Chapter 324: A Unique Rookie
“This brat…is still as intolerant as ever.” Michael Jordan looked at Kaneki Ken’s receding back with a helpless look on his face, suddenly chuckled and shook his head and said.

“What did you say, Michael?” Scottie Pippen asked with some confusion.

“Nothing, Scottie…” Michael Jordan looked at Scottie Pippen seriously and said, “You have to play this game seriously… Otherwise, it will be too embarrassing to let a rookie take away the title of Batman.”

“I know.” Scottie Pippen looked at Michael Jordan’s serious expression and his face became serious. He turned his head and looked at Kobe Bryant who had returned to the backcourt and said, “The little bald guy next to him… I will take care of him.”

“What’s going on…” Kobe Bryant, the bald boy mentioned by Scottie Pippen, felt a chill on his back. He frowned and muttered to himself in confusion, “It feels like something is staring at me…”

“Defense! Defense! Defense!”

As the ball returned to the Bulls, Michael Jordan did not give the ball to his teammates this time, but chose to carry the ball across half court. Watching Michael Jordan slowly approaching the Lakers’ three-point line, the Lakers fans on the sidelines cheered for Kaneki Ken at the top of their lungs.

“Hey big boy, did you hear that? Your fans are cheering for you.” Michael Jordan looked at Kaneki Ken with a playful look and said, “If I beat you in this situation, you will be very embarrassed.”

“You can try, Michael.” Kaneki Ken looked at Michael Jordan seriously and said, “But if I knock you down, you will be embarrassed.”

“Then let’s give it a try…” Michael Jordan looked at Kaneki Ken with narrowed eyes, and the dribbling movement in his hands gradually became faster.

“boom!”

After simply adjusting his steps, Michael Jordan suddenly hit the ball and rushed towards Kaneki Ken’s right hand side. Kaneki Ken only felt a flash before his eyes, and Michael Jordan’s figure disappeared on the spot as if it had appeared in a flash.

“What the hell, when did this boiled egg change so quickly…” Kaneki Ken looked at Michael Jordan’s disappearing figure in horror, and for a moment he couldn’t believe what he saw.

“Michael is so shameless that he actually plays with a rookie.” Charles Barkley said with a playful look at Kaneki Ken who was chasing after Michael Jordan, “But letting this brat face Michael now…it’s really too difficult for him…shit!”

“Fuck!” Scottie Pippen cursed almost in unison, “This rookie… is so fast?”

“Are you surprised?” Kobe Bryant looked at Scottie Pippen with a puzzled look on his face, and said with a hint of disdain, “It seems that you really haven’t seen much of the world… In the duel between these two guys… I won’t be surprised who wins.”

“Haha, it’s really more fun to play with a brat like you.” Michael Jordan laughed as he looked at Kaneki Ken who had stuck to him again in an instant, “Then I won’t hold back!”

“boom!”

As Michael Jordan’s voice fell, Kaneki Ken felt a huge force coming from his chest, and his feet, which were originally desperately chasing and defending, suddenly stopped.

“Damn, is this boiled egg really almost 40 years old?” Kaneki Ken looked at Michael Jordan’s figure with some shock and complained, “This power… feels even greater than the first time I saw him!”

“What are you staring at?” Michael Jordan, who had used the power of confrontation to get rid of Kaneki Ken’s entanglement, jumped up and looked at Kaneki Ken with a playful look and said, “If you don’t come to defend, I’ll take this ball!”

“Stop showing off, you bastard!” Kaneki Ken narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. He took a step forward, jumped up with his knees slightly bent, and slapped the basketball in Michael Jordan’s hand.

“Boy, you’re still a little naive~” Michael Jordan looked at Kaneki Ken’s big hand and curled the corners of his mouth slightly. He pulled the ball slightly in the air and avoided Kaneki Ken’s block. He pointed the ball towards the basket just before it landed.

“Damn, this guy has a really good waist…” Kaneki Ken looked at the basketball thrown by Michael Jordan, cursed inwardly with some dissatisfaction, and watched the net splashed like water by the basketball thrown by Michael Jordan.

“Nice goal! Michael Jordan fooled the Asian kid in the air and successfully scored two points with a fadeaway jump shot!”

As the sound of the basketball hitting the net rang out, the commentator on the sidelines excitedly clenched the microphone in his hand and cheered loudly.

“Two points, kid, it’s 2-0 now.” Michael Jordan retreated to defense and made a two gesture to Kaneki Ken.

“I understand, Michael, I will look at the data sheet.” Kaneki Ken gave Michael Jordan a somewhat unhappy look, then extended his hand to Shaquille O’Neal who was standing at the baseline behind him.

“This kid actually acts like the boss of the team…” Shaquille O’Neal looked at the solemn Kaneki Ken with a somewhat amused look and muttered to himself, “If you count this equally greenhorn No. 8… this year’s rookies are quite something~”

“Michael, here I come.” Kaneki Ken didn’t know what Shaquille O’Neal was thinking at the moment – or even if he knew, he wouldn’t care. He just slowly dribbled the ball across half court, called a pick-and-roll the moment he crossed the middle and long line, and after actively finding Michael Jordan, he waved to No. 23 in front of him and said.

“Wow, our Asian kid actually took the initiative to find Michael. It seems that he is very dissatisfied with Michael’s goal just now~” The commentator on the side said with an expression of watching the fun and not minding the trouble, “It seems that Michael will face the challenge of a rookie~”

“Welcome to the NBA, rookie.” Michael Jordan waved to his teammates to indicate that he would defend Kaneki Ken alone, then looked at Kaneki Ken with a playful look and said, “As your master and senior, I want to remind you that you must learn to hide your thoughts when you are on the court…” “I am no longer the 13-year-old kid…” Kaneki Ken interrupted Michael Jordan’s sermon, looked firmly into the eyes of the God of Basketball and said, “So, stop preaching to me, Michael. If you have the guts, just beat me on the court!”

