Thunder Head Coach Brooks watched Kayce's continuous testing and felt like he had found a treasure.
His height, wingspan, speed, strength, and agility were all excellent, and his ball-handling skills were outstanding, with a solid basketball foundation.
Kayce didn't know what Coach Brooks was thinking, but he was confident in his body!
Through the gradual strengthening of his body with B-grade functional drinks, combined with the bonus from the Five-Color Achievement Badge [NCAA Champion], Kayce's body was currently in peak condition, as evidenced by his current attributes.
Speed: 86, Strength: 74, Stamina: 94, Vertical Jump: 84, Defensive Agility: 86.
Close-range shooting: 85, Open mid-range shot: 85, Open three-point shot: 86, Free throw: 94.
All basic attributes increased by 1 to 2 points, which was the result of the combined effect of badges and continuous training.
After Kayce completed his spot-up shooting training, Coach Brooks called him over and said directly:
"Alright, Kayce, let's do a few more 1-on-1 sets, no problem, right?"
"Of course, no problem, I'm ready!" Kayce replied readily.
"Come on, Kayce, let's play to 10 points first. I won't go easy on you!" Durant had been eager to try for a while.
"It's your home court, you call the shots!" Kayce shrugged and motioned for himself to inbound the ball.
Kayce inbounded the ball directly, looking at Durant, who was a head taller than him, and couldn't help but sigh, this was indeed a generational athlete.
After receiving the ball, Durant immediately went into a Triple Threat. Seeing Kayce strongly guard his right hand, he directly dropped the ball and accelerated with his left hand to drive. Feeling Kayce sticking close, he immediately stopped short and pulled up for a Fade Away.
"Swish" It went in cleanly. Kayce had already contested his eyes, but it was no use; it still went in.
"I knew this would happen. Kevin is too tall, and his touch is very soft. Normal defense basically has no effect on him," Russell complained to Jeff Green on the side.
"Actually, Kayce defended well, but height, sometimes, is just that unresolvable," Jeff Green said with deep understanding; he had been dominated many times before.
Kayce watched the shot go in and finally experienced the feeling of being overwhelmed. Durant didn't bother with fakes, quick stops, or quick starts. If he had space to shoot, he could just put the ball in over your head.
For the second shot, Kayce still fully guarded the right hand, while also stepping forward to stick close to Durant. His speed wasn't a disadvantage, so he wasn't afraid of being blown by in one step.
But Durant still went left, using the same move, but this time it was a step-back jump shot, ignoring Kayce's defense and shooting directly.
"Swish" It still went in cleanly.
"Good defense, but I shot even better," Durant said with a smile.
"I don't believe you'll make 10 in a row; I'll win in the end!" Kayce said while inbounding the ball.
But then Durant demonstrated what talent was. It was basically Three Threat, pull-ups, step-backs, Fade Aways, quick-stop jump shots, ignoring defense, swish after swish.
He made 8 in a row! Kayce was a bit helpless. His bronze Achievement Badge [Defensive Expert] hadn't been upgraded yet, and it seemed he really couldn't defend Durant at the moment. He could only hope that Durant would miss on his own after being bothered.
For the 9th shot, Kayce stuck close to Durant, giving him some physical contact, and also reaching out to bother him. After the contact, Durant lost his rhythm a bit. After gathering the ball, he didn't shoot immediately and reluctantly chose a turnaround fadeaway.
"Clang" It finally clanked off the rim.
"Wow, my chance has come!" Kayce immediately shouted with a smile.
Durant regretfully clapped his hands, "No, no, no, I'll still win!"
After receiving the ball, Kayce looked at Durant in front of him. This guy had studied him and didn't stick too close, mostly using his long arms to cover him.
However, Kayce was confident, after all, he had Achievement Badge bonuses: [Triple Threat Veteran] + [Ankle Breaker] + [High Difficulty Shot King] were his basic package.
[Rhythm Shooter] + [Mismatch Expert] + [Gap Hunter] could further improve his shooting consistency.
He released the ball very quickly, directly with a crossover dribble to shift Durant's center of gravity, then a lateral step-back followed by a leftward fadeaway jump shot.
"Swish" It went in steadily.
"Very good dribbling rhythm; he didn't make too many adjustments, and his shot was very decisive," the Thunder's trainer began to praise Kayce's moves.
Durant looked at the shot and knew he had underestimated his opponent. He decided to give Kayce some physical contact.
For the second shot, Durant began to stick close in defense and tried to bother Kayce with his long arms, but this was actually not a good defensive choice.
Kayce directly accelerated with his right hand dribble, then a behind-the-back dribble the moment Durant reached out, followed by a quick in-and-out move, shaking off Durant's defense, and shot with a slight fadeaway.
"Swish" It went in easily.
This was a small weakness of Durant's at the moment: his strength was very average. Once Kayce got half a step ahead of him, it was difficult for him to use physical pressure to interfere with Kayce's dribbling rhythm.
"Cool, beautiful shot!" Durant praised Kayce for the beautiful shot.
For the next 6 shots, Kayce also kept scoring in his own way, with pull-ups, step-backs, and fadeaway shots, making them consecutively, and the score was tied.
For the ninth shot, Durant had also figured out Kayce's rhythm. He didn't reach for the ball, didn't stick too close, only used his long arms to cover, trying to ensure he didn't get out of position.
Kayce felt that the opponent's defense was becoming more and more difficult to deal with. After all, he couldn't ignore the disadvantage in height and wingspan. For this shot, Durant didn't fall for the fake at all and tried his best to bother him after he shot.
"Clang" The ball hit the front rim and bounced out.
"Ah, what a pity, almost took the lead!" Russell yelled from the side, and the surrounding players also started to cheer.
"Alright, boys, let Kayce rest for a bit, then we'll play a scrimmage. Lunch is on me!" Coach Brooks immediately called a halt. A tie was good; everyone had a way out.
"Good job, Kayce, but too bad you still missed the last one," Durant stepped forward and fist-bumped Kayce.
"I actually don't like playing 1-on-1 with big guys. Your dribbling is excellent, truly incredible talent!" Kayce began to exchange compliments.
Jeff Green watched Kayce and Durant chatting happily, feeling a bit conflicted internally. He thought the opponent was an upgraded version of himself, and a sense of a bleak future arose spontaneously.
Many G-League players came to participate in the Thunder's training, after all, if they were spotted by the Head Coach, it would be a direct step up!
Kayce had just changed into his training vest when he heard Head Coach Brooks' voice:
"Kayce, can you play point guard? I remember you always played the 1 position in high school, and only switched to the 3 position in college."
"Of course, during college, Coach Ben wanted me to focus on finishing, and the team had plenty of guards, so I moved to the 3 position. Playing the 1 position is absolutely no problem for me!"
Kayce explained briefly.
"Very good, you'll be on the same team as the backups later, and you'll be the primary ball-handler."
Coach Brooks had a bold idea at this time, but he still needed to observe Kayce's performance.
"We get to train together again, Kayce, I really hope we can still play together!" Russell said full of energy.
"Haha, I really like the Thunder. I'll be playing point guard later, so go easy on me!" Kayce teased Russell.
"Wow, then I'm looking forward to it, I'm going to crush you!" Russell immediately burst into laughter, as if returning to the time at UCLA when everyone used to brag and joke around.
"It's indeed a very good team, maybe this is a good choice!" The thought flashed through Kayce's mind.