Y13 [EN]: Chapter 40

Bobwa passed the ball from the corner to Youngjae, who was positioned at the three-point line on the wing. Youngjae shot, and the ball swished cleanly through the net.

[Clean shot! A truly flawless shot!]

[The opposing players are struggling to guard him. He’s a really smart player. Dallas is off to a great start.]

[Rodrick Bobwa crosses the half-court line.]

[The game is neck and neck, going back and forth. One of these teams needs to seize the momentum!]

Bobwa dribbled to the wing, and Musa Sek quickly set a screen. Bobwa used the screen to drive toward the basket, but JaVale McGee blocked his path.

Bobwa paused, considering his options, then spotted Youngjae cutting in from the left and passed him the ball.

The ball went from Bobwa to Youngjae, who immediately lowered his stance to penetrate the defense. As Omar Samhan moved to the outside, Trevor Booker, his defender, followed, leaving only center JaVale McGee under the basket.

[Oh my God!!]

Brian Dunton screamed unconsciously. A guard penetrating into the crowded paint, a center reaching out to stop him. Youngjae had to lower his stance to shoot, but McGee’s hand was in the way.

Youngjae planted his right foot to halt his drive momentarily, then extended his left foot to the side. He retracted his right foot, using a side-step back move to skillfully evade McGee’s reach.

Then, he pushed off the court with his left foot and jumped. Leaning to the left, he raised the ball above his head with his right hand and flicked his wrist powerfully.

[Bang!! Youngjae Yoon, a fantastic floater!]

Mike Breen couldn’t hide his excitement at Youngjae’s play, which showcased so much skill. The crowd of about 1,000 people cheered at Youngjae’s flashy move, raising the atmosphere to a fever pitch.

Moreover, the reporters who had come to focus on John Wall began to spotlight Youngjae, who had made a clean shot with an amazing step and a teardrop floater [a high-arcing shot released near the basket] with a steep arc.

After making the shot, Youngjae turned his back to John Wall, who was staring at him, pointed to his jersey number with his right thumb, and returned to his position on the court.

“Nice!”

Youngjae went to Bobwa and gave him a high-five for the assist. Bobwa, slightly embarrassed, accepted it. He felt a sense of pride in being involved in the play.

After that, there was a slight shift in Washington’s play, or rather, in John Wall’s play. He was forcing his teammates to focus solely on guarding Youngjae, a testament to how threatening Youngjae’s play had become.

He deliberately showed his jersey number to provoke Youngjae into making reckless plays, but John Wall didn’t take the bait. Instead, he assessed the situation more calmly and developed his attacks. Washington also had Trevor Booker and JaVale McGee, who had NBA experience. No matter how well Musa Sek, with his height, guarded the paint, and Omar Samhan marked Trevor Booker, the experience gap was significant.

A relentless attack using big men. However, they didn’t just rely on passing or playmaking. They also utilized frighteningly fast breakthroughs. Youngjae tried to keep his distance from John Wall to prevent him from gaining momentum, but if he was delayed even slightly by a well-timed screen, Wall would penetrate the paint.

If Youngjae followed him, Wall wouldn’t force a shot but would pass it out to the big men. Several times, Youngjae’s incredible reflexes, dynamic visual acuity, and steal sense nearly intercepted the ball, but each time, Wall delivered faster and more accurate passes. Thanks to Youngjae’s defense, Wall’s field goal percentage was still only 1/4.

[Haha, this is such an incredible game; you wouldn’t even think it’s just the Summer League!]

[In particular, the matchup between John Wall and Youngjae Yoon is intense. Their styles are slightly different. John Wall uses his acceleration for breakthroughs, fakes with shooting motions, and utilizes no-look or creative passes to target a relentless attack using big men. However, he holds the ball longer than Youngjae Yoon, and his skill set seems relatively incomplete.]

[In comparison, Youngjae Yoon has an exceptional ability to create the most certain attack from any route. He confuses the defense with off-the-ball movement that shakes off his marker and a perfect skill set. He assists Bobwa, who mainly leads the offense, by minimizing the time he possesses the ball, yet he scans the entire court in that moment. As a result, he finds a sure offensive route and passes or shoots, resulting in very few turnovers. John Wall has recorded two turnovers so far, but Youngjae Yoon has zero, which clearly shows the difference in their styles.]

