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Chapter 40: Future prospects
🕑 Added 2025-04-26 09:46:33 +0000 UTCThe showdown between Davidson Wildcats and Oklahoma Sooners was over.
Mission complete
Lin Yi walked off with a new reward from the system.
"Congrats! You've unlocked the system-exclusive NIKE ZOOM KOBE 3."
"Bounce Talent permanently +1"
Just like that, a brand-new pair of Kobes—identical to the ones on his feet—appeared on his system screen in front of him for withdrawal.
"Wait, permanent +1 to bounce?" Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. He wasn't totally sure what a single point of talent really meant in the grand scheme of things, but lately, no matter how hard he trained, his vertical just wouldn't budge.
So this was a free upgrade. A literal bounce boost.
There's only so far you can push your body without talent. At some point, hard work alone hits a wall. Just look at guys like Zach LaVine—dude's flying through the air. Although he trained hard but his talent for the vertical definitely helped him.
And for the Oklahoma-Davidson game? It aired live across the U.S.
If anyone still had doubts about ESPN's mock draft predictions, Lin Yi's performance in this game blew those doubts out of the water. Fans? Hyped. NBA scouts? Suddenly paying very close attention.
With Javier Stanford's detailed scouting report making the rounds, more and more people were starting to believe Lin Yi might sneak into the top five picks...
Of course, some haters showed up too, bringing up names like Darko Miličić from the 2003 draft. You know, the Serbian kid with the flashy skills who went third overall but flamed out fast. Athletic? Check. Talented? Sure. But when it came down to it, he just couldn't back it up in the league.
The thing is, potential doesn't mean much if you can't turn it into actual performance.
So yeah, it made sense that some folks were skeptical about Lin Yi. There's never really been a player like him in the NBA before.
But Javier Stanford clapped back hard on social media:
"First of all, Darko never proved himself in the NCAA. Second—what more do you want from Lin? The guy is consistently dropping jaws out there! Some American prospects have one or two good games and people start calling them future No. 1 picks. Meanwhile, Lin's been doing this over and over. Let's be fair here."
He even compared Lin to Hasheem Thabeet—another towering shot-blocker from the 2009 class. Both had crazy wingspans, both dominated on D, but that's where the similarities ended.
Thabeet? Great defender but super raw on offense.
Lin Yi? Dude had the whole package—shooting, handles, footwork, finishing. He was a two-way monster.
Thabeet, somewhere: "Yo, why am I catching strays?"
Javier even posted a side-by-side photo: Lin at the start of his NCAA career versus now. The transformation was insane—he'd bulked up, filled out, looked like a legit pro already.
The public? Starting to buy in.
Let's be real: the draft is always a gamble. Detroit gambled and lost with Darko—though to be fair, the guy got stuck with Larry Brown, who hated playing rookies.
Kevin Durant's success proved that tall, skilled wings could dominate. Lin? Taller than KD, just as smooth, and surprisingly quick for his size. At the top of the key, there were hardly any defenders who could lock him up.
Even against Blake Griffin, who was practically the consensus No. 1, Lin held his own—and that wasn't lost on scouts.
Oh, and the dude's only 19. Still growing.
So... why not take a chance on him?
As of now, Lin Yi and Stephen Curry had climbed to No. 4 and No. 3 respectively in the new ESPN Draft and DraftExpress rankings.
Curry at No. 3 made sense. The 2009 guard class had talent—Ty Lawson, Darren Collison, Jrue Holiday, Brandon Jennings, Jonny Flynn—but each had their knocks. Lawson and Collison were short, Jennings was an overseas mystery box, Jrue was solid but didn't "wow" anyone, and Flynn? Athletic but raw.
Curry's rise? Some of that was thanks to Lin Yi.
The Davidson Wildcats were rolling, second only to North Carolina in win streaks. Even though they were in different conferences, both teams were dominating. And with Lin Yi in the mix, Curry was playing smarter, more efficient ball.
It didn't hurt that Curry had reinvented himself this season, showing off legit playmaking chops.
It was no surprise Lin's presence elevated Curry's stock. Honestly, Curry might've gone higher if he didn't refuse workouts for teams outside of New York. That's the only reason he might've slid to Golden State at No. 7.
Meanwhile, Ricky Rubio—the Euro prodigy—still hadn't declared. His messy contract situation with Barcelona was a huge red flag. Not being able to come over right away? Big value drop.
As for Lin Yi, even he was surprised to be ranked fourth. But hey, playing in the same conference as Blake Griffin? Huge exposure.
Top 4 status meant something. Unless a team made a major move, he was now in "franchise cornerstone" territory. And if a team that really liked him landed the No. 1 pick?
All bets were off.
One thing Lin found weird though: the way NBA teams were playing lately felt... off. It was like everyone was trying to lose.
The Thunder, for instance—between KD and Westbrook putting up video game numbers, they were tanking hard.
The Warriors had Monta Ellis and Don Nelson, but Nelson was just letting Monta chuck up shots like a madman.
Same deal in the East. Everyone had their eyes on one or two guys in this class.
If the draft order shifts too much, Lin Yi had no idea how things would shake out.
People should've been focused on the Celtics-Lakers rivalry. But now? Everyone was equally watching the draft board—and that meant chaos was coming.
