Sports Medicine Master System

"He jumped so high!"

A young man next to Durant gasped.

Durant stared fixedly at the TV screen. Even through the screen, he could almost hear the dull thud of James leaping up and swatting the basketball away.

"He lost."

"5-0... they’re not even in the same league."

"It looks like an adult playing against a kid."

"Yeah, and the thing is, James is only 19 this year, just three years older than this Earl Clark."

"That’s different. He was last year’s number one draft pick, the Rookie of the Year who averaged 20 points per game in his rookie season. Not many people in history have achieved that."

"I’m a small forward too, does that mean I’ll have to go up against James later? Fack, I feel like I’m going to get destroyed."

"It’s fine. It’s normal to get destroyed by him."

The young men around him kept discussing. Durant listened silently, gradually piecing together the general process for the tryouts.

It wasn’t what he had initially fantasized about—getting to trade moves with a superstar like Jordan.

Jordan had only been retired for a year, so he could probably still play. But people like Jabbar were too old to even move, so going one-on-one was obviously unrealistic.

They would be matched up against the rookies invited by Chen Yu, according to their positions.

Centers against Milicic, power forwards against Bosh, small forwards against James, shooting guards against Wade, and point guards against TJ Ford.

With the exception of Milicic, Chen Yu had basically invited the entire All-Rookie Team from the previous season.

Then came the one-on-one matchup: five possessions on offense, five on defense.

Afterward, the six legendary superstars would provide their comments.

And the thirty to forty people in the stands behind Chen Yu were NBA scouts he had invited.

They would score the players based on their performance.

On the TV, it was Clark’s turn to defend. James started with the ball, used a jab step, pulled up for a shot, and sank it.

On the next play, James took one dribble, smoothly transitioned into a spin move, and hit a fadeaway mid-range jumper.

During his rookie season, the media had often criticized James for his poor technique, saying he could only tuck the ball and power through defenders to the basket, that his style was too brutish, with no technical skill whatsoever. But Durant was just now realizing that against high schoolers like them, James basically transformed into Jordan, pulling out all sorts of high-difficulty shots.

"Hey."

Durant lightly tapped Blake Griffin, who had arrived before him, and asked in a low voice, "Of all the people before, did anyone manage to score, or get a stop?"

Griffin looked Durant up and down, then shook his head. "From what I’ve heard, not a single one."

Durant grimaced. Earl Clark was number 19, which meant that out of 19 people, not one had scored a single basket, nor had they gotten a single stop.

’And this is just a rookie who’s only played in the NBA for one year.’

’The gap is just too huge!’

Soon, the five offensive possessions were over, and James hadn’t even broken a sweat.

He walked over, graciously hugged Clark, and even offered a few words of praise.

But it was clear that Clark’s face mostly held a wry smile.

After this matchup, he felt like his confidence was completely shattered.

At Luo Wei High School, he was the team’s leading scorer. This year, he’d even led the team to the New Jersey state championship and was selected for the All-State team.

Before the one-on-one started, he knew he couldn’t win, but he never expected to lose so badly.

He turned toward the judges’ table.

The judges all clapped politely. After exchanging glances, it was Dr. J Owen who spoke up. He paused for a moment, then said, "You didn’t use to play small forward, did you? I feel like your skills have traces of a guard in them."

The others next to him nodded in agreement. They had noticed it too.

From some of his on-court habits, it felt like Clark wasn’t really a forward.

Jordan, sitting in the middle, turned his head to look at Chen Yu at the very end of the table.

Chen Yu nodded. "According to the information I have, he started out as a guard. But last school year, his height suddenly shot up by six inches. He had no choice but to switch to forward."

Chen Yu had a basic understanding of all the players he had invited.

Take Earl Clark, for example. From the news interviews he’d gathered, Chen Yu had learned that Clark started playing basketball at age five. His idol was Iverson, and he dreamed of becoming a top-tier guard just like him.

But things didn’t go as planned. When he entered his freshman year of high school, he was only 188 cm tall. Then, over one school year, he shot up by 15 centimeters.

At a height of 203 cm, he couldn’t play guard anymore no matter how much he wanted to.

"I see." Jordan nodded in understanding.

They weren’t given the players’ basic information beforehand, allowing for a more objective observation.

Julius Erving picked up the thread, saying, "Earl, you can’t change your height. If you want to have a better future, then from now on, you have to learn to use your body and seriously practice your inside game. I predict you’re definitely going to grow even taller."

’He shot up 15 centimeters last year, so is he just going to stop growing this year?’

’Born in ’88, he’s only 16 this year. He’s got plenty of growing to do.’

’By the time of the draft, if he grows even another two inches, that’s a height of 208 cm, heading straight for the power forward position.’

"You started out as a point guard; you can handle the ball and organize the offense. When you move to the power forward position, these will also become advantages, allowing you to contribute more to the team."

"Adapt to your body’s changes, find your true position, and you’ll become an even better player."

Clark nodded repeatedly, his face filled with excitement.

"Shall we vote then?" Owen asked, looking from side to side.

A short one-on-one of just five possessions might have been enough for these old veterans, legendary superstars, and a crowd of professional scouts to see some things, but there were other things that couldn’t be demonstrated in a one-on-one.