Inside Marquette University's arena, Wang Chong accelerated his drive from beyond the three-point line, quickly rushing to the basket and dunking with a one-handed tomahawk slam!
Bang!
The basket creaked.
On the sidelines, Dwyane Wade and his agent, Henry Thomas, were left stunned by what they had just witnessed.
"Is this the talented center, Wang Chong, you mentioned on your team?" Thomas turned to Wade, looking unsure.
Wade: "..."
At this moment, Wade himself could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Was Wang Chong really this good? Not to mention his impressive speed and jumping ability, Wade had never seen Wang Chong display such dribbling skills before.
The reason he had asked his agent, Thomas, to come today was because Wang Chong had specifically asked him to.
Yesterday, Wang Chong had called Wade, saying he wanted to find an agent and hoped Wade could recommend someone good.
Without much thought, Wade contacted his own agent.
Henry Thomas, Wade's personal agent, signed with him after Wade's breakout season this year. His mature way of speaking and financial acumen had successfully convinced Wade.
Wang Chong was aware of Thomas as an agent, not just because of Wade, but because Thomas also represented Chris Bosh, who was in the same draft class.
Wade and Thomas had a very good relationship. When Thomas passed away in 2018, Wade skipped a game to mourn his loss. For someone as sentimental as Wade to regard Thomas this way, it showed that Thomas was indeed a trustworthy person.
For Wang Chong, selecting an agent wasn't a major issue. Regardless of an agent's skills, he could secure a top salary contract and numerous commercial endorsements through his performance on the court.
Under these circumstances, Wang Chong's priority was to find an agent who wasn't overly strong-willed and was easy to communicate with.
In this regard, the agent Wang Chong actually preferred was Bill Duffy, the representative of Yao Ming, Steve Nash, and others.
However, he had no contact information for Bill Duffy. With the NBA team tryouts fast approaching, he needed an agent to handle related matters. So, he had to settle for his second choice—Wade and Bosh's agent, Henry Thomas.
Thomas's ability as an agent was undoubtedly solid, having managed to get Wade and Bosh both drafted in the top five. Conveniently, when arranging tryouts for Wade and Bosh, he could also include Wang Chong, achieving two goals at once.
But first, Wang Chong needed to show enough value to attract Thomas's interest.
From the looks of it, Wang Chong managed to impress the agent with just one dribbling dunk.
After all, it's not every day you see a big man—estimated to be over seven feet tall—dribble and drive like a guard while boasting an extremely accurate mid-range shot. Combined with his top-tier static talent, Wang Chong was undoubtedly a rising superstar in the future NBA.
If he missed out on such a player, what kind of professional agent would Henry Thomas be?
"Don't worry, Wang! I will definitely get you into the NBA."
The signing was quickly finalized, and there wasn't much fanfare surrounding it.
Most NBA agent contracts are standardized, with agents taking a percentage of the player's salary. Thomas didn't take advantage of Wang Chong just because he was a rookie. He signed the same professional player representation contract that he had with Wade.
Thus, Wang Chong now had his own agent—and one closely tied to Wade.
Over the next day, Thomas thoroughly assessed Wang Chong's current level and gained a clear understanding of his abilities.
But this understanding only served to shock Thomas even more.
"Where did this guy come from?"
First-class athletic talent, top-tier static talent in NBA history, plus an accurate mid-range shot.
Wang Chong's current ability was almost on par with Wade's. In fact, due to his height and wingspan, his potential NBA career seemed even more promising than Wade's, who played as a shooting guard at just 1.93 meters with potential injury risks.
The more Thomas realized this, the more regret he felt.
"Wang, I sincerely suggest you play one more year in college. Just give me one year, and I can make you the best player in the United States and a strong candidate for the No. 1 pick!"
Wang Chong was still very young, and in Thomas's view, there was no need for him to rush into joining the league.
However, Wang Chong remained firm in his stance.
"Henry, I have my reasons. I must participate in the NBA draft this year and be selected in the lottery. There's no need to try to persuade me otherwise."
Compared to being a top pick, the system's rewards were far more practical.
Wang Chong clearly understood what was more important.
After that, it was a long wait.
Wang Chong's days were filled with going to school and training daily. Occasionally, he would participate in local media interviews with the school team to share their experiences of winning the NCAA Finals. His life was mundane and repetitive, but time passed quickly.
In the blink of an eye, April came to an end. With the arrival of May, the league began sending out invitations to rookies who had registered for the draft, inviting them to attend the seven-day "Rookie Combine Tryout" in Chicago from May 15th to 21st.
This is the last major event for rookie players before the draft. All NBA team management, including general managers, will be present to watch the tryouts and evaluate draft prospects.
It is said that Wade was noticed by Pat Riley, who initially came to observe Chris Kaman, during the Chicago joint tryout. He ended up being picked fifth in the first round, despite low draft expectations.
This is an opportunity that Wang Chong values highly. He must make a strong impression here to achieve his mission goal!
Wang Chong's draft application had been sent to NBA headquarters by his agent, Thomas, well in advance. As a result, he was included in the list for the joint tryouts and flew to Chicago with Wade.
End of this chapter
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