Chapter Thirty-Seven: Orlando Can Afford to Wait!

"The hoop..." Wu Rui paused in his movements, his gaze lingering on the basket before him for a long moment. All this time, the head coach of the Magic, Frank Vogel, had focused solely on training Wu Rui's shooting form. He had swiftly progressed from practicing without a ball to shooting with one, yet Vogel had only ever permitted Wu Rui to rehearse his release, never proper shooting drills.

Vogel had once explained this to Wu Rui: if he abandoned the foundational training of hand posture in pursuit of shooting, his form might deform, resulting in an unstable shot. Perhaps Wu Rui could get the ball into the basket, but stability would undoubtedly suffer.

To ensure reliable success in the future, Vogel insisted Wu Rui perfect his release first, allowing his muscles to retain the memory of the motion—a foolproof approach.

But now, with the hoop right in front of him, Wu Rui's heart stirred. What did the team need most right now? Someone from the bench to step up and share the scoring burden in each game, of course.

It was clear he had to strive for this, but the daily form practice felt painfully slow; Wu Rui felt he had to accelerate his progress.

"No one's here!"

He glanced around, especially towards the entrance of the training facility. Taking a deep breath, Wu Rui raised the ball above his head and let it fly.

"Duang!"

Yet the ball did not drop into the net as he hoped; instead, it struck the rim and bounced high.

At that moment, the doors swung open, and Frank Vogel, dressed in casual clothes, entered the gym. His eyes immediately found the young man standing on the court.

He glanced at the basketball rolling on the floor and, recalling the sound of the ball hitting the rim he'd just heard at the entrance, understood exactly what had happened.

"Did it go in?"

Vogel didn't reprimand him, only asked tentatively.

"Coach..." Seeing Vogel walk in, Wu Rui panicked and answered honestly, "No, it didn't."

"When did I allow you to practice shooting?"

Vogel, hearing Wu Rui's honest reply, refrained from getting angry. "Are you bullying me because I'm older and not as early as you?"

"Of course not!" Wu Rui hurried to explain, despite Vogel's calm demeanor. "I just want to catch up a bit."

"In the last game, if I could have contributed more offensively, maybe we would have won!" Wu Rui shook his head as he spoke. "But my shooting is so unreliable, I don't dare to take shots at will..."

"So that's why you want to practice shooting?" Vogel pressed on, seeing Wu Rui's sincerity. "I've told you the reason I forbid you from shooting practice, haven't I? Forgotten?"

"No, not at all, Coach. I never forget your words."

Vogel's instruction was clear: he wanted Wu Rui to develop good habits and not ruin his form by starting shooting drills too early. Yet Wu Rui was puzzled. "You said it was for my shooting habits, but I do take shots during games. I don't think it makes much difference."

This was exactly Wu Rui's confusion: Vogel wouldn't let him practice shooting in training, yet he still played him in games, where Wu Rui inevitably had to shoot. What difference was there between training and playing?

"Michael, games and training are entirely different environments." Vogel, hearing Wu Rui finally voice his confusion, was happy to clarify. "The tension of a game will unconsciously affect your release—you'll instinctively use your most practiced form."

"But during training, that tension isn't there. You shoot however feels comfortable, which is the worst way for a rookie shooter to practice." Vogel finished, walked over, picked up the basketball—barely bouncing, only rolling—and gave it a few pats before handing it to Wu Rui. "Take it slow. You're the youngest player on the Orlando Magic."

He handed the ball over and patted Wu Rui on the shoulder.

As a head coach, Vogel knew how rare a hardworking rookie was. Many players gifted with exceptional talent relied on their physical gifts and neglected fundamental training.

Vogel had even heard of rookies who were eager to skip practice and use games as training—a joke he never believed. Games are not for training; they only reveal the results of sweat spilled in the gym.

Yet Wu Rui was different from these rookies. He possessed legendary physical gifts, but his fundamentals were sorely lacking. At the same time, he worked harder than anyone, to the point his eagerness bordered on impatience.

Vogel disliked forcing things. Even if Wu Rui spent an entire season honing his basics, Vogel felt he could wait.

On the other side, after Vogel’s admonition, Wu Rui’s anxious heart gradually calmed. He realized he’d been too impatient. Everyone knows you can't become fat in one bite, and haste only ruins things.

"Coach, I'm willing to wait!"

Having thought it through, Wu Rui smiled and called out to Vogel. He walked to the edge of the court, pushed a row of basketballs next to him, and resumed today's release drills.

Seeing Wu Rui return to the most basic training, Vogel thought, this kid isn’t the only one willing to wait—the city of Orlando can wait, too!

Of course, NBA teams never lack players worthy of a city's patience.

Philadelphia waits for Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid; Los Angeles for D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram; Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

And in the biting cold of Minnesota, they wait for Zach LaVine, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Andrew Wiggins!

They possess talents that make the entire league salivate, and their futures shine with boundless promise.

"Winter is coming, folks—the Minnesota chill is about to sweep through Orlando!" On the TNT commentary desk, the announcer was visibly excited. "Today, at the Amway Center in Orlando, the Minnesotans from the frozen north will drive the home crowd wild!"

"That's right, the Timberwolves have stockpiled remarkable talent. Under Coach Tom Thibodeau, these young men will only get better and better."

"Even though, up to now, they've lost four straight games."