Chapter 213: Chapter 30: Game-Winner! The Well-Deserved All-Star

Before the buzzer sounded, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley of the TNT Channel were still arguing. If the Rookie team won, who should be the MVP?

Kenny Smith was adamant it should be LeBron James, because James had 36 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Su Xi only had 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 3 blocks.

In terms of stats, James was slightly better.

However, Charles Barkley offered a different perspective: "LeBron padded his stats in the first half when there was no defense. His efficiency is nowhere near Jack’s. Jack was the key to the Rookie team catching up. Anyone who watched the game knows who the Rookie MVP is."

The two of them held their ground, arguing fiercely.

Sitting beside them, Steve Kerr listened quietly. No matter how he looked at it, all he could read into their argument was a donkey’s ass and a donkey’s lips.

This wasn’t an argument about the Rookie MVP. It was clearly a fight for the right to use the donkey.

After the timeout, the argument came to an abrupt halt.

LeBron James was actually benched.

In that instant, it was as if someone had stuffed a rag in Kenny Smith’s mouth. He was speechless and even felt nauseous.

He felt awful.

"Why would this happen? How could Doug Collins not play LeBron James at a crucial moment?" Steve Kerr was extremely surprised. To him, this was practically a ’court-side incident’.

Regardless, LeBron James was the top superstar of the 2003 class. The league, the media, and his sponsors had all invested massive resources in him. The preferential treatment and privileges he received were even greater than what Jordan’s successors, Hardaway and Hill, had gotten back in the day.

Logically speaking, in an All-Star game like this, where everyone gets a piece of the pie, the ball should always go to the most influential player in the final moments.

But now, Doug Collins had benched James.

The head coach, who had once worked closely with Jordan and Hill, chose someone else.

Charles Barkley started to roar, celebrating loudly: "That’s right! That’s right! This is how it should be. The most capable and most efficient star should be the one leading the charge. This is why Jack is an All-Star starter this year."

"He’s going to prove it. He’s going to show everyone why he’s the only All-Star from the 2003 class."

Barkley declared, full of pride and confidence!

In his eyes, Smith’s mouth was now linked to a donkey’s ass and lips.

...

Su Xi moved in front of Ginobili, blocking the path of the Demon Blade.

In the past, Su Xi’s defense against crafty, rhythm-based players like Ginobili had never been outstanding, but as his explosiveness and coordination talents increased, he was getting more and more of a feel for it.

Ginobili started his feints, making meticulously planned preliminary direction changes. Hunched over, it was impossible to guess Ginobili’s next move.

Suddenly, Ginobili lunged forward a step.

Su Xi’s center of gravity subconsciously shifted back. At that very moment, Ginobili twisted his waist and completed an unbelievably deceptive change of direction.

In the past, Ginobili would have flashed past him and directly attacked the Rookie team’s weak interior defense, inflicting strategic damage.

This time, however, as his center of gravity shifted back, Su Xi used an astonishingly powerful burst of speed to move laterally to the left. His super-explosiveness talent, stimulated to 99 points from Stadumier, was already at the top tier of the league. You could count the number of players who surpassed him on one hand.

By this point in the game, Ginobili’s stamina had severely declined. He lacked the sharpness he had at the start. Su Xi blocked him, and as his body faltered, Su Xi immediately latched onto him.

Ginobili found it hard to get past him.

He quickly turned, retreating while protecting the ball.

Su Xi pressed him every step of the way.

In the end, Ginobili jumped and passed the ball to Prince. Prince was being guarded tightly by Antonio, but he forced a shot... BANG!

The shot missed.

Kaman and Bosh boxed out Nene and Boozer, and Su Xi charged to the basket to snatch the rebound.

The possession changed, and Su Xi brought the ball up the court.

With only 48 seconds left, if the Rookie team made this basket, they would seize absolute control of the game.

Su Xi brought the ball into the frontcourt, with Ginobili defending him.

Ginobili was completely focused, constantly pressuring Su Xi’s steps.

Su Xi and James had similarities. They were strong, explosive, and had outstanding power to forcibly tear through defenses.

But there were also differences. James had a greater size advantage, better court vision, and even a slightly more varied offensive arsenal.

However, when it came to driving to the basket, Su Xi’s advantage was far greater.

Su Xi’s super-low center of gravity and dribbling rhythm allowed him to calmly handle pressure from any defensive footwork, and he was also using his handle to manipulate Ginobili’s defense.

He was very patient. The moment he spotted a mistake in Ginobili’s defensive footwork, he suddenly accelerated. A massive burst of power erupted, and Su Xi’s body shot forward like a cheetah pouncing with all its might... WHOOSH!

In just a single encounter, Ginobili was completely pushed aside.

Su Xi successfully demonstrated a skill to James: Anyone can accelerate in a straight line. Being fast on the curves is what makes you truly fast!

If James was a Tiger tank with the speed of a supercar, then Su Xi was an armored car that not only had supercar speed but also a chassis approaching that of a top-tier civilian vehicle.

Their handling was on a completely different level.

Su Xi drove to the basket, forcing Boozer to help on defense. They collided, and despite Boozer’s size advantage, Su Xi still managed to force his way past him.

