Chapter 158: Rookie MVP Secured

"John, John, come watch the Rookie Challenge. I swear, this is the best Rookie Challenge ever."

"What's so great about the Rookie Challenge? I only watch the main game; those are the real big stars."

"Come watch it before you write it off. This is a completely different kind of show."

...

Humans possess a rather interesting psychology: they love getting others to validate the things they like.

Fans who had initially hesitated to watch the Rookie Challenge were dismissed by their friends, but once they witnessed this extraordinary rookie event, they eagerly called their peers.

They tried to prove to their friends that their tastes were just fine.

Through word of mouth, the viewership ratings of the Rookie Challenge continued to climb.

For the league, this was fantastic news.

The Rookie Challenge was, at its core, a star-making campaign designed to put potential future stars on a grand stage.

Future league superstars almost always emerged from among these very players.

On the court, Howard completed a powerful slam dunk in the paint, prompting many spectators to shout his name.

Everyone saw superstar potential in him, believing he would soon ascend to the league's elite tier.

The freshmen attacked, and Danny Granger drained a long two-pointer.

Although Danny Granger averaged only 7.5 points this season, he would later put up a season averaging 25.8 points, proving he was star material.

His bucket earned him a scattering of applause.

However, among the freshmen, the biggest names by far were Eric Sterling and Paul.

One was already a franchise player, while the other was a quasi-franchise player.

Fans had almost no doubt that the two of them would undoubtedly become league superstars in the future.

On the court, Paul intercepted a pass and immediately launched a long-range outlet pass to Eric Sterling, who was streaking down the floor.

Sterling caught the ball, leaped, executed a 180-degree turn followed by a windmill dunk, and instantly elicited gasps and screams from the audience.

"Why didn't Cousin sign up for the Slam Dunk Contest and the Three-Point Contest?"

Some spectators expressed deep regret over this.

Though Sterling didn't dunk all that often during games, every single attempt was so astonishingly brilliant that not a single fan doubted his dunking prowess.

As for his three-pointers, there was even less room for doubt—could the record-holder for the most three-pointers in a single quarter possibly be bad at shooting?

"This connection is gorgeous. If only Eric could team up with Paul."

Fans who liked both Eric Sterling and Paul voiced such a wish.

"Cousin and Howard are a great match too. Inside and out, a second-generation OK duo. If they team up, they are good for at least three championships."

Another fan, who favored the Beast, chimed in.

They all shared one common desire: they hoped their favorite star could team up with Eric Sterling.

From the looks of it, Eric Sterling proved quite adaptable, leaving no need to worry about compatibility issues.

On the court, having just completed his dunk, Eric Sterling trash-talked the sophomores: "You guys only sent Gordon to guard me? That's a bit tough on him. Come on, everyone join in. Don't worry, I don't have some weird superpower where my shooting percentage goes up the more defenders there are."

Since it had turned into a real, competitive game, Sterling certainly wouldn't stand on ceremony with the sophomores.

To win the game and claim the Rookie Challenge MVP, he would spare no means.

Trash talk, of course, was served up in generous portions.

"..."

The sophomore players were left utterly speechless. In the first half, everyone had fun playing cooperatively, and their feelings toward Eric Sterling had improved significantly.

Yet, he flipped his attitude in the blink of an eye and started dishing out trash talk.

On the next possession, the sophomores stopped holding back against Sterling and immediately deployed a double-team.

However, their coordination wasn't quite polished yet, resulting in poor communication. In a baffling lapse, three players rushed at him simultaneously, leaving Paul, Nate, and the others completely wide open.

Gordon, Iguodala, and Ford lunged toward Eric Sterling like three Big Bad Wolves closing in on Little Red Riding Hood, and the spectators couldn't help but worry for him.

At a moment like this, Sterling only needed to toss the ball to Paul, sit back on the bench, snack on melon seeds, and wait for the statisticians to credit his team with points.

Instead, he did no such thing.

A triple-team—such an opportunity was rare.

The greater the number of defenders, the better it served his goal of making a legendary name for himself. Normal baskets simply weren't shocking enough.

