Chapter 88: The Rookie Challenge Begins, Aiming for MVP!
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The 2004 All-Star Weekend was held in Los Angeles.
As the host city, the Lakers stars had a huge advantage in terms of exposure, fan presence, and overall attention. On All-Star Day, the arrival of any Lakers player participating in the events would trigger a wave of cheers from the large crowd of fans around them.
Even as a first-year rookie, Wang Chong was no exception. In fact, the cheers he received from fans were just as loud as those for O'Neal and Kobe. After all, in the past month, Wang Chong's performances had been spectacular, even overshadowing O'Neal and Kobe, who missed a lot of games due to injuries.
Wang Chong had certainly become very popular in Los Angeles. After all, playing for the Lakers—a top NBA team—makes a huge difference in a player's profile.
The All-Star Weekend spans three days. The first day features the Rookie Challenge, the second day is dedicated to individual events such as the Skills Challenge, Three-Point Contest, and Slam Dunk Contest, and the third day concludes with the main event: the All-Star Game.
As an appetizer for the All-Star Weekend, rookie players like Wang Chong took the stage on the first day.
This year's Rookie Challenge attracted far more attention than ever before.
After all, it was a face-off between the 2003 and 2002 rookie classes.
Though the 2003 class was considered a "platinum generation" with a wealth of top talent, the quality of the 2002 rookies was also quite high. With two top-tier inside players like Yao Ming and Stoudemire and Ginobili on the perimeter, the matchup between these two rookie classes was compelling.
For Chinese fans across the ocean, it was well worth the wait to see Yao Ming and Wang Chong face off again on the Rookie Challenge stage.
The first-year team, with Wang Chong, gathered early in their locker room.
The coach for the 2003 rookie team was Collins, a former NBA head coach and now a basketball commentator for TNT.
With NBA coaching experience, Collins was quite comfortable surrounded by a group of young players.
"Boys, in recent years, sophomores have maintained dominance over first-year rookies in the Rookie Challenge, winning most of the games. But I don't think any of you are willing to accept such a result—especially since you're the 2003 rookies with outstanding talent."
As Collins spoke, he glanced at James, Anthony, and Wang Chong one by one, studying their expressions.
He noticed that Wang Chong's face was the most focused and serious among them.
"It seems that Wang Chong is eager to showcase himself in Los Angeles during the All-Star Game," Collins thought.
But Collins had misunderstood.
Wang Chong wasn't particularly concerned with just putting on a good performance. What truly mattered to him was winning the game and securing the Rookie Challenge MVP, as it was tied to a generous system task reward!
"I will now announce the starting lineup."
Collins continued, "LeBron, Carmelo, Wang, Chris (Kaman), and Dwyane will start the game."
Upon hearing the starting lineup, Wade, standing next to Wang Chong, couldn't help but smirk.
Meanwhile, Hinrich, who was standing a bit further away, looked displeased.
Logically, if the team needed a point guard, Hinrich, as a traditional point guard, should have been the starting choice. After all, both James and Wade were more like combo guards rather than traditional point guards.
Although Hinrich wasn't far behind Wade in the draft, being a high lottery pick himself, he was initially rated higher than Wade. Before the draft, Wade was projected to be selected outside of the top ten, and it was a surprise when the Heat picked him fifth. Hinrich's selection at seventh overall was expected and well-deserved.
However, draft positions are one thing, and actual performance is another.
So far in the regular season, Wade was averaging 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, shooting 46.5% from the field—higher efficiency than James and Anthony.
On the other hand, Hinrich, as the Bulls' main point guard, was averaging 12 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists but was shooting only 38.6%, a mess on the offensive end.
Given this, Collins, with his coaching experience, clearly knew how to set the starting lineup.
Walking through the player tunnel, Wade smiled and whispered to Wang Chong.
"Wang, don't worry. You're the star today. I'll make sure to pass the ball to you often on the court!"
Selflessness and a willingness to help his teammates had always been Wade's hallmark throughout his career.
He understood the significance of performing well in Los Angeles for Wang Chong.
While Wade wasn't sure what this Rookie Challenge meant for Wang Chong, he was ready to play a supportive role for him.
Wang Chong was planning to speak to Wade before the game started to ask for his support. However, Wade brought it up before Wang Chong even had the chance.
It felt great. Wang Chong definitely needed Wade's support—being the starting guard, Wade would control at least half of the ball possessions.
To be honest, Wang Chong didn't expect James to pass the ball to him much, even though James was known for his public relations skills and always acted friendly off the court with all his competitors.
However, in his All-Star debut, James was determined to be the best player.
Wang Chong vaguely remembered that in the original Rookie Challenge, James scored 33 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, taking far more shots than Anthony and Wade. He was truly a calculating player.
In the past, Wang Chong wouldn't have cared about these minor honors when compared to James.
But not this time. If he didn't secure the Rookie Challenge MVP, he wouldn't be able to complete his system task.
So, it was crucial to have Wade's support in passing the ball.
When the players walked onto the court, the DJ was already hyping up the crowd, loudly announcing the starting five for the first-year and second-year teams to the fans.
The first-year team consisted of Wang Chong, Wade, James, Anthony, and Kaman.
On the sophomore side, the lineup featured Jason Williams, Ginobili, Boozer, Stoudemire, and Yao Ming.
In terms of star positioning and strength, the sophomores had a clear height advantage in the frontcourt.
Wang Chong was thankful that Yao Ming wouldn't play long minutes in the Rookie Challenge due to his All-Star Game commitments. Otherwise, if the two teams played a full-strength game, Yao Ming, Stoudemire, and Boozer could completely dominate the rookies' interior.
In the original Rookie Challenge, the sophomores won by leveraging their strong inside presence. Stoudemire, who won the MVP, put up 36 points and 11 rebounds, and Boozer added 25 points and 5 rebounds. On the freshmen's side, none of the big men, including Kaman and Bosh, scored in double digits.
(End of this chapter)
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