Volume 1: A rookie who breaks into the basketball world Chapter 3 Big upset
If Anthony goes to the Pistons, he will definitely have to consider more before doing anything, and he also has to consider the actual situation in order to become bigger and stronger.
But if he goes to the Nuggets, then he will immediately be the boss.
Thinking of this, Anthony felt like it was a blessing in disguise.
He is very confident in himself.
There is already a way. Anthony was a little cautious at first, but now the boss's aura is spreading. He complained to Liu Xiu: "Jace, if you lose weight and control your body shape, you will have a greater chance of being selected!"
Liu Xiu took a look at Anthony. He was not fat now, but very thin and muscular.
Liu Xiu nodded and said, "Don't worry, one day you will become fat too."
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
“What if you do get fat?”
"If I really get fat, I'll give you..."
"You can perform a live show of washing your hair upside down, broadcast live across the United States!"
"???"
Anthony wanted to bet $100, but this guy actually came up with such a weird punishment.
Anthony wanted to refuse, but seeing Liu Xiu's eyes that said "you absolutely don't dare", he blurted out: "Let's bet!"
Before he gained weight, Anthony didn't think that he would become fat in the future, so he agreed decisively.
But after agreeing to it, Anthony felt something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what it was...
As the draft continued, Liu Xiu noticed that Anthony's emotions were rising and then he returned to the mentality of a spectator.
Liu Xiu knew that he would definitely not be selected at such a high ranking, and after the top three, his attention would not be fully focused on the stage.
He opened the system panel.
“Name: Liu Xiu, English name: Jess.
Age: 21 (February 17, 1982)
Height: 188 cm, Weight: 93 kg.
Team: Syracuse University Orangemen (withdrawn).
Achievements: 2002-2003 NCAA Basketball Championship.
Statistics: 2002-2003 season, averaging 12.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2 steals per game..."
Whether one is fat or not depends on whose eyes are looking at it.
Compared with most of the Green Room members present, Liu Xiu is definitely fat, with well-defined abdominal muscles, just like Baron Davis, who has no contours when he relaxes.
His flesh is much firmer than that of ordinary people, but you can't really say he is fat. After all, he is an athlete, and his body shape is closer to that of an ordinary person with a heavier weight. Compared with his teammates, he looks fat, which makes him more popular among the school team fans.
Liu Xiu reviewed his college performance. Although he was 21 years old and a junior, he actually only played for that year.
He officially started playing college basketball in his junior year. He had no chance to play in the opening game, but started in the middle of the season and became the team's second-leading scorer in March Madness. He averaged 15 points and 6 assists in those 6 games... This is the core reason why he is expected to be a high draft pick.
His current size, in a way, is one of the reasons why he is expected to be a high draft pick.
But turning 21 is indeed a hurdle that is difficult to overcome.
Just maybe?
So he had a ridiculously wide draft projection range from mid-first round to undrafted.
Liu Xiu didn't know which pick he would be selected in, and he was even prepared to be eliminated, setting his expectations to the lowest.
He even felt that he was able to get a mid-first-round draft pick thanks to the league selecting him into the green room.
Therefore, he chose to watch the draft with the mentality of a spectator. Even if he was not selected, or his ranking was too low to be taken seriously , at least he got to stay in the hotel provided by the league to the green room members for a few days for free, and he could also watch the draft in person, which was much better treatment than other low-ranked rookies.
"In a weak year for the draft, some team might really take a chance on me. The 2003 class is a little difficult..."
"I'm lucky to be selected. I can play in the summer league. If I'm in the first round, I'm guaranteed to be selected, so I don't have to worry too much. If I'm in the second round or I'm not selected... I'll take it one step at a time."
After Anthony, Bosh and Wade were selected fourth and fifth, respectively.
Bosh was selected by the Raptors with the fourth pick, which surprised the rookies present, but the Heat did not choose Chris Kaman!
During the tryout phase, Pat Riley praised Bosh, Kaman, and Hinrich to the hilt, calling them the next Garnett, the next Mourning, the next Stockton... People all thought that the Heat would select one of these three, with Kaman having the highest chance of being selected in the top five. In the earliest predictions, Kaman even had the possibility of being selected in the top three.
Wade, although not as well-known as Milicic in the United States, is expected to be only around the tenth pick in the draft.
However, the Pistons made a surprising move before, and Wade was selected with the fifth pick, which did not cause much waves, but was just an upset.
Then, Kaman, who thought he was going to join the Heat, was selected with the sixth pick, and Kirk Hinrich, another rookie who wanted to join the Heat, was selected by the Bulls with the seventh pick.
Liu Xiu saw Hinrich walking onto the stage and shaking hands with David Stern, and he kept staring at Wade... "No wonder he caught Wade and beat him to death when he had the chance later..."
Liu Xiu thought of the first round of the 2006-07 season playoffs in the original time and space, when the defending champions were swept and slaughtered, and Hinrich won a 5-year, 50 million contract that he should not have received given his strength.
