Stem cell therapy was still a distant prospect, so for now, the only option was microfracture surgery.

Chen Yu was already well-versed in this type of surgery.

Inside the operating room, Chen Yu once again opted for a minimally invasive procedure. Under his Eye of All-Seeing, he began to shave and trim the edge of Yagudin’s acetabular labrum.

Yagudin’s original problem was a congenital synovial defect. His acetabular labrum was underdeveloped and couldn’t fully envelop the femoral head. This caused the femoral head to repeatedly collide with the acetabular rim.

Now, by using microfracture surgery to form fibrocartilage, he could expand the cartilage area and completely envelop the femoral head.

"As precise as ever," William complimented, taking advantage of a lull from across the operating table.

Every time he watched Chen Yu perform minimally invasive surgery, William felt he was witnessing a form of art. He couldn’t imagine the wealth of experience and skill required to perform such delicate maneuvers—like dancing on the tip of a blade—within the limited operating space and with the unclear view of an arthroscope.

’I’m seeing it with my own eyes. How could I not be precise?’

After repairing the acetabular labrum and removing the bone spurs, he withdrew the arthroscope. He then sutured the damage to the iliac ligament caused by the entry point and smoothly extracted his tools. Just as Chen Yu was about to ask William to take over for the closing procedures, he suddenly received a system notification.

[Through extensive training and accumulated experience, your mastery of minimally invasive surgery has reached a new stage. Congratulations on obtaining the Basic Level Minimally Invasive Surgery technique.]

[Basic Level Minimally Invasive Surgery Technique: Increases the effectiveness of minimally invasive surgery by 5%.]

Chen Yu was startled. ’I actually got a technique?’

Until now, the only surgical technique Chen Yu had obtained was for ligament repair.

Chen Yu had a general understanding of how the system worked. He knew it required a massive amount of experience, but surgery wasn’t like massage or Acupuncture. No matter how often he performed it, there was a limit to how many procedures he could do.

And that didn’t even factor in the element of chance.

So, it was great if he got it, but Chen Yu wouldn’t force the issue if he didn’t.

’Minimally Invasive Surgery Technique?’ Chen Yu mused. ’The reason I’m only getting this now is probably because "minimally invasive surgery" is a much broader category, so it requires far more accumulated experience.’

Laparoscopy, thoracoscopy, arthroscopy... Minimally invasive surgery encompassed many different types and forms of procedures. It was certainly much harder to obtain than the skill for a single type of surgery like ligament repair.

The boost was small, only five percent.

But every little bit counted. Chen Yu had yet to acquire any system effects above Diamond Level, which suggested that Diamond Level was the highest.

Therefore, if he wanted to surpass the 80% boost from the Diamond Level, his only path was through acquiring more techniques.

"All yours." Chen Yu snapped back to reality, nodded at William, and left the operating room.

This was the last surgery on his schedule.

With the surgery done, Chen Yu had to head to Oakland tomorrow.

The Men’s Basketball World Championship was about to start at the end of the month.

On August 16th, the Dream Five Team had officially assembled.

Before the official tournament, the Dream Five Team would also play two exhibition games.

One was on the 23rd in Oakland against the China Team, and the other was on the 26th against the Germany Team.

Chen Yu was already a few days late to report because he had been busy with clinic matters, and he couldn’t delay any longer.

The next day, Chen Yu gathered his medical team and flew to Oakland.

Although the medical team belonged to the Suns, it was the offseason. This was essentially a side gig for them, and who would say no to extra income?

However, Jon Hamm and Greg Davis didn’t come along. One reason was that they were usually responsible for the training side of things, which the National Team didn’t need. The second was that Jon Hamm had taken a private job abroad and wasn’t in the United States.

The group was in a relaxed mood. They didn’t even discuss their upcoming work with the National Team.

There wasn’t much to discuss. It was only a few games, and these were all superstars who could manage their own conditioning.

Besides, this was the World Championship. With the Dream Team’s strength, they would just steamroll the competition.

So, the group was basically just going through the motions.

Before they left, Chen Yu had told them that aside from their basic duties, their most important task was to ensure Marion’s health.

J Kidd withdrew from the Dream Team at the last minute, and even if he hadn’t, he was a Nuggets player now.

Marion was the only one from the Suns who made the team.

He was still young and needed to improve, so he could use the World Championship to gain some experience.

But if Marion were to get injured in a tournament like the World Championship, it would be a huge loss for the Suns.

Chen Yu was no stranger to San Francisco; after all, he had gone to medical school here.

On the University of San Francisco campus, there was a small gymnasium with a rather unique name: the War Memorial Gymnasium.

Engraved on its mottled exterior wall was a sentence: "In everlasting memory of those who died in the nation’s wars."

Chen Yu didn’t know the full story behind it, but he was familiar with the University of San Francisco.

Their women’s basketball team was stronger, but the men’s team was not bad either, having produced two Bills.

One was Bill Cartwright, the starting center during the Bulls’ first three-peat.

