"Congrats, host! You just sniped Karl Malone and earned a lottery draw!"
Zhao Dong glanced at the prize and immediately felt disgusted. Kwame Brown's Butter Fingers? Man, what kind of trash reward was this? He shut his eyes, refusing to let that nonsense mess up his mood.
"Spin it again!" he barked, annoyed.
"Congratulations! You've acquired DeMar DeRozan's pull-up jumper. Do you want to overwrite your current skill?"
Twenty seconds later, the system prompt popped up.
"Haha! Now we're talking! Apply it ASAP!" Zhao Dong was hyped.
DeRozan—a future All-Star—was a bucket. If his defense wasn't shaky, he'd be a damn superstar. His pull-up game? Money. No blind spots, could shoot from anywhere, anytime.
"Skill applied! Pull up Jumper upgraded to level 92."
"First-rate? Hell yeah."
(TL: Man, I don't even know what's happening anymore. My notes say his pull-up jumper is 93, but now the system is saying otherwise—what kind of BS is this? I even searched, and DeRozan is supposed to be one of the best at pull-up jumpers. Screw it. This is exactly why I hate translating system-type fanfics with all these damn attributes and stat changes.
So, from this chapter onward, his pull-up jumper is officially 92. Deal with it.)
A 92-rated pull-up jumper was elite for a wing player. If he got walled off on a drive and couldn't attack the rim, this gave him an automatic bailout. Guys like LeBron later in his career had crazy driving ability, but his mid-range pull-up was weak—once he committed to a drive, it was hard for him to stop and pop.
Zhao Dong had that level of explosiveness now. Once he took off, defenders were getting bodied. This pull-up would make him even more unguardable.
Then, outta nowhere—
"Congrats, host! You've completed a hidden 5x5 mission and earned 10 quality points!"
"WHAT?!" Zhao Dong's eyes widened. This was straight-up free money from the system.
"Which attribute do you want to upgrade?"
He thought for a second—then, no hesitation. Stamina.
Bumping his Stamina from 90 → 95 was a no-brainer. The playoffs were creeping up, and as a rookie, 90 wasn't enough to guarantee top-tier stamina in high-intensity games.
After taking down the Jazz, the Knicks kept rolling—beating the Blazers and Nuggets on the road before heading back to New York on March 1st.
That day, the league dropped the latest rookie rankings.
Zhao Dong had been dominating in February:
38 MPG
24.5 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.7 SPG, 2.9 BPG
1.6 TO, 2.4 fouls per game
He ranked 2nd, right behind Allen Iverson.
Even better—his 5x5 stat line got him his first-ever Player of the Week award.
Back then, the NBA didn't separate East & West for Player of the Week or Month—it was league-wide. Meaning? He was officially the best player in the NBA that week.
It also meant his position switch was 100% successful.
The next night, the Knicks kept their streak alive, beating the Cavs at home.
Up next? The Bucks.
March 3rd.
During his lunch break, the system dropped a new task on him.
1st Mission: No. 1 Pick Sniper
Target: Glenn Robinson (1994 No. 1 pick)
Objectives:
Block him 5 times
Score on him 5 times
Drop 30+ points & 10 rebounds on him
Hold him under 40% FG
Dunk on him once
Win the game
Rewards:
Each completed task = 1 random quality/skill point
Complete all? Rewards get doubled.
"Big Dog, huh?"
Zhao Dong knew Glenn Robinson well. Dude had crazy talent—won Rookie of the Year over Jason Kidd & Grant Hill. Dropped 21.9 & 6.4 as a rookie. But he had attitude issues, wasn't a leader, and never maxed out his potential.
Then, another system prompt.
2nd Mission: All-Star Sniper
Target: Vin Baker (1993 No. 8 pick, elite PF)
Objectives:
Dunk on him 3 times (1 must be a poster)
Force 5 defensive stops (2 must be steals)
Block him 3 times
Reward:
Complete all = 3 skill points
"Vin Baker, huh?"
Dude was tough. Averaged 21 & 9.9 last season. One of the best power forwards pre-Garnett/Duncan era.
Then, a third task dropped.
3rd Mission: Five-Game Streak
Objective:
Drop 30+ points & 10+ rebounds for 5 straight games.
Reward:
5 skill points.
That was huge.
Ever since becoming one of the Knicks' two franchise players, he had fans split. Some supported him, but the die-hard Knicks base wasn't fully sold. A five-game dominance streak would help shut them up.
Zhao Dong checked the Bucks' lineup and spotted Ray Allen—a future Hall of Famer.
Weirdly enough, the system didn't assign a mission for him.
Allen had horrible luck in his career. 10x All-Star—all as a reserve. Never a first-team All-NBA guy, and only made 2nd/3rd team once.
March 4th. Knicks vs. Bucks.
Starting Lineups:
Bucks:
Alton Lister
Vin Baker
Glenn Robinson
Ray Allen
Sherman Douglas
Knicks:
Patrick Ewing
Charles Oakley
Zhao Dong
John Starks
Charlie Ward
CCTV was broadcasting the game.
Commentators:
Zhang Heli: "The Knicks had some locker room drama recently, but they handled it well. Zhao Dong officially became a franchise core—congrats to him!"
Sun Zhenping: "Yeah, and his move to the small forward spot has made him even more dangerous."
Zhang Heli: "His speed is elite—easily keeps up with guards."
Sun Zhenping: "And now, his agility & lateral quickness are top-tier too. His strength training has really paid off."
Zhang Heli: "Lately, he's been lethal with his pull-up jumper. If that becomes a go-to weapon, his offensive game will be unstoppable."
As Zhao Dong walked onto the court, the MSG crowd exploded.
"He's winning over Knicks fans, huh?" Sun Zhenping smiled.
"Management, locker room, and fans all recognize him now. No debate." Zhang Heli nodded.
Spike Lee, courtside, yelled out, "Yo, Zhao Dong! Give us some nasty dunks tonight! I wanna see that rim suffer!"
Zhao Dong grinned. "You got it, Spike."
Game time.
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