With extreme extravagance, Eric Sterling activated a guaranteed-hit skill and let fly right through the triple-team.

"Damn it, I'm down to just 666 points of rage."

Sterling still had the mental bandwidth to check his status at a time like this.

Eric Sterling: Height 1.97 meters, Wingspan 2.10 meters, Weight 90 kilograms.

Talents: Strength A, Speed B, Vertical C.

Shooting: Three-Pointer A, Mid-Range A, Driving C.

Skills: Ball-handling B, Passing B, Steals C.

Defense: On-ball Defense B, Help Defense C.

Remaining Rage Points: 666.

Overall Evaluation: A supermarksman in the NBA with ultra-powerful firepower, capable of becoming the centerpiece of a weak team.

Friendly Reminder: Please develop in a balanced manner. Surprising things will happen when all attributes are upgraded to B-rank.

The day before yesterday, he had upgraded his Speed and Passing attributes to B-rank, after which both his evaluation and the friendly reminder had changed.

What intrigued Eric Sterling the most was the friendly reminder; the system had actually hinted at a surprise.

This prompted Sterling to alter his upcoming upgrade plan, prioritizing the reinforcement of his weaknesses just to see what kind of damned surprise awaited him.

During this brief moment of distraction, the ball had already dropped through the net.

Snap, snap! Countless cameras captured this classic moment.

Barkley leaped straight up: "Oh my god! He drained a three-pointer right in the face of three defenders! They aren't putting on a show anymore; they're playing for real, tooth and nail. To still sink a shot under that kind of defensive intensity—all I can say is that Eric is simply unsolvable."

"Uh, perhaps we really should start wondering if 'Cousin' actually possesses the talent where his shooting percentage increases with the number of defenders," Smith joked.

After the shot went in, the live audience began chanting "MVP."

Paul, standing nearby, felt rather melancholy. He couldn't understand how a ball-hogging style of play like Eric Sterling's managed to garner so much adoration from the audience.

He himself played the game the right way, yet his reception fell far short of Sterling's.

Still, envy aside, Paul decided he would stick to his own way of playing and not blindly follow Eric Sterling's example.

After all, he couldn't pull it off.

With his small stature, if he tried to shoot over three defenders, they would block his shots until he doubted the meaning of life.

The game resumed with the score standing at 28-29, the sophomores holding a one-point lead.

This scoring total was the lowest in the event's history and would likely be hard to break in the future.

Deng dashed into the paint and completed a dunk for the sophomores.

Eric Sterling, assigned to guard him, failed to stop it.

Judging by overall strength, the sophomores were far superior to the freshmen.

Ever since the Rookie Challenge format was changed to Freshmen versus Sophomores, the freshmen had never won a single time.

"Don't even think about stealing the spotlight from us upperclassmen."

Deng gloated. This year had been one of immense personal improvement and high spirits for him.

"Hello there, Robin," Sterling said.

"..." Deng.

To that, he truly had no response.

With eight minutes remaining in the game, the live broadcast analysts were already debating which team would prevail.

On ESPN, Mike Breen remarked, "In terms of roster depth, the sophomores are vastly superior; the freshmen don't stand much of a chance. Of course, this is only natural. Ever since the format changed to freshmen challenging sophomores, the rookies have never won. An extra year of NBA experience matters immensely."

Several television networks threw their support behind the sophomore team, with only TNT marching to the beat of its own drum.

Barkley stated, "It looks like the sophomores have the upper hand, but I believe the ultimate winner will be the freshmen. Don't ask me why, because I've already had my face slapped by Cousin too many times."

Barkley's words nearly cracked the audience up; this reasoning was utterly invincible.

Smith, on the other hand, offered a somewhat serious analysis: "Although the sophomores are stronger, the score remains deadlocked. As long as they drag it out to the very end, Cousin can launch a scoring surge and pull off a comeback. Based on my understanding of Cousin, in a high-profile game like this, he almost always wins."

On the court, the freshmen mounted an attack, and Paul drained a mid-range jumper.

