Chapter 86: O'Neal: I've Already Decided Who I'll Douse with Champagne After Winning the Championship.
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1,000 points were awarded, but Wang Chong's overall rating only increased from 84 to 87—a total improvement of just 3 points.
These 3 points of improvement in the overall rating are mainly reflected in Wang Chong's relatively lower ability values. For example, his back-to-the-basket moves, which were initially rated at 74, have been enhanced to 79; his back-to-the-basket jump shots have been improved from 72 to 78; his foul-drawing ability has increased from 75 to 82; his ball-handling has risen from 81 to 87; and his passing ability has gone up from 69 to 78.
For Wang Chong's higher abilities, such as close-range shooting, three-point shooting, and layups, there has been only a one- or two-point improvement.
Wang Chong's highest ability value, mid-range shooting, also improved slightly, moving from 94 to 95.
While these improvements may seem minor, Wang Chong understands that as his base abilities get better, each subsequent level becomes increasingly challenging to achieve.
A 3-point improvement in the overall ability score is already quite good. In today's league, an 87 ability score ranks at least in the top 30, if not the top 25.
If Wang Chong manages to complete another task set by the system during the upcoming All-Star Weekend—winning the Rookie Challenge MVP—and receives another 1,000-point reward, it is highly likely his overall rating will reach the 90 mark.
Just imagine what the playoffs would look like with Wang Chong, whose overall rating is approaching 90. Even if the conflicts between Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant intensify, it's almost impossible for them to lose to the Detroit Pistons in the finals!
Wang Chong could win the championship in his first season after joining the league. His start wouldn't be much worse than Magic Johnson's. The only question is whether he would have the chance to win the Finals MVP in his rookie season, just like Magic Johnson did.
This possibility isn't particularly high. Even for Magic Johnson, there were still some debates about his FMVP in his rookie season.
The widely known story is that in the 1980 NBA Finals, the Lakers played against the Philadelphia 76ers until Game 6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar suffered an injury, and Magic Johnson unexpectedly took over the center position. He exploded in that game, scoring 42 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists, leading the Lakers to win the game and defeat Philadelphia 4-2 to claim the championship.
While it's true that Magic Johnson was incredibly dominant in Game 6, it doesn't hide the fact that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the stronger player in the first five games.
In those five games, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged 33.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 4.6 blocks per game, playing at a peak Shaquille O'Neal level. It was because of his dominance that the Lakers reached Game 6 with a 3-2 advantage and a chance to close the series.
In those games, Johnson averaged 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists—impressive numbers, but clearly not on par with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
You could say Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the MVP for five games, while Magic Johnson was the MVP for one. Yet, the final FMVP was awarded to Magic Johnson. Although it's more justified than Andre Iguodala's FMVP years later, given Johnson's explosive Game 6 performance, it's also undeniable that the league wanted to push him forward.
At the time, the NBA was in an awkward situation, with declining viewership numbers and an urgent need for a star to save the league.
It was in this context that Magic Johnson was thrust into the spotlight, beginning his illustrious career.
The biggest difference between Wang Chong and Magic Johnson is that while the Lakers have Shaq, a player nearing the end of his career like Kareem, they also have a rising young star in Kobe, who is just 25 years old and hugely popular.
In this scenario, it would be incredibly challenging for Wang Chong to win an FMVP with both Shaq and Kobe on the team.
However, it's too early to think about these things now. There's no need for Wang Chong to compare himself to Magic Johnson. His primary goal now is to firmly establish himself in the league, complete the tasks issued by the system as much as possible, and speed up the integration of his growth templates.
Wang Chong is confident that even though he is bound to Durant's growth template, his future development won't be limited to Durant. After all, he has the system as his cheat. When his template fusion progress reaches 100%, there will definitely be other ways to help him break through the limits of Durant's template and reach even higher levels.
"Super rookie scores 45 points in a single game, leads the Lakers to a comeback win over the Mavericks!"
"45 vs. 33: Mavericks' star Nowitzki loses the scoring duel to a first-year rookie. Is this Dallas leader truly worthy of being the team's tactical core?"
"Wang Chong has already entered the discussion as the strongest rookie of the 2003 class. He outperformed James and Anthony on the court and single-handedly scored 45 points to save his team. He proved through his performance that his slightly inferior regular-season stats compared to James and Anthony are not due to a lack of ability, but simply because he plays on a strong Lakers team that affects his individual numbers!"
After the game against the Mavericks, Wang Chong's already high profile in the media rose even further, completely overshadowing James and Anthony.
After all, in the games where both Shaq and Kobe were absent, Wang Chong's performance was impeccable. Except for the game against the Grizzlies where he faced Pau Gasol, he played at a superstar level in other games, especially in the game against the Mavericks where he scored 45 points—truly a legendary performance!
Shaquille O'Neal even made a very high-profile statement when he was interviewed by the media after the game.
"I'm ready to celebrate with champagne in the locker room after the Finals. Now we have Kobe, Karl, and Gary, plus Wang—there's absolutely no reason we should fail! Brother, I'll be back soon so you won't have to fight alone anymore!"
As O'Neal promised, in the next game, he made his return to the court after being out for over half a month due to injury. In two days, Kobe would also be back. The Lakers had already passed through the toughest part of their schedule.
On January 24, the Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz 93-86 on the road.
In his first game back from injury, O'Neal scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on 12 of 19 shooting, announcing the full return of the Big Diesel.
Wang Chong, meanwhile, made 8 of 15 shots and went 6 for 6 from the free-throw line, scoring 22 points and 4 rebounds, continuing his efficient and consistent performance.
After his ability rating reached 87, Wang Chong seemed even more comfortable on the court. Although his shooting didn't improve significantly, the enhancement in his dribbling, passing, and foul-drawing abilities greatly improved his offense with the ball and his ability to draw fouls in the paint.
Early in his career, Durant was known for drawing fouls. By his third season, he was averaging over 10 free throws per game, and his career average of 7.7 free throws per game is comparable to James and Kobe.
Wang Chong's foul-drawing ability has increased to 82, which is already a respectable level. Of course, it still falls short of Durant's growth ceiling of 96.
End of this chapter
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