The tryout began.
Ogawa Tetsuya had arrived last and was therefore scheduled to go last.
The players tested before him delivered nothing out of the ordinary.
Which made sense.
If they truly possessed outstanding talent, they would have already stood out in the NBA Draft.
Summer League rosters are usually filled with a mix of rookies, second-year players, and unsigned free agents the team wants to evaluate.
Of course, these "unsigned free agents" weren't big-name stars
they were fringe players, long shots, or athletes coming from all corners of the world.
Players like Ogawa Tetsuya, who had received a Summer League tryout invitation, fell squarely into this category.
Everyone present in the gym that day was an unsigned free agent.
The competition was brutal.
Even if you passed the tryout and made the cut, your situation wouldn't be comparable to that of rookies or second-year players, who came primarily to gain experience.
These unsigned players had to fight tooth and nail for extremely limited minutes just to prove themselves.
To put it bluntly
Some of them might not see the court even once throughout the entire Summer League.
"Next—Ogawa Tetsuya."
Brian Shaw called out indifferently.
He had no expectations whatsoever for this big man from Asia.
Yes, that mysterious land had once produced a superstar—Yao Ming
but he was the exception, not the rule.
Over the years, other Asian big men had appeared in the NBA, yet none had achieved anything noteworthy.
As for Asian players under seven feet tall?
Their chances of even stepping onto an NBA court were practically nonexistent.
In Brian Shaw's mind—a former Black NBA player—Asian athletes simply lacked elite talent and physicality.
Especially in today's NBA, where small-ball lineups dominated the league.
Even physically gifted European and American big men were gradually being reduced to blue-collar roles—or outright bench warmers.
This big man from Asia
Even if he possessed strength on par with Yao Ming, adapting to the modern game would still be difficult.
And there was no way he had Yao Ming's level of talent.
Otherwise, scouts would have discovered him long ago.
Brian Shaw looked at Ogawa Tetsuya's handsome face.
There was no malice in his gaze
just the unconscious bias shaped by common perception.
"Height: 213 cm.
Weight: 126 kg.
Wingspan: 232 cm.
Hand size: 27.9 cm."
"…Oh—shit."
When Ogawa Tetsuya's physical measurements appeared on the board, Brian Shaw's small eyes widened in shock, and he couldn't help swearing under his breath.
Long wingspan.
Massive hands.
Perfect natural tools for elite rim protection and interior dominance.
"Standing reach—287 cm?!"
"Oh my God…"
"Max vertical reach—378 cm?!"
"This is unbelievable… absolutely freakish talent!"
Moments ago, Brian Shaw hadn't expected anything.
Now, he was so excited his words came out in a jumble.
He couldn't comprehend how such monstrous physical gifts could belong to an Asian big man standing right in front of him.
This has to be a dream.
Brian Shaw shook his bald head vigorously, disbelief written all over his face, and ordered Ogawa Tetsuya to test again.
The earlier outburst had already drawn everyone's attention.
All the players and staff crowded over, staring at Ogawa Tetsuya with confused expressions.
Clearly
None of them believed that an Asian athlete—traditionally viewed as physically inferior—could possess such terrifying measurements.
"Again?" Ogawa Tetsuya asked with a calm smile, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.
"Yes."
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the tests were repeated
height, weight, standing reach, max vertical.
Everything was identical to the first test
Except the max reach, which was only 2 cm lower.
"Fuck—this Asian guy's physical talent is insane!"
"Oh my God… I thought he'd just be another slow-moving Great Wall type, but his wingspan and vertical are terrifying!"
"That size, jumping that high? God is seriously unfair…"
"..."
Two rounds of rock-solid test results stunned everyone present.
And then
Ogawa Tetsuya's 100-meter sprint, lateral movement, and bench press tests left the entire gym completely dumbfounded.
A 213 cm giant
Running the 100 meters in 12.3 seconds.
Laterally moving with footwork so quick it didn't resemble a center at all.
"185 pounds (84 kg)—32 consecutive reps!"
"Max bench press: 437 pounds (198.2 kg)!"
When those numbers were announced, the room fell into stunned silence.
Brian Shaw was both shocked and exhilarated.
And in his mind, a single figure emerged—
Shaquille O'Neal.
The Great Shark.
The man who once turned the paint into a war zone,
who single-handedly tore apart the interiors of 29 NBA teams,
whose dominance was nothing short of brutal.