One Year Left to Play-Chapter 92 - 29: The Night Before the Draft

What can a person achieve when they set their mind to it?

pounds lost in 25 days!

Zhang Hao looked at the noticeably slimmer person in front of him, and couldn’t help but sigh internally—no wonder he’s the big shot who survived dozens of stabs.

pounds! That’s a huge pile of pork! He actually managed to lose it.

Too ruthless!

Without considering the health impact, Zhang Hao felt that Pierce looked completely reenergized.

"Haha, what’s the matter, are you stunned! I told you, if I want to lose weight, I can drop it in no time. This is just the beginning, you go to the NBA first and wait. When I come to the NBA, we’ll lead the Lakers to a championship together..."

As soon as Pierce started talking, the toughness Zhang Hao previously sensed from him instantly vanished.

The chatterbox is still the same chatterbox...

Seeing Pierce, Zhang Hao felt much better. The future was uncertain, making the past few days quite troubling for him, constantly worrying about what would happen if he wasn’t selected, and having to watch his lifespan slowly dwindle day by day.

"Aix, when are we going to New York? It’s my first time going to Madison Square Garden, that’s a holy place for basketball..."

Ignoring Pierce’s chatter, Zhang Hao directly replied, "Tomorrow morning’s flight at nine."

"..."

Today was June 25th, and Zhang Hao’s remaining lifespan was 367 days. The day after tomorrow was the draft day.

He felt it was quite coincidental, as if the draft day was the beginning of a new Chapter, just as his lifespan returned to 365 days, the amount it was when he first merged his memories.

Just how this new Chapter would unfold, he had no way to predict.

But over the past few days, he’d come to terms with the fact that even in the midst of confusion and fear, time would continue to pass day by day, and having reached this point, whatever comes next in the draft would have to come.

At this moment, Zhang Hao finally understood what was meant by "a major decision in life."

Indeed, the decision was made hastily, but since he’d already made the decision and embarked on this path, there was no turning back.

Now, what he had to do was wait for the results and then consider the future, regretting the initial decision was useless, he could only hope the results wouldn’t make him regret.

The little bit of comfort came from knowing that even if he was confused and uncertain throughout, he had given it his all every time he participated in a draft, regardless of whether the trial teams valued him.

Next, go to New York and wait to be selected.

...

The recently concluded 94-95 season was considered quite legendary by fans.

First, Jordan made a comeback!

Then, Jordan was crushed by Penny.

After that, Olajuwon led the sixth-seeded Western team through a series of comebacks to the finals, without home-court advantage throughout, yet they swept O’Neal in the finals and completed back-to-back championships.

With this championship, Olajuwon secured his place in the top ten historically.

After the finals, the draft and the upcoming free agency became the focus of fan attention.

First, of course, was the draft.

Joe Smith, Antonio McDyess, Rashid Wallace, Damon Stoudamire, Jerry Stackhouse... This year’s draft class was pretty strong, even without Duncan, it was still a pretty decent draft year.

The fate of these players was the focus of fan attention.

During the playoffs, the high school rookies who had been a hot topic became less talked about leading up to the draft.

In the eyes of fans, high schoolers participating in the draft was just a gimmick, few believed they could adapt to NBA-level play directly, as many high school prodigies couldn’t even adapt to college leagues, the gap was too large.

Garnett, Zhang Hao, and others were just "topics"; whereas the geniuses coming out of college were "hot picks"!

Even for someone as famous as Garnett, there were teams saying things like "I’d have to be crazy to use a lottery pick on him."

On June 26th, the day before the draft, the sports media gathered in New York, and the top young basketball talents from across the country and the world also gathered in New York.

Zhang Hao and Pierce arrived in the Big Apple, found a cheap motel, and shared a room.

These days, unlike the future NBA which would be richer, all participants except those in the green room had to cover their own accommodation and food costs during the draft.

The money they had made from the dunk contest had almost been spent.

Now, Zhang Hao was just waiting for tomorrow’s draft, hoping it would come quickly.

Either become a model or...

Anyway, if selected, Zhang Hao felt he wouldn’t have to worry about making a living, at least for a while.

Two broke kids without the money to go out and play—the motel didn’t even have a TV, Pierce’s red and white console was useless here.

But while in the Big Apple, they naturally had to take a stroll. Pierce suggested going to Madison Square Garden first to avoid getting lost tomorrow, although, in reality, draft attendees didn’t have to be present at the venue, it didn’t affect the draft or their chances of being picked. But for one’s basketball career, the draft is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so if they could go, they should.

Off they went, leaving valuable items behind... they didn’t really have anything valuable, packing their cash and driver’s licenses, they headed out.