The Best Point Guard

Su Xi said, "That’s just a number. I don’t really care about it. What I care about is whether my teammates are having fun, whether they’re getting better, and whether they’re enjoying the game more. Winning is just a bonus."

This statement from Su Xi was incredibly cocky.

But who the hell in the entire league would dare to refute him to his face?

If you’ve got the guts, go lead your team to a 19-game winning streak first.

Winning streaks are the best way to build a team’s fighting spirit and unity, because nobody doesn’t want to win. The human pleasure and reward system is built on the constant pursuit of victory, victory, and more victory!

...

After defeating the Brooklyn Nets, Su Xi and his team immediately headed to Philadelphia. There, the 76ers practically handed the Knicks a victory. Before the game, they had announced a trade.

Allen Iverson was leaving the 76ers, the team he had played for for nearly 10 years. The Philadelphia management had finally grown tired of the rebellious little fighter.

Once Iverson could no longer work miracles like he did in 2001, the previously accumulated conflicts began to surface. When Iverson was dominant, his skipping practice, his disrespectful remarks, and all sorts of minor transgressions were treated as negligible quirks. But as Iverson gradually declined from his peak, they became unbearable.

To borrow a line from a Chinese movie, the old Iverson was "Little Sweetie," but now he was just "Mrs. Bull."

Iverson was traded to Denver, where he would be working with Su Xi’s good friend from college, Carmelo Anthony.

It’s worth noting that they were currently second and third on the NBA’s scoring list. The basketball media had mixed interpretations of what kind of chemical reaction their partnership would produce.

But one thing was certain: as soon as a poster of Iverson and Anthony, with their signature cornrows, went up, they wouldn’t have to worry about home game ticket sales.

Plenty of fans would pay to see that duo.

During the game, the entire crowd of fans seemed listless. They clearly hadn’t accepted the departure of their team’s soul just like that.

The Knicks won the game with almost no effort at all.

Su Xi only even played for one quarter. Nate Robinson got an unprecedented amount of playing time, and he was like a ball of energy with dynamite stuffed in his heels, bouncing around all night.

He might have reminded some people of Iverson.

Perhaps it was the Knicks’ own thoughtful little Easter egg for the 76ers fans.

After the game against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks departed for New York. Their next game was the Christmas Day showdown.

And their opponent was the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James.

This matchup had been specially scheduled at the beginning of the season. David Stern must have thought his arrangement was brilliant at the time: Su Xi leading a terrible team against James leading the Cavaliers in a battle for the ages—the ultimate showdown of the 2003 draft class.

But he never would have dreamed that after Su Xi arrived in New York, he would skyrocket, leading the Knicks straight to the top of the league.

Now, LeBron James’s camp was too embarrassed to issue press releases claiming Su Xi had never proven his leadership ability. In the beginning, many basketball experts would compare Su Xi’s and James’s stats, along with their team records.

But recently, that had almost completely stopped.

Although they still hyped up James, they rarely brought Su Xi into the comparison.

After all, so far this season, James was averaging 28-7-8, while Su Xi was averaging 26-11-10-3. Statistically, Su Xi was a cut above James. James was only averaging a near triple-double, while Su Xi was putting up a genuine, bona fide triple-double average.

Moreover, in terms of team record, the Cavaliers were only fifth in the East.

The Knicks were first in the entire league, undefeated.

How could you even compare them?

No matter how you compared them, the "Chosen One" didn’t have the upper hand.

So they just stopped comparing.

Let him shine on his own.

Even before this Christmas Day game, there was very little promotion from Cleveland’s side. Although the media couldn’t avoid comparing Su Xi and James, James himself wasn’t issuing press releases anymore.

New York, on the other hand, focused on promoting the Knicks’ winning streak. They were hoping to see the Knicks get their 21st consecutive win on Christmas Day.

...

Su Xi didn’t celebrate Christmas. His only interest in the holiday this year was whether Scarlett Johansson would cosplay as a little Christmas reindeer.

