Dream Chaser

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"With the 30th pick in the 2010 NBA second-round draft, the Phoenix Suns selected Dwayne Collins! He's from Miami, Florida, and plays for the University of Miami!"

When David Stern finished speaking, the 2010 draft officially came to an end. Hundreds of people had entered the draft, but only 60 were selected. However, of these 60, fewer than 20 might eventually make it to the NBA. This has long been the harsh reality of the NBA.

These talented players have overcome many obstacles just to get the chance to compete in the NBA. Whether or not they will carve out a spot in the world's top basketball league, or even make a name for themselves, remains unknown.

Here, the number one pick might disappear after their rookie contract ends, while a second-round pick could score more than 30 points in a game and begin their journey to stardom. This is the NBA, and anything can happen.

But all of this has nothing to do with the undrafted players. They don't even have the chance. No team is willing to waste a second-round pick on them. They either go overseas to play or change careers. It seems the door to basketball is firmly closed for them.

However, there are always some people in this world who are willing to do anything for their dreams, who believe, even to the point of paranoia, that they will make them come true.

...

San Francisco, Palo Alto.

This small city lies adjacent to Stanford University to the west and is at the heart of Silicon Valley. It is home to many high-tech companies, including Dell's VMware, Tesla Motors, Li Ning, IDEO, Palantir Technologies, etc. Leland Stanford, the founder of Stanford University, drove the creation of Palo Alto, which has since become one of the most expensive cities in the United States.

In a typical middle-class American house, in a typical middle-class American neighborhood, the atmosphere was eerily quiet.

In the spacious living room, a Chinese family sat, watching the elderly white-haired man on the TV screen, listening intently to every word that came out of his mouth.

In the middle of the sofa sat a young man with a calm face, but a hint of anxiety. His fingers were interlaced and pressed against his forehead. He dared not look at the TV screen. He just kept whispering and praying:

"Almighty, merciful God, I pray to the Lord, bless me so I can be selected..."

It was clear that he was a devout Christian.

But as time passed, his name was never called, and the young man's face turned pale.

Finally, with the 60th pick, Dwayne Collins was selected, and the draft came to an end. The young man never heard his name from David Stern.

Break!

Someone turned off the TV, and the room, which had already been silent, became even quieter. Even the young man stopped praying, and the room fell into a deathly silence.

"Jeremy, it's okay. The draft isn't the only way to get into the NBA. There are summer leagues and the Development League. There are many ways. Don't be discouraged." Lin Jiming broke the silence, unable to bear seeing his son, strong as he was, show such a depressed side.

"Yeah, Jeremy, so what if no one believes in you? Just go back to college. What are you afraid of?" His older brother, Lin Shuya, comforted him.

Yes, the young man sitting in the middle was Jeremy Lin.

"Eh—" He took a deep breath, raised his head, and smiled slowly, "I'm fine, don't worry. My market prediction was never successful. This was the expected result, but I just had a fantasy... This must be a test from the Lord. I will overcome this obstacle just as I have overcome countless difficulties in the past. I will enter the NBA, and no one can stop me from playing basketball!"

The third brother, Lin Shuwei, smiled and said:

"I know, brother, you won't give up. You'll definitely make it to the NBA. I'm still waiting for you to get Stephen's autograph on the No. 30 jersey I just bought! SIGN IT!"

Living in the Bay Area, his family was naturally a loyal supporter of the Warriors, especially Jeremy Lin. He was born and raised in Palo Alto. Although he was of Chinese descent and could speak Chinese, he adhered to standard American values. He was still a devout Christian, had been obsessed with basketball since he was a child, and was an avid Warriors fan. Even during the years when the Warriors were struggling, his support for the team never wavered.

"Don't worry, I'll first try my luck in the summer league. When I sign the contract and play with the Warriors, I'll definitely get Stephen to autograph your jersey." Jeremy Lin, influenced by his innocent younger brother, couldn't help but reveal a smile, extending his hand to ruffle his younger brother's head.

Jeremy Lin quickly shook off his depressive mood. He was used to this feeling of not being recognized by anyone.

