Chapter 377: Rookie Partners

Chapter 377: Chapter 374: Rookie Partners

Stephen Curry, born in 1988, is a professional basketball player, a point guard.

In the 2009 draft, the Golden State Warriors selected Curry with their first-round seventh pick, launching his NBA career. Curry had a brilliant rookie season, earning a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie First Team and successfully establishing himself in the league.

Last year, as a sophomore, Curry’s consistent performance gradually made him an indispensable member of the Golden State Warriors. He started in seventy-four games, truly carving out a place for himself in the professional league.

Without a doubt, Curry was becoming a rising star in the NBA.

Like Lu Ke, Curry was also an athlete signed with Under Armour. It was clear Under Armour was steadily working to capture the market for young players. But Curry was a basketball player and Lu Ke was a football player; their paths had never crossed. Seeing Curry here at the commercial shoot, Lu Ke was thoroughly confused.

‘Could this be an official set visit arranged by Under Armour?’

His tired steps paused for a moment. Lu Ke didn’t linger, walking straight to a bench in the rest area and slowly, very slowly, sitting down. He took the initiative to break the ice. “Is it your turn next? Ready to face the torture? Does this mean I can rest a little longer?”

The out-of-the-blue words, delivered in a teasing tone, broke the silence in the rest area. Curry reflexively looked over, blinking, a look of complete confusion on his face. His first reaction was, “Are you talking to me?”

Seeing Curry’s dumbfounded expression, Lu Ke let out a laugh. “Back in high school, I always saw the white kids talk like this—show off their sense of humor a bit, and they’d make new friends instantly. I’ve always wanted to give it a try. Looks like I did it wrong. Isn’t there a manual I could have read or something?”

That kind of self-deprecating, dry humor was exactly how the local kids talked. Lu Ke’s speech was so fluent and natural that for a moment, Curry had the strange feeling that *he* was the immigrant and Lu Ke was the native. Their roles seemed to have been completely reversed, and it made Curry crack up.

“Strictly speaking, we’re in the same boat. If you ever find out where to get a manual like that, let me know. I should probably read it too.” Having recovered, Curry joined in the banter with a wide grin.

As a black man, if you traced his roots back, he was an immigrant just like Lu Ke. Of course, going back even further, only Native Americans were the original inhabitants; everyone else was an immigrant. The United States was, after all, a nation built by them.

“Lu Ke.” The little joke had broken the ice between them, establishing a connection. Only then did Lu Ke properly introduce himself.

“I know you. I mean, I watched this week’s game against the Detroit Lions. You’re an incredible player.” Curry gave a shy smile, still retaining a boyish charm. “Stephen. I’m Stephen Curry.”

“Sorry, Stephen, I haven’t watched your games. I’m a Los Angeles Lakers fan.” Lu Ke’s reply made Curry freeze, unsure how to respond for a moment. Then he saw the deep smile in Lu Ke’s eyes, and Curry instantly realized he was being messed with again.

With his prank a success, Lu Ke added, “Last year’s Skills Challenge—that was a beautiful win.”

During the 2010-2011 season’s All-Star Weekend, Stephen Curry had won the Skills Challenge, one of the many testaments to his incredibly solid fundamentals.

“Ha! Ha!” Curry let out two exaggerated, dry laughs. He looked at Lu Ke with an expression of mock exasperation and said sarcastically, “Hilarious. Actually, I’m not a San Francisco 49ers fan either. I just happened to pay a little attention because I heard some undrafted rookie became the starting quarterback and won a game.”

Unfortunately, with his baby face, Curry’s sarcastic tone wasn’t very convincing and still sounded like he was just joking.

“That’s not surprising,” Lu Ke said calmly, instantly freezing the sarcastic look on Curry’s face. His eyes filled with helplessness. “I’m not a San Francisco 49ers fan either. I’m actually a Green Bay Packers fan. You?”

Curry couldn’t keep up with such a deadpan question. Before he even realized it, he answered earnestly, “The Carolina Panthers.” He then added, “I spent my childhood in Charlotte. The Panthers had just been formed back then, so you could say I grew up right alongside the team.”

The Carolina Panthers are one of the youngest teams in the NFL. They were officially founded in 1993 in Charlotte City, North Carolina, becoming the league’s 29th franchise and the first new expansion team since 1976. The team’s entire history was only eighteen years long.

In the nineties, Curry’s father, Dell Curry, played for the Charlotte Hornets. He was a renowned three-point sharpshooter in the league and remains the team’s all-time leading scorer to this day.

