Benchwarmer’s system:Rising through Global Hoops

On media day, flashbulbs swarmed the temporary starternew starter, while Lin Mo hunched in the corner, tying his laces. The scrape of shoelaces mixed with distant shutters. His phone buzzed nonstop—voices from the Zhuiguang Training Camp, kids yelling "Go Brother Lin!" over the thud of basketballs and summer cicadas.

The one-armed teenager sent a video: he stood under a faded hoop, kids behind him holding cardboard signs scrawled with "We're Waiting for You to Play." Sunset stretched their shadows long; his prosthetic glinted in the light. "You taught us—before stepping on court, look at who you're fighting for." Lin set it as his wallpaper, and his calloused palm suddenly felt warm, like cupping a tiny sun.

In the final two minutes of scrimmage, the bench unit, using "rhythm plays," took a ten-point lead. The new starter tossed his towel: "Blind luck." Lin said nothing, bending to retrieve the ball. LeBron gave him a "keep it up" nod. The veteran's calloused palm, pale in the light, overlapped with his on the floor—two polished badges.