Hardaway walked away. Su Xi took a slight breath.

Being given the cold shoulder didn’t feel great.

Su Xi turned back to the court and started practicing his low-gravity, rhythmic, ground-hugging crossovers.

Su Xi practiced by himself for a while, then he called over Fred Jones—a future CBA star, the Pacers’ internal dunk king, and his current backup—to practice with him.

Fred Jones was a lottery pick in 2002, selected fourteenth overall. He was incredibly athletic. At 188cm tall, he could jump high enough to kiss the rim. Because of this, his most outstanding contribution to the team was throwing down a few explosive dunks before home games to wow the fans and warm up the crowd.

He and Su Xi had a great relationship, because Su Xi was his benefactor.

To get Su Xi, the Pacers had traded away all their point guards. Furthermore, Su Xi’s stamina issues meant he could only play about 25 minutes per game, which gave Jones a huge opportunity.

His playmaking ability and court vision, however, could only be described as mediocre.

He was a player whose offense was stronger than his defense, but he didn’t have any go-to moves on the offensive end. He could jump out of the gym, but his offensive skills were unremarkable, and his defense was a far cry from the team’s overall defensive scheme.

Still, his hustle was decent.

Su Xi practiced against him, keeping his center of gravity extremely low. He didn’t use his physical strength to bully Jones, focusing purely on technique.

Even when it was purely about technique, Jones still couldn’t guard Su Xi.

This proved one thing: Jones’s defense was genuinely bad. He just looked like he was trying hard.

The same type as Lakers point guard Fisher.

Practicing against this kind of opponent was a great help for integrating his skills, and an even bigger boost to his confidence.

His Super Low-Gravity Rhythm talent quickly rose to 77%.

On the sidelines, Carlisle watched with delight. He couldn’t help but lift his chin. ’That’s my coaching right there. What other coach would give Jack so many opportunities to hone his skills? See? His dribble-drive technique is skyrocketing! The next Iverson is just around the corner.’

What a foolish decision it was for Cleveland to turn Jack into a role player. They actually wanted Jack to be LeBron James’s Pippen? That sudden, explosive crossover Jack just did on the move—James could never learn that in his lifetime.

The more Carlisle watched, the happier he became.

The greater Su Xi’s achievements, the happier he was. This was all his doing, after all.

’Let’s see who dares to say I, Carlisle, can’t develop rookies in the future.’

Carlisle’s chin was practically pointing at the sky.

At that moment, someone even happier than him was Isaiah Thomas, who was watching from not far away. He saw Su Xi shake off Jones again and again using his moves... and getting more and more proficient with them.

He felt the joy of ’I knew I picked the right guy.’ Moreover, a different kind of thrill welled up inside him: ’Michael Jordan, this is my successor. He’s about to destroy all those guys who claim to be your successor.’

Isaiah Thomas also had extremely high expectations for Su Xi.

...

The evening’s game arrived quickly.

The Knicks’ starting lineup was packed with big names: the world’s number one point guard and Son of New York, Stephon Marbury; successor to Jordan, Anfernee Hardaway; the next KG, Darius Miles; the next Bird, Keith Van Horn; and the African Annual Ring Block King, Mutombo.

A lineup like that was enough to intimidate a lot of people.

The Pacers, on the other hand, were comparatively ’plain’: Su Xi, Reggie Miller, Ron Artest, Jermaine O’Neal, and Jeff Foster.

BWEEET!

The whistle blew, and the game began.

Foster won the tip-off against Mutombo, and the ball was passed to Su Xi.

The moment Su Xi received the ball, he heard a shriek from the sidelines.

It was Scarlett Johansson, who had come just for this. Her feet were bouncing on the floor, and she was trembling with excitement.

"So handsome! So handsome!" she said, grabbing Jennifer’s hand, her heart pounding.

Her infatuation was plain to see.

Jennifer even suspected the beautiful, sexy young woman was practically ovulating on the spot. She started to feel relieved, glad that she hadn’t let Reggie Miller save her back then. She had done a good deed after all.

Just then, the great director Spike Lee, sitting nearby, said, "Being handsome won’t do him any good. Scarlett, tonight he’s up against our Son of New York, Stephon Marbury."

"Marbury’s skills are superior, and he’s more athletic. The strength Su Xi relies on won’t be much of an advantage against Marbury..."

Before Spike Lee could finish his sentence... Madison Square Garden Arena erupted.

"Haha!"

Scarlett Johansson jumped to her feet, clapping excitedly. "Hey, Spike, that Marbury you were talking about just got knocked to the ground."

BAM!

Su Xi threw down a vicious dunk in the paint. His one-handed slam was so fierce that Mutombo had no time to get back and defend.

Madison Square Garden Arena was in an uproar, which then turned to boos.

But Su Xi spread his arms wide. He savored the feeling.

In the VIP box, a very excited Isaiah Thomas said to James Dolan, "Look! That’s the crossover I taught him."

Dolan clapped and cheered. He said, "Yes, yes, yes, great play."

"Isaiah, whatever other skills you have, hurry up and teach them all to him!"

The assistant standing nearby was completely bewildered. ’Is anyone even concerned about Marbury? He’s the Son of New York!’

Marbury scrambled up from the floor, his face filled with anger.

On the big screen overhead, a replay showed the entire sequence of Su Xi making Marbury fall.

Su Xi brought the ball into the frontcourt, and Marbury quickly closed in, applying pressure defense. He intended to strip Su Xi and put him in his place right from the start.

He was very confident in his own strength; he had never backed down from any point guard. He believed the rumors about Su Xi’s incredible strength were just hype.

