The Upside-Down Phenom

t even a quarter full. Yet, despite the sparse crowd, the roar fro

the sidelines – the head coach. "Stay sharp on the bench. Be ready. I don't want a re

, taking in his surroundings: the unfamiliar jersey clinging to h

ball court. Okay, so it was just the NBA G L

t controlled by its original owner anymore. As the rest of the team huddled up, pounding chests and shouting encouragement, Link stood

ays Ear

eiling. The sharp tang of antiseptic hung i

r smile warm as sunshine, appeared

entence. The words coming out weren't Chinese. The nurse w

was a nobody. A 2019 graduate from a third-rate Chinese university. No car, no house, no savings. His mom had split w

ootage on a beat-up secondhand laptop. A sudden thunderclap outside. The laptop died. He popped open

onde nurse asked, concern etch

after four years of coasting. Yet, he u

ou speak Chinese? Why i

urse stared,

ered, waving her off. The questions he wanted to ask? He suddenly had

– and hurried out. Good. Now Link could finally piece together the b

too generic; 'Link' sounded close to his Chinese name and stuck. His parents, also ABCs, lived modestly: Dad a

stream. A crucial que

s. And landed in America. As a seasoned consumer of web

ater on his face. Everything felt... slightly undersized. The water didn't

ped the sink, staring at the familiar-yet-strange reflection. The memories clarified: This Link had been kno

hands, his arms. That's why everything seemed small. He was big. Really big. This body wa

n his old life, as a hoops junkie, he'd fantasized endlessly about making the NBA, sharing the court with legends. Even a bench

a strange land. Surviving would be hard. This second chance? He wasn't wasting it on poverty. His path was

ling when a cold, hard

.. just nowhere near

kills. NBA scouts never glanced his way. This past summer, his college buddy Paul George got

h the Oklahoma City Bl

League was pro ball, lightyears beyond D-II. The coach ha

't hack it in the G League? Dream over. Time to grab pruning shears and join his old

ir. Fresh start? More like fresh hell. A m