One Year Left to Play-Chapter 50 - 16: Why Is No One Happy Anymore?
"You’re really something, this place is pretty nice... Ah hmm... Are you driving without a license? Can I call the police and have you arrested?" Zhang Hao teased while yawning.
It was a park near the hotel, just a 5-minute drive away. There were a few flowerbeds, some gym equipment for the elderly, two basketball courts, and in the farthest part, a small baseball field for batting practice.
16-year-old Kobe rented a car and brought Zhang Hao, Hamilton, and Bibi, who was forcibly dragged along by Zhang Hao, to this park.
When Kobe heard Zhang Hao’s words, he shrugged with a hint of pride, "Sorry to disappoint you, I just got my license last month."
A driver’s license is a must-have for graduating high school in the United States, and almost everyone takes the test after turning 16. Zhang Hao also got his license when he turned 16 after moving to the United States.
Upon hearing Kobe’s words, Zhang Hao couldn’t help but throw a jibe, "What’s there to brag about getting a driver’s license, like nobody else has one."
"He hasn’t passed the test," Kobe said, pointing to Hamilton, who looked exasperated.
Although Kobe is mature in many ways, possessing a strong mentality, he’s still a 16-year-old boy who loves to brag and has a bit of a childish side.
Getting up for training at dawn had made them more familiar with each other, but for the four of them, getting familiar also meant being less polite, thus their "true selves" emerged. Each of them had an extremely quiet side, quickly settling into their warm-up routines silently.
After Zhang Hao finished warming up, he began practicing his Mid-range Shot. It was his first time training so early, and he found the lack of interruptions quite enjoyable. He understood why Kobe enjoyed training so early—it was indeed liberating.
However, as he continued practicing, he noticed that the other three, who had been occupying their own half-courts to practice shooting, had come to the sidelines of his half-court to watch. Even Hamilton and Bibi, who were across the court seven or eight meters away, came over to join the audience.
Watching Zhang Hao’s shooting form, which was impeccably standard, and his absurdly accurate practice shots, Hamilton looked puzzled—was this the legendary top-tier dunker? It truly was as Kobe said, the Mid-range Shot was that precise!
Not just Hamilton, even Bibi, who had trained with Zhang Hao before, was wide-eyed. After watching one set of Zhang Hao’s shooting practice, he couldn’t believe it, so he watched another set, and Bibi had to admit—compared to last time they trained together, this guy’s Mid-range Shot had improved not just one, but at least two levels!
In two sets of 100 shots, Zhang Hao made 94 in the first set and 91 in the second! Right off the bat, his training showed such results.
Zhang Hao ignored the outside distractions and focused on his training. As he began to toss the ball at a high angle and then rush up to catch and shoot, Kobe abruptly ended his spectating. He was motivated and determined to practice his Mid-range Shot better than this guy.
Hamilton, on the other hand, was a bit lost. Since he started playing, no peer’s Mid-range Shot had ever been stronger than his—not even Kobe’s. He always thought he was the most accurate among peers with his Mid-range Shot.
But seeing Zhang Hao today... 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Despite Zhang Hao being a year and a half older than Hamilton, the age gap in their teens was quite significant, mostly in terms of physical development. As for shooting, Hamilton predicted that he couldn’t reach Zhang Hao’s level in a year and a half—or even in three years!
This was not the kind of Mid-range Shot an 18-year-old high school student should have—it was simply too absurd!
Nonetheless, Hamilton genuinely admired the fact that Zhang Hao had managed to train his Mid-range Shot to this level at such a young age. He estimated that Zhang Hao must have put in an immense amount of effort and spent a lot of time training, and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.
Kobe felt it too, but turned that feeling into motivation—Hamilton’s Mid-range Shot was only slightly better than his, but now there appeared someone he couldn’t compete with at all. He couldn’t stand it and decided to train like crazy!
As for Bibi, he was genuinely unable to remain calm. He thought of Zhang Hao’s self-introduction video at the McDonald’s All-Star dunk contest—training basketball for two and a half years...
"Did this guy really take only two and a half years to train his shooting to this level?"
Bibi hadn’t initially paid much attention to that self-introduction, not because he doubted its truth, but he simply overlooked it. But comparing to ten days ago when Zhang Hao’s Mid-range Shot was just one level better than his, now Zhang Hao was far ahead, which reminded him of Zhang Hao’s words.
Bibi was certain that during the McDonald’s All-Star, Zhang Hao was definitely not in poor condition, as he had trained with Zhang Hao for two mornings and knew Zhang Hao’s level ten days ago. But thinking back, Zhang Hao’s training was different from others, seemingly making adjustments from time to time.
What kind of self-learning ability is this? The key point being, these adjustments now appear to be effective!
Bibi couldn’t help but believe Zhang Hao truly was a two-and-a-half-year training student...
No, a basketball player who had been practicing for two and a half years, and Bibi thought that maybe Zhang Hao hadn’t been really serious about his training before and had only started real practice recently!
This was simply unreasonable!
Bibi had been puzzled before and after the McDonald’s All-Star. He specifically checked Zhang Hao’s background, finding little information. Without checking, Bibi didn’t know exactly who this peer with such outstanding athletic ability and incredibly strong Mid-range Shot was.
