After dealing with the reporters, James found Goodwin’s car.
As soon as he got in the car, Goodwin immediately asked about the test.
"A party?"
Goodwin was also stunned after hearing James’s description.
This was completely different from what he had expected.
"It might be because it’s the first day. Like Chen Yu said, it’s to let you all get to know each other. Tomorrow, things will definitely get stricter. LeBron, you need to be mentally prepared. You have to perform well."
Goodwin urged him, then lowered his voice. "Did you know? Ever since you came to Phoenix to officially take Chen Yu’s potential test, it’s been all over the media. Many team GMs have given interviews saying they find Chen Yu’s tests very useful. They’re looking forward to the results and will be paying close attention to them."
"So you have to take this opportunity seriously and raise your profile."
James had received a lot of attention, but when it came to real buzz, he was still far behind Chen Yu.
The man was the Miracle Doctor, a presidential medical consultant, the top name in the league, and a medical authority.
This time, it could be said that James was riding on Chen Yu’s coattails.
James nodded vigorously. He was well aware of all this without Goodwin needing to remind him.
After a short rest back at the hotel, James once again set out early for Chen Yu’s clinic.
At one-thirty in the afternoon, Chen Yu appeared at the clinic right on time and arranged for all the players to undergo a detailed physical examination.
All related expenses were sponsored by Nike.
It was basically bringing a business deal to the clinic.
However, someone from Nike also showed up, apparently wanting to get closer to James.
The media had long reported that sports brands like Nike and Ahdi were competing for James.
The physical was very thorough. This was a crucial part of the test; physical health and potential for injury could determine how far they would go in their careers.
So for someone like Wade, who had part of his meniscus removed, it was definitely a huge red flag.
With limited equipment, the more popular rookies went first for their physicals.
James was the first one to finish his physical. He waited for Anthony to finish, and then they went to tour the rehabilitation center together.
Chen Yu had just said that they could tour the clinic while they waited, and that they should especially take a good look at the rehabilitation center.
There were people in the rehabilitation center.
Regular clinic patients were also there doing rehab exercises with the help of caregivers.
"Isn’t that Bronson White from the Denver Broncos?" Before they had taken more than a couple of steps, Anthony spotted a black man doing chest-opening stretches and quickly tapped James on the shoulder to point him out.
James was just as excited. His interest in football was no less than his interest in basketball; he had once seriously considered pursuing a career in the National Football League.
"I remember he got injured near the end of the season. His knee. So he came to Phoenix for treatment." Still excited, James grabbed Anthony and went over to chat him up and ask for an autograph.
In the United States sports world, Chen Yu’s clinic was incredibly famous. The media had long reported that it was a fan’s paradise, where you could run into top sports stars at any time.
After a few satisfying words, the two continued their tour.
"There’s so much equipment. I heard they even have an Ultra-Low Temperature Freezing Chamber. The papers said it’s negative one hundred seventy degrees. You think someone could really survive that without freezing to death?" Anthony looked around curiously, touching things here and there.
Syracuse University was considered a top sports school, and their basketball team was a traditional powerhouse in the NCAA. Their annual budget wasn’t small, but when it came to training equipment, Chen Yu’s clinic blew them out of the water.
"What do you think?" James was equally impressed, unable to keep his hands off the equipment. "Forget our school. Even NBA teams can’t compare to this place. You could say this is the best training facility in the world."
For a self-discipline freak and fitness enthusiast like him, this place was heaven.
As they were looking, Anthony suddenly stopped, nudged James with his elbow, and then gestured with his eyes toward a spot in the distance.
James followed his gaze.
In an area not far off, a light board stood vertically.
A boy of about ten was dribbling a ball with one hand while constantly tapping the lit-up bulbs on the board with the other.
"His fundamentals are solid," James commented instinctively.
The kid in front of them had very skilled dribbling.
Crossover dribbles, behind-the-back dribbles—he could even link them with various footwork. His movements were extremely fluid, as if the basketball were glued to his hand.
Anthony nodded in agreement and involuntarily took a few steps forward to watch from behind.
After watching for a moment, Anthony noticed something and asked in a low voice, "LeBron, think you could do that?"
It was probably for training reaction time, but combining it with dribbling suddenly raised the difficulty by a lot.
"I think so," James said after a moment of thought.
’Just watching it, it doesn’t seem that hard.’
"Then give it a try." Anthony’s interest was piqued. ’For a little kid to be able to train to this level, that’s pretty impressive.’
He walked straight over and stopped Little Curry.
"You’re Carmelo Anthony!" Little Curry turned his head and was overjoyed. Then he turned again, saw James behind him, and immediately clasped his head with both hands, letting out a gasp of disbelief. "Oh my god, you’re LeBron James! Oh my god, what are you guys doing here?"
’Two super rookies. These guys are my idols!’
Little Curry’s exaggerated reaction made both of them break into wide smiles.
James asked Little Curry for his name.
"Stephen Curry," Little Curry replied quickly, adding, "My father is Dale Curry."
James’s expression changed slightly. Of course, he knew Dale Curry. The man was the Wasp’s all-time leading scorer and a former Sixth Man of the Year, after all.
Anthony also dropped his casual expression. But on second thought, that was probably why Little Curry had such amazing dribbling skills at his age.
"What are you practicing here?" Anthony asked.
"This?"
Little Curry pointed to the light board and said, "Dr. Chen set this training up for me. It’s mainly to train my reaction time and my ability to handle the ball."
Anthony thought to himself that he’d guessed right, then asked if he could give it a try.
