The one on the left, with blonde hair and blue eyes, looked like the Silver Horn King from Journey to the West.
The one on the right also had blonde hair and blue eyes, but he looked like a Hollywood movie star.
"Dirk, Pau? You're attending this year's summit too?"
He Ximeng couldn't contain his excitement and blurted out their names.
Yes, the newcomers were none other than Dirk Nowitzki, the best player in the German high school league this year, and Pau Gasol, the best player in the Spanish high school league!
The two who had just entered the elevator were very surprised to hear He Ximeng call out their names.
"You know us?" they asked in unison.
"Yes, I've seen your games!" He Ximeng quickly came up with a plausible reason, "Your skills are amazing!"
"Are you a scout for Nike?" Nowitzki asked He Ximeng in slightly broken English.
He Ximeng shook his head and pointed to Da Zhi, "We represent China, here to participate in this year's basketball summit!"
"China has two spots?" Gasol was a bit taken aback. He had analyzed Nike's invitation rules: only the strongest high school students from each country's league received invitations from Nike... For players from China to receive an exception... there was only one reason: these two players were top-notch talents!
Gasol and Nowitzki exchanged glances. It was clear that Nowitzki had reached the same conclusion as Gasol.
"Dirk, Dirk Nowitzki, I'm from Germany!"
"Pau, Pau Gasol, I'm from Spain!"
They introduced themselves first, as a gesture of goodwill.
"My name is Wang Zhi Zhi, you can call me Da Zhi, I'm from China!"
"He Ximeng, you can call me Simon, I'm also from China!"
As He Ximeng spoke, he extended a fist. The other three didn't understand, but at He Ximeng's prompting, they also extended their right fists and bumped them together.
"Okay! This year's Nike summit, we are all teammates on one international squad! Our goal this year is: defeat Team USA!"
Faced with He Ximeng's unsolicited familiarity, Nowitzki and Gasol had the illusion that He Ximeng had known them for a long time...
However, they were still young and didn't dwell on the matter.
"Team USA is tough! I heard that this year's US team has two prodigies..." Nowitzki said in his German-accented English.
"Two high school students whose skills are already good enough for the NBA..." Gasol added in his Spanish-accented English.
Da Zhi didn't understand very well, so He Ximeng translated for him in Chinese and then asked them, "Who isn't a talented player?"
"You're the best high school player in Germany this year, right?"
Nowitzki nodded.
He Ximeng then asked Gasol, "You're the best high school player in Spain this year, right?"
Gasol also nodded.
He Ximeng pointed to Da Zhi and then to himself, "Da Zhi was the best high school player in China last year, and I am the best high school player in China this year... Strictly speaking, we are all geniuses in our respective countries... There's nothing to fear... Oh, right, I'll introduce you to a fierce teammate later... Yesterday, when I went to the gym, he was already going head-to-head with the best American high school player you mentioned..."
"Really? Who was he playing one-on-one against? Kobe or Shaq?"
"Huh? Shaq is here too? He's playing one-on-one against Kobe, not Shaq."
He Ximeng suddenly thought, "That's not right! Shaq is much older than Kobe..."
As he was pondering, the elevator stopped again, and walking in was the long-haired Ginobili!
"Hi, Simon, good morning!"
"Good morning, Manu, you've arrived at the perfect time! Everyone, let me introduce you to the teammate I was just talking about, the one who's holding his own against Kobe! Manu Ginobili, a talented player from Argentina! Manu, this is Dirk, this is Pau, and this is Da Zhi..."
He Ximeng introduced them in the elevator.
Ginobili shook hands warmly with everyone, his South American exuberance rivaling He Ximeng's.
Thus, the five young talents from around the world completed their first meeting in the elevator.
Upon arriving at the gymnasium, the remaining seven players of the international team were already present.
They were Nesterović, a center from Slovenia; Radošević, a center from Montenegro; Stipanović, a center from Georgia; Kirilenko, a forward from Russia; Yang Dong-geun, a guard from South Korea; and Yūta Tabuse, a guard from Japan!
On the American side, He Ximeng finally saw the Shaq that Nowitzki and Gasol had mentioned: Jermaine O'Neal! The one who would later be known as the younger O'Neal.
Besides Kobe and the younger O'Neal, He Ximeng also recognized Tyronn Lue, Stephen Jackson, and Tim Thomas!
He Ximeng had no impression of the remaining seven. However, even these five were enough to give the international team a run for their money.
Although the international team also had future NBA stars like Nowitzki, Gasol, Kirilenko, and Ginobili, their opponents had the superstar Kobe, the All-Star center the younger O'Neal, the All-Star guard Tyronn Lue, and the chaos-inducing Stephen Jackson... This starting lineup, even in the NBA, was formidable.
The Nike Basketball Summit lasted for a week.
The first day, which was yesterday, was basically for check-in and adjusting to the time difference.
Starting today, the next three days would be the training camp.
The Nike Basketball Summit, frankly speaking, followed the same model as He Ximeng's Simon Basketball Training Camp in his previous life.
A group of promising young prospects would be selected, their travel and accommodation expenses covered, and they would be well-fed and looked after for a period. At the end, outstanding campers would be awarded scholarships and other support.
During this time, renowned seniors would be invited to teach these youngsters, observing their learning abilities and habits to gauge their potential for future growth.
If their future was truly boundless, Nike would bind them to their brand with a contract.
If their future was uncertain, the existing goodwill would make it a natural progression for Nike to discuss contracts with them once these young men realized their potential.
This year, leveraging the platform of North Carolina, the two special guest instructors invited by Nike to teach the campers were also legendary players from North Carolina's history.