After the Rising Stars Game, Jay Sun approached Andrew Wiggins and exchanged phone numbers. You never know — maybe one day, he really could lure Wiggins over as his second option.
After dealing with the media, Jay couldn't wait to get back to his hotel.
Moments before, his system had sent a notification: the Wade card fusion was complete, and it was time for the next draw!
Jay hurriedly showered, dried off, and sat cross-legged on the bed, eagerly entering the system interface.
"Host's Dwyane Wade template card fusion complete. Would you like to draw a new card?"
"Yes!"
"Drawing new card… Beep—"
"Congratulations, host. You have drawn a late-career star: John Stockton."
"What?! Stockton?! That old monster!" Jay couldn't contain his excitement and shouted out loud.
John Stockton — the NBA's all-time assist leader, with a career total of 15,806 assists.
In his final full season (2002-03), at age 41, Stockton played all 82 games, averaging 27 minutes per game.
His stat line?
10.8 points, 7.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game.
And he wasn't just filling out the box score. His 7.7 assists ranked fifth in the league that season. His 1.7 steals ranked eleventh.
Even his advanced stats were elite. His assist rate was a league-best 46.4%, and his offensive plus-minus ranked fifteenth.
Jay's breathing quickened with excitement.
"System! Open my attribute panel! I'm ready to fly!"
Host: Jay Sun
Layup: 80 (88)
Dunk: 60
Three-Point: 80
Mid-Range: 78 (85)
Ball Handling: 77 (90)
Passing: 73 (95)
Perimeter Defense: 80 (85)
Steals: 70 (83)
Blocks: 40
Rebounding: 50
Interior Defense: 40
Height: 6'5" (196 cm)
Wingspan: 6'9" (207 cm)
Dynamic Athleticism: B+
New Badges
Dime Dropper (Silver): Boosts a teammate's shooting accuracy when passing to an open shooter.
Pick & Roll Maestro (Silver): Increases pass accuracy and shooting consistency after initiating a pick-and-roll.
Pickpocket (Silver): Improves the chances of stealing the ball while reducing foul frequency.
Pick Dodger (Silver): Increases the success rate of navigating around screens.
Clamps (Silver): Enhances the effectiveness of bodying up opponents and contesting shots.
Ball Handler (Silver): Reduces stamina consumption during dribble moves and decreases the risk of being stripped.
Needle Threader (Bronze): Increases the success rate of threading passes through tight spaces.
Stop & Pop (Bronze): Boosts shooting consistency when stopping and shooting after dribbling.
Defensive Anchor (Bronze): Reduces the shooting percentage of opponents being guarded.
Badge Upgrades
The system chimed:
"Duplicate badges detected. Upgrading existing badges."
Pickpocket (Gold): Significantly boosts the chances of stealing the ball while reducing fouls.
Pick Dodger (Silver One-Star): Further increases the success rate of avoiding screens.
Clamps (Silver One-Star): Increases the effectiveness of bodying up opponents and contesting shots.
Defensive Anchor (Silver): Reduces the shooting percentage of opponents.
Jay's eyes gleamed at the sight of his ever-growing collection of badges. Even his height and wingspan had increased slightly.
"Wait a second, system. Why is my passing attribute so high? Stockton was amazing, but he was already in his late career. How is it still this high?" Jay asked.
"Host, this is due to the system's overlap algorithm — you can think of it as compatibility."
"Compatibility?"
"Yes. Before fusing a template card, the system analyzes the host's existing skill set.
If the host's skills overlap significantly with the template card, the improvements will be smaller. If there's little overlap, the boost will be greater.
For example, in passing: Some players are excellent passers due to their vision, others due to technique, and still others due to creativity.
The more unique the attribute compared to the host's existing skills, the more noticeable the improvement. However, if the host's baseline skill is too low, it may limit the boost."
Jay nodded in understanding. "So it's like having two painters — one excels at traditional Chinese painting, the other at oil painting.
If I fuse both of them, I'll become proficient in both styles. But if I'm already good at oil painting, fusing with another oil painter won't give me as much of a boost."
"Correct."
Jay grinned. The more cards he fused, the more complete his game would become. His weaknesses would gradually disappear, leaving him as a well-rounded player.
Will I ever be as dominant as Jordan? Jay wondered. Maybe not. But one thing's for sure: There won't be any glaring holes in my game.
He glanced over his badge list, organizing his thoughts:
Offensive Badges:
Slasher (Silver)
Catch and Shoot (Silver)
Corner Specialist (Silver)
Dime Dropper (Silver)
Pick & Roll Maestro (Silver)
Ball Handler (Silver)
Relentless Finisher (Bronze)
Acrobat (Bronze)
Needle Threader (Bronze)
Stop & Pop (Bronze)
Defensive Badges:
Pickpocket (Gold)
Clamps (Silver One-Star)
Pick Dodger (Silver One-Star)
Defensive Anchor (Silver)
His offensive badges far outnumbered his defensive ones, but the defensive badges were of higher quality.
Looking at the bronze badges, Jay felt a twinge of impatience. He wanted to hit the gym immediately and start training to upgrade them.
Meanwhile, All-Star Weekend continued.
On February 15, Jay attended the Skills Challenge at Barclays Center. He paid particular attention to the Three-Point Contest and the Dunk Contest.
What intrigued him most was the presence of Zach LaVine in the Dunk Contest.
The four participants were:
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
Victor Oladipo (Magic)
Zach LaVine (Timberwolves)
Mason Plumlee (Nets)
Plumlee's first dunk, assisted by Kyrie Irving, took three tries to complete. He scored 40 points.
Giannis missed all three of his dunks, scoring only 30 points.
Oladipo wowed the crowd with a perfect 360 dunk, earning 50 points.
Then LaVine stepped up.
His first dunk? A between-the-legs reverse jam that brought the house down — a perfect 50.
Although this wasn't the iconic showdown with Aaron Gordon, LaVine still dominated the event and won the Dunk Contest.
Jay left feeling a bit underwhelmed. Guess I'll have to wait for that epic LaVine-Gordon battle to see something truly legendary.
On February 16, the All-Star Game took place at Madison Square Garden.
Jay didn't even bother attending. These exhibition games are just for the fans, he thought. It's got nothing to do with me.
As soon as the All-Star festivities ended, Jay returned to Cleveland and resumed his intense training.
The Cavs' next game wouldn't be until February 21.
For Jay, rest days didn't exist. With a new card in hand, he couldn't sleep — he needed to get back on the court.
So, while his teammates rested, Jay spent his time grinding away, preparing for what lay ahead.