As Prince rotated over to help, Su Xi flung the ball directly to Antonio in the corner.

Antonio caught the ball, stepped back behind the three-point line, and shot... SWISH!

It was good.

seconds remained in the game.

The Rookie team took a 3-point lead.

The Sophomore team had no timeouts left. Their coach gave some impromptu instructions from the sideline and subbed out Prince for the three-point shooter, Deng Liwei.

Ginobili once again brought the ball past half-court.

He patiently killed time at the top of the arc.

After burning 15 seconds, Ginobili suddenly made his move. Nene set a screen behind him, and although Su Xi pushed past Nene...

...Ginobili still took the shot with great determination and decisiveness... SWISH!

He hit the three-pointer.

The game was tied again.

The arena erupted.

Are we going to overtime?

This year’s Rookie Challenge is just too exciting!

First, we had Little Sheep Su Xi’s iron-fisted punishment of Stadumier, and now we have a peak showdown between Little Sheep Su Xi and Ginobili.

Who will claim the final victory?

Su Xi signaled to his head coach. He didn’t want a timeout.

Doug Collins readily agreed. If he didn’t want one, he wouldn’t call one.

Su Xi brought the ball past half-court.

He only had 11 seconds to attack.

What would he do?

Make the shot, win the game!

Miss, and it’s overtime.

With Su Xi’s current stamina, could he still perform in overtime?

Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith both clenched their fists nervously. They looked like two donkeys, panting heavily. HUFF... HUFF...

Su Xi reached the top of the three-point arc.

He didn’t hesitate for long. Carmeron Anthony ran over quickly from the side, getting in position to set a screen for Su Xi.

After a jab step to the left, Su Xi also changed direction and moved that way.

Just as Su Xi was about to use the screen, Ginobili suddenly looped around behind it. He had watched Su Xi’s NCAA finals. He knew Su Xi and Antonio were teammates and loved to run this play.

Therefore, he predicted Su Xi’s next move.

He believed Su Xi would definitely run a give-and-go with Antonio.

Ginobili was a smart man.

But he outsmarted himself.

He gave Su Xi the most direct opportunity.

The deadliest game-winners are often accomplished in the simplest way.

Su Xi stopped short. He didn’t continue forward. With a slight adjustment, he shot the ball with his left hand.

The basketball traced a beautiful arc through the air.

Ginobili was caught completely off guard. In that moment, he had forgotten that Su Xi had an outside shot.

"Rebound!"

he shouted, trying to salvage the situation.

But it was useless.

The basketball hit the basket with precision... SWISH!

It dropped cleanly through the net.

Su Xi hit the 3-pointer.

Leaving only 1.1 seconds for the Sophomore team.

The moment the three-pointer went in, the Staples Center absolutely exploded! The roar was deafening!

SU! SU! SU!

MVP! MVP! MVP!

The fans in the arena roared in unison, coronating Su Xi.

This game-winner made him truly worthy of the title.

As he raised his hands high, he was the king of Los Angeles tonight.

He was the brightest superstar.

He deserved to be the only super All-Star of the 2003 class.

The Sophomore team attempted one last play. The ball was inbounded to Ginobili, who heaved it with all his might... No miracle occurred.

The ball flew out of bounds.

Carmeron Anthony was already running toward Su Xi, hugging him tightly. Wade also rushed over to slap Su Xi on the shoulder.

Without a doubt, Su Xi was the biggest winner tonight.

The MVP chants in the arena didn’t stop. The excited Los Angeles People dedicated all their hormonal energy to Su Xi tonight.

Barkley screamed in the broadcast booth: "The great Su Xi! The great MVP! Jack has proven everything! He is the best player of the 2003 class! All you people who said he didn’t deserve to be an All-Star, watch this game! Look at how he killed this game!"

"All you people who said he’d be nothing without the Pacers’ tactical system, look at how he punished Stadumier tonight, how he started on defense and ended it with a game-winning shot on offense!"

As Barkley passionately shouted, the camera panned across Stadumier’s face. He looked lost, dejected, angry, and sad.

He was the biggest joke of the night.

For him, the nightmare was just beginning.

Su Xi wouldn’t let him off the hook, and neither would public opinion.

He had been beaten until his mouth was full of blood and had lost all face, but no one sympathized with him.

Then, the camera cut to James. James was biting his nails.

’He wanted to leave, but he also thought, ’What if? What if there’s a chance? After all, I scored more points than Su Xi.’

Just then, Su Xi walked to the sideline. An excited Hilary Duff ran over. She first high-fived Su Xi, then hugged him, jumping up and down excitedly like she was a charm hanging off him. "Jack, you were amazing! You did it! You’re practically omnipotent."

This celebratory gesture made the cameras on the sideline flash nonstop. It was another big story. Besides the SJ Faction and the SS Faction, was there now going to be an SH Faction?

At that moment, David Stern walked to the center of the court.

The emcee also pushed tonight’s biggest award to the center of the court.

Everyone’s eyes were focused there.

Many people held their breath.

Especially Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith.

"Jack! Jack! Jack!"

"LeBron! LeBron! LeBron!"

They shouted excitedly on TV, even roaring out their innermost thoughts.

...