In Indianapolis, the Knicks found themselves locked in a grind-it-out battle with the Pacers.
Facing a team that thrived on physical basketball, New York had no choice but to slow the pace and win through patience rather than speed.
As Lin Yi continued evolving into one of the league's most dangerous low-post scorers, he was practically unstoppable in an NBA that no longer had dominant interior forces like Shaquille O'Neal.
Roy Hibbert came off the bench for Indiana. Unfortunately for him, no amount of shouting was going to bail him out.
The game once again proved that basketball is about far more than size.
Standing 218 centimeters tall and weighing 122 kilograms, Hibbert somehow managed to make rebounding look like a spectator sport. While he watched the ball with his eyes, Lin Yi happily collected rebound after rebound. Whether the Pacers were quietly losing their minds or not, Lin Yi certainly wasn't complaining.
People hoped for more fight, but the gap between their abilities was worlds apart.
Lin Yi remembered that some fans had once overrated Hibbert after his playoff performances, even comparing him favorably to older centers. But to Lin Yi, comparing Hibbert to Yao Ming was never a serious debate. Yao's offensive skill, footwork, and scoring ability were on another level.
Paul George wasn't much better on this particular night.
Before suffering his devastating leg injury, George was still an inconsistent young star. His ball handling and shot creation came and went, and he hadn't yet become the polished scorer people would later remember.
Lin Yi couldn't help but think about how ironic George's career had been.
Most players never recover after such a horrific injury.
George somehow came back and reached another level.
Without that setback, though, Lin Yi wasn't convinced George would've made the same leap. Basketball has a strange way of rewriting careers.
The Knicks eventually escaped Indianapolis with a 97- 90 victory.
It was their first win of the season without reaching the 100-point mark, but beating the Pacers on the road was valuable in its own right. More importantly, New York continued widening the gap at the top of the standings.
This season also marked the NBA's return to the 2-2-1-1-1 Finals format.
That meant home court advantage carried even greater weight than before.
Even if matching last season's historic record would be difficult, the Knicks knew every regular-season win mattered. In a league that already looked more unpredictable than ever, securing home court throughout the playoffs felt like the safest insurance policy.
. . .
On November 2 and 4, New York picked up comfortable wins over the Magic and the Bucks.
Victor Oladipo still had plenty of growing to do before his career eventually took an unfortunate turn.
The rebuilding Magic weren't worried about mistakes. If anything, Orlando was happy letting Oladipo fire away. They would've gladly watched him channel Kobe Bryant every night, because if he somehow took forty-seven shots a game, the Magic might lock up the league's worst record before spring.
Milwaukee's rebuilding plan looked very different in this timeline.
After missing out on drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks chose to build around Otto Porter Jr.
Porter had excellent length and solid instincts, but the league once again reminded everyone that having a long wingspan doesn't automatically make someone Giannis.
His frame simply wasn't built for that style of dominance.
His ceiling looked much closer to a player like Trevor Ariza. If he continued developing his defense and outside shooting, he could still become one of the NBA's most dependable two-way wings.
The biggest surprise in Milwaukee was Larry Sanders. After signing a major contract extension, Sanders became one of the NBA's most unusual personalities.
While many players focused entirely on basketball, Sanders often shared philosophical thoughts online and talked about art, creativity, and life beyond the court.
Lin Yi found his personality interesting, though he couldn't help wondering whether Sanders would eventually look back and laugh at some of his younger self's idealism.
. .
On November 5, after returning to New York, the Knicks officially announced that beginning January 1 of the following year, they would regularly wear Chinese-themed jerseys during selected games.
With the Chinese market continuing to expand, NBA Executive Vice President Mark Tatum, who oversaw Asia-Pacific operations, had proposed to Commissioner David Stern that teams with particularly strong Chinese fan bases, including the Knicks, Wizards, and Rockets, should wear the special jerseys more often instead of limiting them to the Lunar New Year period.
Stern approved the proposal, and the Knicks' front office immediately embraced the idea, believing it would further strengthen the franchise's popularity across China.
That same day, the NBA also announced a partnership with the Chinese Basketball Association to launch the "Rising Stars" training camp.
The initiative was designed to identify promising young Chinese prospects, give them access to NBA-level coaching, and expose them to the league's environment long before they reached the professional stage.
