Ever since Harden grew out that now-iconic beard, his game has levelled up.
Whether it was a placebo effect or not, Harden loved it.
After a wild win in the first round of March Madness, scouts were buzzing. Harden's game—smooth handles, a strong frame, and a solid all-around scoring skill set—was starting to shine.
He was climbing the boards. ESPN had him projected at #4 in the upcoming draft.
But tonight? Big game or not, it was a beautiful night. A waste to spend it just sitting around.
So, naturally, Harden was texting a girl he met a few days ago. Things were heating up. He was about to shoot his shot with a So… we hangin' out tonight? When—ping—a message from Lin Yi popped up on his phone.
Now, Lin was technically the enemy tomorrow. Davidson vs. Arizona State in the Round of 32. But Harden respected him. The dude and he were friends after all.
So he opened the message.
Keep your head up. Losing isn't the end—keep grinding. The future's yours.
Harden: "???"
What the hell is this?
You tryna say we already lost?!
Nah. Hell no. That's straight disrespect.
Harden was heated. His LA flight was already booked. Win or lose, he was gonna dip after this round anyway. But this? This was too much.
Lin Yi thought it was over already?
"Yo, Grant!" Harden barked, grabbing his teammate.
Grant looked up from his phone, confused. "What's up?"
"One-on-one. Right now. Let's go."
Before Grant could even respond, Harden had dragged him out to a quiet street court nearby.
"I'm on D. You're on O. Come at me!"
Grant blinked. Harden? Playing defense? That was new.
Normally, Harden conserved his energy for offense, and besides, late-night pickup wasn't his thing. Especially when he had options waiting for him.
But tonight?
Tonight, Harden was locked in.
"Yo, you good?" Grant asked, dribbling slowly.
"No," Harden said, serious as hell. "Not until I make Lin regret that text."
....
Reliant Stadium, Houston
Lin Yi was still laughing when he leaned over to Stephen Curry, who was looking at him strangely since Lin had been like this for a few minutes.
"Steph, I think I pissed off Harden."
"Huh?" Curry swished a three during warmups, then turned to him. "What'd you do?"
Lin Yi showed him the message.
Curry read it, blinked, and then burst out laughing.
"Dude! That's savage! Look at you! I thought you were this quiet, polite Asian guy. You really are a troll."
He gave Lin a friendly smack on the butt and a fist bump.
....
Game Day: Davidson Wildcats vs. Arizona State Sun Devils.
The 32-team battle was on.
The Sun Devils had traveled from Phoenix, while the Wildcats came from their quiet little college town of Davidson.
Even the cheerleaders were going at it, each side louder than the other.
Reliant Stadium was packed—70,000 strong, not an empty seat in sight.
Davidson wore red. Arizona State, in white.
Up in the media section…
"Xiaolei-jie, why are there so many Chinese reporters here today?" Qi Jun asked.
Wu Xiaolei nodded. "Feilang Sports, Penguin Sports… even Datianchao TV sent people. Lin Yi's got a serious following now."
Most Chinese fans still didn't know much about the NCAA, so Wu Xiaolei had been adding background in her reports, mentioning NBA stars who came from college ball, especially after Lin Yi blew up in the first round.
The hype back home was real.
Especially when people saw the highlights—Lin dribbling and hitting threes.
Even legendary commentator Zhang Weiping was hyped.
Football reporter Han Qiaosheng, bless him, thought Davidson was the player's name.
Only to be corrected by his intern
"Teacher Han… that's the school."
All jokes aside, once the footage hit Chinese social media, all the doubts disappeared.
Lin Yi was just that good.j
Basketball analyst Yang Yi couldn't believe it, "This guy's footwork in the post? Good."
Su Junyang added, "And those two dribbles before his spin move? You need serious body control to do that at his size."
Back home, fans were buzzing. The Rockets were having a decent year. Yi Jianlian was getting touches in New Jersey. Sun Yue hadn't played much, but he was still a Laker.
And now? China's next big hope might just be here.
Lin Yi.
Could he be the next top-5 pick?
No one wanted to miss the chance to be the reporter who got his post-game thoughts.
As the lineups were announced at Reliant Stadium, the arena exploded when Lin Yi and Steph's names were called.
LIN!
STEPH!
LIN!
STEPH!
The Chinese reporters were shocked by the energy of the crowd.
Wu Xiaolei sighed, grabbed Qi Jun's arm, and said, "Let's move over there."
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