July 10th.
Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas.
This was the home court of UNLV. Two years ago, it hosted the All-Star Game—the only time in NBA history the event was held in a city without its own team. It also happened to be one of the most profitable All-Star weekends for the league.
Inside the Thunder's Summer League locker room.
Russell Westbrook was having a friendly chat with the new rookie, James Harden. Now that Harden had joined the squad, Westbrook was no longer the lowest man on the totem pole. He was finally a "veteran" leader.
Looking at the somewhat green Harden, Westbrook asked, "James, you nervous?"
Harden grinned. "Not really. It's just Summer League." To him, this was simply a chance to adjust to the NBA pace.
Westbrook nodded. "Exactly! It's just Summer League. Don't sweat it—I'll feed you the ball. Let's show them what the Thunder rookies are made of." He turned to Ibaka. "Right, Serge?"
"Of course," Ibaka replied, tightening his laces. "Let's show them."
The Thunder's lead coach entered the room and began outlining the game plan. Simultaneously, in the Knicks' locker room, Kenny Atkinson was firing up his squad.
"Some of you are undrafted, some are from overseas, and some are bench players. But Summer League is where you change your destiny. If you play well, you earn a guaranteed contract. Now, let's go!" Atkinson stood by the door. "Move out!"
Luke took a deep breath, stood up from his locker, high-fived his teammates, and walked out. On the way to the court, he leaned over to Curry.
"Steph, watch your off-ball movement. When I'm handling the rock, I'll be looking for you."
Following D'Antoni's instructions, Atkinson wanted Luke to act as the primary playmaker. D'Antoni knew Curry wasn't Steve Nash; Curry was a far superior scorer but didn't have Nash's natural playmaking instincts yet. The plan was to mold Luke into a "Point Forward," easing the pressure on Steph and allowing him to focus on scoring. If Luke succeeded here, he would become the next great playmaking forward after LeBron James.
"I got you. I'll be ready," Curry replied. He trusted Luke's passing implicitly. Every pass from Luke felt perfectly placed—as if Luke were born to set him up.
The pre-game ritual for Summer League was brief. After a quick handshake, the referees blew the whistle.
Thunder Starters:
Center: Marcus Dove
Power Forward: Serge Ibaka
Small Forward: Shaun Livingston
Shooting Guard: James Harden
Point Guard: Russell Westbrook
Though Livingston was a guard by trade, his 6'7" frame allowed him to slide up to small forward for this tournament.
The tip-off featured Earl Barron against Ibaka. Ibaka's athleticism was terrifying. He was the 24th pick in 2008 but had spent a year developing in Spain before being recalled. Despite being only 6'10", he snatched the opening possession right over the 7'0" Barron.
Westbrook brought the ball up. Seeing Curry guarding him, he executed a simple crossover and used his explosive strength to bump Curry aside, driving straight to the rim. Gallinari rotated to help, but Westbrook lofted a lob toward the rim. Ibaka soared through the air and finished with a thunderous two-handed alley-oop.
The crowd—mostly locals and tourists—applauded. Without a home team to root for, they simply cheered for whoever played the most exciting brand of basketball.
"Steph, stay in front of his drive. Let him shoot," Luke whispered as he prepared to inbound the ball. He knew Westbrook's weakness was his inconsistent jumper. Since Steph couldn't stop the drive anyway, he might as well sag off and dare the "Brodie" to fire from deep.
Curry nodded, took the ball, and pushed forward. Westbrook was hungry; he wanted to use his elite speed to strip the "skinny" guard. But as he lunged, Curry went behind-the-back, blowing past him in one move. Livingston was forced to leave Luke to stop Curry's penetration.
"Steph!" The wide-open Luke called out. Curry whipped the ball to him. Without a second of hesitation, Luke rose for the jumper.
Open Three-Pointer Skill: Activated.
Swish!
The ball snapped the net. The crowd cheered again.
"Luke Thorne, Jia You! Jia You!" (Go Luke!)
Hearing the familiar Mandarin, Luke looked toward the stands. A group of fans was waving banners with Chinese characters. A wave of warmth hit him—domestic fans were truly dedicated. He remembered when Wang Zhizhi first came to the NBA and fans held up signs saying, "Zhi, the brothers are here!" He gave them a quick wave before locking back into defensive mode.
Westbrook was a "relatively" rational player at this stage, but if he got heated, even NBA veterans couldn't stop him, let alone a Summer League squad. Feeling responsible for being blown by earlier, he decided to take the points back himself.
As he crossed half-court, he waved his teammates away.
He was going ISO.