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Chapter 78: Time to party...or not
🕑 Added 2025-04-26 13:00:31 +0000 UTCOn a private jet to Hawaii...
James Harden was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Why?!
Why?!
Why the hell did I call that guy?!
Harden slumped into his seat, staring blankly at the ceiling. Damn it... This was supposed to be his big "super party" — a celebration for making it to the NBA.
He was this close to flipping the whole table over:
Harden: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Flashback, a few days ago
March Madness had just wrapped up, and Harden told his agent he wanted to disappear to Hawaii for a while. His agent didn't dare mess around — he got Harden a charter flight and even arranged a beautiful girl to join the trip.
But then... a scout, who thought he was being helpful, suggested, "Hey, maybe Harden should invite some friends too?"
At first, Harden was like, Nah, man. He had a lot of friends, sure. But this trip? This trip was about HIM.
Then he remembered something he’d said to Lin Yi a while back — “Yo, if we ever get the chance, let’s have some fun .”
Harden hesitated forever, but finally yielded and hit Lin up. So, he called Lin Yi.
Lin Yi? Instantly said yes. But then he had a bright idea:
Lin Yi: "Bro, should we call a few more people? I mean, we’re about to hit the league — good time to bond."
Harden swore to God he wanted to say no .He wanted to! But somehow, he agreed.
And that’s when all hell broke loose.
First, Lin Yi called up Stephen Curry.
Cool, whatever, Harden thought. Curry’s harmless.
But then — wait — Blake Griffin's coming too?
...Okay, maybe still manageable.
But it didn’t stop there.
Suddenly, Lin Yi was dragging along Jonny Flynn and DeMar DeRozan.
By the time Harden tried to hit the brakes, it was too late. Everyone was hyped to join.
Too. Damn. Late.
And Harden? Harden wasn’t the type to make a scene. Plus, making nice with your draft class? Smart move. Gotta think long-term.
Meanwhile...
Blake Griffin was feeling kinda weird. Lin Yi was the guy he’d been battling all through college, but when Lin invited him? He just couldn’t say no. Lin made it sound so reasonable:
Lin Yi: "We’re both big guys. Let’s train, swap tips. It could help us both."
Hard to argue with that logic.
The same thing happened with Jonny Flynn. He wasn’t even planning on going, but Lin Yi somehow talked him into it.
DeRozan? He was still salty after losing in March Madness. When Lin called, he said "screw it" and packed his bags.
Stephen Curry? The moment he heard vacation, he was hooked. Plus, Ayesha was understanding.
She just nodded, trusting him — after all, their relationship was looking good enough to get into a marriage.
Fast forward back to the flight...
Harden was lying there, lazily plotting his night. Beaches. Drinks. Babes. That’s the plan.
He wasn’t about to waste his energy playing basketball right now.
...At least, that was the plan.
Because as soon as they landed in Hawaii, Lin Yi hit them with:
Lin Yi: "Hey, we’ve got time before the fun starts. Wanna hit a gym? Play some 3v3?"
Harden's soul almost left his body.
He came here to have fun, not hoop.
But Curry was down. Griffin was cool with it. Flynn and DeRozan loved the idea.
Before Harden could even protest properly, they dragged him along.
Harden: "Are y’all INSANE?! BEACHES, GIRLS, SUN, DRINKS— and you want to hoop?!"
...
They split into teams:
Team Lin Yi: Lin Yi, Flynn, Harden.
Team Griffin: Griffin, DeRozan, Curry.
Griffin looked across the court and sighed.
The game kicked off.
First possession, Griffin made a slick dribble move past Lin Yi.
Lin Yi: "Yo, Blake, you been working on your handle?"
Griffin grinned and nodded. After those battles with the Wildcats, he knew he had to tighten up his ball skills. Lin Yi had proven that big guys who could dribble were scary as hell.
TN: And honestly? Lin Yi was kinda right. Griffin could've been a monster playmaker if the Clippers had trained him better.
Meanwhile, Harden wasn’t saying a word. He was saving every ounce of energy for the night’s real mission: partying hard.
He was just out there playing the laziest defense of his life.
Until...
Lin Yi: "Hey, wanna make it interesting? Winner gets a thousand bucks!"
Everyone else: HELL YEAH!
Harden: WHAT?! NO!!
Too bad. The majority rules. Suddenly, Harden had to actually try.
A thousand dollars?!That’s at least a few nights at the club.
Now he was locked in.
Lin Yi noticed something funny. Even with Harden trying to coast, when money was on the line, the dude defended like crazy.
"Man, if Harden actually wanted to, he could be a hell of a defender..." Lin Yi thought.
Same for DeRozan — Lin Yi realized, "Wait, DeRozan can actually shoot threes?"
If DeRozan developed a real jumper, he’d be way scarier.
Flynn and Curry? They were already locked in, going one-on-one like madmen.
Lin Yi watched and laughed.
"Feels like the whole future NBA is gonna be different at this rate..."
Griffin’s team won the 3v3.Then Lin Yi threw out another idea:
Lin Yi: "Alright, now let’s have a three-point contest and a dunk contest."
Harden wanted to scream.
But when Lin Yi pointed out, it was another chance to win back money?
Harden hesitated.
Thought real hard.
Then clenched his fists.
And stayed.