At that moment, Su Xi lowered his center of gravity. He patiently manipulated Marbury’s balance. When he caught Marbury shifting his weight forward and to the left, he suddenly exploded backward and to the right... Marbury instinctively retreated, but by then... Su Xi had already made a sharp cut.

He kept his center of gravity extremely low—this was Thomas’s signature skill, making his crossover both fierce and deceptive.

Su Xi completed the crossover. Marbury shifted laterally to block him, but just as he was about to, Su Xi executed another sharp crossover.

Marbury could no longer keep up. He lunged forward to try and foul him... but in that instant... Su Xi surged past like a crashing wave.

Marbury’s center of gravity was already unstable from being shifted back and forth. Hit by Su Xi’s explosive charge, he couldn’t hold his ground. He fell flat on his back and could only watch as Su Xi sped into the lane and scored with a ferocious dunk.

This scene reminded Marbury of when he had made Yao Ming fall.

How proud he had been then.

And how devastated he was now.

This was also why, across the ocean, all the Chinese fans watching on TV were electrified.

The CCTV commentator shouted at the top of his lungs: "What goes around, comes around! Su Xi! Well done! That was brilliant! The Lone Wolf Marbury has received his just deserts! He finally got what was coming to him!"

This karmic cry made the Chinese fans joyful and ecstatic!

A gentleman’s revenge is a dish best served cold.

Now, only a year later, Marbury had gotten his comeuppance. Su Xi’s crossover made him fall even harder.

He finally got what was coming to him!

Su Xi had no idea so many people were electrified by his play.

In fact, he was a little frustrated. He was thinking: ’If my Coordination and Agility talents were a bit better, Marbury wouldn’t have even been able to touch the hem of my jersey. Knocking him over with strength... it’s still not elegant enough.’

If James, watching on TV, knew what Su Xi was thinking, he would probably be angry enough to run his head into a wall.

Today, they happened to be on the team bus heading to an away game. Stephen Silas had turned on the TV, and all the players and staff on the bus were watching Su Xi’s game.

The Cavaliers still had very special feelings about Su Xi.

James’s emotions toward Su Xi were also complicated. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

They’d had a wonderful honeymoon period, but later, due to uncontrollable jealousy and James’s belief that Su Xi was too ambitious, they had a falling out.

Normally, a split is just a split. No big deal. Everyone goes their separate ways.

But Su Xi was playing better and better with the Pacers. He was constantly on the TV news, had won Rookie of the Week three times, was on the All-Star ballot, and even had a decent chance of being voted in as a starter.

The whole world was comparing Su Xi to him and Carmelo Anthony. Some media outlets were calling them the Big Three of the ’03 draft class. Of course, there was another version that included Wade, calling them the four great perimeter players of the ’03 class.

James didn’t like either of those. He didn’t like being mentioned in the same breath as others. He believed he was the superior, Chosen One.

Especially Su Xi. After being traded, how dare he get better and better?

’Shouldn’t he be getting worse after leaving the King?’

When he saw Su Xi’s nimble yet powerful crossover and dunk on TV...

He clenched his fists.

’He got to show off again. That’s definitely going to be a Top 5 Play. This might boost his All-Star votes. What if he actually becomes an All-Star this season?’

The more James thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became. He couldn’t stand the idea of Su Xi becoming an All-Star starter while he wasn’t selected. But he had no chance at all this year. The person standing in his way was Vince Carter. Vince Carter was incredibly popular; he had been the top vote-getter for two years running, and this year was likely to be no different.

Just then, his teammate Kenny Anderson, sitting next to him, said, "LeBron, Little Sheep Su Xi’s ball-handling is better than yours. Why didn’t you just give him the ball all the time back then?"

Kenny Anderson’s words made James extremely uncomfortable.

But Anderson had said it on purpose.

He and James did not get along at all.

Back in the day, Kenny Anderson was also a super-talent. Coach Chuck Daly had to treat him with respect when he was with the Brooklyn Nets. He and Coleman, two thorny geniuses, had once led the Brooklyn Nets to their peak.

He was old now, but he still had his pride.

But when he got to Cleveland, this "Little King" James wouldn’t let him handle the ball at all and instead ordered him to run all over the court.

Running around would have been fine, but James’s offensive efficiency wasn’t even high. Most importantly, whenever James couldn’t break down the defense, he would just dump the ball on him to deal with, causing his turnover and brick rates to skyrocket.

He wasn’t about to take the blame for that. They had already argued on the court several times.

In private, Kenny Anderson was very passive-aggressive.

Now that everyone was sitting here watching the game, how could Anderson possibly hold his tongue?

James remained silent.

But some of the other players let out a few muffled laughs.

These laughs proved it... there were still bad men around the Little King.

Back on the court, Marbury clanked a shot. The pestering defense from Su Xi had taken him out of his rhythm.

On the other end, Su Xi attacked again, once more lowering his center of gravity for a ground-hugging cut.

Because of his Agility talent, Su Xi’s moves weren’t the most fluid, but they were very effective.

He caught Marbury leaning the wrong way again. After the crossover, he quickly cut into the paint... In reality, he only created half a step of separation, but half a step was enough... solve half the problem with technique, and the other half with strength.

Su Xi entered the paint. Fan Hoen came over to help. Su Xi passed the ball, and Little O’Neal jumped for a powerful dunk.

The Pacers’ offense became much more dynamic thanks to Su Xi’s improved abilities.

Rick Carlisle stood on the sideline as if he had just drunk mead—it was sweet, and it was going straight to his head.

...