“Ah, I see. It seems we’re destined to never be friends. The Carolina Panthers’ rookie quarterback and I are rivals,” Lu Ke said with a grave expression, as if discussing a matter of life and death. Seeing Curry’s stunned face, Lu Ke continued, “You haven’t heard? That quarterback and I got into a huge fight at the Rookie Training Camp. We practically wanted to tear each other apart.”

Lu Ke’s expression was so earnest that Curry couldn’t tell if he was joking or being serious. His words started to stutter. “Uh, actually, I… I haven’t really watched football for the last couple of years. You know, with my own pro games, the NBA schedule is just too packed, there’s no time. I don’t even know who that rookie quarterback is…”

“No problem, no problem.” Lu Ke nodded repeatedly and waved a reassuring hand. “Everyone has their home team. Luckily, we’re not division rivals, so it’s not that bad.” Then Lu Ke shrugged. “At least, as I see it, the rivalry brewing between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors is a lot more intense. After all, they’re both California teams, aren’t they?”

Then, Curry saw Lu Ke’s eyebrow arch slightly as he gave a playful wink, a glint of mischief in his eyes. At first, Curry didn’t get it. “Wait, you just said…” Then he saw the smile slowly spreading across Lu Ke’s face. Curry finally realized it was another prank and he’d fallen for it again. “You…”

Curry raised his right hand and pointed at Lu Ke, then let it fall heavily onto his own knee. He let out a frustrated sigh, not knowing what to do—witty comebacks weren’t his strong suit. He could only scratch his head vigorously, a look of disbelief on his face.

Chuckling softly, Lu Ke added, “I’m serious, though. If you had to choose, maybe you should start following the San Francisco 49ers. We’re brothers, after all. I’m sure our sponsor would love to see that.”

Curry’s team, the Golden State Warriors, was based in Oakland, California. The state’s nickname is the “Golden State,” a legacy from the Gold Rush era, which is where the team got its name. This shared a similar origin with the San Francisco 49ers’ name, and both Oakland and San Francisco are located in the Bay Area.

As Lu Ke said, in a way, they were “brother teams.”

This time, Curry had learned his lesson. He widened his eyes, trying to state his position seriously. “Even if I were to choose a brother team, I’d have to go with the Oakland Raiders. The San Francisco 49ers would have to get in line.” But the smile he couldn’t hide betrayed him, robbing his words of any intimidating effect. The whole atmosphere relaxed completely.

Through this casual back-and-forth, Lu Ke and Curry quickly became friendly.

Lu Ke then learned that Curry was actually there to shoot the commercial with him. Lu Ke’s off-the-cuff rambling had accidentally hit the mark: Under Armour did intend to promote Curry and Lu Ke together.

Both were young, new-generation players, only a year apart in age. Both played for California teams. And both had faced immense pressure during their rookie seasons, only to deliver impressive results—

The slender, undersized Curry had also faced heavy criticism during his college and draft periods; he was even leaner than Lu Ke.

From a marketing perspective, it was undoubtedly an interesting strategy. The cross-sport promotion could generate a lot more buzz.

“Phew, looks like my guess was right. I can finally get a real rest,” Lu Ke said, leaning back dramatically against the chair. He let his arms dangle limply, using his whole body to display his exhaustion.

Curry chuckled. “It’s always like that at the start. You’ll get used to it eventually.” Then, he glanced around, and after making sure no one was listening, he lowered his voice. “But I still think these shoots are so boring. I’d rather be back on the court shooting a thousand threes than wasting time here.”

“You think so too? God!” Lu Ke exclaimed in agreement. They exchanged a look and both broke into suppressed laughter.

They turned their heads and saw the photographer and other staff members standing nearby, all looking at them in confusion, completely baffled. At that, the two young men started laughing even harder.

A staff member hurried over. “Sorry, sorry, it’s been so hectic I completely forgot to introduce you two. This is Stephen Curry, number thirty for the Golden State Warriors, and this is Lu Ke, number fourteen for the San Francisco 49ers. You’ll be shooting together today…”

The introduction was a little late. Lu Ke and Curry exchanged another glance and stifled their laughter.

As he spoke, the staff member sensed something was off but couldn’t quite put his finger on it, so he just dropped it. “Alright, ten more minutes of rest, then Lu Ke is up first for the shoot.”

The words were barely out of his mouth when Lu Ke’s smile froze on his face, replaced by a look of sheer disbelief. This time, it was Curry’s turn to clap his hands and burst out laughing.