Getting Stronger

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Charlotte, Basketball Acceleration Camp.

"Good job, Stephen, you're doing great, keep it up!"

Blandpayne's inspiring voice echoed across the court as he stood on the sidelines, clapping enthusiastically.

—Wow, wow!

In front of him, Curry wore a pair of black sunglasses with very low light transmission. The court in front of him seemed chaotic, but there were several beams placed regularly, changing colors, and Curry quickly bounced a basketball with one hand while tossing a tennis ball with the other, coordinating with the color changes to complete the corresponding action. His movements were lightning-fast.

The training method, known as "Fitlight", is designed to train neurons to improve reflexes, concentration, and decision-making skills on the court.

Snap!

Suddenly, Curry made an error in his hustle, pushed a bit too hard, and the tennis ball he was holding flew off.

"Let's take a break!" Brandon Payne quickly stepped forward, grabbed the sweaty tennis ball, and shouted.

Hearing this, Curry stopped dribbling, bent down to place the basketball at his feet, took off his sunglasses, and placed his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

He wore a black athletic shirt and breathable, tight-fitting shorts, all completely soaked with sweat. Large beads of sweat slid down his forehead, forming spindle-shaped drops under the pull of gravity before splashing onto the floor.

Of course, dribbling alone wouldn't have exhausted Curry this much, but before this, Curry had already been engaged in 45 minutes of high-intensity training without interruption. His physical condition was near exhaustion, and continuing to dribble at his limit meant he had to exert 10 times more willpower than usual.

One of the coaches brought an energy drink over, and Curry endured the hunger and thirst, took a sip, and handed it back.

After such an intense workout, it's important not to replenish a large amount of water right away; this is common sense known to all athletes and coaches. Of course, this "vigorous" recovery applies to professional athletes—it's hard for ordinary people to reach this level, and they don't need to pay attention to these details all the time. NBA players endure harsh requirements in their training to maintain peak physical condition, so they can become faster, stronger, and more explosive.

After only a two-minute break,Brandon Payne glanced at the electronic monitor on his left wrist, clapped, and said aloud:

"Let's go, Stephen, if you make 100 threes, the morning session will be over!"

"Hoo..."

Curry didn't respond, just nodded slightly, then stood up, only to have another coach hand him the basketball from the lower-left corner of the three-point line. He raised his hand and took a shot from beyond the arc.

Bang clang!

The extreme exhaustion caused Curry to be a bit less forceful, and his shot fell short, hitting the left side of the rim near his body.

"That shot doesn't count, try again! Pay attention to your power control, try to shoot clean, and don't slow down your release. We're trying to simulate a real-game shot as much as possible!"Brandon Payne shouted as he wiped the sweat off his temples.

Although Brandon Payne is just a coach, he doesn't just observe from the sidelines. During Curry's training, he often steps onto the court to demonstrate the technical details himself and also runs alongside Curry to correct his movements at high speed.

Curry raised his left arm to signal he understood, then took the pass from the coach and shot again without hesitation.

Swish!

This time, Curry controlled his power perfectly, and the basketball arced beautifully before swooshing through the net.

"Beautiful! That's it, Stephen!" Bland Payne cheered loudly for Curry.

Swish - bang - swish...

Starting from the corner, Curry began launching his three-pointers while moving toward the top of the arc. This speed wasn't quick; making 100 threes was as simple as eating and drinking for him. But Curry was now exhausted, and Brandon Payne still demanded a certain speed in his shots. As a result, Curry needed to "flatten" 1 out of 3 of his shots, and in the end, he ended up using over 130 shots to complete the 100 three-pointers.

When it was done, Curry lowered his head, his arms hanging weakly, swaying from side to side with inertia, dragging his legs step by step to the sideline. He leaned back and collapsed into a folding chair, where a coach was already handing him a sports drink.

Brandon Payne grabbed a piece of paper from a coach who was working on a computer on the sideline, glanced at it, then walked over to Curry and nodded slightly:

"77.33% accuracy... Stephen, you're the most amazing shooter I've ever seen. You've been able to maintain such a high shooting percentage even at your limit, and you've improved a lot this month. When you first came in early July, you only had a 66% shooting percentage."

Stephen took a small sip of the energy drink, grabbed a towel from the coach's hand, wiped his face with it, and nodded slowly, a mix of exhaustion and happiness in his blue eyes: "Thanks, eh... I can clearly feel myself improving, ha..."

Brandon Payne shook his head and said:

"No, Stephen, it's thanks to your own hard work and willpower. I didn't expect that with such high-intensity training, you could stick with it without any shortcuts. To be honest, I thought you would quit, and I was prepared for your frustration, but your performance is incredible."

Curry took off the towel covering his head, wiped his face with it, and showed a tired but joyful smile:

"You know, I don't have any talent. I'm just going to have to put everything I have into catching up, and there's so much competition in this league."

Brandon Payne nodded with deep emotion:

"Yes, if you want to survive in the NBA, you have to keep improving. No one knows what will happen next. If you relax just a little, others could surpass you. It's like when James and Bosh joined the Heat, and suddenly, a super team was born. It's ironic that those championship hopefuls woke up and suddenly found themselves out of reach... But fortunately, the Heat is in the East, and the Warriors don't have to compete directly with them. Still, it'll be a headache for Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen, the Big Three VS the Big Three. This will definitely be a huge battle."

Brandon Payne paused, raised his wrist, and checked his watch:

"Let's go, let's recover, then you can go home and rest. It's 11:17, and we'll continue at 2 PM."