"Of course! You guys are so good, you’ll definitely do better than me." Little Curry quickly stepped aside.
Anthony stepped up and started right away.
He dribbled with one hand and reached out to touch the bulbs with the other.
After just two taps, the basketball in his hand suddenly faltered. He reacted instantly and slapped it again to regain control.
Anthony’s expression shifted.
’This thing... it’s not as simple as I thought.’
The main issue was that his mind reacted, but his body didn’t follow. It was uncoordinated, causing him to fumble.
"You have to connect it with movements. There’s a sequence. For example, now you have to move forward and to the left first, then reach out to touch the bulb," Little Curry enthusiastically explained the specific rules.
With the addition of specific movements, Anthony became even more flustered.
He would either miss a bulb or lose control of the ball.
Soon, the lights went out, and a number popped up on an LED screen above the board.
63!
"What does this mean?" Anthony asked, pointing at the number.
Little Curry stared at Anthony with a hint of confusion before saying, "Success rate."
Anthony had figured as much, and his expression became a little unnatural. The number seemed like it was barely a passing grade.
And if he remembered correctly, Little Curry’s test result just now was 91!
’The gap is huge!’
"LeBron, you want to give it a try?" After a moment of silence, Anthony turned to look at James.
’I can’t be the only one to embarrass myself.’
’Your draft comparison is Magic Johnson, after all. Your reaction time should be pretty fast, right?’
James nodded, took the ball, and stepped forward.
He had watched from the side and already knew the rules, so he performed much better.
But it was still clear that he was sometimes slow to react.
Because the flashing of the lights wasn’t constant; sometimes the interval would be longer, and other times they would flash in quick succession, requiring extreme focus.
Fortunately, he didn’t have any overly obvious, embarrassing moments like Anthony did.
Before long, the result popped up.
84.
The corner of James’s eye twitched. He wanted to cover his face.
"Wow, you’re amazing! I didn’t even pass my first time," Little Curry exclaimed, either out of consolation or some other motive, in a complimentary tone.
It was just that the "wow" sounded a bit forced.
"I’ll try again," James said, a little unconvinced.
Before long, the result popped up again.
82!
It went down instead of up.
James was smart enough to immediately understand that this was probably his reaction limit. A lot of training might improve it a little, but he definitely couldn’t surpass 90 and reach Little Curry’s level.
He turned his head and took another deep look at Little Curry.
’Stephen Curry.’ He memorized the name.
’He’s a bit skinny, though. I asked, and he’s apparently only 15. With that build, it’ll probably be hard to get into the NBA.’
Little Curry, however, was very gracious. He pestered them both for autographs, which eased the awkwardness on their faces quite a bit.
Once they were a good distance away, Anthony said in a low voice, "That kid is pretty incredible."
James nodded, then added, "The key is that Dr. Chen customized a training plan and equipment specifically for him."
He had just asked, and the light board and the entire training plan were all custom-made by Chen Yu.
’How enviable.’
There were a lot of people, so it wasn’t until almost five in the afternoon that everyone had completed their physicals.
But Chen Yu didn’t dismiss them. Instead, he gathered everyone in a large conference room.
"Gentlemen, our training camp’s testing will officially begin tomorrow. However, our testing content will be a bit different, so I need to make a request of you first."
Chen Yu walked to the whiteboard and wrote the number 47.
"For the next week, we need to work together to complete the tests. So, I think it’s necessary to deepen our understanding of each other. To that end, I have rented a new hotel. After we finish here, you’ll go back to your respective hotels, pack your things, and then move into the hotel I’ve arranged for you."
"Don’t worry, it’s a five-star hotel. Very luxurious," Chen Yu added.
The players exchanged glances. No one had any major objections.
James had a thoughtful expression. Ever since the training camp began, Chen Yu’s actions had seemed unusual. But he had a feeling Chen Yu wouldn’t do something so meaningless. So, what was the reasoning behind having everyone live together?
But on second thought, ’this also seems like an opportunity for me to build good relationships with these rookies.’
More friends mean more opportunities. This had always been one of James’s guiding principles.
Chen Yu continued, "At the same time, I need you to do one more thing. I want you to try and form your own groups of three, creating three-man basketball teams. How you form them is up to you. Later on, we might hold some games to test your teamwork."
The players exchanged glances again, their eyes communicating silently.
In the crowd, a skinny TJ Ford grinned and asked, "Dr. Chen, but there are only 47 of us. That means two people will be left over. What happens if they can’t form a team of three?"
Chen Yu gave him a second look.
The kid had congenital spinal stenosis, which had been discovered very early on. It was a major injury risk, as severe physical contact could end his career or even endanger his life.
Chen Yu smiled. "That’s right, there are only 47 of you. So, you should try not to be the two people who get left behind."
The players looked at each other, their expressions instantly turning wary.
Chen Yu then waved toward the door.
A caregiver entered with a stack of books and placed it on the lectern.
Chen Yu picked one up and showed it to the group. "This is a book on the theory of basketball tactics. I think it’s quite good. You can flip through it if you have time."
As he spoke, he motioned for James, Anthony, and the others in the front row to pass them out.
It was a thick book, almost two hundred pages long.
Among the players, a young man named Luke Ridnour flipped through the book and asked tentatively, "Dr. Chen, does this mean you’re going to test us on the contents of this book?"
The others immediately looked at Chen Yu as well.
’This might be another test.’
Chen Yu noticed that a few guys had already started scratching their heads in frustration.
"We’ll see if there’s time. It’s not a definite thing."
Chen Yu smiled, then told everyone they were dismissed.

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