NBA: Journey To Become Unplayable. Chapter 48: Southern league final

The conversation is in Mandarin until notified of a change.

" I saw so clips of you playing — impressive stuff. Co on." Yao Ming grinned and hugged Lin Yi.

Lin Yi hesitated for a second, unsure what to call him, then smiled. "Thanks, Yao Ming."

Yao chuckled, a big, hearty laugh. A Rockets trainer who tagged along was stunned — Yao didn't smile like that often. The guy was practically glowing.

But of course, he was happy. It felt good to connect with another Chinese player making waves. And in the U.S., where he constantly had to tilt his head down to talk to people, seeing Lin Yi train so hard reminded him of his grind.

Plus, Lin Yi had a real shot at being the highest Chinese draft pick since Yao himself. That alone gave him a soft spot for the kid.

"NCAA treating you alright? How's the food? Still handling English language okay?" Yao asked half concerned, half joking.

"It's been tough," Lin Yi admitted, "but Coach McKillop's great. He kinda lets do my thing. As for food—" he patted his stomach, "—I can crush seven or eight burgers in one sitting. English? No problem. I roast my teammates now and then."

Yao laughed again and nodded. Lin Yi was upbeat, a bit of a jokester — different from his quiet nature. But he liked that. Yi Jianlian was way too serious. People always thought Yao was all polite and reserved, but he could joke around with the best of them.

Yao suddenly switched to English to test Lin Yi a bit. The two chatted for a while, and Yao was impressed. Lin's English was smooth, even throwing in so Arican slang. Way more natural than Yi Jianlian, who still struggled a bit with casual conversation.

Yao sighed internally. As much as he hoped Yi Jianlian would thrive, he wasn't sure. The guy's playstyle was too basic.

Lin Yi? He might just have it.

"I heard you shook Griffin with so Iverson crossover steps, right?" Yao smirked, giving Lin a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I wanna see it myself. After the ga, let's grab so food and talk more."

Lin grinned. "You got it."

On the way back to warm-up, though, he was deep in thought. Should I say sothing about Yao's knees?

Yeah... maybe after dinner.

But saving Yao's career? That was a big "if." Fate's weird like that.

"Yo, that's Big Yao! You lucky bastard," Steph Curry gave Lin a thumbs up.

Lin just waved it off. The attention today was nuts.

He also noticed a few familiar faces — two Thunder stars and their GM, Sam Presti. That guy had scary good draft instincts.

Griffin, anwhile, looked locked in. The dia hyped up this Lin Yi vs. Griffin rivalry, and honestly, it might carry into the NBA.

Those two didn't say much but on the court? Fire.

The court was buzzing. Warmups wrapped. Sooners' coach Jeff Capel and McKillop from the Wildcats were giving last-minute orders.

The Sooners' cheerleaders had the crowd hyped. This Southern League final was gonna be intense.

Tip-off

Lin's long arms gave him the edge. He won the jump. Griffin grunted — every battle between them mattered to him.

Blake had even admitted in an interview that Thabeet wasn't his rival. Lin Yi was.

Funny thing? The more Griffin studied Lin, the more he respected him. So he'd been grinding, working on his shot and handles — stuff he never used to focus on.

Jeff Cape loved it. A real rival brought out the best in his star.

Back to the ga — Curry opened the scoring with a ridiculous, no-space three. The crowd went from deafening to dead silent.

3–0.

Wildcats up.

.....

NBA scouts in the stands just sighed. That's Steph Curry for you. NBA-ready jumper, easily top-tier already.

Even Yao Ming shook his head. Man, this is what the Chinese team's missing — a fearless shooter. Wang Shipeng's got guts, but his shot is hit or miss.

"Three... points," Barkley mumbled. In his day, guys didn't chuck threes like this.

...

Sooners' possession. Blake Griffin backed down Anthony Beasley and scored with ease.

Beasley shrugged. "I tried, bro."

Lin smiled and gave the guy a pat on the shoulder.

"Here we go," Presti muttered from the stands, suddenly focused.

Lin vs. Griffin — Round 1 was about to start.

Griffin didn't back down, didn't hide. He wanted this matchup. He lined up across from Lin Yi, ready for the challenge.

Wildcats spread the floor. Classic 1-4 isolation — clear the space for Lin Yi to go to work.

Yao leaned in. He knew this setup well — when the Rockets offense stalled, it was him or T-Mac going solo.

Center vs. center at the top of the key? Rare.

Lin squared up.

He's gonna shoot?

Griffin edged up — bad call.

Lin exploded, going in the opposite direction.

Griffin stumbled to catch up, but Lin's handle was tight. Why's his crossover so fast?

Easy — Lin's Silver Ankle Breaker badge. These one-on-one showdowns pushed it even higher.

Lin hit Griffin with a Shammgod and blew past him. The Sooners' defense collapsed.

Lin kicked the ball to the corner — no-look pass.

Curry was there.

Splash.

Three.

Curry pointed at Lin, then flashed the three-point sign.

Lin pointed back, mimicking the gesture.

...

Yao exhaled lightly.

His handle's way sharper than Sun Yue's... this guy might be the real deal.

Barkley leaned over to Smith. "Told you. Kid's got serious feel for the ga."

Smith just waved. "Alright, alright, I'll give you that round."

.....

PLEASE DO LEAVE A REVEW AND SO STONES.