After returning to the locker room, Haywood excitedly said, "Link, do you know? The nickname fans gave me—it's so domineering... Biscuit King."
Link couldn't help but laugh.
But then again, the nickname Biscuit King for a player is really good.
And Haywood is worthy of this nickname.
Although his Speed isn't fast, and he's even a bit clumsy, he's great at making biscuits...
(TN: no idea what biscuits mean in this context)
The ceiling of a blue-collar Center depends on the ceiling of the primary ball-handling core.
...
...
The remaining 2 games were on December 21st and December 22nd, two days later. This was the dreaded "road back-to-back" that many players with poor Stamina feared the most.
Although Link's Stamina was average, he had the buff from the sparring partner card, so even two games a day were no problem.
It's just that it couldn't be used during the game...
For this reason, the outside world considered Link's Stamina a mystery.
In the next 2 days...
In addition to his previously set training plan, Link also used the [All-Star (Andre Drummond 14-15 Season) sparring partner card]...
Link's current item bar:
[Superstar (James Harden 22-23 Season) sparring partner card] x1; [Superstar (Kevin Durant 13-14 Season) sparring partner card] x1; [All-Star (Andre Drummond 14-15 Season) sparring partner card] x5; [special sparring partner card] x21; [Star (Jonathan Isaac) sparring partner card] x9.
...
...
The Hundred-Point Battle between Link and Drummond, the God of the Paint, was very easy. Drummond could barely defend, making it more like a "small-on-large" practice. Uh... actually, that's not quite accurate, after all, Link is 205cm tall, while Drummond is only 208cm.
Drummond's low-post offense was also terrible.
His only terrifying ability was rebounding.
It only took one sparring partner card for Link to defeat Drummond.
He unlocked the five-star reward after clearing the level.
Three-Star Reward: [Box-Out Master (bronze)] (Already owned).
Four-Star Reward: [Charge Rebound Master (bronze)] (Already owned), [Tip-Off Maniac (bronze)] (Already owned).
Five-Star Reward: [Dominance Moment: Rebound Maniac] Lv1 (Already owned).
Link, who already had this Moment, immediately leveled up.
[Dominance Moment: Rebound Maniac] Lv2.
1. After entering Dominance, you can see the landing spot of rebounds, but only beyond 7.8 feet.
2. Players can freely activate Dominance for 3 minutes each time, with a cooldown of 23 hours and 57 minutes.
3. To upgrade a player's Dominance level, it needs to merge with a Dominance of the same level and type.
The improvement of Rebound Maniac made Link pleasantly surprised.
The previous Lv1 was beyond 17 feet, about 5.18 meters, but now Lv2 is 7.8 feet, about 2.4 meters.
2.4 meters is near the mid-to-low post. In other words, Link can see the landing spots of some "medium-to-long rebounds."
Player sparring partner cards for each version only give rewards upon first completion.
Re-challenging does not give rewards, but it can enhance corresponding attributes through challenges or by training with the opponent.
Two days later.
It was the evening of December 21, 201, two hours before the game started.
Many players had already started their warm-up training, such as Brandon Haywood, affectionately known as the "Biscuit King" by fans.
Regarding pre-game warm-ups for players, it is said that LeBron James starts 4 hours in advance. The more thoroughly one warms up, the better their game performance will be.
In the Wizards' locker room at the New York Knicks' home arena, Link was not warming up with his teammates at this time. Instead, he was using the [All-Star (Andre Drummond 14-15 Season) sparring partner card] in meditation, having a 1v1 "private lesson" on rebounding with Drummond, the God of the Paint.
After 6 hours in the virtual space, which was 1 hour in the real world, in addition to gaining a deeper understanding of "box-out" and "positioning" techniques, his [Defensive Rebound] base attribute increased by 2, reaching 84 (88).
...
...
New York Knicks home fans were not very polite to Link. After all, Link had achieved a triple-double in his career's first regular season game at the New York Knicks' home court.
"Link... you're overrated!"
"Link, I am your father!"
"FUCK-Link!"
"Link, are you ready with tissues?"
Many New York Knicks home fans held up banners mocking and ridiculing Link.
Seeing Link so disliked, Michael Jordan, who was beside him, couldn't help but tease, "Link... you're really popular..."
"Michael, are you jealous of this too?" Link looked at Jordan sideways.
"Get lost... I'm completely different from you. I'm a national idol, you're a public enemy. I have fan support wherever I go." Jordan said, somewhat irritated, then looked at Link with pride.
Hmm...
Michael Jordan, who was on a contract of over 100,000 US dollars this season and donated all of it to welfare organizations, was indeed popular wherever he went. His second comeback truly had the significance of aiding the American economic market.
"Michael, when you won your second, third... fifth championship, were you as popular with away fans as you are now?"
"At that time... you were the embodiment of victory."
"At that time, you faced boos from away fans because they knew you would defeat their home team. But now... why do you receive so much applause?"
Link's rhetorical question was truly cutting.
However, Michael Jordan was Michael Jordan. If it were a regular player, their mentality might have collapsed, but he was the true Goat—Michael Jordan.
He immediately brought out the Jordan formula!
"rookie, I have 5 MVP trophies, 10 league scoring title, 6 FMVP trophies. What do you have?" Michael Jordan suppressed his anger and looked at Link with overwhelming dominance.
"Michael, when you were my age, you were still in high school, right?" Link said unhurriedly.
"Hmph, as if you'd achieve more honors than me by the time you're my age?"
"For NBA Mount Rushmore-level players, simply having a long career isn't enough..."
"In competitive sports, the longest river is not as valuable as the tallest mountain."
Jordan said.
The two of them fiercely bickered, but none of their Wizards teammates intervened, nor did anyone dare to speak loudly, thereby being forced into the dispute.
Finally, head coach Doug Collins came out and ended their PK under the pretext of pre-game tactical arrangements.