Speed: 79 (80)
Agility: 77 (80)
Stamina: 88 (92)
Strength: 60 (63)
Jumping: 74 (77)
Explosive Power: 79 (83).
The above attributes are the final upgraded stats after Wang Chong used all 1,000 points to accelerate the integration of his physical fitness.
As mentioned earlier, Durant's dynamic talent is quite strong, but it still falls short compared to players like LeBron James, who possess top-tier dynamic talent.
This is true, but a slight misunderstanding can lead to a significant error. As a result, Durant's peak ability stats in the physical quality category were generally not very high. Wang Chong managed to nearly max out this category with 1,000 points.
Regardless, a speed and agility rating close to 80 is a huge improvement for a player in Wang Chong's position.
Except for a few monsters like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose speed can rival that of top guards, most forwards have speed ratings around 80. This includes Carmelo Anthony, the future Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and others—whose speed levels are actually within this range.
For forwards, this speed is more than sufficient. The shortcomings can be compensated by advantages such as height, long strides, and long legs. Especially for someone like Durant, who might be a little slower in short-distance sprints, his long strides make up for it in longer distances.
With Wang Chong's dynamic talents reaching their current level, when looking at the 2003 draft class, he is probably second only to LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and a few others.
What's even more surprising is that Wang Chong originally thought the system's enhancement of physical fitness would be limited to these attributes.
However, it wasn't long before he felt something was different, as if his body had undergone a slight change. He decided to measure his height and was shocked to find he had grown by 1 centimeter. His height had reached 2.09 meters (about 6'10.5"), and his wingspan had extended to 2.26 meters (about 7'5")!
Could the system points that accelerate template growth also accelerate physical growth?
Wang Chong was truly astonished this time.
If this trend continued, wouldn't his physique become identical to Durant's sooner or later?
In fact, when Durant first entered the draft, his height wasn't as tall as it would later become. He was only about 2.06 meters tall (6'9") with a wingspan of 2.24 meters (7'4"), which was actually shorter than Wang Chong's current measurements.
However, Durant entered the league at a young age. Although he was a college student, he was only a few months older than LeBron James, who joined straight from high school. This was one reason why Durant ranked second or third in many of the youngest scoring records.
After entering the league, Durant experienced further physical development. His height shot up to over 2.10 meters (6'11"), and his wingspan reached 2.28 meters (7'6"), ultimately becoming the unstoppable "Slim Reaper" on the offensive end.
The growth in Wang Chong's height and wingspan was definitely a plus for the upcoming tryouts and draft. After all, athletic talent is divided into static and dynamic talent. Durant's dynamic talent ranks in the upper-middle tier in the league, but his static talent places him among the top in league history.
Aside from freak athletes like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert, who have even more absurd static talent, there are few players like Durant who possess both the height and wingspan of an inside player, paired with the agility and flexibility of a perimeter player.
In short, an overall rating of 75 combined with top-tier static talent is the main reason Wang Chong is almost guaranteed to be selected in the lottery of this draft, even with limited exposure!
However, Zhang Hao, who was sitting across from Wang Chong, still found it hard to digest this news.
Wang Chong was actually a small forward, even though he had always played as a center.
"Wang Chong, this isn't a joke. Positions on the basketball court aren't easily interchangeable. You can't just play any position you want. Even if you have this idea, the team's coach might not agree," Zhang Hao said seriously. "Are you sure you have the skills and strength to play as a small forward?"
Wang Chong smiled. This was a good opportunity to showcase himself to the outside world.
He didn't explain much to Zhang Hao but stood up.
"There's a street basketball court about 500 meters down this road. I'll show you my fundamental skills."
It was then that Zhang Hao understood.
Wang Chong played center at Marquette University not because he could only play that position but because he was the only one on the entire school team capable of filling that role.
The truth was, Wang Chong had very solid fundamental skills, including ball-handling, dribbling, and driving, and his mid-range shooting was exceptionally good.
Although it was a non-confrontational training session, Zhang Hao could tell from the basic skills alone that Wang Chong was fully capable of playing the small forward position, and his skills were even above the NBA average.
"There's hope! There's really hope!" Zhang Hao couldn't help but get excited.
He saw an opportunity!
If Wang Chong could land a high draft pick in the NBA this season, it would be a massive story, and Zhang Hao's status as a sports reporter back home would skyrocket as he would be the first to report on Wang Chong.
The reason Wang Chong showed his skills to Zhang Hao was precisely for this purpose.
He wanted to become well-known back in his home country as soon as possible so that more and more people could learn about him—and then, naturally, he could start making money.
As the most successful Chinese basketball player, Yao Ming's most lucrative source of income throughout his career was not his NBA salary but the endorsement deals he secured as a well-known public figure.
Wang Chong wasn't pretending to be noble by saying he played basketball purely for love or passion. He also wanted to achieve financial freedom through basketball and become wealthy.
When he first arrived, Wang Chong thought about achieving financial freedom by buying lottery tickets, investing in the stock market, or betting on sports.
However, every time Wang Chong tried hard to recall various money-making opportunities in the future, his mind went blank, as if he had lost his memory. The only things he could remember were NBA and basketball-related details.
Wang Chong didn't know what caused this, but he figured that time travel had affected his memory.
Given this situation, the easiest way he could think of to make money was to play in the NBA, build a reputation, sign a lucrative contract, and secure commercial endorsements.
Of course, this sort of thing can't be rushed and must be done step-by-step, but it's essential to plan ahead.
Planning isn't just necessary for China; it's also needed in the United States.
The NBA rookie tryouts were approaching, but before that, Wang Chong needed to handle something else: finding a reliable agent.
It's common knowledge that professional basketball players need agents. After all, a player's energy is limited. It takes tremendous effort to train hard and perform well, so the agent must handle off-court matters, including but not limited to contract negotiations with teams, signing endorsement deals, scheduling, and planning future career development.
Wang Chong was no exception. He didn't think he could manage everything just because he traveled from the future and knew a bit more.
Therefore, before officially entering the NBA, he needed to find a suitable agent.
(End of this chapter)
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