The other one was even more famous: the league’s renowned Lord of the Rings, Bill Russell.

Inside the gym hung 28 banners celebrating the conference championships of the University of San Francisco’s women’s basketball team. At that moment, the United States Team was holding their final practice in the small arena, which had a capacity of just over a thousand.

"Snow, you know me. All of you should know me well enough by now to realize I’m never going to answer questions like that. So why do you keep asking?" Chen Yu complained, feeling exasperated as he was mobbed by reporters on the sideline.

The crowd of reporters surrounding Chen Yu was even bigger than the one around George Karl and the stars on the team.

The most frequent questions were, naturally, about O’Neal, Hardaway, Duncan, Tracy McGrady, and Hill.

After all, those guys were the league’s biggest names.

But Chen Yu never disclosed information about injury recovery to the public. It was pointless to even ask.

After shaking off the reporters, Chen Yu returned to the sideline. Suddenly, Reggie Miller approached him.

"Chen," he greeted with a cheerful smile.

Chen Yu nodded in response.

Chen Yu was familiar with Old Miller, though they had never been close.

After all, the man was famously a "discipline monster" and a health nut in the league. He had maintained his health throughout his long career, almost never suffering a major injury.

But he had overcome a congenital hip deformity from his childhood through sheer effort, which was the stuff of legend.

"Chen, I saw the reports about Jason. You have him playing with those iron balls... Does that really help improve shooting percentage?" Miller asked after a bit of small talk.

Chen Yu sighed inwardly. ’Perhaps an "iron ball" craze really is about to sweep the league.’

And J Kidd would be its spokesman.

He had been photographed by reporters more than once, walking around town while rotating a pair of iron balls in his hand. After he went to Denver, he even specifically addressed it in an interview, saying it was shooting practice that Chen Yu had him do. He claimed it was very effective and that his shooting had become much more accurate.

A lot of people knew that J Kidd wasn’t a great shooter. In addition, Chen Yu was a top-tier team doctor in the league who also understood training. He had pioneered scientific training methods with the Suns, so his techniques were always on the radar of other teams around the league.

Otherwise, why would so many teams be practicing Five Animals Qigong and adopting data analysis systems?

Chen Yu and the Suns were like trendsetters, and especially after their championship win this year, they had become the model for every other team to study.

So it was no surprise that Miller was now asking about it.

"Don’t. Your shot is already top-tier. There’s no need to use this kind of training method. It will actually change your shooting habits and affect your shooting percentage," Chen Yu said, dispelling Miller’s notion.

Who was Miller? He was the league’s most renowned shooter, a superstar who could make Jordan give his full attention. His shot was already among the best in the league. Even if there was room for improvement, this wasn’t the way to do it.

Rashly trying to strengthen his finger muscles would only do more harm than good and disrupt his shooting mechanics.

"I understand." Miller nodded, but he didn’t leave, continuing to chat with Chen Yu.

They talked about Jordan, Ewing, O’Neal.

As Chen Yu listened, he started to sense an underlying motive.

It seemed his interest wasn’t just in the iron balls. His words hinted at a yearning for the same thing Ewing and Olajuwon had sought.

Yearning for what Ewing got, in other words, meant yearning to be on the Suns.

Chen Yu looked Miller over again.

He was already thirty-seven and had played a full fifteen seasons in the league. And much like Ewing, his Pacer team, during its peak, had been ruthlessly suppressed by Jordan’s Bulls. He had yet to win a single championship in his career.

Never mind the "West is strong, East is weak" dynamic; just within the East, the Magic, led by Hill and Tracy McGrady, were on a rapid rise.

The Pacer were still a playoff-caliber team, but that was their ceiling.

So how many more years could the 37-year-old Miller play, and did he still have a hope of winning a championship?

His hunger for a championship was likely no less than Ewing’s.

The Suns had become a place where veterans could make their championship dreams come true. ’Could it be that Miller is entertaining the same idea?’

The key was that he was still playing at a high level and earning a multi-million dollar salary. The Suns couldn’t afford a player like that.

But then Chen Yu recalled that Miller’s contract was set to expire next summer.

’Is he laying the groundwork in advance?’

Seeing Miller looking at him with a wide smile, Chen Yu couldn’t help but sigh. ’That Jordan... just how many players’ dreams did he crush?’

Of course, this could all just be his own wishful thinking.

’But on second thought, Miller would actually be a perfect fit for the Suns.’

Miller was a sharpshooter, the kind who excelled at moving without the ball and hitting catch-and-shoot jumpers off screens. He didn’t need the ball in his hands, which made him a great fit with a brilliant playmaker, and an even better fit with a dominant center like O’Neal, who could command unstoppable attention from the defense in the paint.

The Suns had traded for James Posey this season and later signed Woshan Leonard precisely because they wanted to find a stable outside shooter.

And the most elite shooter of all was, naturally, Miller.

’But would he really be willing to leave the Pacer?’

One man, one city. His entire fifteen-year career had been with the Pacer. For a championship, would he really be willing to cast aside all the accolades he’d earned there?