One Year Left to Play-Chapter 83 - 26: I’m Taking My Talent to the NBA

After speaking, without paying attention to Pierce, who seemed instantly frozen, he turned to the calmer, more rational, and mature Aprile Clark and asked, "What if a professional tennis club invited you to a training camp at this time, but you would lose the chance to prepare for the arts exam, Aprile, what would you choose?"

The question wasn’t entirely accurate, and it wasn’t the same situation Zhang Hao experienced, but Aprile Clark understood what Zhang Hao meant.

She realized that Zhang Hao actually had a more inclined choice, perhaps Zhang Hao himself hadn’t even noticed.

If he doesn’t try and chooses a stable path, maybe one day Zhang Hao will regret it...

But if he tries, the chances of regret might be even greater.

Aprile Clark hesitated for a moment and eventually smiled, "I would go for it."

At this moment, Pierce also caught on, but the words he spoke this time were completely different from before, "Aix, you need to think it over thoroughly; going straight for the draft is cool, but it’s too risky."

Zhang Hao asked again, "Do you think I can make it?"

"Of course!" Pierce replied without hesitation.

"I also think you can!" Aprile Clark chose to give Zhang Hao confidence at this moment.

Aprile Clark and Pierce both realized that their friend was wilder than they had initially thought!

Zhang Hao actually was more inclined to take a leap of faith; it’s not just about immediately entering the NBA draft, but the things that have happened during this time have collectively influenced him.

The most critical thing is—how can a young man not be passionate?

...

On the night of May 24th, Olajuwon led his team to victory, defeating the Spurs led by the season’s regular MVP David Robinson for two consecutive games in the Western Conference Finals, leading 2-0.

On May 25th, Inglewood High School’s head coach Scott Collins submitted his resignation to the school to meet with the team’s management in New York where his brother was located, while also carrying a draft application form.

Elsewhere, with the help of Pierce and Aprile Clark, as well as the school, Zhang Hao reached out to some media and held a small press conference on the Inglewood High School court.

More reporters came than Zhang Hao expected, including two national-level media outlets like Sports Illustrated and American Cable TV Station, along with more local media from Los Angeles and some from cities with prestigious universities.

They didn’t know what Zhang Hao planned to do, but the media love reporting unexpected news, plus Zhang Hao has been quite popular recently, meeting with several NCAA team coaches... Announcing a decision at such a conference seems exaggerated, but they could choose to mock it, as any kind of promotion is newsworthy.

Today Zhang Hao rented a suit, adjusted his emotions, organized his language, and entered the press conference venue where photographers from twenty media outlets began pressing the shutter.

At this moment, Zhang Hao felt the blood rush again, incredibly excited, just announcing the decision felt exhilarating.

However, he had experienced many similar scenes recently, enabling him to calm himself.

For a high school student, the media didn’t have much patience, so once Zhang Hao sat down, a reporter directly asked, "Zhang, are you announcing which university you’re going to today?"

Zhang Hao didn’t delay and shook his head, directly stating, "I had thought about entering the NCAA and worked hard for that goal.

Now, I’ve successfully received many university invitations.

But I’ve thought long and hard, and I’ve made my decision.

I don’t want to play college basketball anymore; I’m prepared to skip college play and enter the NBA draft."

With these words, the previously chaotic noises at the scene quieted down without any professional maintenance.

They initially predicted Zhang Hao wanted to make a show of himself by holding a press conference announcing his decision, and were discussing writing some embarrassing stories about Zhang Hao, as those sell best.

Indeed, Zhang Hao mentioned something audacious, but it was not something the reporters from these dozen media outlets anticipated.

This newly famous Chinese high school student, who had just risen to fame, decided to skip college level and directly enter the NBA draft!

At this moment, a female reporter, possibly out of goodwill or looking to dig more news, reminded him, "Aix, if you register for the NBA draft, you’ll lose the chance to join college sports programs!"

"I’ve considered this already, I’m aware of NCAA regulations, but I believe I won’t regret the decision I’ve made."

As Zhang Hao spoke, inspired suddenly, he said, "I want to take my talent to the NBA!"

...

...

Recently, basketball fans in the United States often see the name of a Chinese teenager in newspapers or sports news.

Especially a week ago, when this Chinese teenager beat out the best high school athlete in America, Kevin Garnett, to claim the MVP at the Adidas Training Camp Elite Competition, leaving a lasting impression on many basketball fans.

Recently, more than a dozen NCAA Division I universities, including those with high academic requirements, were recruiting Zhang Hao, also frequently featuring him in the news.

But none of those stories compare to today’s news.

Zhang Hao chooses to enter the NBA draft as a high school student!

For overseas players, they’re either those who played in other professional leagues before entering the NBA draft or attended college in the United States for a few years before entering.