The Best Point Guard

Randolph was playing nothing like a rookie in his first All-Star Game. His presence was just too overwhelming.

With his family’s support, Isaiah Thomas’s blatant favoritism from the coach’s bench, and Su Xi openly feeding him the ball on the court. Add to that the buzz he’d generated all weekend and the words under his jersey.

It was hard not to be drawn to this burly, dark-skinned big man.

The rivalry between Randolph and Garnett continued.

After Randolph posted up Garnett and assisted O’Neal on a thunderous dunk, he started bodying up Garnett on the defensive end as well. Garnett went one-on-one against Randolph, using a quick turnaround jumper... Garnett’s jumper was considered one of the most unstoppable shots in the NBA.

Because of his height, long wingspan, and excellent jumping ability, his shot was like dropping the ball in from the second floor.

However, "unstoppable" referred to a head-on defense, not a sneak attack from behind.

Just as Garnett confidently rose for his jumper... SMACK!

A dark hand descended from on high and snatched the ball away.

When Garnett landed, he saw Su Xi already streaking down the court with his ball.

’Damn it, that’s dirty play.’

’Who plays like that in an All-Star Game?’

Garnett was furious.

But there was nothing he could do. Randolph even forcefully shoved past him, racing to the frontcourt.

The flying slab of black pork belly soon got what he wanted. Su Xi drove to the basket and, facing an open hoop, jumped, spun in the air, and tossed the ball to the trailing Randolph. Randolph took off... BOOM!

He threw down a ferocious dunk.

ROAR!

Randolph pounded his chest like a raging black bear, and many fans in the arena cheered loudly.

At that moment, they had no idea what this all meant.

They just thought the exhibition game was getting more and more exciting.

Only the perceptive Tracy McGrady’s face was ashen. ’These motherfuckers are definitely here to cause trouble.’

’Are they trying to wreck the party on purpose?’

’They’re even trying to steal the All-Star MVP from me? Don’t I, Tracy, one of the four great shooting guards, deserve even a single All-Star MVP? Have I ever tried to steal the regular season MVP from you guys? Or the Finals MVP?’

’We’re all in the same game, and you can’t even give me this little bit of respect?’

McGrady turned and immediately took the ball to go one-on-one. He was challenging his cousin, Vince Carter.

The relationship between Vince Carter and McGrady couldn’t be called bad, but it wasn’t exactly good either.

Back in the day, when McGrady was beside Carter, he was being groomed to be the next Pippen. Vince Carter’s hype back then was overwhelming, practically on the same level as James is now.

McGrady was molded by Isaiah Thomas in the Pippen mold. McGrady’s defense was indeed excellent at the time, showing great promise as a second-in-command. The Bulls were even once willing to trade the real Pippen for this "fake Pippen."

But later, McGrady, unwilling to play second fiddle, readily accepted a huge contract from the Magic Team to form a new duo with Grant Hill, a "successor to Jordan." He had abandoned his cousin.

Of course, Carter felt a bit resentful. ’What happened to us being the invincible cousins who would take on the world?’

McGrady found new fortunes with the Magic. Grant Hill was supposed to be the team’s star, but the star himself broke down. As a result, McGrady got a massive share of the ball, and his career took off. He won Most Improved Player and then became the scoring champion for two consecutive years.

His fame directly surpassed Carter’s, and he even snatched a lifetime contract with Adidas away from Kobe.

You could say he was as glorious as one could possibly be.

Vince Carter, however, was gradually declining from his peak at this time.

Now, the two faced off. McGrady, hungry for the MVP, was full of aggression.

He carried himself as if Vince Carter was a complete nobody.

Vince Carter was naturally not going to take that. His defensive intensity instinctively ratcheted up a notch.

CLANK!

McGrady bricked the shot.

He looked at his cousin, his eyes filled with confusion and anger. ’You’re not even going to let me have that one?’

Vince Carter’s eyes also held confusion and bewilderment. ’Why the hell should I let you have it? This is a game. We’re competing for the win.’

Randolph shoved Garnett aside to grab the rebound and passed it to Su Xi.

Su Xi brought the ball past half-court. Randolph posted up, and Su Xi passed him the ball again. Randolph pushed against Garnett, backing him down. Garnett really couldn’t handle the force and was forced to retreat step by step.

Randolph got deep into the paint, spun, bumped Garnett back a step, and then leaned on him to score the basket.

It was a bit of a cheap move.

Garnett yelled at the referee, claiming Randolph’s post-up was definitely a foul.

The head referee just smiled at him. "Kevin, this is the All-Star Game. Why be so serious? You’ve got to have a sense of entertainment."

Garnett was livid.

’This isn’t about me not having a sense of entertainment. They’re treating me like a damn workhorse for their own fun!’

’He pushed me all the way from the free-throw line into the paint, and you’re not going to call an offensive foul on him?’

"Heh heh, this is fun."

As they crossed half-court, Randolph said to O’Neal, "You should go body up Yao Ming, too. Let him feel the power of a big man."

O’Neal was always one to take advice.

After McGrady drove into the paint, made a floater, and let out a huge roar...

Su Xi brought the ball past half-court, and O’Neal put his hand up, demanding the ball.

Su Xi passed it to him, and he caught the ball and immediately started backing down his defender. O’Neal bumped Yao Ming again and again, pushing his way inside. He hadn’t felt this liberated in a long, long time... ’The referee not blowing the whistle, now this is real basketball.’

O’Neal pushed him all the way to the restricted area, and Yao Ming simply stopped defending. ’If this big fella gets me injured, it’s not worth it. Besides, I don’t want the MVP anyway.’

When O’Neal felt Yao Ming stop resisting, all the fun went out of it for him. He turned, about to throw down a dunk, but Garnett instinctively rotated over. O’Neal passed it to Randolph, who caught the ball and made another layup.