There were many Chinese people in the United States, but few children from Chinese families pursued professional sports. On one hand, they were limited by a lack of talent, but more importantly, they were influenced by traditional values.

Lin Jiming and Wu Xinxin were rare exceptions. They supported their children playing basketball, but even their elders criticized them for it.

As a Chinese-American from an engineering family, Jeremy Lin's journey into basketball had seemed a little crazy from the start.

The year he graduated from high school, he averaged 15.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 5 steals per game. He led his high school team to dominate the second level of the California Interscholastic League, winning the championship with a 32-1 record and was selected for the California high school team for a while, though few people took notice of him.

Moreover, influenced by family traditions, Jeremy Lin had to prioritize his studies and couldn't attend a school with a strong basketball environment. Instead, he sent game videos to eight prestigious Ivy League schools.

Unfortunately, his dream school, Stanford University, didn't offer him a full scholarship. Only Harvard University offered him a spot, but it also didn't offer a sports scholarship.

For Jeremy Lin, it was unclear whether this could be considered good news. The last Harvard player to make it to the NBA was Ed Smith, who was drafted in the first round in 1951. This prestigious institution was the most popular in the NCAA, but everyone looked down on it, and no scouts took the top students here seriously.

But this was his only chance, and he had to seize it.

As a freshman, Jeremy Lin came off the bench and averaged 4.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1 steal per game.

In his sophomore year, Jeremy Lin became a starter, averaging 12.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, and was selected for the second team of the All-Ivy League.

In his junior year, Jeremy Lin became the team's core, averaging 17.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.4 steals per game, and was unanimously selected for the first team of the All-Ivy League.

In his senior year, Jeremy Lin averaged 16.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game, and once again was unanimously selected for the first team of the All-Ivy League!

Over four years, Jeremy Lin went from being a marginal substitute to becoming the team's main player, earning respect and applause and securing victories for the team. However, after graduating and declaring for the draft, there was nothing. He was not listed in the draft, and missing out on it seemed like his destined fate.

After all, Harvard had not made it to March Madness in the last four years. The data from major league teams was completely undervalued. If Jeremy Lin had put up those numbers at Duke, North Carolina, or UCLA, he would have at least been a first-round pick.

But Jeremy Lin didn't complain about any of this. After a brief period of depression, he reignited his fighting spirit. Even if no one believed in him, he would take every opportunity he could and try to go further down the path to basketball.

...

The next day, Jeremy Lin, with the help of his older brother Lin Shuya, carefully edited and compiled videos of his college games and prepared them to send to all the teams in the league.

Influenced by their parents, the three brothers' computer skills were far beyond those of ordinary people, and this type of work was easy for them.

But Jeremy Lin wanted to showcase his progress from his freshman year to his senior year and his outstanding performance after becoming the team's core in the video. He had to find the highlights in the vast sea of game footage. It took much effort, and when he finally finished, he still felt very tired.

Lin Shuya pushed the edge of the table, moved the chair slightly back, and walked over to the small freezer in the corner.

He opened the freezer, took out a can of Coca-Cola and a bottle of Gatorade, and tossed the Gatorade to his brother.

"Let's take a break. We've been busy all morning."

Jeremy Lin looked at the screen without lifting his head. He raised his left hand and firmly caught the flying Gatorade with one large hand and casually set it aside.

"Just a second, wait until I send the email…"

"Mmmm…"

Before he could finish speaking, Jeremy Lin's phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was an unknown number.

Jeremy Lin was a little puzzled, but didn't think much of it. He pressed the answer button, put the phone to his left shoulder, tilted his head to listen to the call while continuing to operate the computer with both hands. He casually replied:

"Hello. This is Jeremy Lin, yes. Is this Jeremy Lin from Harvard University? Oh, you're a member of the Warriors' staff... Is this about inviting me to the summer league? Oh, I understand... Thank you, uh-huh, okay."

Break.

Jeremy Lin hung up the phone and continued focusing on the computer.

"Hey, Jeremy..." Lin Shuya called out with a slightly suppressed voice.

"Eh?"

"You just said... the Warriors invited you to the summer league?" Lin Shuya's voice gradually got louder.