The first quarter was already eight minutes in. As Terry Stotts and Dwane Casey had explained that they would thoroughly distribute playing time today, the players who were going to play for the remaining four minutes began to take off their training wear and warm up.

The score was 21 to 20. A close game with only a 1-point difference. The fierce competition continued, with the lead changing seven times in eight minutes. Youngjae had recorded 7 points, including one 3-pointer, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal in 8 minutes, while John Wall had recorded 2 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound, and 2 turnovers. It was a clear difference in performance. Even though John Wall was being contained by Youngjae, the score difference wasn’t widening due to the skill of Washington’s big men.

Fortunately, Youngjae had just barely blocked John Wall’s breakthrough in Washington’s possession and stretched out his hand to steal Wall’s behind-the-back pass. Youngjae, feeling the fire burning in John Wall’s eyes, tensed up even more and bit his lower lip.

He had been serious from the start, but now his expression showed he would push his abilities to the limit. Youngjae hadn’t been slacking off either, but after running around for 8 minutes, he was starting to feel winded. He knew that if he showed any physical weakness now, John Wall would relentlessly exploit it.

‘Let’s go.’

As planned, Bobwa was in charge of ball-handling, and if his offensive development didn’t go well, the ball was passed to Youngjae. The ball went from Bobwa to Youngjae. Youngjae faced John Wall behind the three-point line at a 45-degree angle on the right. Reminded of the times he and Kawhi Leonard faced each other in practice games during college, Youngjae smiled.

“What’s so funny?”

John Wall mumbled, seemingly unable to understand. Youngjae chuckled and didn’t share his thoughts, saying, “Guess?”

“Think about it all you want. Why I’m laughing.”

Youngjae didn’t want to talk anymore. Right now, in this single moment, he was thrilled to be in a 1-on-1 confrontation with John Wall. The other players seemed to be moving steadily in their respective positions, as if they didn’t want to interfere with their duel. Only the two of them were glaring at each other.

“Hmph!”

Youngjae took a breath and moved first. Dribbling the ball protectively with his right hand, he leaned his left shoulder and suddenly drove to the left. John Wall easily anticipated Youngjae’s direction and leaned his body to check him. He gave the impression of defending only with his upper body, standing on his toes so he could quickly change direction if Youngjae did.

Youngjae didn’t care and shifted his weight from left to right, bouncing the ball once more and extending his right foot further forward. Wall, as if he had now read him, quickly moved along Youngjae’s direction with a side step to block his path. Youngjae slightly twisted his body and momentarily pushed John Wall with a post-up stance [a move where a player uses their body to create space against a defender]. John Wall hadn’t expected Youngjae’s sudden power move at all.

[Youngjae Yoon, a really smooth change of direction. John Wall isn’t reacting properly.]

[Oh… I didn’t expect that at all. It’s rare to see a rookie with this level of skill. I didn’t expect to see this scene in today’s game!]

“Ugh?!!”

John Wall, flustered by the elaborate and powerful spin move that even the commentators hadn’t anticipated, was pushed back for a moment. Sensing that he would be beaten if he fell here, he took small steps back to prevent falling and tried to stick to Youngjae again to make the best defense…

Hung!

“?!!”

[To show that kind of play today!]

[Oh, my God! Youngjae Yoon! He breaks through John Wall by creating distance using the recoil!]

Youngjae was no longer in the post-up position. He had bounced forward about half a step using the recoil and quickly passed next to the retreating John Wall after changing back to face-up.

“Ha!!”

In front of Youngjae, who had already charged to near the low post, stood only the final defender, rim protector JaVale McGee. McGee was forced to come forward, conscious of Youngjae’s long shooting range, and Youngjae didn’t miss the gap in McGee’s defense.

Whoosh!

