Su Feng and Kobe also attended the high school graduation prom together.

But, unfortunately...

Because, as Ray Allen had recently retorted, Kobe failed to score at the graduation prom and continued to maintain his virginity.

From the very beginning, Su Feng felt that Kobe's plan to conquer Brandy at the graduation prom was unreliable.

And, believe it or not, if Kobe had been a little more courageous and overbearing, things might have worked out...

But Kobe, who grew up in Italy, hadn't yet caught up with America in that area.

Su Feng knew that Kobe had few friends in his previous life because his English wasn't good at first, and he didn't understand the black culture here in the United States, so he was often criticized.

Fortunately, Kobe didn't seem to take the failure to score to heart.

Because after the Bulls won the championship and Michael Jordan sat on the throne, the entire North American basketball circle was most concerned about the upcoming 1996 NBA Draft.

In the latest media predictions, Kobe had completely locked in a spot in the top ten.

And Su Feng's worst draft prospect had reached the late first round, while his best draft prospect was in the mid-first round.

Of course, according to some inside information, it was possible that Su Feng would be selected in the lottery by a certain team.

Su Feng knew that this "certain" team was probably the Kings.

But Su Feng didn't think it was very reliable for the Kings to choose him.

Because Su Feng knew that at this time, what the Kings wanted was an outside core who could turn the tide of the battle.

Besides, they would select him to cultivate, and then send him to those strong teams in a few years?

You know, high school players weren't popular at this time, which was also related to the fact that the NBA hadn't yet experienced that labor-management negotiation.

Just like Joe Smith, after his rookie contract expired, he just wouldn't renew with the Warriors, which not only wasted the Warriors' top pick but also made clothes for others out of thin air.

Of course, in this life, after seeing the brain damage of the Warriors' management at this time, Su Feng felt that he deserved it!

In short, many teams didn't want to lose money on high school players at this time.

But there were also some teams, like the Seattle SuperSonics and the Los Angeles Lakers, who weren't afraid of not being able to retain high school players, so they were willing to gamble on high school players.

...

On the 24th, Su Weiguo and Wang Yuanyuan arrived in Philadelphia.

Speaking of which, this was the first time Su Feng had seen his parents in this life.

Although he hadn't yet mentally prepared himself to call them Mom and Dad, after nearly two years of phone calls and those fragmented memories, Su Feng didn't have much resistance to Comrade Su Weiguo and Wang Yuanyuan.

Su Feng knew that these parents still loved him very much, but...

Forget it, it was all "Su Feng's" fault.

There were naughty children everywhere, and if "Su Feng" hadn't been so hopeless, who would have been willing to throw their child across the ocean?

"Little brat, this body of muscles... are you kidding me?"

Su Weiguo was stunned when he saw Su Feng. Although Su Weiguo was also 1.86 meters tall, Su Feng's athletic muscles plus his 1.98 meters height...

Don't ask, it's just handsome!

Originally, Wang Yuanyuan had prepared a lot of words of concern before coming to Philadelphia, such as "Son, you've lost weight" and "Son, you've suffered," but, looking at Su Feng who came to pick them up, this...

This didn't look like someone who had suffered hardships at all!

This was clearly being "corrupted" by capitalism!

So, Su Weiguo and Wang Yuanyuan kept...

Touching him non-stop on the way home with Su Feng.

Su Feng felt that his body was poisonous.

"These muscles are much stronger than your dad's back then," Wang Yuanyuan complained.

"What are you talking about, the food we had back then..." Su Weiguo's face turned red. He didn't expect that after not seeing him for two years, he might really not be able to beat this little brat...

In his memory, Su Feng knew that Su Weiguo had grown up in a military compound and had been a soldier, while his mother, Comrade Wang Yuanyuan, had been a youth league member.

In short, their love story could definitely be made into a TV series.

In addition, every time he thought about the Su family, Su Feng felt that this "Su Feng" was a pitfall, because at first, from his memory, Su Feng thought that Su Weiguo was from the Jiangnan Leather Factory...

But when chatting with Su Weiguo, Su Feng found that it wasn't the case at all.

Anyway...

Playing basketball well is definitely the right thing to do.

Ye Xiu, you didn't lie to me.

After going home with Su Feng, Su Feng specially made a big meal for Su Weiguo and Wang Yuanyuan.

"Hey, it seems that the saying 'spare the rod and spoil the child' is true.

We used to spoil you too much, but look, it's only been two years since we threw you to the United States, and your ability to live independently has immediately been developed," Su Weiguo complained while eating.

"But, my son must have had a hard time at first..." Wang Yuanyuan said with heartache.

Um...

