Compared to his outstanding performance on the defensive end, Yuki's role on offense was extremely simple. He basically stood still in the corner, waiting on the spot.
Yuki never expected to receive the ball on offense. Given his status with the Warriors, he rarely had the opportunity to even touch the basketball.
The previous pass had only happened because he was completely open during a fast break and happened to be spotted by Green—an exception rather than the norm.
However, it seemed that his excellent defensive performance over the past few minutes had left an impression on several Warriors players on the court.
When Thompson was attacking with the ball, he was double-teamed by the Pacers. In a hurry, he noticed Yuki standing wide open beyond the three-point line in the corner and passed the ball without hesitation.
Yuki was momentarily startled after receiving the ball. The purple Hall of Fame–level Corner Three Shooter badge activated almost instinctively, and he jumped up to shoot.
Swish!
The basketball hit the net cleanly and crisply.
Two shots. Two makes..
Unknowingly, Yuki had already scored 6 points, tying his highest scoring total since joining the Warriors. With that three-pointer, the gap between the two teams was reduced to just one point.
Just minutes earlier, the Warriors had been trailing by nearly ten points. In the blink of an eye, Yuki, relying on his elite defense, had caused the Pacers' offense to repeatedly stall and helped the Warriors claw their way back into the game.
"This guy's three-point shot is pretty good…"
Stephen Curry, sitting on the sidelines, looked genuinely surprised.
During team practices, Yuki's main training focus was three-point shooting, but his shooting percentage had never been particularly impressive. Once in an actual game, affected by defensive pressure and crowd noise, the difficulty increased significantly—and his efficiency usually dropped even further.
A perfect 2-for-2 performance like today was something that had never happened before.
However, what Curry didn't expect was—
This was far from over.
Over the next few possessions, Yuki didn't touch the ball again. But the Warriors steadily gained momentum, their defensive intensity rising sharply, and they successfully took the lead.
Going from holding a clear advantage to being overtaken, the Pacers players became increasingly impatient. Their offensive tempo sped up noticeably—but the faster they played, the bigger the cracks became.
Under the effect of the Gold Interceptor badge, every pass had to be made with extreme caution.
Unfortunately, the Pacers clearly lacked that awareness.
Snap!
Yuki seized the perfect moment and launched a sudden attack, intercepting the pass cleanly right in the middle of the court.
"Get back on defense!"
Once a pass is intercepted, it's easy to create a numbers advantage in transition.
On the Warriors' side, Thompson pushed the ball forward quickly. He glanced at his teammates and soon spotted Yuki sprinting toward the corner three-point line.
Yuki's defensive impact, along with his two clean corner threes earlier, had already earned Thompson's trust. Seeing him open again, Thompson didn't hesitate.
The pass came.
Yuki caught the ball, planted his feet at the left corner three-point line, rose up, and released the shot in one smooth, fluid motion.
Swish!
The Pacers' defenders had recovered quickly—but they were still too late to contest the shot.
Three for three.
Yuki had scored his 9th point of the game.
Nine points wasn't a huge number, but Yuki had played less than ten minutes total.
His efficiency as a bench player was nothing short of astonishing.
Screee—
When the final buzzer sounded, Yuki was completely soaked in sweat.
Reporters rushed onto the court, walked toward Yuki instinctively—then passed him by and surrounded Klay Thompson instead.
With Curry injured, Thompson was the Warriors' primary offensive weapon, and he had perfectly lived up to the Splash Brothers' reputation.
Thompson played 37 minutes, shooting 12-for-28, hitting 5 of 13 from three-point range, and scoring a game-high 39 points, carrying the team to victory almost single-handedly.
In contrast, Yuki's stat line—9 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals—seemed insignificant.
Yet in the fourth quarter, it was precisely Yuki's appearance that dramatically improved the Warriors' overall defense, successfully contained Stuckey, and allowed the team to erase the deficit through high-efficiency scoring.
Yuki didn't feel disappointed at being overlooked.
He had inherited another memory of himself and understood clearly—
Whether he stayed with the team or not depended on how his performance in this game was evaluated by the coaching staff.
Ding!
At that moment, a pleasant chime echoed in Yuki's ears, followed by the familiar emotionless voice of the Basketball God System.
"Congratulations to the host for winning the first game of your professional career.
The novice reward mechanism has been triggered.
Please check your rewards."
The sudden notification startled Yuki.
There were rewards… just for winning?
He quickly dove into his consciousness and discovered that beside the five badges he had obtained earlier, another badge was glowing with a silver light.
Silver Badge — Catch-and-Shoot
Within a short period after receiving a pass, the player's outside shooting attributes are significantly increased.
(Note: This badge is at Silver Professional level. When triggered, three-point shooting attributes increase by 5 points for 3 seconds.)
"Just for winning a game… you give me a silver badge?"
For a moment, Yuki stood frozen in disbelief.
The Catch-and-Shoot badge was practically tailor-made for him.
Given his role in the team's system, he had almost no chance to handle the ball.
Combined with the Corner Three Shooter badge, this new skill would make his spot-up shooting even more stable and deadly.
With this, Yuki became even more threatening on offense.
Looking across the entire league, there were very few players who could match his combination of elite defense and corner three-point shooting.
After all, there wasn't a single 3D player in the NBA who possessed Gold All-Star or Purple Hall of Fame–level badges.
At that moment, someone patted Yuki on the shoulder.
He turned around to see Stephen Curry, dressed in a suit.
"Good job, man," Curry said with a smile.
Yuki nodded, excitement surging in his chest.
Curry was the unquestioned leader of the Warriors. Earning his recognition was undeniably a great sign. With Curry's influence, he could practically decide whether Yuki stayed on the team.
Not far away, Coach Kerr watched the scene with a thoughtful expression.
After the game, Yuki returned to the locker room with the rest of the players.
No reporters came to interview him, and he didn't attend the post-game press conference. After all, he was still just an insignificant role player—for now.
But Yuki wasn't discouraged in the slightest.
With his current abilities, he no longer had to worry about surviving in the NBA.
3D players were rare commodities in the modern small-ball era. Even if the Warriors chose to give up on him, he was confident he could still find a place in the league.
More importantly, he knew that the Basketball God System would never limit him to being just a role player. More badges would appear in future games—until he truly became a Basketball God.
And Yuki was right.
He didn't even need to wait for the next game.
Just a few minutes of play in this match had already caused Coach Kerr to slightly change his mind.
Before attending the press conference, Kerr made a phone call.
The call was to the Warriors' general manager.
"Bob, it's Steve. About cutting Yuki sota—I think we should wait a little longer. He showed some special qualities in this game that I'm very interested in. If used properly, he could become a powerful weapon for the team."