"Yes, that's true. The Warriors invited me to the summer league... they invited me to the summer league…" Jeremy Lin suddenly froze.

He slowly turned around, looked at Lin Shuya with wide eyes, and said word by word:

"The Warriors invited me to the summer league?"

Jeremy Lin stood up noisily, clenched his fists, veins popping in his arms, swayed forward heavily, and shouted:

"YES!!!"

Lin Shuya also stood up and hugged Jeremy Lin:

"Jeremy, this is an invitation from the Warriors. You can play for the Warriors!"

Everyone in the family knew how much Jeremy Lin loved the Warriors. His room was full of posters of Curry, Azubuike, Butler, Chandler, and of course, Coach Liam.

At that moment, the Warriors' generals surrounded the two of them, watching them celebrate wildly. In front of Jeremy Lin, it turned out to be Liam Gonzalez in a suit and leather shoes, sitting in a high chair, hands on his chin, showing a sign with a smile.

...

The NBA free agency market officially opened on July 1st, but this had nothing to do with Jeremy Lin. Technically, he was a "free agent," but no team would offer him a contract.

After receiving the Warriors' summer league invitation, Jeremy Lin naturally stopped sending emails to other teams. Instead, he took the time to practice at home, stay in good shape, and strive to perform well in the summer league and secure a contract.

Jeremy Lin only had one thought now, and that was not to let this precious opportunity slip away. If a team was willing to give him a contract, no matter what team it was or what they asked him to do, he would do it.

Of course, it would be better if he could stay with the Warriors, but with Jeremy Lin's current situation, he simply didn't dare to hope for that. He had no right to make a decision, only the fate of being chosen.

Today was the day the Warriors gathered to head to Las Vegas for the summer league. Fortunately, Palo Alto was very close to Oakland. After breakfast, Jeremy Lin still had time to rest before his older brother, Lin Shuya, took him to the Oracle Center.

Jeremy Lin and his family were very familiar with this venue. Lin Jiming and his wife often took their children to watch Warriors games. Unfortunately, they often saw the Warriors lose.

The Warriors had suddenly risen last season, but Jeremy Lin had been in school in Boston. He had only seen an away game where the Warriors played the Celtics, but the Warriors still lost that game. And because it was their second game against the Cavaliers, the entire team was exhausted and lost in an extremely miserable fashion...

Jeremy Lin felt that the Warriors often lost when watching the games. Now that he had the obligation to help the Warriors win, it was better to sign another contract.

After entering the training room, a staff member checked his identity and led him to the court. Many players were already waiting. Jeremy Lin first underwent a physical test and then a training session to introduce himself to the team. Only with his features would the coaching staff make arrangements.

After the physical test, Jeremy Lin looked around and saw many familiar faces: Matthews, Anthony Tolliver, Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf, and others who had been Warriors' bench players last season. De Lamond Green was this year's first-round pick.

Additionally, there were some faces Jeremy Lin didn't recognize. They were likely undrafted free agents and temporarily recruited players like him.

Jeremy Lin was nobody. No one approached him to talk, and he didn't look for trouble. He quietly stayed there waiting to be grouped. However, since he was the only Chinese player, he attracted quite a bit of attention.

Suddenly, there was a commotion. Jeremy Lin turned around and saw all the players looking toward the entrance, shouting:

"Boss!"

"Coach!"

"Gentlemen..."

It was Coach Liam!

Jeremy Lin greeted him with a smile on his face. As a Warriors fan, he had watched many of the team's games from his dorm last season. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Coach Liam, and now Coach Liam was his boss and head coach. He was awed by the person who could decide his fate.

Liam Gonzalez walked toward everyone and greeted each player one by one with a smile:

"I've been waiting for a long time… Klay, Draymond, how have these two days been? Just get used to it... Wesley, I'm looking forward to your triples and defense! Anthony, how's your defense? Danny, if you play well, you'll definitely get fewer playing opportunities next season... Or should I call you?"

Liam Gonzalez walked past all the players, stopped in front of Jeremy Lin and said one last word.

End of this chapter

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