At present, among the freshmen, only Paul and Eric Sterling were capable of consistently putting points on the board, while everyone else struggled mightily when matched up against the standout players among the sophomores.

Take the so-called number one draft pick Bogut, for instance; he had already been pinned to the floor and thoroughly rubbed raw by Howard.

With Bogut's meager vertical and strength, expecting him to battle Howard for rebounds in the paint was simply asking too much of him.

From the Beast's ear-to-ear grin, everyone could tell just how much fun he was having.

The sophomores counterattacked, with Iguodala driving into the interior and posterizing Bogut with a slam dunk, prompting the home fans to rise to their feet and applaud.

They suddenly realized that watching these rookies play a serious game was actually quite entertaining.

Brett called a timeout and drew up a collapsing defense strategy.

Since the sophomores lacked any elite three-point shooters, the freshmen were willing to concede a perimeter shot if they made one.

If they guarded too far out on the perimeter, the freshman lineup couldn't stop the drives of Iguodala, Deng, and company.

The timeout concluded, and both teams returned to the floor to resume their fierce battle.

The sophomore offense unfolded with Iguodala driving, only to be hemmed in by Eric Sterling and Granger. Deprived of a driving lane and not particularly skilled as a passer, Iguodala was forced into a contested mid-range jumper.

The shot missed, bouncing rather far out. Sterling gathered the rebound and immediately pushed the pace in transition.

Faced with an empty paint, Sterling resorted once again to his signature offensive move: the chase-down three-pointer.

Such an unorthodox choice always left fans clicking their tongues in wonder.

What left them even more spellbound was that Sterling maintained a remarkably high shooting percentage with this style of play.

When calculated properly, it was even more efficient than barreling into the paint for points—simply absurd.

The shot went in, tying the score at 33-33.

Applause rang out through the arena once more.

On the basketball court, tying baskets, go-ahead baskets, momentum-stoppers, unbelievable shots, clutch shots, and game-winners were the most beloved by fans.

Eric Sterling's latest shot encompassed three elements at once: tying the game, stopping the bleeding, and defying belief.

The game continued with the two sides trading blows for several possessions.

On the sophomore side, Howard increased his shot attempts, eager to capture the Rookie Challenge MVP award.

Though it was merely an inconspicuous honor, having one was certainly better than having none.

For the freshmen, Eric Sterling shared the exact same mindset.

Sterling upped his individual offense, while the rest of the freshmen silently coordinated to feed him.

There was no helping it; in a world dominated by star power, none of them could compete with Sterling for alpha status.

Naturally, not everyone was so sensible.

Bogut stubbornly insisted on acting as a foil to Eric Sterling. After grabbing a rebound, instead of passing to Paul, he dribbled the ball all the way from the backcourt to the frontcourt himself and tried to isolate against Howard.

This stunt shocked the audience profoundly. This wasn't the performance phase anymore; it was the final stretch where games were decided.

Such a baffling sequence of decisions made people wonder whether his brain had developed properly.

Fortunately, there was someone capable of keeping him in check.

The moment Bogut went rogue, Brett promptly benched him.

Upon taking a seat on the bench, Bogut gnashed his teeth in fury. He was the number one overall pick, the number one pick!

On draft night, he had been filled with such boundless ambition.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to be humiliated like this during the rookie game.

At that exact moment, Bogut felt he had nowhere to hide his face.

The title of top pick was notoriously difficult to wear.

Bearing that title meant playing well was merely expected, while playing poorly invited endless mockery.

Over at the TNT broadcast desk:

Barkley mocked, "The number one pick gets benched, while the very last pick is out there slaughtering everyone."

Smith delivered a follow-up blow: "He simply has no grasp of the situation. Brand couldn't even compete with Cousin for the alpha spot; what makes him think he can? On the back of his glittering 7.5-point average?"

Hearing about that "glittering 7.5-point average," the audience burst into howling laughter.

On the court, with Bogut—that troublemaking stirrer—removed, the freshman offense ran much more smoothly.

As the clock ticked down to the final minute, the score was deadlocked at 55-55.

The freshman players were quite satisfied with this outcome, as they retained a fighting chance to win.

