Kobe is Injured, is it James' Chance for Revenge?

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Like always, this system task still operates on the principle that the difficulty is proportional to the reward.

The three-point contest isn't particularly difficult, so completing the task only yields a silver-level badge. However, if Wang Chong can win the contest, the badge will upgrade to gold level.

The All-Star FMVP award is Wang Chong's biggest reward yet— a gold-level badge plus 2,000 points.

Since last season's finals, Wang Chong's overall ability rating hasn't changed significantly. After his rating hit 91, it became harder to increase, requiring a lot of practice and time. Wang Chong didn't just rely on the system for boosts—he trained daily, constantly improving. However, the progress was slow.

Sure, upgrading with system boosts is satisfying and quick. But these two tasks are still quite challenging for Wang Chong.

A 90% three-point shooting rate is considered good, but in the league, the Lakers have better three-point shooters like Atkins and Jumaine Jones. They might have a better chance than Wang Chong in a three-point contest.

Wang Chong couldn't remember the participants in the 2005 Three-Point Contest, but he knew it would be tough to win.

As it turns out, Wang Chong was right. Had he known the list of participants, he would have probably sighed, "Why isn't there a mid-range shooting contest at the All-Star Game?"

The 2005 Three-Point Contest included sharpshooters like Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, and Kyle Korver, and the eventual winner was Quentin Richardson.

None of these players would be easy to beat, especially not for Wang Chong, who wasn't exactly known for his three-point shooting.

As for the All-Star Game itself, it's probably even tougher than the Three-Point Contest. Wang Chong was participating in his first All-Star Game, and being a Chinese-American player, he wasn't exactly a fan-favorite in this star-studded event.

Wang Chong wasn't sure how much playing time he'd get in the All-Star Game, so winning the All-Star MVP seemed like a stretch.

But now that the task had been assigned, Wang Chong had no choice but to find a way to complete it and earn the generous system rewards. There was no alternative.

So, Wang Chong agreed without hesitation when the league's staff asked him to participate in the three-point contest.

As a result, Wang Chong hardly had any rest during the three days of the All-Star Weekend.

On the first day, he participated in the Rookie Challenge, where he would face the rookies from the 2004 class as a sophomore.

On the second day, he would take part in the three-point contest and try to earn that system badge.

On the third day, he had the All-Star Game, where he'd compete with other stars and somehow try to snag the All-Star MVP.

News of Wang Chong's participation in the three-point contest was soon made official by the league, fueling the hype for the All-Star Game.

Wang Chong had been gaining attention lately— with the Lakers' stable record, his stellar individual performance, and the ongoing rumors about him and Jessica Alba, Wang Chong's popularity kept climbing.

However, when fans heard that Wang Chong was entering the three-point contest, many laughed, saying he was overestimating himself and setting himself up for embarrassment.

"This is the three-point contest! A stage for all-time great shooters like Reggie Miller and Ray Allen. Wang Chong's a mid-range guy, trying to compete against elite three-point shooters— he's just embarrassing himself!"

"I bet fifty cents that Wang Chong will break Jordan's record in the three-point contest—the lowest score ever with 5 points in a single round!"

"Well, Wang Chong's three-point percentage is around 38% this season, so he's definitely better than Jordan in that department. But he's nowhere near Ray Allen or the other top shooters."

For the league, though, the objective was clear. No matter how Wang Chong performed, the buzz and ratings it would generate made it worthwhile.

While the All-Star events were underway, the NBA regular season continued.

On January 13, the Lakers faced the Cleveland Cavaliers at home.

This was the first meeting between the Lakers and Cavs this season and a matchup that both Wang Chong and LeBron James' fans had been eagerly awaiting.

In fact, calling it a "grudge match" might not be entirely accurate. Wang Chong and James didn't have any real animosity toward each other, and Wang Chong's fans didn't hold any ill will towards James. The truth is simple: fans only get hostile towards players who threaten their star's status.

Even though James was putting up impressive stats—averaging 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists per game—many still saw him as slightly behind Wang Chong.

Wang Chong's numbers were comparable, but his efficiency and team success were clearly ahead of James. More tellingly, the gap between them in All-Star voting was vast.

Just two days earlier, the third round of All-Star voting results had been announced. Wang Chong remained second among Western Conference forwards and was leading James by over 200,000 votes.

Despite the efforts of James' fans to close the gap, they had only seen it grow wider.

For Wang Chong's fans, James was just another player yet to defeat their star. Until that happened, he wasn't considered a serious threat.

But for James' fans, a win over Wang Chong in this game would mean everything. They had been waiting for this moment for a long time and saw it as a chance for revenge.

James himself might not have overthought things as much as his fans, but he certainly wanted to beat Wang Chong on the court.

And he didn't expect his opportunity to come so soon.

Less than five minutes into the game, Kobe landed awkwardly after a layup attempt, collapsing in pain. He couldn't even stand up on his own and had to be helped back to the locker room by his teammates.

The home crowd at the Lakers' arena was visibly anxious, fearing that Kobe had suffered a serious injury that could jeopardize the remainder of the season.

At that moment, Wang Chong remembered something fans would say years later— that this injury was the reason Kobe missed the playoffs during the 2004-05 season.

This season, Kobe sprained his ankle badly and missed 14 games, only managing to play in 66 regular season games.

Many of Kobe's fans believed that had he not suffered this injury, he could have led the Lakers to the playoffs. But in reality, that was just wishful thinking. The Lakers finished the season with 34 wins and 48 losses, while the 8th-seeded Grizzlies had 45 wins and 37 losses.

Even if Kobe had played those 14 missed games, the Lakers would have needed to win at least 12 of them to secure a playoff spot—an unrealistic goal given the circumstances.

Still, Kobe's absence undoubtedly hurt the Lakers' chances.

Now, Wang Chong suspected that Kobe had suffered that same severe ankle sprain.

If so, the Lakers would have to continue their season without Kobe for about a month.

And right now, their priority was to win the game against the Cavaliers.

James, after a moment of shock, realized that his chance for revenge might have just arrived.

End of Chapter

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