He gave Jack Mason the fruits of his hard work for over half a year, and together with the New Year’s money he had painstakingly saved over the years, it all added up to only $15,000. You could say that, in order to get into this special rookie training camp so highly praised by Alice, he really put his entire fortune on the line.

As a player who had already signed up for the NBA draft, the NBA has never had too many requirements for draft applicants. Basically, if you’re a domestic player in the US, as long as you’ve graduated from high school and are at least 18 years old, you can sign up at will. Of course, the NBA draft registration is indeed very simple, and the requirements aren’t high, but actually getting picked by an NBA team is not so easy. After all, there are only 27 NBA teams, and generally, each team only gets two draft picks per year.

So, every year after the NBA draft ends, there are always a large number of young players who go undrafted. That’s why many young players who enter the draft—especially those who aren’t nationally recognized prodigies—will attend many, many rookie training camps. Even those highly touted prodigies will participate in these rookie camps to improve their draft stock, since it’s a great stage to showcase themselves.

In Henry Lincoln’s original plan, he was going to try out at the Utah Jazz’s rookie training camp. After all, he’s a local from Utah, and generally, the Jazz wouldn’t make things too difficult for him. Even if the Jazz didn’t think much of him, they wouldn’t shut him out. So, going to the Jazz’s rookie camp was definitely a great opportunity. But in the end, when Alice, that shameless girl, found out about the Chicago Combine, she directly forced him to come to Chicago.

This directly cost Henry Lincoln ten thousand dollars, because Henry Lincoln had no NCAA Division I experience, and his college stats were abysmal. He wasn’t one of the prodigies invited to the Chicago Combine, so under these circumstances, if Henry Lincoln didn’t pay, he simply couldn’t get in.

“You big dummy, you should be grateful. It’s just ten thousand dollars! Do you even know what the Chicago Combine and the Orlando Combine mean? A hundred years from now, with your current ability, even if you had a million dollars, you wouldn’t be able to get in. You have to know, a hundred years later, the Chicago and Orlando Combines only have fifty spots each year, and basically, all fifty of those players end up getting drafted. That’s why these two camps are called ‘genius camps’—if you’re not a prodigy, you can’t get in at all!”

“So, in that era, when these two camps open each year, they gather the best scouts from every NBA team. In fact, NBA teams value these combines far more than the camps they hold themselves. A hundred years from now, many NBA rookies will only attend the Chicago or Orlando Combine, and as for the other team-run camps, they’ll basically ignore them. Because after these two combines, their draft positions are pretty much set!”

“Besides, think about it: in a place where all the prodigies gather, after comparing everyone on the same stage, it’s pretty clear who’s better and who’s worse. If you can hold your own in training, testing, and scrimmages against these prodigies, teams will quickly take notice of you. So, being here is way better than going to those random camps and playing against weak opponents. Even if you perform amazingly at those random camps, no one will care, because your competition is just too weak.”

“Although today’s Chicago Combine isn’t as prestigious as it will be a hundred years from now, I just scanned the venue, and all the NBA teams’ scouts are here—even most of the chief scouts from each team. So, as long as you perform well here, you’ll officially be on the radar of every NBA team!”

Even though he got a thorough scolding from the girl and gained a deeper understanding of this place she so highly praised, Henry Lincoln was still very conflicted about that ten thousand dollars. That was two-thirds of all his savings.

“Look, look! Anfernee Hardaway is starting his physical tests!”

“Where? Let me see. Oh my god, that sprint speed is so fast! He’s even faster than Bobby Hurley just now. Bobby Hurley is supposed to be the best rookie point guard this year, and he’s a full 20 centimeters shorter than Hardaway, yet Hurley’s sprint speed still can’t match Hardaway?!”

“It’s not that Hurley isn’t good, it’s that Hardaway is just too strong! Among us rookies this year, probably only Chris Webber can compare to him. But it looks like the Orlando Magic, who got the first pick, have already decided to select Hardaway. Looks like Hardaway will be the number one pick this year.”

“Will there really be a perimeter player as the number one pick this year? Even Jordan didn’t manage that back in the day. If Hardaway really becomes the top pick this year, then before even entering the NBA, he’ll truly be a perfect player!”