The sophomore players, meanwhile, grew increasingly flustered, buckling under psychological pressure. They certainly didn't want to become the first sophomore team ever defeated by the freshmen.

If such a historic event truly came to pass, they would likely never hear the end of the mockery.

On the sophomore offensive possession, Ben Gordon wanted to attack himself, but seeing that the freshmen lacked a formidable interior presence, he opted to pass the ball to Howard instead.

Howard backed down Channing Frye, only to unexpectedly miss the shot.

In truth, this wasn't unusual; having an advantage never equated to a guaranteed basket. In the NBA, one shouldn't be surprised to see a player miss an uncontested layup either; everyone was human, and humans were prone to accidents—they couldn't be as reliable as machines.

Missing the shot wasn't the real issue; the problem was that even after missing, Howard remained all smiles, giving off the impression that he didn't care about winning or losing.

This attitude deeply disgusted Gordon.

On the next possession, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

However, his matchup advantage against Eric Sterling wasn't significant, and their team lacked a playmaker like Paul to manufacture scoring opportunities for him.

Ultimately, Gordon's isolation play against Sterling missed the mark as well.

Conversely, after drawing the defense, Eric Sterling kicked the ball out to Paul, who drained the shot.

Just when everyone assumed Sterling would attack himself, he invariably pulled a new trick out of his bag, catching the opponents completely off guard.

With the score reversed, the sophomore players grew even more frantic.

Iguodala relied on sheer individual talent to drive into the paint and score two points, while Howard's frantic calls for the ball went completely ignored.

The freshmen attacked, and Eric Sterling used a screen from Frye to shake off Gordon, draining a three-pointer that served as a clutch, near-game-winner.

With only 10 seconds left on the clock, Sterling's shot felt like a dagger plunged straight into the hearts of the sophomore team.

Thibodeau, the sophomore coach, called a timeout and drew up a quick three-point play.

He didn't dare leave the final shot to the last possible second, as the risks were simply too high.

Thibodeau's plan was to sink a three-pointer, stop the freshman offense, and push the game into overtime.

If the shot missed, Howard could leverage his rebounding superiority to haul in an offensive board and secure a second-chance opportunity.

This strategy had both pros and cons, making it difficult to definitively label it good or bad.

The timeout ended, Ford inbounded the ball, and it found its way into Iguodala's hands.

His three-point shooting percentage for the season hovered around 35 percent, which counted as respectable.

Yet, under these circumstances, merely being respectable fell far short of enough.

Iguodala let fly, but the shot came up a fraction short, clanking off the rim and bouncing high into the air.

As the basketball cleared the rim, several players leaped simultaneously in the paint to fight for it.

In the end, Howard stood head and shoulders above the rest, managing to snatch the rebound out of the crowd.

At that instant, Eric Sterling sprinted over and fouled Howard, sending him straight to the free-throw line.

"Good grief, Cousin is so sharp. Sending Howard to the line right here is sheer brilliance," Barkley praised.

After all, everyone knew all about Howard's free-throw shooting.

Ultimately, Howard made one of two from the line, right on par with his career average.

Alas, the ball possession belonged to the freshmen now, and their roster was packed with sharpshooters who had no fear of being sent to the charity stripe.

Left with no other choice, the sophomores resorted to a intentional foul strategy, sending Eric Sterling to the line.

After draining both free throws, the freshmen led by four points with two ticks left on the clock, sealing the outcome.

In the end, Iguodala heaved a desperation heave from beyond the arc, which missed. 58-62, and the freshmen pulled off an unexpected victory in the Rookie Challenge.

Among them, Eric Sterling scored a game-high 18 points, alongside 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

Considering he only played the second half, these numbers were nothing short of stellar.

Paul contributed 9 points and 9 assists, marking the second-best performance for the freshmen.

On the sophomore side, Howard's 12 points and 13 rebounds were quite respectable, though unfortunately, his missed free throws down the stretch squandered their final chance.

The judges still needed to go through the motions of discussion and voting, but everyone already knew that Eric Sterling's MVP award was locked in.