The Road to Stardom: Start as a Slam Dunk Master.

Chapter 32 The man
----beep!beep!beep!

The final whistle gradually became clearer, and the huge numbers on the electronic scoreboard were fixed.

Serbia 105: Dragon Kingdom 64
A huge score difference of 41 points, this is the top four competition for the U2027 Men's Basketball World Cup to be held in Berlin, Germany in 19.

"Hahaha, this is just a warm-up, I must work hard to kill Spain in the end!"

“Long live Serbia!”

The scene was extremely noisy.

But the cheers from the audience seemed far away from him, so far away that even though the sound shook the floor of the arena, he could still clearly hear his heavy breathing and even his heartbeat.

huh... huh... huh...

28 points, 1 assist, 8 turnovers. Facing Serbia's zone defense and high post pressure, the basketball skills he has always relied on completely lost their due level.

The heroic words he made when he encouraged his teammates last night, and the confident assurances he made in front of the coach all seemed to have turned into a joke at this moment.

In a one-on-one challenge, he doesn't fear anyone from Serbia.

But when the five Serbian players stood together, he felt that it was like the Buddha's five-fingered mountain. No matter how hard he tried to attack like a monkey jumping up and down, he would not be able to escape at all.

Everyone in the stands looked as if they were taking it for granted.

Yes, is there anything surprising about the Dragon Kingdom losing to Serbia by 40 points?
U19 is different from the U17 youth basketball that emphasizes individual abilities. Being able to break into the top 19 in the U8 World Cup, which truly represents international standards, is already the luck of the group for Long Guo.

His so-called future Jordan of the Dragon Kingdom is only 'at the level of the Dragon Kingdom' after all.

The halo of genius is just a background worth mentioning here, and no one cares about it at all.

A crushing defeat.

Just like that, I have been dreaming of being able to easily enter the Blue Stars' highest basketball hall, and leave my name in the NBA Hall of Fame like the legendary superstar of the Dragon Kingdom?
What an arrogant and foolish person!
Lin Dong's eyes finally dimmed.

He saw that the four main players who had played with him from U17 to U19 all looked frustrated and stood in the field with their heads lowered.

The substitutes on the sidelines stood there with towels, looking a little at a loss. The head coach, who had led him in the National Youth League for two years and had always been the backbone of the team, also had a sad expression at this time.

It turns out that I am not omnipotent.

It turns out that there are times when I feel hopeless and powerless.

The Dragon Country basketball dream and NBA dream buried deep in my heart were shattered at this moment like a mirror in the mirror.

He suddenly felt a little confused and scared, as if he was falling into a bottomless abyss and didn't know how to face it.

Until a voice rang in his ear.

"Hey, boy from the Dragon Country, are you desperate now?" He was a tall old German man with a head full of blond curly hair and thick cheeks like a lion. He smiled very gently.

He came over and smiled, taking Lin Dong's hand and pulling him up from the ground.

Lin Dong was stunned.

This man is...

The man was a special guest at the game and sat on the sidelines watching the whole thing.

Those eyes that gradually became desperate and empty after being blocked by Serbia made the man seem to feel the same way at that moment.

So the man walked onto the court and pulled him up from the ground.

"I have experienced a thousand times your abyss and despair on the court, and ten thousand times your hatred and doubts about your own incompetence."

"Either give up or persevere. I chose the latter, so I became the best version of myself."

The man smiled and patted Lin Dong's shoulder: "I think you can do it too."

Lin Dong's rapid heartbeat slowly became calmer.

...He knows this man’s past, or in other words, everyone who really likes basketball should know it!

Lin Dong's heavy breathing began to become steady, and the buzzing in his ears seemed to gradually disappear. ...This man is not exaggerating. Compared with the difficulties he has encountered before, his failure and this little despair are less than one thousandth of what he has experienced!

The deafening cheers in the arena finally filled Lin Dong's ears again. His hearing seemed to have recovered, but the noise no longer seemed so harsh.

"Thank you!" he said to the man, and finally straightened his back again.

No one’s path to pursuing their dreams is smooth sailing.

So from that day on, he began to train himself even more crazily.

He hung posters of that man when he was young on the wall of his bedroom. Whenever he was in pain, whenever he was tired, whenever he felt desperate again, he would look at those posters and recall what the man said to him. That sentence.

It wasn't until half a year later that he finally regained his confidence and stood up, leading the team to defeat the NCAA's Florida Cougars in the United States and getting an invitation from Old K...

And that man's name.

His name is Dirk Nowitzki!

........................

"Brother Gao Ren? Brother Gao Ren?"

"...I know you said that for my own good...Okay, okay, I didn't say anything to you, we are still friends..." Sakuragi Hanamichi sounded a little apologetic.

"I take back what I just said, don't act like we can't afford to lose..." Miyagi Ryota pouted.

"Ahem...Okay, it's really just a game. It's my own fault that I couldn't get into college."

"Brother Takato? Didn't you faint?" Mito Yohei seemed to have walked in front of him and waved his hand carefully in front of Lin Dong's eyes.

The chattering voices awakened Lin Dong from his memories.

His vision became clear again, and the fog in the hot spring seemed to disperse a lot.

The anger on the faces of the guys opposite, Miyagi Ryota and Mitsui Hisashi seemed to have dissipated, while the Sakuragi Legion members had expressions of concern.

"I'm fine." He smiled and said to Mito Yohei, "I just got distracted thinking about some past events."

With that said, Lin Dong climbed into the bathtub with his arms and pulled the bath towel around it on the side of the pool.

"...I have experienced a thousand times your abyss and despair on the court, and ten thousand times your hatred and doubts about your own incompetence."

While doing his own thing in an orderly manner, he spoke calmly, as if talking to himself.

"Either give up or persevere. I chose the latter, so I became a better myself."

This sentence that encouraged him to step out of the shadows and influenced his life was ultimately changed by him.

After all, no matter in his past life or in this life, he is far from reaching the height of that man. He is still desperately trying to catch up, and he is not qualified to call himself the "best".

Once you have learned it, teach it to others.

This is a spiritual inheritance from that man, regardless of national boundaries.

"This is what a senior on the court told me, and now, I give it to you."

Lin Dong turned around and smiled at Sakuragi Hanamichi: "Because I think you can do it too."

"...Brother Takato." Sakuragi Hanamichi's expression looked a little dazed.

"See you in the winter trials."

Lin Dong waved his hand, turned around and walked out of the bathing place.

"If I'm still in Japan then."

　Mornings in Los Angeles aren't the only inspirational stories.

　　Tribute to the driver, an inspirational legend
　　
　
(End of this chapter)