Chapter 242: Chapter 49: [The Rookie with the Best Regular Season Team Record in History]

Online discussions about the two teams’ records were incredibly heated, dominating the top spots on every basketball forum.

People were starting to question whether LeBron James truly deserved all the hype he was getting for Rookie of the Year.

Some argued that if James were traded for Su Xi, he would do even better on the Pacers, listing a variety of reasons to support their claim.

But the facts were clear: in his very first season, Su Xi had become the leader of a championship-contending team, and he had joined them mid-season. He was now leading the Indiana Pacers to their best record in franchise history, barreling towards the 70-win club.

Ahead of the Pacers stood only Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls.

It was once said that the 72-win record set by Jordan’s Bulls was unconquerable, a feat that would never be surpassed.

But now, with the Pacers at 69 wins, a new sentiment was spreading from Indiana: If Jack had joined the Pacers sooner, could we have surpassed the Bulls? Could we have achieved the best record in history?

...

Su Xi didn’t waste brainpower on hypotheticals. While the Indiana media was in a frenzy, China, on the other side of the Pacific, was providing wall-to-wall coverage of Su Xi’s achievements. This was despite Su Xi starting in the NBA a year after Yao Ming and never having played professionally in his home country.

But after just one year in the NBA, Su Xi had left a far deeper impression on Chinese fans than Yao Ming.

Yao Ming’s first season had been solid and steady, highlighted by his matchups against the Shark and by making Charles Barkley kiss a donkey’s ass.

In his duels with the Shark, Yao Ming could only be said to have held his own to a certain degree, avoiding being completely devoured. Overall, the Shark was still on another level.

In contrast, Su Xi dominated whoever he faced. Ben Wallace, Amar’e Stoudemire, Kevin Garnett... which of these big-name players hadn’t been utterly humiliated by him?

As for kissing a donkey’s ass, Su Xi not only made Kenny kiss one but also had him get up close and personal with a male donkey’s face.

And that wasn’t even mentioning Su Xi’s constant stream of off-court tabloid news.

Sports media in China pushed headlines about Su Xi every day. The roles of Su Xi and Yao Ming had reversed, with Su Xi now grabbing far more headlines than Yao.

This made Nike breathe a sigh of relief more than once. After missing out on Yao Ming, they had finally not missed out on Su Xi.

Now, Su Xi’s first-generation signature shoe was about to be released.

Nike was currently dealing with a ’first-world problem’. The happy part was Su Xi’s ever-growing fame. The troublesome part... if Su Xi won Defensive Player of the Year and the Finals MVP this season, the bonus payouts would be no small sum. It would mean the commission Su Xi earned in his first season would far exceed the massive endorsement deal signed by LeBron James.

Of course, from a business perspective, there was no way Nike would lose money on the deal.

...

The Pacers’ second-to-last opponent, the Phoenix Suns, arrived at the Indiana home court, carrying the home fans’ ’70-win hope’ on their shoulders.

The Suns had already been completely eliminated from playoff contention this season, currently sitting at second to last in the West.

They had changed head coaches mid-season, replacing Frank Johnson with Mike D’Antoni. D’Antoni’s first move after joining the Phoenix Suns was to trade away Stephon Marbury and Anfernee Hardaway, quickly making Amar’e Stoudemire the new franchise cornerstone.

Stoudemire’s stats skyrocketed this season, averaging 20.6 points and 9.1 rebounds—the numbers of a top-tier power forward. Combined with his frequent appearances on highlight reels, the media hype and praise caused him to lose himself.

This led to him showing Su Xi no respect during the All-Star Weekend, making a foolishly provocative gesture. Su Xi proceeded to utterly humiliate him, leaving him disgraced.

After that game, despite his public denials and subsequent apology, he faced boycotts and criticism from the Asian community for a long time. There were even protests organized in Phoenix.

His commercial prospects took a massive hit. The league office also deliberately reduced its promotion of him.

His chances of making the All-Star team in the future were now minuscule.

In his heart, he hated Su Xi’s guts.

However, when D’Antoni suggested resting him as part of the rotation, he didn’t object.

