Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 650: Chapter 576: This is Durant

Safford.

As Durant sank a pull-up jumper, his signature move, Devil’s Mountain became the first to score 50 points, winning the game.

Nearby, Harden waved his arms, letting out a strange, guttural roar as he charged toward Durant.

"Kevin, we won! We’re in the playoffs!"

Harden threw his arms around Durant, slapping him hard on the back.

Durant winced in pain.

’This guy has to be doing it on purpose.’

’We were already sixth in the East and guaranteed a playoff spot. What’s with this reaction? You’d think we just scraped in at the last second after a grueling struggle.’

But speaking of grueling struggles, looking back on the past three months, Durant truly felt like it had all been a dream.

His entire sixteen years of life before this couldn’t compare to the excitement and turbulence of these last three months.

And most importantly, all their hard work had paid off. They were in the playoffs!

At this thought, Durant didn’t hesitate to hug Harden back and start slapping him hard on the back in return.

The three of them horsed around for a while before Presti stopped them.

"Alright, come with me and thank the fans who showed up."

Presti pulled the three players and the team’s Trainer over to thank the fans in attendance.

Part of the show’s filming also involved a team management segment.

Initially, Presti thought it would be difficult for the team to turn a profit.

After all, Safford was too small, and its population was too low.

On top of that, there was a period where the team suffered a string of adjudicated losses, which directly impacted their ticket revenue.

Unexpectedly, out of sympathy for Durant, the team’s attendance rate later became quite high, managing to recoup some of that lost income.

As far as Presti knew, the team’s finances were basically breaking even, which was no small feat.

To celebrate the end of the regular season, Presti even organized a barbecue party.

Unfortunately, DeRozan’s team had an away game and couldn’t make it back in time.

Pizza, fragrant barbecue... they all sat together under the moonlight, reminiscing about the little moments from the past three months.

As they got deeper into their memories, Durant’s eyes couldn’t help but well up and turn red.

He turned to Harden and Little Jordan, his expression serious. "James, you asked me before if I would choose to make a trade once we reached the playoffs. I told you then that I wouldn’t. And I’m going to say it again today: I will not trade you."

"You’ll always be my good friends. We’ve been through so much together. If you’re not there for the final victory, then it means nothing to me!"

Sitting across from them, Presti, who was in the middle of clinking beer bottles with Jim, froze.

Durant’s words were clearly meant for him.

As the regular season drew to a close, he had spoken with Durant on more than one occasion.

He had tried to appeal to both emotion and reason.

He had argued that choosing to trade Harden and Little Jordan wouldn’t affect their friendship.

He had even said that by doing so, Durant would be carrying both of their dreams forward with him.

And now, Durant was telling him in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t do it.

Watching the three of them embracing, Presti couldn’t help but sigh.

He felt that by making this choice, Durant was already giving up on the championship.

Many times, he truly felt that Durant wasn’t rational enough and was incapable of making the most logical choice that best served his own interests.

But there was nothing to be done. That was just who Durant was—such an emotional person.

"Come on, Sam, don’t overthink it. This is his own choice," Jim said, patting Presti on the shoulder reassuringly.

In his view, it wasn’t the least bit surprising that Durant would make such a choice.

"Besides, I think that in Chen’s grand design, he probably doesn’t want them to abandon teammates they’ve strived with for three months just for the sake of victory. So maybe this is actually the right choice."

Three people living and breathing together, training together, playing together, and working hard together for three whole months... to abandon them at the end for the sake of victory—that kind of choice just didn’t sit right with Jim.

Victory might be the ultimate goal, but sometimes, it isn’t the only thing that matters.

There are many other things besides victory.

And based on Jim’s understanding of Chen Yu’s control over the show’s production, he felt that Chen Yu would always create these kinds of scenarios for the kids and then let them make their own choices.

For them, this was a test in itself.

In Jim’s mind, that man was a master of psychology.

The next day, Durant and his two companions set off for Phoenix.

There, they would join the other 15 teams to make their final selections.

What the three of them didn’t expect was that the venue for these selections was none other than the US Airways Center.

October was just around the corner, and the new season was about to begin.

Taking advantage of the break before the new season started, Chen Yu had specifically set aside a day to kick off the next phase of the show’s filming right here in the US Airways Center—the very championship arena where a three-peat dynasty was forged.

This was the first time Durant and his friends had ever set foot in the US Airways Center.

They followed the crowd through the underground employee entrance, walked down a long corridor, and toured the team history display hall and even the Phoenix Suns locker room.

Finally, they arrived at the massive arena itself, with its giant Jumbotron and seating for nearly 20,000 people.

"Kevin, I feel like this floor is different," Harden said, stomping on the hardwood. The feedback was clearly different from a regular court.

Little Jordan chimed in, "Of course it is! I saw on TV a long time ago that all NBA floors are custom-made."

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but look around.

Under the lights, it felt as if they were the only ones in the entire arena.

"I can’t even imagine what it would be like to play on a court like this. If I made a dunk, so many people would be cheering for me."

His eyes darted left and right. Seeing that the accompanying staff member wasn’t paying attention, he suddenly sprinted toward the basketball hoop in the distance.

He leaped into the air and, to the astonishment of those around him, hung from the rim.

The staff member didn’t try to stop him.

Little Jordan hung there for a good ten seconds before happily dropping to the floor, exclaiming internally how awesome it felt.

He had started something. The other kids couldn’t hold back any longer and all ran over to try it themselves.

Harden watched with an envious look on his face. At his current height, he could only just barely manage a dunk.

"Kevin."

Just then, Harden noticed that Durant hadn’t gone over to join the fun. Instead, he had quietly turned and walked to the center of the court.

He stood right inside the center circle.

The soft lights shone down, illuminating him.

He tilted his head back, gazing up at the ceiling above the opposite stands.

Many retired jerseys hung there, but among them, the most prominent and eye-catching were, without a doubt, the three championship banners.

Harden walked over, his heart pounding with excitement as he looked at the retired jerseys.

"Kevin, do you think we could play here in the future? Or even have our jerseys hung up there, to be remembered forever?"

Harden’s face was full of yearning.

"I think you definitely could. You’re a genius. But me... probably not."

Over the past three months, Harden had felt his own growth and improvement, but he had also seen the gap between himself and geniuses like Durant and Oden.

After a moment’s hesitation, Harden said softly, "Kevin, you really should choose to make the trade. DeAndre and I won’t blame you."

He looked at Durant, his expression earnest.

He and Little Jordan had already discussed it and agreed that it was the best choice for the team.

And they were willing to see Durant carry their dreams forward and make a run for the final championship.

What else were friends for?

Durant turned his head, looking at Harden in surprise.

"James, don’t say another word. I’ve made that mistake once. I won’t make it a second time."

"I’m no genius. In my heart, you guys are the geniuses, the best teammates."

"James, believe me. I will lead you guys to a championship. I swear it!"

Durant clenched his fists, his gaze more determined and serious than ever before.

After speaking, he suddenly broke into a grin and pointed upward. "James, one day, I’ll definitely have my jersey hanging up there!"

His gaze locked onto the most unique jersey among all the retired ones.

It was Chen Yu’s retired team doctor’s uniform.

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