Capítulo 94: Chapter 94: Attitude Towards Competition
"I know they are not as good as NBA players," Wade Dong said.
Deng Hua sat next to Wade Dong and said, "But if we can make it to the semifinals this year, it will be considered a success."
"Just the semifinals and you're satisfied?" Wade Dong glanced at Deng Hua. If that was the case, he might as well not join the national team.
Deng Hua pursed his lips and didn't say anything. Wade Dong either didn't understand basketball or his teammates. The whole country expected them to make it to the quarterfinals. If they made it to the semifinals, that would already be a perfect score.
After watching a team scrimmage, Wade Dong roughly divided his teammates into three tiers.
First tier: Yi Nan, Wang Xin, Guo Qi.
Second tier: Wang Dapeng, Zhu Gui, Ding Hui, Chen Jiang.
Third tier: The rest...
Basically, without Wade Dong, the Olympic team would consist of the first and second tiers, rotating these seven players.
In the 40-minute scrimmage, Guo Qi scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, leading in both categories, which made him quite proud.
However, what bothered Wade Dong the most was Guo Qi. Guo Qi had a lot of talent; with some strength training, he could even start in the NBA. But Guo Qi was always joking around on the court, and it was this attitude that bothered Wade Dong. This was not the right attitude for competition.
A true basketball lover should have the desire to win as soon as they step onto the court, even in a simple team scrimmage.
"Brother Wade, how about a one-on-one?" Guo Qi played with the basketball, looking at Wade Dong with a teasing expression.
Deng Hua frowned and said, "Guo Qi, watch your attitude!"
"Sure!"
To Deng Hua's surprise, Wade Dong stood up from the coaching bench and walked onto the court.
In fact, Guo Qi's attitude had long been a concern for the team veterans, Wang Xin and Yi Nan. But Guo Qi never listened to them, and he was indeed talented.
Now, openly challenging Wade Dong, Wang Xin and Yi Nan exchanged glances, both crossing their arms and watching the show. It was a good opportunity for Wade Dong to teach this arrogant kid a lesson.
"Aren't you going to change your shoes?" Guo Qi looked at Wade Dong sideways.
Wade Dong was still wearing the clothes he had on when he got off the plane—jeans, a white shirt, and white sneakers.
"Let's play," Wade Dong said expressionlessly. "I don't need to change my shoes to beat you."
"So arrogant!" Guo Qi threw the ball hard at Wade Dong. "Let me see the skills of the Finals MVP!"
Guo Qi's throw was forceful, but Wade Dong easily caught the ball with one hand and tossed it back to Guo Qi.
Guo Qi caught the ball, dribbled a couple of times, and then took a big step towards the basket, intending to use his height advantage to overpower Wade Dong!
Wade Dong actively sought the confrontation. As Guo Qi rushed to the basket and was about to jump for a dunk, Wade Dong caught up, jumped, and grabbed the ball from Guo Qi's hands.
"Slam!"
Guo Qi lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"Foul!" Guo Qi got up and shouted angrily.
However, the teammates were stunned by the scene. Guo Qi was a main player on the national team, and Wade Dong had snatched the ball from his hands in mid-air.
This was even more impressive than a block!
And Wade Dong was wearing casual clothes—jeans and a shirt—which made the visual impact even stronger.
But if it was a foul, Wade Dong's move was not a foul. At most, it was a contested ball, but in a one-on-one, there was no such thing as a contested ball, so the ball belonged to Wade Dong.
"How many points are we playing to?" Wade Dong asked as he dribbled the ball.
Guo Qi's face was red with anger as he said, "International standard, 11 points."
Wade Dong asked again, "Do we change possession after each basket?"
"No!" Guo Qi said provocatively, "Why are you talking so much?"
"Heh..." Wade Dong sneered and dribbled straight to the paint.
Seeing Guo Qi stick close to him, Wade Dong leaned into Guo Qi.
"Boom!"
Guo Qi was instantly knocked away by Wade Dong. The difference in their strength was too great.
After knocking Guo Qi away, Wade Dong easily scored a layup.
Guo Qi shouted angrily again, "Charging!"
The teammates remained silent. Everyone knew it was a legal contact, and Guo Qi was knocked away because of the huge strength difference between him and Wade Dong.
"Let me show you the difference between you and the Finals MVP," Wade Dong said with a faint smile. "Next, I will shoot three three-pointers."
Telling Guo Qi his scoring method was Wade Dong's arrogance. You know how I'm going to attack, but you can't stop me.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
Wade Dong made three consecutive three-pointers, all of them swishing through the net.
Guo Qi tried his best to defend, but the gap between him and Wade Dong was too great. Even a simple step-back move by Wade Dong was too much for Guo Qi to handle, so these three three-pointers were effortless for Wade Dong.
11:0! Wade Dong easily won the one-on-one against Guo Qi.
[Talent Point +5...]
Wade Dong heard the system's voice in his mind. This was an unexpected gain. He thought a one-on-one would only give him 1 talent point, but it turned out that actively seeking a one-on-one could give him 5 talent points.
Guo Qi also fell silent...
His basketball career had been too smooth. With his height and talent, he had always been considered a basketball prodigy and had rarely encountered opponents. This had led to his arrogant attitude.
Today, he finally understood what it meant to have a higher power.
Wade Dong picked up the basketball and said to Guo Qi, "Today, I'm not telling you how bad you are. I just want to tell you that your attitude towards basketball is more important than your talent."
"In the previous scrimmage, the veterans treated it like a real game, fighting for every ball, but you were just joking around."
"After the game, you were proud of scoring twenty-something points and grabbing ten-something rebounds, thinking you were amazing."
Wade Dong continued, "But do you know how many times you were out of position on defense, allowing the opponents to score points they shouldn't have?"
"With your attitude, in a real game, you might even pass the ball to the opponent when making an inbound pass. Do you believe that?"
After saying this, Wade Dong didn't say anything more. Any more would be too much.
Guo Qi lowered his head and said, "Brother Wade, I was wrong!"
"On the court, attitude is always more important than talent," Wade Dong said, seeing that Guo Qi's attitude in admitting his mistake was good. He added, "Today, the Suns won the championship. Everyone was focusing on how many points I scored in the playoffs, but the real reason the team won was not me, but my teammates who fought for every ball. If they all had your attitude, we would have been swept by the Spurs in the first round."
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