Klay and Curry were still at it, bickering like clockwork.
In the newly released 2K13 which had Lin Yi as the standard cover again, Curry had an overall rating of 86, while Klay sat at 79. During training breaks, Klay never missed a chance to complain about how ridiculous the ratings were.
"I get it," Klay said, towel over his shoulders, clearly annoyed. "Your overall can be higher. Fine. But explain this to me—why are all your three-point attributes 95 and up, while mine barely scrape past 80?"
That part really bothered him.
After all, Klay had just secured his 336th win in 671 three-point contests against Curry.
"Come on," Klay continued, rare fire in his voice. "Oakland's got no chance. Even your franchise guy is basically on my level. I'm telling you, Stephen—fifty percent effort is enough to guard you."
Curry smirked. "Funny, you say that. Because in one-on-one games, I've beaten you more times."
Privately, Curry had complained to Lin Yi more than once.
Thank God he's not my teammate.
Unfortunately, Lin Yi—now rocking a buzz cut—had no idea what Curry was really thinking. If he did, he might've felt genuinely guilty.
After all, the Splash Brothers—who were supposed to make history together—had somehow turned into the Bickering Brothers instead.
Curry's special training in New York focused almost entirely on deep, ridiculous long-range shooting. Watching Curry repeatedly beat Lin Yi in ultra-deep three-point contests only lit a fire under Klay.
The moment Curry and Klay started launching shots from absurd distances, Lin Yi looked up at the ceiling, sighed, and quietly walked toward the weight room.
To hell with threes, he thought.
I'll become Shaq and crush you shooters with real violence.
At Lin Yi's suggestion, Klay also began practicing super long-range threes. Lin Yi broke it down for him simply.
"Klay, don't overthink 'reasonable' or 'unreasonable,'" Lin Yi said. "If you're wide open from deep, is that really harder than a closer three with a defender in your face?"
Klay froze for a second, then nodded hard. "Yeah… that actually makes sense."
That summer, Klay officially joined Anta. Chinese fans took an immediate liking to him.
The contract Anta gave Klay made Curry visibly jealous.
That summer, Nike had chosen Kyrie Irving over Curry—exactly as Lin Yi remembered. Even without the major ankle injury from the original timeline, Curry just never seemed to click with Nike.
Between Nike's $2.5 million offer and Under Armour's $5.5 million deal, Curry chose UA without hesitation.
Still, what really stung wasn't Lin Yi's deal—it was Klay's.
"Eight million a year?" Curry muttered. "Seriously?"
Lin Yi chose not to tell Curry the full truth.
Because what Curry didn't know was that Klay's deal with Anta was the foundation for a ten-year long-term partnership, something many All-Stars would never do.
On top of that, Klay was unusually enthusiastic at brand events—professional, cooperative, and oddly charming. A perfect endorsement fit.
But seeing Curry sulk made Lin Yi suddenly remember something important.
"Klay," Lin Yi asked casually, rubbing Klay's freshly buzzed head, "when are you shooting your Anta commercial?"
"They haven't finalized a plan yet," Klay replied.
Lin Yi checked the time, thought for a moment, then smiled. "Tell them I've got an idea."
After hearing it, Klay's eyes lit up.
"This is genius," he said honestly. "This is definitely going to work."
"Go for it," Lin Yi laughed. "From now on, I'll call you Uncle Klay."
The idea Lin Yi gave him?
A concept very similar to Uncle Drew.
In another future, that idea would make Irving wildly famous. Lin Yi couldn't use it himself—being seven-feet tall made disguises pointless. Even in the U.S., how many Asians that tall existed?
But ideas were meant to be used.
Besides, Klay was the most diligent bag-carrier on the Knicks. As his senior, Lin Yi wasn't about to let him miss an opportunity.
More importantly, increased visibility would help Klay's case for Sixth Man of the Year.
In the NBA, reputation often mattered as much as ability—and staying quiet rarely got you anywhere.
The Knicks were stronger overall than the Warriors at this stage. In the upcoming season, Klay would still come off the bench. To make sure that it never weighed on him mentally, Lin Yi had been reminding him constantly:
"Don't worry about starting," Lin Yi said. "Go win Sixth Man of the Year. That award fits you perfectly."
Last season, Klay finished second in both Sixth Man of the Year and Rookie of the Year, and that result hit him harder than anyone realized. Don't let his quiet personality fool you—Klay had simply buried his competitiveness and ambition deep down. Those runner-up finishes and poor playoff performances? They lit a fire.
Curry, meanwhile, was clearly tempted after hearing the idea Lin Yi shared with Klay. The Baby-faced Assassin stared at Lin Yi with wide, hopeful eyes, like he was silently asking, What about me?
Lin Yi laughed and patted Curry on the head.
"What more ideas do you need?"
Looking at Curry's current form, Lin Yi was already convinced—if things went right, Curry might break the single-season three-point record next year. And with Paul moving east, as long as Curry stayed healthy and played normally, he'd become the starting point guard for the Western Conference All-Stars sooner than expected.
As for Westbrook in Oklahoma?
Could OKC's fan base really compare to the Bay Area?
Exactly.
Once Klay passed the idea along to Anta, the brand moved fast. The moment they heard it came from Lin Yi, Anta's advertising team booked flights to New York on the spot.
The BodyArmor commercial Lin Yi had shot with Kobe the year before had been a massive success.
When it came to streetball culture, if New York claimed second place, no one dared argue for first. After all, Rucker Park was right there. To film the Uncle Klay commercial, Klay temporarily left the training camp.
By coincidence, Lin Yi and Curry were also heading to Los Angeles to shoot the BodyArmor commercial that Lin Yi and Kobe had planned during the Olympics.
. . .
On August 30th, the training camp temporarily paused, and Lin Yi and Curry flew to Los Angeles together.
Olsen traveled with them. Interested in anything that had to do with acting.
After arriving in Los Angeles, Griffin—who had been living it up with Harden since the Olympics—froze when he saw Lin Yi's noticeably thicker arms.
"Lin," Griffin blurted out, "are you… on something?"
Griffin looked genuinely shaken.
Lin Yi only smiled. In his opinion, nightclubs didn't ruin superstars—history had proven that. Only the Kardashians could do that.
DeRozan had also been grinding hard that summer. After meeting up with friends, the king of Toronto looked bright and relaxed. In this life, DeRozan was destined to stay far away from depression.
Kobe's mental state was excellent as well. After returning to Los Angeles, he even trained with Howard for a few days.
"Dwight's actually pretty funny," Kobe said to Lin Yi, patting his shoulder. "Good guy too."
Lin Yi looked at Kobe's cheerful expression and stayed silent.
He planned to talk to Kobe later. Lin Yi knew the 2012–13 season would be a major turning point in Kobe's career.
Pressure and responsibility had a way of crushing even the strongest of minds.
On August 31st, the team officially stepped onto the set and began filming.
. . .
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