As a center, Blake Su gradually set off a three-point wave across the league. He got big men, even centers, shooting from the perimeter, sped up the arrival of the "Small-ball era," and slowly began creating a "Small-ball era" of his own.
Everyone was talking about it.
Once again, Blake Su became the focus of countless fans, as well as players and coaches around the league.
Of course, that attention finally eased a day later, when All-Star Weekend officially arrived. Everyone's focus shifted to the long-awaited All-Star Weekend.
The next day.
All-Star Weekend.
For the fans, this was a weekend they had been looking forward to for a long time. For the players, it was also a weekend to relax and unwind.
Even the players taking part in the various All-Star events carried no real pressure. They had come to have fun, put on a show, and give the fans a wonderful All-Star Weekend.
Tonight featured the Celebrity Game and the Rookie Challenge.
Of course, compared with the Celebrity Game, the Rookie Challenge was the matchup fans truly wanted to see, especially since Blake Su was taking part.
The buzz was even higher.
First came the Celebrity Game.
It was held at the Lakers and Clippers' shared home court, Staples Center.
The Western Conference featured singers, former WNBA players, models, ESPN analysts, comedians, and famous figures from all walks of life.
The Eastern Conference also had TV celebrities, entertainers, columnists, and even the U.S. Secretary of Education.
In short, it was a group of celebrities from different fields who loved basketball, gathering together to put on an entertainment game for the fans. Watching it with that mindset, it was pretty enjoyable.
The ratings were excellent, too.
After several hours, the Celebrity Game ended amid a wave of applause.
The Rookie Challenge that followed was the matchup fans were truly waiting for. Before it began, there was a brilliant band performance.
Then the first-year and second-year rookies came out to warm up.
Led by Blake Su, the first-year squad, including Griffin, Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Neal, and the others, all came onto the court for warm-up drills.
Meanwhile, the second-year squad, led by Curry, had DeRozan, Jennings, Harden, Ibaka, Holiday, and the others warming up on the other half of the court.
Whether first-year or second-year players, everyone on the floor tonight represented the youngest rising force of this era. Every one of them had a very high ceiling.
Especially Blake Su.
This was the rookie who had just hit 11 threes in a single quarter, exploded for 35 points, made 14 threes for the game, broke the single-game three-point record, and poured in 68 points.
The moment he appeared, he became the brightest presence in the arena.
It was as if an invisible spotlight had fallen on him. In the stands, every fan's gaze was fixed on Blake Su and could not move away.
Of course, besides the fans, plenty of star players and celebrities had also come to watch.
For example, Durant and Russell Westbrook came to support Harden and Ibaka, while the "GDP" trio of Tim Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili also came by to enjoy the show.
There were also Steve Nash, Carter, and others.
Since everyone had been in Los Angeles for the past three days, with all the All-Star Game events being held at Staples Center, stars from everywhere were around. Some were in Los Angeles to have fun, while many others came to the arena to watch the game.
Before long, warm-ups ended.
The starters from both sides began to take the court. Curry found Blake Su, shot him a look, and snorted. "Blake Su, it's been a while since we were opponents. I'm not going easy on you tonight."
"Heh!"
Blake Su curled his lip and said disdainfully, "You? Come challenge me after you've learned how to do a windmill dunk."
"Huh?!"
"Are you looking down on my dunking ability?!"
Curry lifted his chin, clearly unconvinced. Blake Su shrugged, glanced at him, and said casually, "Stephen, have some confidence. Drop the 'are you' part."
"Damn it!"
Curry growled, glaring as if he were about to fight Blake Su.
"I am!"
Blake Su refused to back down. The two stood chest to chest, head to head, jawing at each other.
Harden stared at the scene in complete confusion, wondering what was going on. Aren't these two on the same team? How is there this much bad blood between them?!
What he did not know was that this was just Blake Su and Curry's usual bickering, both of them purely trying to grab a little attention.
The starters came on.
Rookie Class · Starting Lineup: Neal (Guard), Wall (Guard), Griffin (Forward), DeMarcus Cousins (Forward), Blake Su (Center).
Second-Year Rookies: Curry (Guard), Jennings (Guard), DeRozan (Guard), Ibaka (Forward), Taj Gibson (Forward).
"Jump ball!"
Blake Su and Gibson went up for the tip.
Neither of them took it all that seriously, but Blake Su still got to the ball first and tipped it away, winning the first possession of the game for the first-year rookies.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Wall dribbled past half court. At the top of the arc, facing Jennings, he accelerated in one step, moving like lightning as he shook off Jennings' defense in an instant.
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!"
He charged into the paint, rose high, and threw down a one-handed slam to open the Rookie Challenge.
Of course, Jennings had not defended seriously on that possession either.
On the other end, Jennings pushed the ball up, accelerated past Wall, and blew by him like thunder. Just as everyone thought he was going to answer with a dunk of his own.
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!"
Jennings tossed the ball high, and Ibaka came flying in from the other side for an alley-oop slam. In terms of spectacle, it was not the slightest bit inferior to Wall's dunk.
"Whoa!"
Two dunks to start the game sent waves of noise through the arena.
The atmosphere inside the arena surged.
First-year possession.
Wall brought the ball up and bounced a pass to Blake Su, who was cutting near the free-throw line. Blake Su accelerated from the right side into the paint, gathered the ball, and went into his three-step layup.
He could have easily finished from the right.
But Blake Su switched hands midair, pulled off a hanging layup, and flicked it in with his left hand for a flashy finish.
"Swish!"
And it went in.
"Tsk, tsk..."
DeMarcus Cousins saw it clearly and could not help clicking his tongue. "A center doing such a flashy hanging layup? That's just ridiculous!"
"Heh!"
"You only figured that out now?"
Wall smiled. "That's Blake Su. That guy's talent is just that terrifying. I didn't believe it before either, but now I choose to accept it."
...
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