Lin Yi had a pretty good idea whose fingerprints were all over the project.
Yao Ming.
In this timeline, Yao's influence within Chinese basketball had grown even larger than Lin Yi remembered.
Within the Chinese Basketball Association, there were only two people whom no one wanted to upset.
One was Yao Ming.
The other was Lin Yi.
There was no other choice.
The Chinese Basketball Association was already preparing its bid to host the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and if China succeeded, the CBA naturally hoped Lin Yi would be the one leading the national team onto the podium on home soil.
With such enormous benefits and opportunities on the table, nobody wanted to create unnecessary trouble. Nobody was willing to risk damaging the future of Chinese basketball.
Yao Ming understood this better than anyone.
For Chinese basketball to truly grow, it could not rely on just one Yao Ming or one Lin Yi.
The recent Asian Championship was the perfect example. The gap between Yi Jianlian and the rest of the domestic players had become increasingly obvious. China had a superstar, but one superstar alone could not carry an entire basketball system.
In Yao Ming's eyes, China did not need five players like Lin Yi. That was unrealistic.
But if Chinese basketball could develop five players with near-NBA level ability, then China would finally have the foundation to compete with the world's strongest teams.
The "Rising Stars" training camp was only the beginning.
With Yao Ming's influence and connections, the cooperation between the NBA and Chinese basketball would only become deeper in the future.
Interestingly, among the young players sent by the CBA to participate in the first "Rising Stars" camp, Lin Yi noticed a name that immediately caught his attention.
It was unusually long.
Lin Yi turned to Zhong Muchen and said, "Take good care of this kid."
Zhong Muchen was confused.
"Does he have the potential to make it to the NBA?"
Lin Yi glanced at him.
"No, don't worry about that for now. Just look after him like I told you."
Lin Yi knew exactly what kind of player Abudushalamu Abudurexiti was.
A talented off-ball wing player with good instincts, movement, and defensive potential.
Maybe he would never become an NBA star, but players like him were valuable. Even if he couldn't make it overseas, he could still become an important piece for the national team in the future.
Lin Yi also knew that the day Yao Ming officially took charge of Chinese basketball was getting closer.
As a friend of Yao Ming, Lin Yi naturally wanted to help him build a stronger foundation.
Besides...
There were still countless fans waiting for them back home.
He would never miss the chance to play in a World Cup held on Chinese soil.
By 2019, Lin Yi believed he would have already reached the peak of his abilities.
Even he was curious about one thing.
If the moment really came, could he challenge the United States team by himself?
. . .
On November 6, the Knicks had a day off.
As a mentor for the "Rising Stars" training camp, Lin Yi attended the opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting event alongside Yao Ming and Mark Tatum.
Many people did not realize that Mark Tatum, one of the NBA's key executives responsible for international expansion, had long placed great importance on the Chinese market.
During David Stern's tenure, Tatum played an important role in helping the NBA strengthen its presence overseas, particularly in Asia. However, the NBA's growth in China was never the work of one person alone. It was the result of years of effort from Stern, Tatum, NBA China executives, and countless partners who helped bring the league closer to Chinese fans.
Standing alongside two of the most influential figures in Chinese basketball, Tatum looked genuinely excited about the future.
"This is a special time for the NBA, and it is also a special time for Chinese basketball," he said.
The ceremony was attended by several NBA representatives, including senior executives involved in the league's international development.
After chatting with Tatum and the other officials for a while, Lin Yi found himself feeling slightly confused.
Adam Silver?
Could Stern really have been preparing him for this role all along?
Otherwise, why would Stern choose him as his successor after decades of building the league?
The NBA had no shortage of talented executives. Yet somehow, after retiring, Stern had decided that Silver was the person who should lead the league into its next era.
Lin Yi could only shake his head.
There were some things even he couldn't understand.
Of course, Lin Yi did not realize that some changes had already begun because of his own existence.
Even if he never intended to interfere, his influence had already reached places far beyond the basketball court.
There were still about six months before David Stern officially stepped down.
The NBA was preparing for one of the biggest transitions in its history.
With the league approaching a new media rights era and preparing for a change in leadership, the basketball world was quietly entering a period of major transformation.
. . .
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