McGee, trying to block the progress with his body, was tricked by Youngjae’s spin move. He tried to reach out his hand over Youngjae to block the shot until the end, but Youngjae had already unleashed a reverse back dunk [a dunk where the player faces away from the basket while throwing the ball backward through the hoop] towards the rim located behind him, passing the rim.

Kwaaaang!!

“Uwaaa!!!”

[Youngjae Yoon, a powerful reverse back dunk!!]

[Amazing! Youngjae Yoon! It’s literally the curse of 13, a back dunk that curses the opponent! Youngjae Yoon lets out a shout!]

[After using a Euro step [a move where a player takes a sideways step to avoid a defender] against John Wall, a fantastic breakthrough using speed after a face-up, seemingly doing a post-up. And a terrific reverse back dunk after a spin move against JaVale McGee! It’s literally Y13, the majesty of Y13!]

Uwaaaaa!!!

[Time out, Washington!]

Washington’s time out was called, and all the Dallas players on the court went wild. They ran to Youngjae, high-fived him, jumped up and down to bump backs, hit their chests and backs, and repeatedly shouted ‘Perfect!’ The Dallas bench was on fire.

Even Mark Cuban, the team owner, who was sitting with coach Carlisle and GM Nelson, was in the front row. After Youngjae’s fantastic play, he hugged and shouted with the spectators and even went over the spectator seats and ran onto the court to hug Youngjae tightly.

Youngjae enjoyed the cheers and atmosphere and smiled broadly. As he returned to the bench, he glanced back and noticed John Wall’s expression, a mix of surprise and resentment. Even seeing that, Youngjae never let his guard down. He was currently in a superior position, but John Wall’s talent was truly amazing.

It was true that he had been overwhelming throughout the game. However, there were also times when he had difficulty in defense, and there were several times when he had misread John Wall’s passes. If he didn’t have his rich past experience, he might not have been able to compete with mere talent alone. The opponent was just a rookie of twenty years old, and he was nineteen years old on the outside, but he had 10 years of experience.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

★Thank you to those who gave advance reservations, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

※Cut-in: An act of quickly breaking into the basket direction while avoiding the opponent’s defense. Similar to a penetrating play in soccer.

※Teardrop: Tony Parker’s core skill. It’s a type of floater, but it has a very large drop, making it very difficult to block. In his past life, Youngjae belonged to the Spurs. Youngjae was also short in his past life, so he learned the teardrop. Tony Parker utilizes this teardrop well, and his finishing under the basket is among the best among guards.

＠Golden State won easily with 2 wins. New Orleans fought hard, but it seems difficult unless they replace the coach first. The healthy Rose-Butler combo is the best in the league. If they are really healthy, the Chicago Bulls can also be considered strong championship contenders.

＠Considering the protagonist’s rich experience, even if he is the Summer League MVP, he is still overwhelming John Wall, who is a rookie.

kksswqq771/// He probably won’t do it like Kobe. His career is definitely the No. 2 shooting guard, but his efficiency is a bit low. Moreover, the team color is not a team where one person shoots indiscriminately. Kobe’s team win rate is also higher when he shoots less.

니앞에꽃미남///Thank you!!

찬란한유산///Yes, it should be around that level. But to do that, you have to be over 30 years old, and the team win rate is;;;

묵혼乃/// Haha, thank you. I’ll try to pick up the pace when the exam is over.

잿빛그림자///Hehe, you’ve started a good game. We mainly do battles, but MyCareer and MyGM are also fun in their own way. Of course, we also have some difficulties because of English.

악마의숫자/// It’s still in the stage of improving and adapting techniques to the improved body.

퓨로타/// Yes. It’s Lin.

우유동자///LeBron is about the No. 2 of all time…ㅋㅋㅋ How far will he go?

고기를먹자/// Yes, clean 3 points!!

마리넥스///Fake, it was a floater!!

쿤다라님, -DarkANGEL-님 ///Thank you for your comments as always~

dydqlsl/// Certainly, he lacked a lot of skill completion and sophistication in his rookie season. It is true that he has improved a lot, but it is a bit disappointing compared to expectations.

파이넨시아/// Thank you~~