The Best Point Guard

The Chosen One was not happy.

He and Jalen Rose used to be on somewhat friendly terms. He never thought that after joining Su Xi, the guy would dare to mock him like that.

’Su Xi is clearly a master of manipulation.’

LeBron James blamed Su Xi for this.

But as far as Jalen Rose was concerned, he didn’t think he and James had any sort of friendship. When James first entered the league, Jalen Rose had given him a nod of approval, saying his talent was incredible, the best in the league. James, returning the favor, had in turn acknowledged Jalen Rose’s technical and tactical skills as a member of the Michigan Five.

Jalen Rose had been annoyed at the time. ’Do I really need some kid who hasn’t even proven himself to validate me?’

But James clearly didn’t see it that way. He considered himself the Chosen One, born with the right to critique and even pass judgment on other players. He might pay lip service to unity and act like one of the guys with his teammates, but deep down, he still believed he was a cut above everyone else.

This was why he and Su Xi had parted ways.

Back in the half-court set, Su Xi was matched up against Snow.

As soon as Snow brought the ball past midcourt, he passed it to James.

James was pleased. He liked this type of trusty veteran—ambitionless, solely focused on helping him play good defense, and never trying to steal the spotlight.

James took on Jalen Rose one-on-one.

He gave a quick pump fake, then used an obvious jab step to start his drive, charging directly into the paint.

He bumped Jalen Rose out of the way, then crashed into Eddie Curry as he threw up the shot... SWISH!

It went in.

After the basket, he yelled, "And one!"

The lead official turned his head away.

Jalen Rose was already making the hand gesture for a travel, but the official remained impassive.

This was because before the season began, the league had made adjustments regarding moves at the start of a drive. The gist was: don’t call traveling on the first step so strictly anymore.

But this time, not only was James’s first step suspect, but he had also taken three solid steps before leaving his feet.

Otherwise, how could he possibly have bowled over Eddie Curry?

"Your master couldn’t learn a move like that."

LeBron James shot back, retorting to Jalen Rose.

Jalen Rose was completely stunned.

’Do people like that really exist in this world?’

"When it comes to traveling, all the superstars in the league combined can’t beat you," Jalen Rose replied coolly.

Hmph!

LeBron James snorted. He was tired of hearing slander from these incompetent haters.

A lot of people said his statistical explosion last season was due to the league implementing the no-hand-check rule. The rule stated that a defender could not use their hands to bump or interfere with an offensive player driving to the basket outside the lane, otherwise it was a foul. An analysis of major scorers after the rule was enacted showed the impact: for Kobe, shots at the rim made up only 36.4% of his total attempts, and his baskets at the rim accounted for 47.8% of his made field goals. For Tracy McGrady, shots at the rim were even less frequent, at just 27.8% of his attempts, with makes at the rim accounting for only 34.1% of his total. Meanwhile, James’s shots at the rim were 42.9% of his total attempts, and his makes at the rim accounted for a staggering 57% of his field goals.

It went without saying who benefited most from the rule change.

Of course, Su Xi reaped the benefits as well.

His efficiency on his own drives had increased significantly.

However, the rule also hobbled Su Xi, as the power of his smothering defense was greatly diminished.

Su Xi brought the ball past midcourt, with Snow defending him like a man on a suicide mission.

But with a quick probe dribble into a sudden, explosive crossover, Su Xi left Snow in his dust. He then charged into the paint. Facing the defending Ilgauskas, he attacked without hesitation. Su Xi was incredibly strong; his momentum slammed into Ilgauskas, who couldn’t stop himself from stumbling backward before he could even plant his feet. Su Xi seized the chance, overpowering Ilgauskas to score the basket.

That basket earned Su Xi a +1 to his Super Jumping Talent.

Real games were the best battlefield for improving his talents.

Su Xi turned, his gaze locking onto LeBron James.

He remembered the days of leveling up his talents by playing alongside LeBron James. ’What better way to improve my talent than competing against James himself?’

"Jalen, I’ll guard him."

Su Xi pointed at James, switching assignments with Rose.

A knowing grin spread across Jalen Rose’s face. He said to James, "Tonight, you two will not only see who’s better but also decide the winner. And when you lose, don’t go blaming the Knicks’ roster for being stronger than Cleveland’s, alright?"

Jalen was perhaps the only man in the world who could make James worry about the future with a single sentence.

By now, Su Xi was standing right next to James.

This ignited a huge reaction in Madison Square Garden Arena. Every fan in the building had been hoping to see a direct confrontation between Su Xi and James, but none had expected it to happen so soon, much less for Su Xi to be the one to initiate it.

James watched Su Xi approach, feeling not a shred of fear. After last season’s rule changes, he was no longer afraid of Su Xi’s smothering defense.

Since Su Xi couldn’t put his hands on him, James’s own disadvantage would be minimized.

In contrast, his own advantages—his size and power—would be amplified.

Snow brought the ball over. James immediately called for it, and Su Xi didn’t try to deny the pass. If he had bodied up on James’s lower half, James would have been in a very uncomfortable position.

But that wasn’t Su Xi’s goal. He wanted to improve his jump.

He wanted to realize the potential of his Super Jumping Talent as quickly as possible. That would cause his on-court abilities to take another leap forward—a literal, physical leap.

James got the ball, and Su Xi even gave him a step of space, lest he travel again.

Seeing this, James did the opposite of what Su Xi expected and didn’t drive. He pulled up for a jump shot. Su Xi lunged forward to defend. Both players had super-tier explosive power and incredible speed. As they jumped at the same time, it was ultimately James’s superior jumping talent that allowed him to get the shot off smoothly... But—CLANK! It hit the iron.