He didn’t take the court, and the Phoenix Suns immediately started phoning it in.

It was as if they were determined to gift the Pacers their 70th win.

The Pacers fans weren’t grateful; they hadn’t considered the Phoenix Suns a threat in the first place.

Even though Stoudemire wasn’t playing, the Pacers fans gave him the loudest boos and the most foul-mouthed insults.

The curses you heard in Indiana were truly nasty.

The arena had once been voted as having the filthiest home crowd.

Su Xi played 18 minutes in this game, putting up 10 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals before clocking out for the night.

He needed to focus all his attention on the next game.

The season finale of the 2003-2004 season.

The matchup against the Pistons was the top priority.

The media had started hyping it up a week in advance.

The animosity between Su Xi and the Pistons ran too deep.

The rivalry between the Pacers and the Pistons was also incredibly complex.

This game was already being billed as an early preview of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The media predicted that the tension in this game would be unmatched in the regular season, destined to be a clash of titans.

After all, both teams had far too many tough guys.

This season, Su Xi had already made four Pistons players bleed, and one of them, Ben Wallace, even ended up with a concussion that kept him in a hospital bed for two weeks. The four unlucky souls were: Lynx Hunter, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace.

The beef with Hunter and Prince started back when Su Xi was still with the Cavaliers.

The beef with Rasheed Wallace started when he was on the Trail Blazers.

And everyone knew the story with Ben Wallace.

The NBA office even assigned the strictest referees, the ones best at controlling a game, to officiate this regular-season finale, terrified a fight would break out.

There were too many powder kegs on these two teams.

Who knew which play would light the fuse?

Maybe it would be a simple layup, or maybe just a casual locking of eyes...

123-108.

The Pacers effortlessly defeated the Phoenix Suns, becoming only the second team in history to win 70 games in a regular season.

When the game ended, confetti rained down everywhere, and the Pacers’ home court transformed into a sea of joy.

This was the achievement Pacers fans had dreamed of. After so many years of hard-fought battles, they had finally reached the pinnacle of the regular season.

Tears streamed down Reggie Miller’s face at the end of the game. He had fought his entire life, and now, as his career was winding down, he had finally achieved his highest regular season accomplishment. He was overcome with emotion.

Even though everyone knew the team would surely break 70 wins at home after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves, when the moment actually arrived, everyone was still deeply moved.

After the game, Su Xi celebrated with everyone for a bit before returning to the locker room early and declining all media interviews.

He was leaving this important moment for Reggie Miller.

He knew that 70 wins meant far more to Miller than it did to him.

Besides, one had to respect the veteran leader. Although Miller had taken a backseat, his prestige and popularity in Indiana were far greater than Su Xi’s.

This was the power of time; after all, he had played for the Pacers for nearly 18 years.

He had experienced all the team’s ups and downs. Now that they were at the top, it was only right to let him have his moment in the spotlight.

As Su Xi passed through the player tunnel, he ran into Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni giving an interview.

D’Antoni proactively greeted Su Xi. Su Xi just smiled, nodded, and walked away.

Just two minutes earlier, D’Antoni had been praising him to the skies.

"The Pacers aren’t just a strong defensive team; they are a great offensive team. Little Sheep Su Xi is a point guard with a powerful drive, and his instinct for the fast break is astounding,"

D’Antoni said. "People often talk about his defense, his strength, his triple-doubles, and his ability to get into the paint and battle with big men. But they overlook the most captivating thing about him."

"If he were on the Phoenix Suns, he and Stoudemire would definitely become the best duo in the league. I mean no disrespect to the OK Combination, but I have a system that could maximize the potential of both Little Sheep Su Xi and Stoudemire."

"Rookie of the Year? LeBron is very talented, his ceiling is higher, and he has an infinitely bright future. But my vote would go to Little Sheep Su Xi. He’s the best-performing rookie this season. He’s also the rookie who has led his team to the greatest success... probably the rookie with the best regular-season team record in history."

"So, what reason is there not to support him for Rookie of the Year?"

...