NBA: Basketball Legend.

Chapter 16: The Top Pick Becomes His Spot-Up Shooter?

"Fxxkkkkkkk! How the hell am I supposed to guard this guy?"

Brandon Rush cursed low under his breath as he stormed down the player tunnel.

He sounded pissed—but deep down, it wasn't anger. It was frustration, straight-up helplessness.

In the Kansas locker room, head coach Bill Self was pacing furiously, his voice echoing off the walls as he tried to light a fire under his team.

"Are we really gonna let this kid drop 80 on us? In the Sweet 16? Right in front of a national crowd?"

He pointed to the corners of the room, where media cameras peeked in from behind the walls.

"Look at those cameras! Think about our fans in the stands and watching from home. We gotta step it up, now!"

Coach Self paused, breathing heavily, then admitted what everyone was already thinking.

"Alright, maybe we can't shut him down completely—but at least slow him the hell down! Don't let him go off like he did in the first half!"

"If we can just limit him a bit, we've still got a shot."

But truth be told, his words barely moved the needle.

Every Kansas player in that room knew the harsh reality: they wanted to stop Chen Yan… but none of them could.

---

Halftime ended. The second half tipped off.

The teams switched sides, and Kansas came out looking for a spark. Russell Robinson, subbing in, drove in and finished a slick layup—cutting into Texas' lead.

Then, Kansas locked down back-to-back defensive stops.

With 15:23 on the clock, the score gap had been chopped down to just 9 points.

Kansas' bench had come alive. The crowd started to rumble. Momentum was shifting.

But it didn't last.

On the next dead ball, Texas head coach Rick Barnes checked Chen Yan and Kevin Durant back into the game.

And just like that, reality hit Kansas like a brick wall.

First possession back?

Durant caught it on the wing, saw Chen Yan cutting baseline, and lobbed it up.

Chen Yan rose like a rocket—caught it mid-air—and slammed it down with authority.

BOOM!

Thunder in the Toyota Center!

On the next possession, Chen Yan curled off Durant's screen and cut hard toward the elbow. Quick stop, step-back, fadeaway jumper.

Swish.

Silky smooth.

Then, Durant showed why he was the likely #1 pick. No hesitation—caught the ball, rose up, bang. Another jumper buried in Kansas' face.

Kansas scrambled to adjust. They tried everything—trash talk, body bumps, subtle shoves to piss Chen Yan off. They ran him through screens nonstop, hoping to wear him down.

But Chen Yan? Ice cold. Didn't even blink.

Texas' lead started ballooning again. And the clock kept bleeding away.

---

On a Kansas possession, Julian Wright pulled up off a screen and fired a mid-range jumper.

Chen Yan had already read it. He slipped around the screen early, timed it perfectly, and flew in from the side to contest.

Clang!

Off the rim.

Durant was there for the board, snatched it clean, and snapped it to DJ Augustin.

DJ looked up and saw Chen Yan sprinting ahead—already a blur down the court.

He launched the outlet pass—maybe a little too far for most players.

But Chen Yan?

He hit turbo.

Full speed, caught the ball in stride, took one long step—SLAM!

One-handed dunk. No dribble needed.

The moment the basket rocked, the entire Toyota Center erupted like a bomb went off.

"SHEESH! That took less than three seconds from rebound to bucket!"

"Not one dribble! This was like a track-and-field handoff—it's beautiful basketball!"

The crowd lost it. Kansas head coach Bill Self slammed the scorer's table and called for a timeout.

They were down by nearly 20 now.

Coach Self roared in the huddle.

"We got no time left! Attack! Attack! We gotta go all-out!"

He had thrown four different defenders at Chen Yan throughout the game, and not a single one could get the job done.

Defense alone wasn't going to cut it. Chen Yan wasn't the type to sit back and wait to die. He had to strike back.

Either catch up—or get buried deeper.

He'd already made his move. No turning back now.

As soon as the timeout ended, Kansas amped up the pace and went head-to-head with Texas. They were going all-in for one last stand.

