Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 444 Challenging Olajuwon
It is clear that Kenny Smith did not meet the standard.

From this perspective, it is mainly related to the player's ability, rather than their reputation.

Soon, Kogure appeared at the first shooting spot.

He adjusted his breathing and quickly got into the zone.

"start!"

As Drexler spoke, he pressed the stopwatch at the opportune moment.

In an instant, Kogure quickly took a basketball from the shelf.

His eyes were fixed on the basket. He leaped up, stretched out his arms, and flipped his wrists.

The basketball flew from his fingertips, spinning in the air and tracing a perfect arc.

sigh~
The basketball fell rapidly and pierced the net accurately.

After making his shot, Kogure picked up another basketball.

With limited time, he made almost no adjustments and threw the ball based on instinct.

sigh~
The basketball went through the hoop again.

The shooting continued, and Kogure seemed to have found his rhythm. The basketball seemed to have been given life, and every shot appeared so smooth and natural.

Swish~swish~swish~
The first shooting spot, including the flower ball, was all shot into the basket by Kogure.

His accurate shooting and elegant shooting form won applause from the two bigwigs present.

"Clyde, his three-point shooting is much more consistent than yours!"

Not far away, Hakeem Olajuwon stood with his arms crossed and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Although Drexler is a well-rounded player, his three-point shooting is inconsistent, and he rarely relies on long-range shots in actual games.

Drexler did not refute, because he truly could not.

The main reason he didn't refute it was because Hakeem Olajuwon had a higher three-point shooting percentage than him last season.

Last season, Drexler had a three-point shooting percentage of only 32.4%.

Hakeem Olajuwon's shooting ability needs no introduction; last season he shot 52.8% from the field and 42.1% from three-point range.

Of course, the reason why Hakeem Olajuwon had such a high three-point shooting percentage was because he rarely took three-point shots.

However, this was enough to leave Drexler speechless.

Hakeem Olajuwon is applicable to any era. If he had been born in the small-ball era, it's unimaginable what kind of insane statistics he would have put up.

On stage, Kogure's performance continued.

Swish~ Swish~ Swish~ Bang~ Swish~
The second point: Kogure missed a shot, thankfully it wasn't a fancy ball.

Kogure quickly moved to the top of the arc, which was the third shooting spot.

The shooting continued, and during this process, Kogure displayed amazing touch, maintaining a high shooting percentage.

As time went by, Kogure's score climbed rapidly.

Soon, Kogure arrived at the left corner, which was also the last shooting spot.

At this point, he had already scored 22 points. He only needed five more points to overtake Kenny Smith.

In terms of shooting stats alone, Kogure is naturally inferior to Kenny Smith.

However, every player has their own shooting hotspots, unless his name is Curry.

For Curry, his scoring zone is just beyond half-court.

Kenny Smith's shooting hotspots are mainly located in the two bottom corners, while the other three shooting spots are relatively mediocre.

As a cheat code, Kogure is virtually flawless in every aspect; even when shooting from a zero-angle angle, he won't miss.

Stability has always been one of Kogure's strengths!
Swish~ Bang~ Swish~ Swish~
On the last shooting spot, Kogure missed one of his first four shots, leaving only the final "flower ball" shot unshot.

At this point, Kogure had already scored 25 points. If he could score that flower ball, he would win the game.

His release speed was ultimately not as fast as Kenny Smith's; he had already used up 65 seconds and had only five seconds left.

However, he still has enough time to adjust.

"5, 4..."

As Drexler began the countdown, Kogure leaped high and threw the last flower ball.

At the moment of shooting, Kogure revealed a confident smile.

It was only because Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were present that Kogure might have chosen to throw the game. Under everyone's watchful eyes, the pom-pom spun through the air, heading towards the basket.

sigh~
Under Kogure's expectant gaze, the flower ball finally swished through the net.

27 points!
Kogure defeated Kenny Smith and won the 'Three-Point Contest'.

"Oh my God!"

Kenny Smith held his head in frustration.

He lost in his area of ​​expertise, especially since his opponent was a high school student.

"Dude, you scored 26 points in just 60 seconds, that's way better than me."

If Kenny Smith slowed down his pace a bit to gain more time to adjust, he would likely have scored a higher score.

With Kogure's comforting words, Kenny Smith's complexion improved considerably.

Kogure certainly wouldn't offend Kenny Smith, after all, the latter is a well-known basketball commentator for TNT.

"Dude, you're too modest. With your shooting ability, I believe you can definitely establish yourself in the NBA in the future."

Kenny Smith seized the opportunity to back down and started a mutual praise session.

For him, this was just an entertainment competition.

"Kogure, would you be interested in a match with me?"

Suddenly, Hakeem Olajuwon's voice rang out.

As Kogure defeated Kenny Smith, Hakeem Olajuwon became increasingly interested in him.

He wanted to test Kogure's strength!
"It's my pleasure!"

Kogure's eyes sharpened, his expression becoming more serious than ever before.

Keep in mind, the player standing in front of him is the best player in the current NBA!
With Jordan's first retirement, Hakeem Olajuwon is undoubtedly the best active player in the NBA.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Jordan will return to the court soon.

In March 1995, a fax bearing the words "I'm Back" sent shockwaves across the United States. In his first game back, Jordan, wearing jersey number 45, scored only 19 points.

At the time, Nick Anderson mocked him to his face: "Number 45 is no longer Jordan."

It's clear that Jordan still needs time to regain his form and hasn't fully integrated with the team yet.

This can be seen from his performance in the playoffs.

In the playoffs, the Bulls lost to the Magic—Jordan's first playoff loss in six years.

As for why Jordan made a comeback?
This may be related to the lack of progress in his baseball career.

In 1994, Jordan's batting average in baseball stopped at 20.2%, to which the media commented: "He couldn't hit the ball even with a tennis racket!"

Compared to basketball, Jordan's baseball skills were, to put it mildly, lacking.

The main reason the baseball team was interested in him was his fame, which would bring the team a lot of exposure.

However, given Jordan's ability, it was difficult for him to get playing time.

I admire Jordan Kogure, especially his willingness to take responsibility for his failure.

gOat will never be able to do this; he will only push the responsibility onto the role players.

In 2011, James spoke about the championship failure, stating in a post-game interview that the role players were too bad and that he had never joined a super team.

Who would have thought that the loss was the responsibility of the role players!

Upon learning that Kogure was challenging Olajuwon, Kenny Smith couldn't help but gloat.

“If he challenges Hakim, he probably won’t even get a single point.”

"Not necessarily, Kogure is still very capable."

Drexler has a different opinion on this.

Not long ago, he personally tested Kogure's strength.

The gap between Kogure and him has narrowed considerably, and it probably won't be long before he catches up.

Of course, this is also related to Drexler's impending fall from its peak.

Due to injuries and age, Drexler's performance has inevitably declined.

(End of this chapter)