Chapter 116: Trial Training (Part 1)

The taxi stopped at the west entrance of Madison Square Garden.

Lin Feng and Shen Mengfei stood at the entrance for a moment when a white-bearded foreigner and Harris, Lin Feng’s teammate from Jiangning, appeared in their sight.

“Hey, Lin, long time no see! Looks like you’re doing well!” Harris came over and gave Lin Feng a warm hug.

“You seem to be doing well too, your muscles look even more solid.” Since they had fought side by side, Lin Feng and Harris were especially close.

“Lin, this beautiful lady must be your girlfriend, right? Oh, wait, isn’t she a singer? I heard she’s quite famous in China...” Harris said with a smile, looking at Shen Mengfei.

Hearing this, Lin Feng suddenly felt awkward.

“Bro, you’ve got the wrong person. She’s not my girlfriend, we’re just ordinary friends,” Lin Feng quickly clarified their relationship and then introduced, “She’s the general manager of the Jiangzhou Southern Airlines Club, Shen Mengfei. Maybe you’ll have a chance to cooperate in the future.”

“Hello, Harris.” Shen Mengfei greeted warmly, showing no irritation at being mistaken for Qin Ruolin.

“Oh my, such a young and beautiful club manager,” Harris exclaimed, then smiled at Shen Mengfei, “Sorry, Ms. Shen, I didn’t mean to...”

Harris shrugged, trailing off.

“By the way, Lin Feng, Ms. Shen, this is my agent, Walker,” Harris said, pointing at a bearded white man.

“Hello, Lin. I’m so glad to see you here,” Walker shook Lin Feng’s hand and then greeted Shen Mengfei.

“Mr. Walker, may I ask why you urgently called me here?” Lin Feng asked directly.

“Oh, this matter is extremely urgent. Luckily, you’ve already arrived in Manhattan; otherwise, you might have missed this tryout opportunity,” Walker stroked his beard. “At noon, the Knicks completed tryouts for the other three players, and they were very satisfied with one of them. They’ve even decided to sign that guy. If you hadn’t come to New York, I might have told you not to bother, but I knew you were already on the plane. So, I communicated with the Knicks and hoped they would give you a tryout chance. However, they’re only willing to wait until 7 p.m. tonight. If you don’t show up by then, they’ll sign the other guy.”

“Fortunately, you made it. We’ll head to the court immediately. Are you in a condition to try out now?” Walker asked Lin Feng.

“No problem, I’m ready anytime,” Lin Feng replied solemnly.

“That’s good. Let’s go. But I have to tell you, your chances are slim,” Walker said.

Lin Feng nodded silently, saying nothing, and followed Walker into Madison Square Garden.

This was Lin Feng’s first time stepping into Madison Square Garden. No one could have imagined that not long after, this yellow-skinned, black-haired Chinese man would become the new king of this place!

...

Walker led Lin Feng straight to a “secondary hall” inside Madison Square Garden, which was the New York Knicks’ training facility.

Inside, the team was engaged in group scrimmage drills, while the coaching staff concentrated intently on their respective tasks.

“Phil, the player I recommended has arrived,” Walker said to the Knicks head coach, Phil, standing by the court.

Phil was one of the most renowned and decorated NBA coaches, with five championship titles under his belt.

“Oh, Walker, your efficiency is still impressive,” Phil said. He and Walker were old acquaintances, which was why he was willing to meet Lin Feng despite already having plans to sign another player who had performed well in tryouts.

“Phil, this is Lin Feng, the player I told you about,” Walker introduced.

“Hello, Coach Phil,” Lin Feng greeted politely.

Phil said nothing but studied Lin Feng closely from head to toe. “You look a bit shorter than in the videos. Are you six feet tall?”

Lin Feng thought for a moment and nodded, “Exactly six feet.”

“Too short,” Phil shook his head lightly. “You don’t seem very strong either.”

“McCarr, the last tryout player has arrived. Take him for a physical,” Phil called out to a large black man by the sidelines.

“Okay,” McCarr responded and glanced at Lin Feng, but his gaze lingered on Shen Mengfei for a long time.

“Wow, what a beautiful woman!” McCarr unabashedly complimented, then asked Lin Feng, “Is she your girlfriend?”

“Friend,” Lin Feng replied flatly.

“Alright, I get it.” McCarr’s face showed a lecherous smile; he naturally didn’t believe Lin Feng and Shen Mengfei were just friends.

“Come with me. But your friend will have to stay here or wait in the lounge,” McCarr said, pointing at Shen Mengfei.

“I’ll wait here,” Shen Mengfei volunteered.

“Okay!” McCarr shrugged and didn’t say more.

“Lin, don’t be nervous. It’s just a basic physical examination,” Walker patted Lin Feng’s shoulder.

Lin Feng nodded and followed McCarr out of the training hall.

“I’m McCarr, the team’s data analyst. What’s your name?” McCarr asked as they walked.

“I’m Lin Feng,” Lin Feng replied.

“Oh, I haven’t seen a tryout from an Asian player for a long time—maybe three or five years. Of course, I don’t mean this in a discriminatory way. You know, different races have different talents. For example, you guys tend to be smarter,” McCarr chatted amiably, smiling.

Though McCarr’s words carried a hint of condescension toward Asians, he was partly right. Whether in basketball or soccer, Asian athletes excelling at the highest levels were rare.

“McCarr, maybe I’ll surprise you,” Lin Feng said.

“Oh, I hope so,” McCarr shrugged. “Your English seems pretty good, very authentic.”

“Is it? Then I won’t have communication issues with my teammates,” Lin Feng smiled. He had naturally learned fluent English, even mastering the Ohio dialect from Stephen Curry’s hometown, after having “kidnapped” Curry’s style.

“That will definitely help you integrate into the team. Of course, that’s assuming you get a contract.”

As they spoke, McCarr led Lin Feng into a room.

The room appeared to be the team’s physiotherapy center. Several massage tables were arranged in one corner, and various machines occupied the central space.

“You’re here, McCarr,” a middle-aged woman in casual clothes greeted him inside.

“The last tryout player. Help him with a basic physical, please,” McCarr said, pointing at Lin Feng.

“Oh, a yellow-skinned guy,” the woman glanced at Lin Feng and introduced herself, “I’m Monica, the team’s physiotherapist. I hope you’ll cooperate with me later.”

“Okay,” Lin Feng nodded.

...