Rachel opened her eyes, and the genius was just dawning. Christmas is coming soon, but she is not in the mood for the holidays at all.

To be exact, ever since she said goodbye to basketball, her life has suddenly lost its purpose. College life is the most liberating release of youth for others, but for her, it is a boring mess.

Unlike most girls, she has an unusually passionate love for basketball. Ever since she was introduced to basketball in middle school, Rachel has been fascinated by the sport. Basketball is not a simple hobby for her, and once in the newspapers, people could often see a female player wearing a ponytail and wearing a No. 32 jersey.

A member of the 2005 AAU Junior National Championship team, a 2007 Medina County three-point champion, and a four-time top-64 Ohio selection...... Normally, most female players who can achieve this in high school are favored by college teams.

Rachel is no exception, and by her junior year of high school, she had already received many olive branches thrown by universities. Playing in the NCAA and making it to professional basketball seems to be the trajectory of her life.

However, at the peak of her basketball career, everything changed.

In his senior year of high school, he was injured in an accident, and the team's record suffered a waterloo. That year, Rachel was in a very depressed mood, and at the same time, she thought that she was under too much pressure and suffered from a stomach ulcer.

In the midst of a severe stomach ailment, Rachel's weight plummeted like crazy. For the average girl, losing weight may be a beautiful thing. But for an athlete aiming for professional basketball, weight loss is nothing to be thankful for.

After a terrible year in her senior year of high school, Rachel's market dropped sharply, and she finally failed to get into the elite women's basketball school, but came to the University of Oklahoma.

Due to the impact of her high school years, Rachel barely played or watched much when she entered college. Because every time she sees others speeding on the basketball court and thinks of the life she should have, she can't help but feel uncomfortable.

For her, basketball is like her first love. Although wonderful, it is destined to say goodbye.

Rachel shook her head, not remembering the sad things again. She took out her phone and looked at it, and as always, a few more stunned young people sent her text messages to confess.

But in addition to these boring text messages, Rachel also received a news push. After seeing the headline of the news, the lazy college girl sat up at once.

"Link signed a ten-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Chinese-American forward continues to make his way to the NBA!"

The simple title and unpretentious content make Rachel feel full of power.

She didn't want to play basketball anymore, but since she met that Chinese player, since she learned the story of that guy's persistence in his dream, since she saw Link abandoned by the NBA, she still refused to give up. Only now, he has been given another chance to realize his dream, and Rachel's heart has changed.

As long as you don't give up, opportunities will always arise, won't they?

Rachel smiled, maybe she didn't have to give up, she didn't have to live so sad every day. Basketball is a game of survival for the strong.

"Link has already succeeded, you have to be strong!" Rachel cheered herself up with a mutter, then she picked up her phone and sent a text message to Link.

"Congratulations."

※※※

Today, Link was supposed to travel with the team to Texas to play on the road. But as soon as he woke up early in the morning, he picked up Jeff. Austin's notice – "You're going to the NBA. ”

The second time he heard the news, Link was clearly not as excited as he was when he first entered the NBA.

"Where?" Link's tone was calm, as he was well aware that a ten-day contract was far from a success. He also got a ten-day contract with the Rockets, and the result?

It's never too late to get excited when he signs a guaranteed contract and really gets his ground in the NBA.

"Go to Memphis, the Grizzlies need you on board."

"Memphis Grizzlies?" Link was a little surprised, he really didn't expect Jeff. Austin will get himself to the Grizzlies.

In his previous life, as an ordinary Chinese fan, Link's understanding of the Grizzlies was actually very limited. After all, the Grizzlies have always been a tepid team in China.

First of all, the Grizzlies are a defense-oriented team, which dooms the Grizzlies' games to not be too spectacle. Second, the Grizzlies have been lacking superstar, Mike. Conley and Mark. Gasol doesn't have a way to bring much popularity to the Grizzlies.

Finally, and most importantly, none of the Grizzlies have won any real accolades. Not to mention the championship, in the 10 years that Link watched the game, the Grizzlies had not even won the Western Conference championship.

The Grizzlies were at their hottest in China, the year they drafted Wang Zhelin in the draft. But the heat only lasted for a short while, as the Grizzlies never signed with Wang Zhelin from start to finish.

Although the general manager of the Grizzlies always said from time to time that they were watching Wang's situation, they never made any substantive moves.

This is what Link knows about the Memphis Grizzlies, a team that has been unpopular in China.

"Why Memphis?" After thinking about it, Link continued to ask. Although he was an undrafted pick, he was not eligible to choose a team for the time being.

But Jeff. Austin had to have a reason to throw himself out of Memphis.

"First of all, if you want to be strong in the NBA, you need playing time. If you just play a few minutes in garbage time per game, like you did with the Rockets, you're never going to sign a guaranteed contract. And with the Grizzlies, you have a better chance of getting playing time! Because the Grizzlies except for Rudy. Outside of Gay, there are few candidates for the No. 3 position. ”

Jeff. Austin paused, waited for Link to "digest" his words, and then continued: "Tony. Allen is better suited to play in the second position, Sam. Young can play small forward, but his performance has been inconsistent. First-year rookie forward Xavier from Kentucky. Henry was originally expected by the Grizzlies, but unfortunately he has been reimbursed for the season due to injury. So, the Grizzlies are in need of a consistent No. 3 bench. It's a better place to go wild than Houston, Link! ”

"Wild growth?" Link nodded, he liked Jeff. Austin's diction.

Indeed, no matter how strong you are, if you can't show it, it's meaningless.

With the Rockets, Link has never been in the team's plans, and Adelman has been merciful and has never let Link play more than five minutes.

Although the Memphis Grizzlies are a little unpopular, Lincoln can fight for a chance to show his face. As an undrafted and Development League player, Link doesn't have the luxury of playing as soon as he goes. If you can start from the bench and gain a firm foothold step by step, it is already considered a success.

"Also, the Grizzlies' system and style of play are quite suitable for you. They like to play positional battles with a single shot, like to win defensively, and they also lack a consistent three-point shooting spot. On top of that, unlike other teams that are belly fish, the Grizzlies still have a chance to make the playoffs this season. So, in my opinion, there's no better team for you than the Memphis Grizzlies. ”

"What do you think, Link?" After giving Link some time to think, Jeff. Austin finally asked again.

This time, Link nodded, "When are we going to report from Memphis?" ”

Jeff. Austin breathed a sigh of relief, he was still worried at first that Link didn't trust him. But it turns out that if you do a good job, you can earn trust.

"I'll buy you a plane ticket to Memphis right away, and if nothing else, you should be with your new team tomorrow."

Hanging up, Link began to pack his bags. I don't know why, but he is full of confidence in this NBA journey.

Maybe it's because this time he's not walking alone anymore.

Thinking of this, Link put away his basketball shoes. A few simple letters on the side of the basketball sole haven't been erased yet – rest in peace, Zike.