NBA: The God of Basketball Begins with Precise Scoring

Chapter 35 Stephen reveals his true feelings, and the training mission is finally completed!

Curry stared intently at Li Xingchen.

Faced with Curry's question, Li Xingchen was actually somewhat at a loss.

"Hey Stephen, what are you talking about? I've only played a few games, how can you say I'm consistent? You're the scoring champion this season, I should be asking you if you have any secrets to shooting."

Curry tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, "I don't know either, but after last night's game, I have a vague feeling that your scoring efficiency should be able to remain stable. My intuition is usually very accurate."

"As for why I have this intuition... I've been watching your shooting too. You're an extremely intelligent shooter. I told you during practice a few days ago that for a shooter, finding the best shooting opportunity is often more difficult and more important than the shot itself..."

"And you, Li, you did exceptionally well. Especially in this game, although you made a few seemingly unreasonable shot selections, you actually made all of those shots. I think you must have been very confident to choose to shoot in those situations, right?"

Li Xingchen nodded—in fact, most of those times the system's prompts helped him, only the super long-range three-pointer against a double team was just a continuation of his own touch, so he was definitely confident.

If someone dares to take unreasonable shots without being sure of their chances, it must mean they think they're getting too much playing time.

Haven't you noticed that Jordan Poole has barely had any playing time in these last two games?

Curry continued, "But I'm different. As the offensive core of this team, sometimes I have to take shots I'm not confident about. Because that's what people expect of me."

"When an offensive possession seems hopeless, they'll say, 'Hey, give that damn ball to Stephen.' But the truth is, I can't solve every problem. Sometimes I'm on fire and I can make some incredible shots; but I also have off nights, like last night..."

"Actually, I was a little envious of you at the time, because you didn't have to bear such a heavy responsibility. Of course, I absolutely didn't mean to shirk responsibility onto you. I have my own ideals and goals, so this is something I should bear as well. I just didn't expect the process to be so difficult. And the final result..."

Curry did not continue speaking.

But Li Xingchen had already understood.

Actually, he wasn't really looking for any secret to consistent shooting efficiency from Li Xingchen. After all, even looking at the entire history of the NBA, Curry is practically unmatched when it comes to shooting alone.

Curry's insomnia, anxiety, and even his heart-to-heart talk with Li Xingchen early in the morning at the training facility were largely due to the immense expectations he carried from fans, which also placed tremendous pressure on him.

Li Xingchen couldn't help but fall into memories.

In the previous 20-21 season, although Curry won the regular season scoring title, the Warriors lost two consecutive games in the play-in tournament and were unfortunately eliminated.

In a post-game interview at the time, Curry declared, "Next season, nobody wants to face us."

In the following 21-22 season, Curry led the Warriors, a team without any other stars besides himself, to the playoffs with the third-best record in the Western Conference, and eventually won the championship.

This is considered one of the most prestigious championships in NBA history, and Curry almost single-handedly led the team to victory. He finally won the Finals MVP, an honor he had missed out on in his previous three championships.

Li Xingchen still remembers that during Game 6 of the Finals, when the clock hadn't run out but the outcome was already decided, Curry was still on the court and had already started crying.

The commentator for that game was Wang Meng, just like every year. His line, "Where is Curry? Curry is already here, with tears in his eyes!" has been repeatedly used in fans' video comments.

It's easy to imagine the immense pressure Curry must have been under before winning this championship and his first Finals MVP award.

Fans' expectations, outside doubts, Warriors' hopes...

Now, although the Warriors have gone through many hardships to enter the playoffs, they will have to face a strong opponent like the top seed in the West in the first round.

In the crucial Game 5, Curry was completely out of sorts and lost his way, leading the team into a large deficit. No wonder Curry blamed himself.

Li Xingchen understood quite well, and also felt a bit emotional.

Although he is currently just a junior player in the NBA, he is already a pillar in the domestic basketball world, which is why he was constantly criticized and questioned when he performed poorly.

To be fair, people only question you if they have expectations of you; otherwise, you wouldn't even be qualified to be questioned.

But this process does require bearing a lot of pressure, so Li Xingchen can empathize with Curry's hardships.

As for his feelings of regret, he genuinely hadn't expected that a sports star like Curry, who already holds three championships, whose career and wealth far surpass those of ordinary people, and who even has a happy and fulfilling family life, would experience pressure and troubles similar to those of ordinary people.

Of course, Li Xingchen also knew that Curry was not telling him these things to ask for any help. He was just someone who had been alone for a long time and happened to run into Li Xingchen, so he opened up to him.

Li Xingchen didn't say much, but walked up and gently patted Curry's butt, just like when Curry encouraged him after that controversial call on the court last night.

"Stephen, we will win."

Curry paused for a moment, then laughed.

"Come on, let's keep training!"

……

Because only the most difficult part of Li Xingchen's system training task remains to be completed, his progress is not fast.

But no matter how slow it is, we are still moving forward little by little.

The team didn't schedule much training in the morning, as it's during the playoffs and the players need to conserve their energy. Even if there was training, it mainly focused on shooting drills and tactical drills, and there were no 5v5 scrimmages.

In addition, there is video analysis and targeted tactical training, but Kerr has scheduled this session for the afternoon and evening, hoping that the players can get a good rest in the morning and recover their physical strength.

So most of the time, Li Xingchen was still practicing on his own.

As the afternoon approached, Li Xingchen was still diligently completing various shooting drills, even after Curry had taken a break.

The task progress bar has reached 99%.

Even though he was already a little tired, and even his shooting percentage was starting to drop, Li Xingchen wanted to finish the task in one go before resting.

Finally, after completing another set of consecutive three-point shooting drills, the progress bar for the training task in the system reached 100%.

The system panel then appeared before his eyes.

"Tasks completed: 2000 specific mid-range shooting drills & 1000 specific three-point shooting drills."

"Should I choose a reward immediately?"