He still trained as usual.

In the afternoon, Eddie Curry was chatting with him. "Jack, did you know? Zach Randolph is in New York. He was spotted playing cards in Atlantic City."

"My buddy told me the guy lost several hundred thousand," Eddie Curry said. "He’s been hit pretty hard. I feel like he’s almost finished."

Su Xi raised his eyebrows and sighed. "The media is a sharp blade. They can always destroy a person so easily. I don’t think Randolph is as evil as they make him out to be."

Su Xi sympathized with Randolph.

In that so-called incident of publicly assaulting the head coach, the only thing Randolph did wrong was lose control of his emotions. In fact, he was defending himself.

"Why don’t we just bring him to the Knicks? I feel like Portland doesn’t want him anymore, and seeing the state he’s in, the other teams in the league probably aren’t even thinking about working with him," Eddie Curry suddenly suggested.

"Weren’t we all slapped with all sorts of labels before? Look at us now..." Eddie Curry spread his arms, looking very proud.

He felt like he had been completely reborn.

Su Xi shook his head, rejecting the proposal from the bottom of his heart. Sympathy was one thing, but bringing him to the Knicks was another matter entirely.

The Knicks’ chemistry was so good right now, the team was on the rise, and the locker room atmosphere was nearly perfect. If they brought Randolph in, who knew if his bad habits would corrupt the Knicks’ locker room all over again?

It’s hard to learn good habits, but picking up bad ones is as easy as slipping on ice.

So, he waved his hand. "Let’s just focus on playing well in the Christmas game first."

...

Megan Fox came to New York early to celebrate Christmas, and Su Xi accompanied her on a shopping trip to Atlantic City. Not only were there casinos there, but also many high-end brand stores.

The trip lasted the entire afternoon. Su Xi couldn’t understand how women had so much energy for shopping.

While they were shopping, Su Xi ran into Zach Randolph. Randolph was just getting out of a van, preparing to go back inside to keep playing cards and win back what he had lost.

When Su Xi saw Randolph, he smiled and gave him a nod, not saying anything more.

Randolph did the same, nodding back before heading inside.

Su Xi had no intention of meddling in other people’s business.

But not two minutes later, Zach Randolph, who had just gone inside, suddenly turned around and came straight over to Su Xi.

He finally couldn’t bring himself to continue down this path of self-destruction with a clear conscience.

He saw Su Xi as his last hope. He approached Su Xi and asked, "Jack, do you think I still have a chance?"

Su Xi was taken aback. He looked at Randolph, finding the question a bit abrupt.

"I’ve heard from Quentin and Jalen about the locker room atmosphere on the Knicks. Their transformation left a deep impression on me. They said you never ostracize players with a bad reputation, that you treat everyone the same. And that back in Indiana, you also got along well with those hot-headed players. So, I wanted to talk to you. I’m hoping you can help me find a way out."

Zach Randolph said to Su Xi with great seriousness, "This is something even a priest can’t solve."

"But I’m out shopping with my girlfriend right now," Su Xi said, lifting the shopping bags in his hands.

The faint glimmer of light in Randolph’s eyes visibly dimmed.

Just then, Su Xi added, "I think right now, you should go get a shave and take a shower. If you have time tomorrow, come to Madison Square Garden Arena to watch the game. Contact me beforehand, and I’ll give you a tour of the arena."

Su Xi took a business card out of his pocket. "Here’s my contact info."

Zach Randolph took the card with both hands. Though it was just a light, thin piece of paper, it felt incredibly heavy in Randolph’s hands.

He took this matter very seriously. He knew this was his lifeline.

"Thank you, I’ll definitely be there," Randolph said. "I won’t disturb you any longer."

With that, he started to walk away. After a couple of steps, he turned back again. "By the way, Jack, which girlfriend are you with today?"

Su Xi smiled, raising his handsome eyebrows. "Transformers."

Hahahaha.

It had been a long time since Zach Randolph had laughed like that.