Curry slowly stood up and was about to put the towel on the folding chair when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cotton seat nearly soaked with his sweat. He adjusted his wrist and tossed the towel to the coach beside him.

At the Basketball Acceleration Training Camp, Curry's training team consists of 6 people, led by Brandon Payne. There's a nutritionist who handles Curry's diet plan during training, a sports medicine specialist for managing his load during workouts, and a Silicon Valley tech expert who provides cutting-edge training aids for Curry. Additionally, two assistant coaches are there to offer necessary assistance during his training.

In this era, the NBA still has a vague understanding of load management, and rarely uses technological aids in player training. Many managers, training staff, and even players still follow traditional NBA training methods.

Liam and Brandon Payne agree that the scientific and technological content of player training will increase more and more. That's why Liam deliberately found a specialized sports training tech team from Silicon Valley to bring "scientific and technological talent" to help assist with training the Warriors players. The Basketball Acceleration Camp is a pilot program, and if it's effective, Liam will implement it with the Warriors next season.

Curry is more than happy to train with technology. He's been working with a black bracelet this summer, a wearable device called "Shottracker." This is a product being developed by the TechGenius team, and the full set of equipment also includes a shooting sensor mounted on the hoop, along with wristbands or elbow pads and computer software to statistically analyze the data and track shooting accuracy.

The wrist sensor in the "shottracker" device is very lightweight, and Curry can barely feel it. With this set of equipment, every shot route and shooting percentage is accurately recorded. The software analyzes Curry's shots, identifies weaknesses in each, and allows him to correct his shooting form for optimal performance.

Curry is the first official user of this equipment, and the "Tech Talent" team will make improvements based on his feedback. His shooting continues to improve on a high level, which is closely linked to this technology.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg in Curry's training process. The tech team also works on his shooting, control, strength, flexibility, speed, and recovery after training, even using the "NormaTec" leg recovery system.

Curry was one of the first to use the device, which was still in the research and development phase, allowing him to train at high intensity without interruption for a month, with proper breaks, a healthy diet, and high-tech recovery methods.

After relaxing with "NormaTec" and having lunch prepared by the nutritionist, Curry left the gym with his car keys in hand and walked to the parking lot, where he would head home to rest before resuming training in the afternoon.

Sitting in the car, Curry placed his hands on the steering wheel, then stopped suddenly as his eyes fixed on his arm.

He flexed his arm and smiled while admiring his visibly bulging biceps.

This month, his game growth wasn't the most surprising, but his physical change was the most significant.

Curry was following a strict offseason plan to gain weight and focus on strength training, along with more three-point shooting. Liam and Brandon Payne also teamed up to develop a perfect training plan for him, including mid-range shooting, finishing at the basket, and overall shooting technique. If completed on time, Curry's offensive threat would become much greater and more well-rounded.

Brandon Payne mentioned more than once: "Next season, Curry will definitely shock the world!"

"The Big Three? I don't know when I'll be able to shake the league like James..."

—murmured Curry, unable to suppress a twinge of yearning in his mind at the mention of Bland Payne's excitement about the Heat.

...

While Curry was about to head home to rest, Butler was sweating on the court in an older gym in Tonbal, Houston.

Mid-range shots, dribbling, escapes, sprints, defensive slides... Under the coach's guidance, Butler was like a stubborn rock, silently executing one drill after another, his face calm, as if the sweat thrown into the air didn't flow from him, with only his heavy breathing during the confrontation showing his fatigue and exhaustion.

Bang bang - Swish!

Under the coach's leather paddle taps, Butler firmly controlled his arm and wrist movements, completing a jump shot after escaping.

Compared to last summer, which focused on shooting and defensive drills, this summer, Butler focused more on ball-handling offense, dribbling, mid-range shots, and finishing at the basket as per the training plan developed by the coaching staff.

This is the right way— the value of a forward to the team is attacking the offense, providing a hard solution in times of anxiety. Butler himself isn't someone who only focuses on 3-and-D; this is exactly what the coaching staff wants.

Swish!

After making 20 jump shots in a simulated defense environment, the coach stopped the drill and looked at Butler with a monstrous gaze. He had never seen a player as hardworking as Butler throughout his coaching career—he truly trained non-stop!

Although Butler was close to his limit, he had no intention of complaining. He simply sat down silently to rest.

Half a month ago, Liam had called him and informed him that Matthews would be the starting forward for the new season.

Every time he thought of Liam's last words: "Jimmy, train hard, and you'll have a chance to play in the future," Butler's heart ignited with an infinite fighting spirit.

He only trusts Liam, and will never be angry with him—neither in the past, nor now, nor in the future. The leader must have his reasons for doing this, and all he can do is train, train, and train.

As long as I work hard enough, I can continue strengthening myself and help the team!

With fire burning in his eyes, Butler stood up to grab the basketball and started training again.

...

While Butler was putting in work, across the West Coast in Los Angeles, Klay kept running, receiving passes from the coach, and silently making three-pointers, each shot following nearly the same trajectory. The only sounds were the crisp swish of the net and the dull thud of the ball landing on the wooden floor.

In Sekino, by Lake Michigan, Green soaked in the gym, his muscles becoming more defined as sweat streamed down his body, but he remained unmoved. His eyes stayed fixed ahead as he slowly but forcefully lifted the dumbbells, burning off the fat.

Instead of going on vacation in Hawaii, Miami, or the Caribbean, they all worked hard toward one goal: to get stronger!

End of this chapter

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