The Bucks then took T.J. Ford with the eighth pick.
The Bucks, who failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension with Payton, will definitely choose T.J. Ford or Hinrich if they have the chance. At the beginning, the Bucks' target was not T.J. Ford, but T.J. Ford actually fell to the eighth pick, so naturally they had to take him.
The Knicks selected Georgia State's Michael Sweetney with the ninth pick.
The Wizards selected another Georgia State talent, Jarvis Hayes, with the 10th pick.
Liu Xiu has impressions of both of these two players. In the round of 16, the opponent that Syracuse University defeated was the Georgia State University Bulldogs. This team has many talented players who may enter the NBA and is stronger than Georgia Institute of Technology where Bosh is.
As the draft progressed, the remaining members of the green room who were not selected no longer cared about their pick, nor did they feel resentful about not being selected at a higher pick. They just wanted to hear their names called immediately.
They are already panicking, the problem now is that they haven't been selected yet!
Liu Xiu knew that the 2003 rookie class could be called the Platinum Generation purely because of the top few picks. The top players in this class were top-notch, but the first-rate stars and ordinary starting-level players did not necessarily have an advantage compared to ordinary draft years. It was purely supported by high-end combat power.
But at the moment, people are very optimistic about this class of rookies, and their expectations for them are a combination of the 1996th and 1997th classes. Such public opinion also makes the members of the Green Room have high expectations for themselves.
But Milicic and Wade were selected in the top five, and the Clippers and Bucks selected Kaman and T.J. Ford respectively, who they didn't think they could select. The rest of the draft was a mess, as the Knicks and Wizards simply gave up on the people they had originally planned to select and chose the two who were considered to have the best talent.
With this mess, the members of the Green Room, who originally had hopes of a higher ranking but already had their favorites, have no idea where their future lies.
More than half of the 19 members in the green room have been selected. The remaining ones are Brian Cook from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Michael Pietrus from France, Reece Gaines from the University of Louisville, Troy Bell from Boston College, Dahntay Jones from Duke University, Zhako Kabakapa from Serbia, Alexander Pavlovic from Montenegro, Travis Outlaw from Starkville High School in Mississippi, and Liu Xiu.
Including Liu Xiu, nearly half of the members of the green room who have not been selected are overseas players. In this draft, there are 5 members of the green room who have no experience in American basketball. Except for Milicic, the others have not been selected yet.
This is why Anthony couldn't even remember Milicic's name. He never cared about those competitors who had no experience in American basketball.
At the eleventh pick, the second overseas player with no American basketball experience was selected, and the Warriors selected Michael Pietrus from the French team Baoufs.
There were only two spots left in the lottery, and everyone was eagerly looking forward to David Stern's return to the stage.
This time, the name David Stern read out was Nick Collison from the University of Kansas!
This guy is not a member of the Little Green Room, but he is very famous. He represented the US team in the World Championships last year and was beaten by various European centers...
Looking at Nick Collison who came running from the candidate room after receiving the notice, the members of the green room who had not been selected yet had no time to complain and felt more and more uneasy.
Who among the rookies was not a favored child in high school or college? But when it comes to the draft, these members of the green room who have not yet been selected have already suffered their first big blow in entering society.
Now, there is only one lottery pick left!
It's not just a matter of face.
For lottery teams, except for the Pistons, which had a special case of getting the Grizzlies' unprotected draft pick this year several years ago, other lottery teams represent more opportunities .
The higher the draft pick, the weaker the team. For rookies, this is an opportunity.
Even if it is only the 13th pick, for a rookie, he has more opportunities than teams with lower picks.
Moreover, this year's 13th pick is not in the hands of the Rockets, who have won 45 games and have a basically complete starting lineup, but in the hands of the Grizzlies, who originally drew the second pick!
Compared with the Rockets' Francis, Mobley, Yao Ming and other tough guys, the Grizzlies' Gasol, Battier and others seem to be easier to bully.
The rookies selected into the green room all see themselves as future superstars.
What's wrong with being the 13th pick? He still wants to be a superstar!
Soon, a few minutes passed and David Stern returned to the stage again.
When I opened the envelope and saw the name, my hands shook. The smile that appeared on my face was not an official smile, but an unstoppable joy.
Under the expectant gazes of the members of the green room who had not yet been selected, David Stern quickly calmed down his emotional fluctuations, but his voice was obviously much louder: "Ladies and gentlemen, in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Memphis Grizzlies selected the 13th pick..."
The members of the green room who have not been selected yet are extremely focused, and many of them keep repeating their names, more nervous than any previous round.
Even Liu Xiu started to care this time... He glanced around at the few members of the green room who had not been selected yet. He really couldn't remember who was the thirteenth pick, but this pick was always very special.
David Stern's smiling mouth curled up unconsciously and continued, "... Chinese players from Syracuse University, wow!"
