Chapter 31: I Thought You Were Nowitzki, But It Turned Out to Be Larry Bird?
Chicago, joint tryout training center.
A total of over eighty rookies who registered for the draft arrived at the training hall in batches according to their scheduled tryout times.
The NBA's joint tryouts mainly focus on testing the players' physical abilities, evaluating both their static and dynamic talents in turn.
The static talent assessments include measurements such as body fat percentage, height, wingspan, palm length and width, height without shoes, standing reach, and weight.
Dynamic talents are tested through activities like the shuttle run, three-quarter court sprint, standing vertical jump, and running vertical jump.
Finally, there are strength tests such as the bench press.
Wang Chong and Wade were not scheduled for the same batch, but that didn't matter.
Having already strengthened his physical fitness, Wang Chong was confident about his performance in the joint tryout tests.
And rightly so.
The test staff meticulously recorded Wang Chong's test data one by one in their notebooks.
Name: Wang Chong,
Height without shoes: 2.07 meters
With shoes: 2.09 meters
Wingspan: 2.26 meters
Weight: 105 kg
Standing reach: 2.83 meters
100m sprint: 11.6 seconds
Three-quarter sprint: 3.2 seconds
Standing vertical jump: 75cm
Running vertical jump: 90cm..."
This was followed by a series of other detailed body measurements and performance data.
The trainers then gave their final evaluation of Wang Chong's physical data.
"Possesses top static talent and first-rate dynamic talent."
Wang Chong was quite satisfied with the results of these tests.
Putting his static talent aside, in terms of dynamic talent alone, he was far ahead of Kevin Durant from the same period.
After all, when Durant participated in the draft, his athletic ability had not reached its current level, particularly in explosiveness and strength.
Durant's physical examination data when he entered the draft included a 100-meter run time of 12.33 seconds and a standing vertical jump of only 66 centimeters—results that were quite average, if not mediocre.
But Wang Chong was different. Although he weighed nearly 6 kilograms more than Durant, his body fat percentage hadn't decreased, and his explosive power was even better. This had boosted his 100-meter sprint speed to 11.6 seconds, along with an improved jumping ability.
Such dynamic talent was already at an excellent level, especially considering Wang Chong's height of 2.09 meters and weight of 105 kilograms, which naturally garnered high praise.
However, it all depends on who you're comparing him to.
Among the rookies of the same class, Wade ran 100 meters in 10.56 seconds, with a standing vertical jump of 80 centimeters and a running vertical jump of 89 centimeters.
Even Carmelo Anthony, who wasn't known for his dynamic talent, clocked in at 11.4 seconds for 100 meters, with a standing jump of 77 centimeters and a running jump of 85 centimeters.
LeBron James, who would become the No. 1 pick in the 2003 draft, had even more impressive dynamic talent than Wade.
Unlike other players who needed to enhance their draft stock through joint tryouts, James did not participate in these trials at all. Both he and his management team were set on securing the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Such confidence was indeed rare in the history of the league's drafts.
After Wang Chong's physical examination report was compiled by the tryout staff, it was submitted to the league and registered on the relevant website for teams and media to access.
Wang Chong's name quickly caught the attention of many people.
Many still remembered the player who locked down Carmelo Anthony in the NCAA finals, but they did not expect that Wang Chong, still just a freshman, would declare for the draft this year.
When they saw the details of Wang Chong's physical report, they were stunned.
"This static talent is top-notch! It's comparable to Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan! And his dynamic talent isn't bad either. How did such an outstanding potential player go unnoticed in high school?"
"Just based on his talent, he's definitely a first-round pick! And with his track record of defending Carmelo Anthony in the finals, I'm sure a lot of teams will be interested in him, right?"
They were absolutely right.
When word got out that Wang Chong would be entering the 2003 draft, several teams immediately started keeping an eye on him.
A seven-footer with strong defensive skills and a precise mid-range shot? Isn't that a combination of Garnett and Nowitzki?
But when they dug deeper into Wang Chong's profile, they were a bit dumbfounded.
Because when Wang Chong submitted his information for the draft, he listed his position as SF (small forward).
This guy is a small forward? The same position as Anthony?
All the scouts and team management personnel who had watched Marquette University's games were stunned.
If Wang Chong's position was truly small forward, that changed everything.
A shooting small forward with a height comparable to an inside center... Assuming Wang Chong possessed the necessary skills and dribbling abilities for a small forward, what would that mean?
I thought you were Garnett or Nowitzki, but you turned out to be Larry Bird?
End of this chapter
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