But the harder Kansas pushed, the more fired up Chen Yan got.

A fast-paced, back-and-forth game? That was his element.

First, he cut through the defense and scored an and-one. Then, coming off a clean screen, he drilled a smooth mid-range jumper.

His personal score shot up to 41 points.

Ever since the second half started, Chen Yan had been calling for pick-and-rolls a lot more.

Sure, his one-on-one game was elite, but the pick-and-roll? That's the bread and butter of efficient offense. It's what keeps your legs fresh and your stat line hot.

Even the old heads at outdoor courts—those 50, 60-year-old uncles—could hoop for hours just using screen-and-shoot.

Chen Yan wasn't a rookie. He wasn't gonna leave such an energy-saving, high-reward play on the table.

Next possession, he called another pick-and-roll. This time, he got a switch and ended up with Kansas's big man, Sasha Cowan, stuck in front of him.

Chen Yan didn't rush it. He backed up a couple of steps, dragging Cowan out beyond the arc.

For some reason, Cowan had a really bad feeling about this…

He dropped his stance, lowered his center of gravity, bracing himself.

Chen Yan did a casual dribble through the legs, followed by a quick crossover.

Simple moves. Textbook stuff for a guard. But right then, it felt like the floor just disappeared under Cowan's feet.

THUMP!

He hit the deck. Sat down right there on the hardwood.

"Wooooooah! That big white dude just got dropped!"

"And Chen barely even hit him with a fancy move!"

Fans went wild as Chen Yan blew past the fallen center and laid it in easy.

On the sidelines, Yao Ming clapped like a kid: "Nice move!"

But then he paused. That play felt way too familiar.

Wasn't that the exact move Marbury used to drop him during the 2002–03 season?

Kansas's possession.

Cowan clearly hadn't recovered from the embarrassment. He had a clean look down low, but bricked a simple hook shot.

Sometimes, it's not about your skills. It's your mindset.

Once your confidence is rattled, even the easy stuff becomes impossible.

Luckily for Kansas, Darrell Arthur was there to clean it up with a tip-in.

Two points reclaimed.

Back to Texas.

Chen Yan got another switch and squared up against Cowan again.

But this time, Cowan didn't even dare step out past the paint. He only had one pair of ankles—and he wasn't planning to sacrifice them again.

Chen Yan saw the open space. Took one step forward. Rose up.

Splash.

Another jumper. Another bucket.

Back-to-back scores.

"Chen's confidence is through the roof now," Barkley said on commentary. "When hoopers get in this kind of rhythm, man… buckets just keep coming."

"Especially when you're working with a monster athlete like Chen," Kenny Smith added.

Kansas came down again.

This time, Arthur handed it off to Chalmers, who drove into the lane and finished with a smooth layup.

Kansas's offense wasn't bad. They were putting points up.

But it felt like Texas was a bottomless pit. No matter what Kansas did, the score gap wouldn't shrink.

Why?

Because they couldn't stop Chen Yan.

Texas possession.

Chen Yan glanced at Sasha Cowan again.

Poor guy's hair practically stood up.

Not again…

Chen Yan called over Pittman for the screen.

Another switch.

Cowan found himself staring at Chen Yan again.

He was mentally done.

Bro… why me? Go bully someone else!

Just as Chen Yan was gearing up for a hat trick against Cowan, Wright came flying over to help.

Even his teammates couldn't stand watching anymore.

The double team hit fast.

Chen Yan elevated immediately—passing mid-air to the waiting Durant.

Durant was already locked and loaded at the free-throw line elbow, 45-degree angle.

Wright tried to recover, but he was way too late.

Swish!

Durant nailed it.

That was his 15th point of the game.

Two of them were from free throws. The rest? All clean jumpers off the catch—no forced shots, no iso plays.

In the past, Durant had to carry Texas like a lone wolf.

But now? With Chen Yan putting on a show, he could just chill and get his buckets.

Sometimes… lying down and winning really does feel good.

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