NBA: Rising Superstar!-Chapter 171 - 131: [Bounce], [Dunk] Upgrades, Shopping with Song Xue.
December passed in the blink of an eye, and the Nuggets had more wins than losses this month.
January 1, 2016, at the training gym of the Nuggets in Denver.
Others are celebrating New Year’s Day, but Zeng Xingyang is still putting in extra practice.
Zeng Xingyang finished his morning training and sat at the courtside seats, enjoying the joy of attribute improvement.
[Bounce: Level 3]
[Experience: 23/10000]
[Remark: Jump height ranges from 65CM to 87CM.]
...
[Dunk: Level 3]
[Experience: 14/2000]
[Remark: Can complete a dunk against weak defense; max level is Level 5]
Compared to Bounce Level 2, his Level 3 bounce has increased by about 5 centimeters. These 5 centimeters may not seem much, but along with experience gains in power and other attributes, it eventually led to the upgrade of his dunk attribute.
The dunk attribute is quite special; it doesn’t level up based on the number of dunks Zeng Xingyang does on the training ground, but rather through comprehensive improvement of other attributes. In games, actual dunks will give experiential gains, which are the most significant.
Zeng Xingyang constantly reviewed his various attributes and was very satisfied. Now, all his abilities are steadily improving, and it’s only a matter of time before they reach max level.
"Looking at it this way, my talent and ability aren’t too bad now."
Zeng Xingyang smiled; he has grown from someone weak, who couldn’t even make it into the Wildcats, to where he is today.
The all-star voting has been open for a week, and on the latest all-star voting list from the past week, Zeng Xingyang ranks just below Durant on the Western Conference forwards’ list.
The team and NBA have positioned Zeng Xingyang as a forward!
Luckily, the forward position is confirmed.
Otherwise, even with his domestic popularity, he would face much pressure on the voting side.
It’s not that there aren’t many people voting for him, but Kobe and Curry’s votes are just too overwhelming.
Kobe announced some time ago that this season would be his final season, meaning this season would be his retirement tour.
Meanwhile, Curry leads the Warriors with impressive performances this season, not only achieving personal stats of averaging 32 points and 8 assists, but bending losing just two games so far, one to the Nuggets and another to the Bucks in the last of a five-game road trip.
Throughout this season, Curry has constantly delivered long-distance three-pointers, even half-court shots, winning over basketball fans, the media, and many NBA players with his scoring prowess.
Kobe and Curry both have various buffs stacked up.
These two hold for the top two positions in the Western Conference backcourt votes.
Westbrook, Harden, Paul, and Klay will have to compete for bench spots.
Compared to the fierce competition among guards, on the Western Front line, Zeng Xingyang, Durant, and Leonard have comparatively higher popularity, while votes for Green and Duncan are not to fear.
Looking at the situation from the first week, the outside world roughly knows that Zeng Xingyang will lock in a starting spot for the all-star game, as Leonard’s popularity isn’t high and there’s quite a distance from Durant and Zeng Xingyang.
Nevertheless, Zeng Xingyang’s performance this season would get him a bench spot even without votes.
After ending last night’s game against the Blazers, the Nuggets improved to 17 wins and 14 losses, ranking seventh in the Western Conference.
This year, the top eight in the Western Conference have worse records than the previous season.
The main reason is the strong performances of the Warriors and Spurs.
These two teams don’t just defeat weaker teams but regularly beat strong Western Conference teams as well, leading league standings by a large margin.
"The Warriors and Spurs are truly beasts, so difficult to play against."
The longer Zeng Xingyang plays in the NBA, the more he can feel their strength.
The strength of individuals isn’t enough to beat such a strong group.
The Nuggets have already lost twice to the Spurs; defeating them is really hard, they are very steady.
Even though Zeng Xingyang has all-star level strength, he still feels inadequate in such a competitive environment.
After all, in the current Western playoff teams, who doesn’t have all-star players?
