Whether it was Ethan Brooks's original world's impression of Mohammed, or this world's previous memories of Mohammed, this guy was always a nice guy—fierce and tough on the court, still occasionally putting up double-doubles in single games even in 2012, and even at the advanced age of 35, he once had a game with 20 points, 20 rebounds, plus 5 blocks. Off the court, he was a great locker room leader. The Thunder's run to the Finals in 2012 owed a lot to him; when Perkins was completely out of step with the times, he stepped up and played excellent defense against Duncan, helping the Thunder pull off a huge comeback from 0-2 down.

After 2012, Mohammed didn't have many standout performances, but he was always favored by coaches of strong teams. First, he got a 3-year, $12 million contract with the Bulls, and then in 2015, he was brought back to the Thunder again, playing until the end of the 2015-2016 season before retiring. He played a total of 18 seasons, finally retiring at 39 when he really couldn't keep up anymore.

Only then did Ethan Brooks remember that this nice guy was the 29th pick in the first round of the 1998 draft—the very last pick of the first round. To have played this long and become the highest-paid player among the 1998 rookies was truly inspiring.

Of course, Mohammed would probably only be the highest-paid player among the 1998 rookies for this one season. Carter was a lottery pick and signed a four-year rookie contract, but next season he would definitely get a max contract. Didn't the Raptors trade away McGrady last year just to clear cap space for Carter's future?

As for Ethan Brooks, he's the type of person who treats others the way they treat him. If someone is nice to him, he'll be nice in return; if someone gives him the cold shoulder or speaks harshly, he won't show them a good face either. So, whether it was before his memories merged or now with his new memories, he's always been friendly to Mohammed.

“Nazr, my salary is only a tenth of yours. Since you want me to feel better, how about sharing a little with me?” Ethan Brooks said with a cheeky grin.

“Oh, right, Ace, coach wants you to go to the medical room for another check-up as soon as you get here today. I won't take up your time.”

“Screw you…”

……

Arriving at the training facility, some teammates hadn't shown up yet. Ethan Brooks was actually pretty early. He'd just noticed that Jason Terry's car wasn't there yet, nor was the slacker Kukoc, and last year's draft bust, the 6th pick DerMarr Johnson, had basically given up on himself—he hadn't come early even once from summer league to preseason to now.

But then again… Ethan Brooks was pretty much the same before, just like DerMarr Johnson, showing up right on time and no earlier.

Today, though, he arrived really early. Practice started at ten in the morning, and he was there a little after eight.

This was entirely thanks to his beautiful landlady's urging—first tempting him with a hearty breakfast, then practically shooing him out the door to get ready for the evening's game.

“Hey, Ace, you're here early today!” The nimble little chubby guy Emmanuel came over to greet Ethan Brooks.

Emmanuel loved partnering with Ethan Brooks, because only when he played with Ethan Brooks did he get a chance to handle the ball. What guard doesn't want to control the ball? But because his own playmaking skills were poor, Emmanuel only got to handle the ball when Ethan Brooks, being so skinny, was likely to get pressured into a turnover.

Ethan Brooks was just about to crack a joke—he was always like that—but then he felt a stern yet gratified gaze. That look, of course, came from his college coach, Lon Kruger, who had coached him back in the day.

After his memories merged, Ethan Brooks finally understood why he felt Kruger coach was so attentive to him yesterday. It was because Ethan Brooks had made it to the NCAA thanks to Kruger, who brought him onto the Georgia Tech team.

Ethan Brooks and coach Kruger first met at the café where Ethan Brooks worked part-time. The second time, coach Kruger had his wallet stolen, and Ethan Brooks happened to help catch the thief.

After all, even though Ethan Brooks was a skinny Asian guy, he was over 1.9 meters tall, which was pretty intimidating. Later, coach Kruger found out this kid was a student at his own school, a key player on the department team, and a good shooter, so he tried bringing him into the school team's reserve squad—and that's how everything else happened.

Ethan Brooks understood what that gratified yet stern look from coach Kruger meant: he was pleased that Ethan Brooks had finally “pulled himself together” and come to practice early, but also sternly warning him not to fall back into his old, self-destructive habits.

Ethan Brooks couldn't bring himself to joke around anymore. Maybe it was because, in this life, coach Kruger's authority was so deeply ingrained in his memory that even after merging memories, he still felt a sense of awe. He gave a sheepish smile and replied to Emmanuel, “Of course. I've finally found the joy of playing basketball again. I want to prepare well for the game and hope I can get on the court and score today.”

“Haha, of course! The chemistry between us is natural! Yesterday, on your second three-pointer, you saw me cut inside and take the defender with me, and you got the open shot. We don't even need to talk about how to move…”

Ethan Brooks looked at the chattering chubby guy, a drop of cold sweat running down his face. Yesterday, when I took that shot, don't think I didn't see how terrified you looked!

This guy is such a chatterbox!

Still, Ethan Brooks did notice a bit of a change—after he showed a bit of Klay Thompson's ability yesterday, it seemed like his teammates were talking to him a lot more.