One Year Left to Play-Chapter 67 - 21: A Mature View of Professionalism
Garnett’s physical condition is incredibly strong, almost outrageously so.
And Garnett is only 19 years old; Zhang Hao remembers that in the original timeline, during the 2009-2010 season when Garnett partnered with O’Neal, they were almost the same height, which means he could still grow taller.
Bibi’s strength is about what Zhang Hao expected, comparable to Pierce, both being technical players.
"Sheriff Raheem, skill rating 65..."
"Corey Benjamin, skill rating 60..."
"Chauncey Billups, skill rating 63..."
"Rodney Buford, skill rating 53..."
"Taylor Wheeler, skill rating 50..."
"Calvin Booth, skill rating 51..."
After seeing the skill ratings of his teammates, Zhang Hao affirmed his thoughts from the first two days of the training camp—"Am I really going to rely on one trick to rule them all? Damn! A mid-range shot rating of 90 directly makes me one of the top-tier high school players!"
Ever since the beginning of the training camp, Zhang Hao had been observing those players’ tests and occasional one-on-one duels, feeling quite strange.
Initially, he thought those future stars were extremely formidable... perhaps they will be in the future, but at this stage, Zhang Hao genuinely felt those players weren’t that strong.
Later in training, Zhang Hao became even more convinced—at this stage, he wasn’t losing to this group!
Right now, looking at it, indeed, apart from Garnett’s unexpectedly strong performance, the others aren’t actually stronger than him.
In their team, except for Garnett, only Bibi is slightly stronger than California’s Pierce. The players eventually selected mostly have ratings below 65, with little difference between them. Those reaching a skill rating of 65 include him, Zhang Hao, Raheem, Bibi, and Garnett.
Reflecting on how he achieved a skill rating of over 65 just relying on mid-range shooting, Zhang Hao felt extremely peculiar...
"Antoine Jamison, skill rating 66..."
"Stephon Marbury, skill rating 64..."
"Tim Berners, skill rating 52..."
"Richard Hamilton, skill rating 63..."
"Quincy Lewis, skill rating 49..."
"Jermaine O’Neal, skill rating 59..."
"Lamar Odom, skill rating 66..."
"Scott Paggett, skill rating 46..."
After looking at the eight players from the other team, Zhang Hao discovered another trait: it seems that at the high school level, perimeter players typically have higher skill ratings than post players.
The strong post players are those like Garnett, Odom, and Jamison who are technically comprehensive, and their playing style leans more toward the perimeter.
Of the big players over 210 cm, aside from Garnett, Calvin Booth is the strongest; those interior players not as strong as Calvin Booth have already been eliminated.
And Zhang Hao remembers future NBA stars, appearing significantly stronger compared to others!
Finally, Zhang Hao decided to check the skill rating of that one player he left for last.
"Kobe Bryant, 16 years old (August 23, 1978), height 193 cm, weight 86 kg, skill rating 68, offensive 79, defensive 59."
Physical quality: speed 91, strength 72, vertical 93...
Shooting: three-point 62, mid-range shot 78, layup 81...
Technical: dribbling 86, passing 61..."
Sure enough, besides Garnett, Kobe was the strongest!
In Zhang Hao’s future memories, he had seen Kobe’s high school data; this guy participated in a competition at 16 and defeated those genius high schoolers two years older to win the MVP, boosting his confidence immensely, then at just 17 after finishing senior year, he directly entered the NBA draft.
Garnett might be stronger now, but Zhang Hao estimated that on the court, Garnett’s performance may not necessarily surpass Kobe’s.
Garnett’s skills are comprehensive but too varied—they aren’t weak but when it comes to relying on scoring to defeat opponents, he can’t manage it. He lacks much capability to ensure the team’s lower limit and elevate the upper limit. His strength lies in team cohesion, but high school teammates make it hard for him to fully utilize his abilities.
Moreover, the opponent also has Odom and Jamison in the post, who match their side’s strong offensive power.
The key is still Kobe; the media’s assessment of him playing all five positions in high school seems absurd to Zhang Hao! This guy clearly seems like the type to relentlessly pursue scoring. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
With high schoolers’ defense not being very strong, Kobe’s offense looks like a cheat!
However, it’s really evenly matched!
Zhang Hao felt Adidas’ team division was quite professional, with both sides having top-tier perimeter scorers, Kobe and Bibi; versatile players, Odom and Garnett; interior scorers who can stretch the floor, Jamison and Raheem; and off-ball shooters, Hamilton and him, Zhang Hao...