Judging from "Su Feng's" memory, it was quite hard, like being bullied by white classmates, and being pranked when participating in clubs. "Su Feng" had experienced everything that needed to be experienced.

But Su Feng, that was different.

Joke, in Lower Merion, he and Kobe were the kings.

Not convinced?

Not convinced, come up and elbow me?

And after that act of bravery in May of '94, few people in the school dared to say bad things about Su Feng.

After all, although the United States doesn't promote acts of bravery, they extremely admire personal heroism.

It's worth mentioning that at first, Su Weiguo wanted to stay at a hotel, but Wang Yuanyuan firmly disagreed, "If our son can live here, why can't we live with our son?"

"You sleep on the sofa later, and I'll sleep in the bed with our son, that's settled," Wang Yuanyuan said with her hands on her hips, righteously.

Su Feng: "..."

Alright, if you count his age from his previous life, Su Feng was almost 30 years old, and he was still sleeping with his mom?

"You guys sleep in the bed, I'll sleep on the sofa," Su Feng said in embarrassment.

"Haha, look, this little brat is shy.

I still remember when he was in junior high school, he had to shamelessly sleep with us," Su Weiguo laughed.

Su Feng: "..."

Well, as expected, after getting used to being the scapegoat, Su Feng suddenly felt that being the scapegoat was already a common thing.

Perhaps, there is no Benzema in this world, but you can also say that everyone is Benzema.

Just like that, the night passed.

Because Su Feng had gotten used to waking up at 4 a.m., when he woke up, he found that every now and then, either Su Weiguo or Wang Yuanyuan would come over to tuck him in.

So...

Su Feng could only pretend to sleep a little longer.

"Is this what family is like?" Su Feng thought with emotion.

...

On the 25th, after putting on the custom-made suit in advance, you have to say, Su Feng really felt that his looks had broken through the sky.

"Truly my son," Su Weiguo and Wang Yuanyuan said in unison.

According to plan, Bill Duffy would send someone to pick up him and his parents to the airport in a while.

Originally, Kobe had planned to go to New York with Su Feng, but there was no way, at this moment, in the eyes of their families, they were still just children.

"Tomorrow is the legendary '96 Golden Generation Draft," Su Feng was very curious about which team would select him.

And with Kobe's current draft pick, Su Feng was a little worried that he would miss the Lakers.

Actually...

To be honest, Su Feng's worries were unnecessary.

Because Logo Man, he is Logo Man.

On the 25th, the Lakers' management had returned from Dallas.

Just like in Su Feng's memory, for the draft work, except for a few confidants of Logo Man in the Lakers' management, no one else knew who Jerry West wanted to choose.

Including the Dallas Mavericks, who had already agreed to a py transaction with them.

That's right.

The Dallas Mavericks were the detail that Su Feng hadn't noticed the change.

Because of Su Feng's appearance, the butterfly effect had already occurred.

After losing to two high school students last November, coupled with being publicly executed by his senior, Michael Jordan, to save face, Stackhouse completely went crazy.

And it was because of his madness that he "helped" the Milwaukee Bucks defeat the 76ers in the February 13 game against the Bucks.

And the chain reaction brought about by this game was that, although the Bucks still lucked out and drew the fourth pick in '96, because of the changes in the records of the bottom teams, it changed the drawing probability of the Dallas Mavericks when drawing the draft.

The Dallas Mavericks finally drew...

The eighth pick in the 1996 NBA Draft.

In addition, just like in Su Feng's memory, Pat Croce was now being ridiculed by the people of Philadelphia as Pat Iverson.

It was no longer a secret that the 76ers wanted to select Iverson.

However, unlike Su Feng's previous life, how could the power of one person be as exaggerated as a pair of CP?

So, under the circumstances of being talked about the Philadelphia Twin Stars every day, on the eve of the draft, Pat Croce found the team's head coach, John Davis.

Caution was the biggest impression that the Philadelphia management left on the world in 1996.

But likewise, caution was also a double-edged sword.

Seattle, after losing to the Chicago Bulls in the Finals, George Karl was even more determined to bring Su Feng to Seattle.

However, looking at the offer made by the Knicks' management, George Karl hung up the phone without even thinking about it.

Heh, did they really think that they were the only ones I could py with?

Phoenix, after various entanglements on the eve of the draft, the Suns' management also made a decision.

There was no way, Su Feng's earth-shattering "friendly exchange" with Barkley had left too deep an impression on the Suns' management.

And Sacramento, after watching the scouts' footage from Europe and Su Feng's trial footage for the last time, the Kings also made their decision.

On the eve of the 1996 NBA Draft, everyone was taking their turn, each team had placed their bets, and now, it was time for David Stern, the dealer, to reveal the answer.

Because—

High noon has arrived!

...