"However, if we make a push this year, there’s still a chance to secure this playoff ticket."
Zeng Xingyang is very much looking forward to the future of the Nuggets. With Pope and Grant arriving, the Nuggets experienced a period of sweetness; the team’s defensive efficiency improved significantly and is ranked in the league’s top ten.
This also helped improve their record from below 50% to current standings, and as long as they maintain this performance till the end, they will make the playoffs as disruptors.
.....
While preparing to leave, a staff member on duty stopped Zeng Xingyang.
"Xingyang, the league just notified us, you’ve won last month’s Rookie of the Month award; the trophy has already arrived and will be presented before the game."
The Rookie of the Month award is given by the NBA league to the best-performing rookies each month in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. The winner receives a trophy.
Zeng Xingyang smiled, "Alright, no problem. Who was the Western Conference’s best last month?"
This isn’t the first time Zeng Xingyang has received this award, he also claimed the November Rookie of the Month award, which further brightened his mood.
"Stephen Curry."
No surprises.
Again, that guy.
Before he started playing, he couldn’t completely feel Curry’s dominance.
He just thought impressive, whoa!
But now, actually playing in the NBA, Zeng Xingyang increasingly feels Curry’s strength.
Curry’s performance this season is about beating all challengers!
However, Zeng Xingyang is confident he’ll surpass him eventually.
Zeng Xingyang drove out of the gym from the underground parking lot.
Zeng Xingyang swapped to a Ferrari sports car.
It’s currently winter, with temperatures around negative seven or eight degrees, he didn’t open the convertible, holding the steering wheel with one hand, stepping on the accelerator, speeding away.
Denver’s highways are very wide, there aren’t many cars here, and bare trees on both sides whizz by quickly.
Zeng Xingyang’s mood gradually lightens and he hums to himself, enjoying this life of pursuing basketball dreams.
In the afternoon, Zeng Xingyang didn’t train; he accompanied Song Xue to Denver’s largest shopping mall.
Today, Song Xue was wearing a beige down jacket, with a white hat on her head, her face lightly made-up, and her long eyelashes fluttering.
When with Song Xue, Zeng Xingyang feels no celebrity burden, just like an ordinary guy shopping with a girl.
Since becoming a star, Zeng Xingyang keeps respectful distance from female celebrities; he learned many shocking truths.
Many female celebrities may seem glamorous and adored as pure goddesses by fans, but they could be enthusiasts of various parties or have been through the casting couch.
He used to consider dating a female star but eventually gave up on the idea; his cleanliness obsession is strong.
In the mall, when passing by a lipstick store, Zeng Xingyang casually asked about a lipstick shade, and Song Xue became very enthusiastic, wrapping her arms around Zeng Xingyang’s arm, chattering non-stop.
"Dior 999 is a classic pure red lipstick suitable for all skin tones and occasions, it has high color intensity and various textures, both matte and moisturizing versions can give a great makeup look."
"SL tube 80 is tomato-colored, applying thinly leans towards orange, thickly towards red, very suitable for daily use. It’s very moisturizing, leaves lips looking clear without lining overload; I’m wearing it now."
"....."
"Today, I’ll give you just this intro, hungry? There’s a Chaoshan beef hotpot here, tasty, I often come here with colleagues, it’s really unique. Wanna try?"
"Sure."
"I have a deep impression of their hotpot; during college, I loved their hotpot most. Compared to Chongqing hotpot and Sichuan hotpot, their hotpot is friendly to those like me who don’t eat spicy food."
Song Xue’s face was full of smiles.
As their understanding deepens, Zeng Xingyang finds Song Xue charming not only in looks but in her attitude towards life.
Song Xue’s family is well-off; her parents do business in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, giving her a good material foundation.
But as her parents were busy with work, she grew up quite independently.
However, her voice and character maintain that unique softness of Jiangnan girls, and when she acts coquettishly, Zeng Xingyang finds himself completely defenseless.
