The Best Point Guard

"This is our rising star, Yi. He’s incredibly athletic and full of drive. He played exceptionally well in our domestic league, putting up MVP-level numbers. Many draft experts are high on his prospects, believing he’ll be the third lottery pick from China."

Yao Ming introduced Su Xi to the number 11 player who was sprinting across the court.

Su Xi turned to watch him intently. He was already familiar with Yi Jianlian. Last year, when he was back in China, many people in basketball circles had recommended Yi to him. Su Xi had even suggested some training methods to Yi’s team and recommended some top-tier trainers from the United States.

’It’s clear his athleticism is really impressive, especially his running and jumping,’ Su Xi thought. ’On the court, he stands head and shoulders above the rest, possessing an ability that completely transcends the mediocre.’

However, Su Xi wasn’t as optimistic as Yao Ming. ’Yi’s movements aren’t quick enough, especially his release. He always likes to hesitate and adjust before taking a shot.’

’A motion like that might be consistent, but it also gives the impression that he’s rigid and lacks the ability to adapt on the fly.’

’Besides, his level of athleticism wouldn’t be considered particularly outstanding in the talent-packed NBA.’ So, Su Xi said frankly, "If he wants to make it in the NBA, he should work on drills for a ’role player’ and absolutely must quicken his shot release."

"He needs to focus more on boxing out, defense, fighting for rebounds, the pick-and-roll, and setting screens."

Su Xi said, "He’ll have to completely change the habits he developed playing in the domestic league."

Yao Ming hadn’t expected Su Xi to say that; he was a little surprised.

But Su Xi was serious.

When Yi Jianlian came over to ask for his advice later, Su Xi told him the exact same thing.

Yi Jianlian was a sincere and hardworking person, and he was willing to accept advice.

Therefore, Su Xi believed he had a bright future ahead of him.

Su Xi spent a whole week straight at the training facility. He played with his teammates and showed them how to train. Under his leadership, the training atmosphere was excellent, and the players’ progress was plain to see.

Su Xi wasn’t the type to put on airs, even though he was already the best basketball player in the world.

A week later, Su Xi decided to participate in this year’s World Championship.

The moment the news broke, it sent shockwaves through the basketball world. This was especially true in the United States, where this year’s Dream Team had formed a super-squad led by the legendary 2003 draft class. They were coming to avenge their defeat in Athens.

They wanted to win the championship and redeem themselves.

However, rumors had been circulating that Su Xi wouldn’t play in the World Championship, so the Dream Team hadn’t been fully prepared for him. Now that news suddenly broke that he would be playing, they couldn’t help but feel a surge of anxiety.

Yet, on the other side of that anxiety was excitement.

LeBron James had been itching to defeat Su Xi for a long time, and now was his best chance. He had once complained in the NBA that Su Xi only won two championships because his teammates were better. But in this past season, Su Xi’s teammates were comparable to LeBron’s in Cleveland, and Su Xi still won another championship and the Finals MVP.

This forced him to acknowledge the huge gap between them.

Even after realizing this gap, he still yearned to defeat Su Xi. The only way was... ’My teammates have to be stronger than his.’

Now, the opportunity had arrived.

The Dream Team’s roster was, without a doubt, much stronger than the Chinese Team’s.

James had already worked it out with his team: once the Dream Team defeated the Chinese Team, the narrative would be that James had taken down Su Xi and brought glory to his country!

His team readily agreed. They had been bottling up their frustration for a long time; for years, they had been living under Su Xi’s shadow.

The so-called "Chosen One" had now fallen to such a state that no one even talked about him dominating the NBA anymore.

No one even called him the heir to the NBA’s throne.

Because Su Xi had simply snapped the scepter of succession, rewritten the rules of the game, and now, the NBA was basically his to command.

The American media was also clamoring, proclaiming they would take Su Xi down. They wanted to completely crush his arrogant swagger and make him understand that his success was built on the back of the NBA; without it, he was nothing.

In truth, such statements only exposed their own weakness.

Su Xi couldn’t care less.

After announcing his participation in the World Championship, he attended many commercial events.

At one of these events, a host asked him, "Su Xi, what’s your goal this time?"

Su Xi’s answer was simple and direct: "Whenever I enter a competition, the goal is to win the championship. If I’m playing, we’re winning the title."

If anyone else had said that, the typically reserved and modest Chinese fans would have certainly called them arrogant, conceited, and reckless.

But this was Su Xi.

What more needed to be said?

All you could do was applaud first, and then enjoy the show!

Everyone believed Su Xi could do it.

After all, Su Xi had already won a gold medal for the Chinese Men’s Basketball Team in Athens. What was winning a World Championship compared to that?

Chinese fans had immense faith in Su Xi, as did fans all across Asia.

Only the Dream Team remained confident they could stop him.

...

Aside from his commercial events, Su Xi spent almost all his other time at the training facility. While he didn’t play in the national team’s exhibition games, he was present on the sidelines for every single one.

At training camp, he essentially took on the role of head coach. With his arrival, the Chinese Team’s tactics and style of play underwent a complete upgrade. Su Xi wasn’t the kind of superstar who demanded his teammates adapt to him. The first thing he did on the court was move Yao Ming to the B-squad while he led the A-squad in a free-form scrimmage. He wanted to understand each teammate’s strengths and encourage them to play the kind of basketball they were most confident and comfortable with.