NBA: LeBron James wants to team up with me

"The biggest dark horse in NCAA history is born! Marquette University defeated the University of Kansas and entered the NCAA finals for the first time in history. They will compete against Syracuse University for the 2003 NCAA Championship!"

"The showdown between the twin stars! Wade + Wang Chong vs. Hinrich + Collison. The former won a decisive victory. Wade scored 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists, while Wang Chong put up 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists, defeating Hinrich's 19+5 and Collison's 15+14."

"An insider from the league revealed that several NBA teams have shown strong interest in Wade and Wang Chong and hope to send them tryout invitations after the NCAA finals."

After the semifinals, the exposure of Wade and Wang Chong skyrocketed. Unlike when they defeated the University of Kentucky in the Elite Eight, which could have been dismissed as a fluke, doing it twice showed real strength.

At this point, the audience following the NCAA games had recognized Marquette University's strength and figured out why this team, which was not outstanding in the regular NCAA season, had suddenly become so formidable.

The reason was simple and direct: the presence of Wang Chong.

As a freshman, Wang Chong had only been at Marquette University for a little over half a year. His initial performance on the school team was average and not particularly outstanding. It was mainly because of his height and wingspan that he became the starting center for Marquette University, which lacked interior height.

Not long ago, Wang Chong had a physical altercation with a teammate and was internally suspended for a month for fighting.

However, a month later, Wang Chong returned to the team like a new man. Not only did his personal skills make a significant leap, but he also developed a reliable mid-range shot. Relying on his pick-and-roll cooperation with Wade, he led Marquette all the way through the NCAA tournament, defeating both the University of Kentucky and the University of Kansas to reach the finals.

It would be strange if such a legendary rise remained unnoticed.

After the game with the University of Kansas, Wang Chong became the most-watched player on the team besides Wade. A large number of reporters and scouts visited him, and countless so-called professional agents contacted him through various means, hoping to become his representative and plan his future career.

But at this moment, Wang Chong had neither the mood nor the energy to deal with those people.

Defeating the University of Kansas and reaching the NCAA finals meant that he had completed the task assigned by the system—to help Marquette University reach the NCAA finals.

Immediately after the game ended, the system's task rewards were issued: 500 points and a random badge.

Wang Chong wasn't in a hurry to use the 500 points, but the random badge was now bound to the badge wall in his consciousness space.

However, this badge surprised him a bit.

Defensive Type Badge - Death Coil: Defenders gain quicker "stickiness" movements and are more effective when bodying up or sidestepping against the ball handler.

This is the signature skill of the famous forward defensive player Kawhi Leonard, and it is one of the most useful defensive badges in one-on-one situations.

Durant also had this defensive badge during his prime, but unlike Leonard's suffocating purple Death Coil badge, Durant's was only the lowest-level bronze.

But a badge is still a badge, and once you have it, it grants you its effects—it's just a matter of how strong the effect will be.

Even a bronze Death Coil is valuable enough to help a player with weaker defense shore up their shortcomings on the defensive end.

However, this badge wasn't exactly what Wang Chong wanted at the moment. After all, he was currently strong in offense but weak in defense. Even if he had a bronze Death Coil badge, it wouldn't instantly elevate his defensive ability to a significantly higher level.

In contrast, he hoped to obtain an offensive badge, especially a shooting badge, to further enhance his 85-rated mid-range shooting ability.

But since it was a random badge reward, there was naturally no room for choice. Wang Chong could only console himself with the thought that it was better to have it than not.

Wang Chong didn't dwell on the reward too much because the system had previously issued a continuous mission, and leading the team to the NCAA finals was only the first stage of the task.

As he completed the first phase, the second phase of the task was naturally released.

"The second phase of the continuous mission has begun. Mission requirements: win the NCAA championship and score no less than Carmelo Anthony in the game."

"Once you complete the mission, you will receive a reward of 1,000 points, a random silver badge, and a Durant-exclusive shooting action package."

Wang Chong was stunned by the generous system rewards, but what shocked him even more were the task requirements.

He had to score at least as much as Carmelo Anthony in the finals?

Did the system know what it was asking for?

That's Anthony! Although he was only a freshman, his individual talent was extraordinary. In the finals, he scored 33 points against the University of Kansas' targeted defense, breaking the NCAA freshman single-game scoring record. In his first season in the league, he averaged 21 points and 6 rebounds per game, leading the Nuggets to the playoffs.

Only LeBron James could compare with Anthony in terms of immediate impact in 2003. Even so, James was criticized for "stealing" the Rookie of the Year award from Anthony despite winning it.

As for Wade, although his rookie season performance was quite good, it wasn't on par with Anthony or James.

Of course, a few years later, Wade became the first player from the 2003 class to win a championship and Finals MVP, but that's another story.

Wang Chong had watched Anthony's game videos from his time at Syracuse University. In his view, Anthony's skill level was at least 80 or above, making him a more terrifying monster than Wade.

Was it possible for Wang Chong to score no less than Anthony in the finals?

But the problem was that the system task rewards were too tempting. When Wang Chong thought about failing the mission and losing all those rewards, it felt like he had lost millions.

"No! I have to find a way to complete this mission no matter what!"

As Wang Chong thought about this, his eyes involuntarily glanced at the Death Coil badge on the badge wall.

At that moment, Wang Chong had an idea.

"Yes! My scoring ability may not be on par with Anthony's, but is it possible to bring Anthony's scoring ability down to my level through defense in the finals?"

After all, Anthony was just a freshman. His strength and level hadn't yet reached their peak. With the help of the Death Coil badge, it wasn't impossible for Wang Chong to pull it off.

Of course, before that, Wang Chong had to use all 500 points to accelerate the template fusion and further enhance his strength.

End of this chapter

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