What's the Big Deal About a Clown?

As soon as Li Zhen said this, everyone couldn't help but be surprised.

It's well known that Li Zhen is not skilled in one-on-one play; he's a very orthodox, academy-style point guard. On the other hand, despite Chris being shorter, he primarily focuses on individual play. When the two meet, Chris definitely has the advantage.

So, Scott quickly spoke up, "You're both point guards. If you want to compete, you should each lead a team in full-court offense."

Scott is Li Zhen's best friend on the team, so of course, he's siding with Li Zhen.

Other players quickly agreed.

Everyone likes Li Zhen and dislikes Chris, who plays selfishly. Playing with him on the court is a disaster; he only knows how to hog the ball, and his individual skills are not outstanding. If he wasn't TJ Walton's cousin, a core player, he would have been kicked out long ago. Now he's accusing Jamie of favoring Li Zhen, when he's the one being favored the most.

However, Chris obviously didn't want to be isolated like this. He quickly jumped in, exaggerating and sharp, "This won't do! Right now, with TJ not here, the team needs ball handlers. If he can't even defeat me, what qualifications does he have to be Stanford's starting point guard? We're in the NCAA Division I League, after all!"

He seemed afraid that everyone would gang up on him, so he quickly brought up his cousin, "If TJ were here, he would definitely agree with my proposal."

Watching him act all high and mighty, Li Zhen looked at him with disdain. A person who accuses others of having "connections" but constantly brings up his own cousin as the team leader – these double standards are truly nauseating, displaying the stupidity and nastiness of some people to the fullest.

Li Zhen couldn't be bothered to argue with him.

He had enough confidence in his speed now. While Chris might have a slightly stronger physical game, he had the advantage in height and speed. Taking him down would definitely not be a problem.

"Fine, as you wish. One-on-one, first to score 5! Whoever loses, shuts up and sits quietly on the bench, stop blabbering like a woman!" Li Zhen's words cut through the air sharply.

This left Chris momentarily stunned. He had always thought Li Zhen was easy-going. Had he taken the wrong medication?

However, in an instant, he became happy again. He believed Li Zhen was no match for him. Arrogantly, he declared, "Heh, I'll show you why the basketball court is always ruled by black players. Even if you're the real Bruce Lee, I'll still kick your ass hard! Hah... let's play!!" (T/N: Author, Nooooooo!)

With that, he even intentionally mimicked Bruce Lee's classic move. The reason being, Li Zhen's English name is also Bruce.

Li Zhen gave him a cold look and walked towards the half-court.

Scott had initially tried to persuade him, but seeing Li Zhen's determined expression, he fell silent.

On the basketball court, actions should speak louder than words.

Since his brother wanted to prove himself through basketball, what he should do is offer encouragement and cheer for him!

...

The showdown between the two quickly began.

Chris won the first possession by flipping a coin. The moment he got the basketball, he didn't forget to trash talk, "It's over, Bruce. I'll easily sink five baskets on your head..."

But before he could finish his sentence, Li Zhen swiftly closed in like lightning.

This speed completely exceeded Chris's imagination.

He couldn't help but panic; he never expected Li Zhen to sprint towards him in an instant from just two steps away.

On the sidelines, Scott's eyes widened in astonishment. He turned to his white teammate Thompson and asked, "Did I see what I think I saw?" (T/N: Bruh)

Thompson was equally surprised, and just then... smack!

Li Zhen actually directly swatted the basketball away from Chris's. Chris was forced to the baseline, and he had no room to maneuver. As he prepared to jump and slam the ball onto Li Zhen, Li Zhen had already deftly stolen it.

Then he turned around, charged into the paint, and made a successful one-handed layup.

While Li Zhen scored, Chris was still shouting at the top of his lungs: Foul! He fouled!!

But all the players on the sidelines responded with rolled eyes and disdain.

They all regarded him as a clown.

It was truly nauseating.

The referee, Wallace, who was in charge of keeping score, straightforwardly informed him: there was no foul on this play, it's now 1-0.

Due to Li Zhen's previous score, this possession still belonged to Chris.

Chris learned his lesson from the last time and became extremely cautious, no longer careless.

However, Li Zhen still stuck to him like glue. Even when he pushed his speed to the maximum, he couldn't shake off Li Zhen's ability. Even the janitor sweeping on the sidelines could see it clearly – Bruce was much faster than Chris.

Chris was short, and his only advantage was his speed. But now, even his speed was outmatched. He could only make a forced jump shot from beyond the three-point line... clang!

The basketball predictably hit the rim.

He wasn't known for his shooting skills, and his ball-handling wasn't up to par either: he was just a loser who relied on sports scholarships to get by.

Soon, Li Zhen demonstrated what textbook-level ball handling meant. At the top of the arc, Li Zhen started with a broad lateral swing, evading Chris's forced physical confrontation. Then, he paused for a moment and, with a dazzling fake that made even Scott jump up and shout in amazement, he duped Chris, lightning-fast, into the paint for another layup... swish!

The players on the sidelines had been screaming and cheering for his move.

"This isn't even a fair match!" Thompson scoffed to Scott, shaking his head. "I don't think Pat can even score a single basket!"

"Yeah. When Bruce's speed is ramped up, Pat doesn't stand a chance to physically press him. The most important thing is, Bruce was already the best ball-handler in my book, and now with this astonishing speed... tsk tsk, he might even challenge TJ Walton," Scott couldn't help but imagine.

He had always admired Li Zhen. He had never seen anyone take ball-handling to such an artistic level as Li Zhen did, and his passing ability was too strong. Every time he received the ball, it was natural, no need for adjustments, just straight to the hoop.

A long time ago, he had been thinking: if Bruce's physical abilities were a bit stronger, he might be the only player from Stanford with a chance to make it to the NBA.

And now, Li Zhen's sudden display of sharp speed filled him with excitement.

This excitement wasn't because Li Zhen had schooled the clown-like Chris, but because he saw even broader possibilities.