Chapter 4: The Lakers' Bench Squad!

From his standout performance in the Summer League to being signed by the Lakers, the person Li Rui was closest to was Daniel, the assistant coach. Li Rui could feel that the old man truly cared for him and had high hopes for him. Li Rui clenched his fists, determined not to let him down.

"By the way, don't put too much pressure on yourself during the game; just play the way you did in practice yesterday."

"Got it."

...

After changing into his gear, Li Rui quickly headed to the court to warm up.

"Rookie, you're late. Did you get lost on the road of life? Or were you thinking about where your next job will be?" Kobe Bryant, seeing Li Rui pass by, immediately started chirping.

Kobe’s mouth was incredibly annoying. Li Rui ignored him and went onto the court to begin his shooting drills. He understood clearly that if he wanted to earn respect, he had to improve his skills and deliver on the court. In the NBA, the weak have no status whatsoever.

Kobe didn't just hold Li Rui to such high standards; he held every teammate to them. Whether a teammate was late, slacking off, or lazy in practice, he would lash out at them verbally. Given his status as the leader, and because his criticisms were based on the work, no one could really do anything about it. This left most Lakers players under immense pressure during games and practice, making the team atmosphere stifling.

Kobe only made that one remark before focusing on his own training. Most of the time, he felt that rather than wasting time on useless teammates, he might as well score a few more points himself.

...

"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"

Since entering the NBA, Li Rui had been working hard to complete every training task assigned by the coaches, even taking the initiative to put in extra work after practice concluded. Overall, Li Rui, as a poor student, was treading on thin ice in his life with the Lakers.

However, since integrating the natural talent of Klay Thompson, Li Rui felt much more confident in his shooting. For him, these warm-up shots were a breeze, and his shooting percentage was consistently high regardless of how he shot. Zen Master Phil Jackson also noticed this small detail about Li Rui.

"It seems this guy is indeed prepared to play."

As for Li Rui being late for the team gathering, the Zen Master didn't mind. Li Rui wasn't a repeat offender. In his impression, the Chinese player’s attitude was generally fine, and he assumed something unexpected must have delayed him.

...

Regarding the "Chinese Derby," many reporters had been waiting outside the training facility and the arena early on to report on the situation. A reporter from a local Los Angeles entertainment paper heard Kobe’s snide remark to Li Rui near the training court and quickly edited and published a short news piece.

"On-site report: Because he was the last to arrive at practice, Li Rui was reprimanded by Kobe. Furthermore, based on observations from the training session, Li Rui’s shooting consistency has improved significantly."

This news was quickly reposted on Hupu and Zhibo8, sparking widespread discussion among fans. The fans didn't know that Li Rui’s shooting had become more accurate; they only knew that he had been late and scolded by Kobe.

"Damn, it looks like this guy is a bust. He’ll be waived sooner or later. No talent and no work ethic."
"Kobe has always been strict with teammates; he scolds them often, but Li Rui deserves it."
"Kobe isn't a good guy either; he bullies his teammates all the time."
"Just cut him already. Dammit, I’ve never seen a player averaging less than a point in my life."
"I bet I could average over 1 point in the NBA."
"Emperor Li faces a career Waterloo, actually being scolded by a rapist."
"Kobe’s attitude toward basketball is beyond reproach; Li Rui still needs to learn from him."

Chinese fans had mixed opinions on Kobe’s reprimand of Li Rui. Those demeaning Kobe were mostly "Kobe-haters," while most fans treated Li Rui’s situation as a joke.

...

Beijing time, December 13th, 11:15 AM.

The players began their entrance ceremonies, and the CCTV studio in China, with hosts Zhang and Xu, was ready.

"Dear viewers, this is CCTV. Today we are broadcasting the NBA regular season game: the Houston Rockets visiting the Los Angeles Lakers."

"As you all know, Yao is with the Rockets and Li is with the Lakers, so today is our Chinese Derby."

Hosts Zhang and Xu provided commentary with great enthusiasm.

Soon after, the feed switched to the arena. After the entrance ceremony, Yao Ming and Li Rui exchanged a formal, polite hug in front of the cameras and chatted with smiles. Truth be told, Li Rui and Yao Ming were not close in private. Their interactions only really began after Li Rui was drafted into the NBA.

These interactions were mostly just formal social gestures.

"Currently, the Rockets are fifth in the West, while the Lakers are eighth. In terms of team strength, the Rockets are slightly stronger, but since this is the Lakers' home court, it's hard to say who will win."

"Let's look at today's starting lineups."

"For the Rockets: Alston, McGrady, Battier, Head, and Yao."
"For the Lakers: Parker, Kobe, Walton, Odom, and Kwame Brown."

The arena cameras kept focusing on Kobe and McGrady. In China, the narrative was the Chinese Derby—the matchup between Yao and Li—while in the US, the promotion centered on the Kobe-McGrady duel. Both were among the NBA's four great shooting guards, and every time they faced off, it drew massive attention from fans.

Soon, the camera also focused on Li Rui.

Li Rui was sitting at the edge of the bench, picking up a towel, getting ready to cheer for his teammates. He knew full well that his tardiness had cost him some points with the Zen Master. He needed to appear proactive now; if he looked lethargic, this old man might change his mind about playing him.

Li Rui looked at his teammates on the bench, gradually matching them to the names in his memory.

Closest to him was Vladimir Radmanović, a Bosnian. His name was incredibly long. Standing 2.08 meters tall, he was a small forward who could occasionally play power forward, averaging 6.6 points and 3.3 rebounds. He was a typical European forward with decent shooting ability.

Next to him was the sophomore Andrew Bynum, the future starting center for the Lakers and an All-Star. Compared to Li Rui, who was around the same age, "Andy" was a key player the Lakers were cultivating, receiving much more attention and averaging 8 points and 6 rebounds that season.

Third was Sasha Vujačić, the guy dating Maria Sharapova. He was handsome, and his role on the court was to hit three-pointers and take free throws in clutch moments. Li Rui remembered that in the future, the Zen Master would specifically put him in during the Finals to shoot free throws to seal a victory; his touch was indeed impressive.

Next was Jordan Farmar, the 26th overall pick in that year's draft. He averaged 15 minutes a game, 4.4 points, and 2 assists, with a three-point percentage of only 32%. He and Li Rui were in direct competition for minutes. He had a reserved personality and barely spoke to Li Rui.

Then there was Maurice Evans, a strong shooting guard, 1.96 meters tall, weighing 100 kilograms. He had an accurate shot and good defense, serving as Kobe’s primary backup, averaging 8.7 points and 3 rebounds.

Turiaf, a short interior player, was an end-of-the-bench guy just like him.

Looking at these people, Li Rui understood why the Lakers were only on the fringe of the playoffs... According to 2K ratings, most of these players were in the 60-75 range, and they were essentially role players—there wasn't even a reliable secondary scoring option. Of course, his own status on the team was lower than these role players, so he didn't have much room to talk.

Using outside commentary to describe the Lakers' roster, there were almost no usable talents; everything depended on "Super-God" Kobe carrying the team.

This game was billed as the Chinese Derby. Domestic fans were mainly watching Yao Ming to see his performance. As for Li Rui, the fans had zero expectations, assuming he wouldn't even get any playing time and would be a DNP for the whole game.