“As you wish!” Michael Jordan took a step forward with excitement on his face, and his palm cut towards the basketball in Kaneki Ken’s hand like black lightning.

“boom!”

Just when Michael Jordan’s fingers were about to touch the basketball, Kaneki Ken used a big crossover to pass the ball to his left hand. While avoiding Michael Jordan’s steal, he also passed Michael Jordan by half a body length.

“This kid…his reactions are getting faster and faster!” The smile on Michael Jordan’s face gradually faded at this moment. He looked at Kaneki Ken with a serious expression. After simply adjusting his steps, he opened his arms again to block Kaneki Ken’s path to cut inside.

“Are you afraid that I will cut into the penalty area…” Kaneki Ken frowned, thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled strangely, and said to himself in a playful tone, “It seems that it is time to recreate that classic scene~”

“What is this brat talking about?” Michael Jordan frowned and looked at Kaneki Ken. An ominous premonition suddenly came to his mind.

“boom!”

Another sound of a ball exploding was heard, and Kaneki Ken made a fake breakthrough to the left and then pulled the ball back again. This time, even with Michael Jordan’s reaction speed, he was unable to stop Kaneki Ken in the first time. He could only watch him jump up from the unguarded free throw line and then accurately throw the ball into the basket.

“Oh my god, what did I see?” The commentator on the sidelines was shocked as he watched Kaneki Ken making a headshot celebration gesture. “After Michael scored a goal, our Asian boy immediately returned the favor. After successfully dribbling past Michael, he responded with a beautiful mid-range shot!”

“Wow, you’re really good!” Shaquille O’Neal came to Kaneki Ken in surprise, patted him on the shoulder and said, “You said before that you played one-on-one with Michael, I thought you were bragging…”

“I never brag, Shaq…I never go back on my word.” Kaneki Ken turned his head and said to Shaquille O’Neal.

“Including what you said in the training camp, that we will win the championship this year?” Shaquille O’Neal asked with a mischievous look on his face.

“Yes, including that sentence.” Kaneki Ken nodded seriously.

“Fuck, I actually kind of believed you…” Shaquille O’Neal looked at Kaneki Ken silently for a while and then suddenly laughed and cursed, “But before that, you should think about how to deal with that monster Michael. The goal you just scored made him lose face… So, good luck to you, kid.”

In the rest of the first quarter, Michael Jordan did as Shaquille O’Neal said. When facing Kaneki Ken, he did not care about the teacher-student relationship at all. He not only used his rich arsenal, but also sniffed out various difficult shots in front of Kaneki Ken.

However, facing Michael Jordan’s strong performance, Kaneki Ken chose to attack back. At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers were only two points behind the Bulls with a score of 21 to 23. Among them, Michael Jordan scored 23 points for the Bulls in 16 minutes, while Kaneki Ken scored 10+3+5 as usual, scoring the highest points for the team and also sent out 5 assists.

“This won’t work…” Sitting on the bench, Kaneki Ken turned his head solemnly and looked at Michael Jordan, muttering to himself, “If we want to win this game, we have to defeat this guy head-on…”

“Listen to me, give me the ball in the next game, Dennis. I don’t care about anything now. I only ask you to keep that fat guy out of the three-second zone. If this fat guy slips into the three-second zone easily again, after this game is over, I will pull out your shoelaces and hang you!” Michael Jordan pointed at the scoreboard on the field, looked at his teammates in front of him with dissatisfaction and said, “And you, Scotty, the 17-year-old kid on the opposite side actually scored six points on you… What, don’t you want to fight for a big contract this offseason?”

“Calm down, Michael~” Phil Jackson put his hands in his pockets and comforted him calmly, “Everything is still under control. It’s just a team of three young people. We have enough momentum but not enough stamina… Besides, we are still leading the score now, aren’t we?”

“Stop talking like that, Phil. You don’t fucking understand that kid at all.” Michael Jordan stared at Phil Jackson with a serious look in his eyes and said, “This kid is like a hound. If you show even the slightest flaw, he will pounce on you and bite you until his throat is cut!”

“Buzz~”

Just as Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan stared at each other in silence, the buzzer on the sidelines sounded, announcing the end of the intermission.

“Well, it’s just the second game, so let’s do as you say, Michael…” Phil Jackson faced Michael Jordan’s oppressive eyes, turned his head helplessly, shrugged and said, “If this is what you want, then in the next quarter, you have unlimited firing rights.”

“Kid, the No. 23 on the opposite side is now in your hands.” Before going on the court, Silver Fox Harris patted Kaneki Ken’s shoulder with anticipation and said, “When West decided to trade half of the team’s starting lineup for you, I also voted in favor… I believe you won’t let West and me down, right?”

“Of course not, Coach Harris. Just sit here and wait for us to win the game.” Kaneki Ken took off the towel covering his head, smiled at Harris and shook his head, “It would be great if the NBA was an investment like Wall Street, and you and Mr. West would make a lot of money.”

“How’s it going, Jerry?” In a VIP room above the stadium, Jerry West smiled and looked at Jerry Buss who was sitting next to him and said, “There is no other rookie in this draft who can lead a team to compete with the Bulls who won three consecutive championships except this kid.”

“Your vision is as sharp as ever, Jerry.” Jerry Buss smiled and raised the champagne in his hand to Jerry West and said, “Cheers to the Lakers and Showtime.”

“Cheers, Jerry.” Jerry West raised his glass and clinked it gently. After a moment of silence, he added, “To the championship.”

(End of this chapter)