Chapter 328: Chapter 92: [Sky-High Popularity, Unprecedented]

Before Su Xi even arrived in China, the Chinese Men’s Basketball Team dropped a bombshell: the youngest Finals MVP in NBA history and the greatest point guard China had ever produced would be joining the national Olympic team.

Three days before the announcement, Wang Zhizhi offered a sincere apology to his original domestic team and declared his return to the local league for the upcoming season. The very next day, the Chinese Men’s Basketball Team announced its doors were open to Wang Zhizhi, welcoming him to training camp. Whether he would make the Olympic roster, however, would depend on his performance in camp and the exhibition games. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Of course, this was just rhetoric, a way to save face.

After all, Wang Zhizhi’s departure from the national team years ago had created some negative blowback that still lingered.

But for the fans, this was exhilarating news. Before Su Xi and Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi had been Chinese basketball’s greatest prodigy—even Yao Ming had once considered him an idol. While Wang Zhizhi’s NBA career wasn’t a resounding success, it wasn’t a complete failure either. Had he been willing to accept a minimum-salary contract, teams would have still taken a chance on him.

But at this point in his career, returning home had become the more attractive option.

While everyone was still celebrating Da Zhi’s return, Su Xi’s own return dropped an even bigger bombshell.

Most people had assumed that with the Olympics right around the corner, Su Xi wouldn’t be joining the national team. Earlier rumors had even circulated online about strict demands, such as the Chinese Basketball Association requiring Su Xi to "make contributions" to the development of basketball in the country.

This had outraged many fans.

The vast majority of people sided with Su Xi.

...

During the long flight across the Pacific Ocean, Isaiah Thomas sat next to Su Xi, feeling a mix of joy and apprehension about his first-ever trip to China.

He hadn’t expected everything to be sorted out so quickly. After getting Thomas’s approval, Su Xi had explained the proposal to the Chinese Basketball Association and Nike. Soon after, Isaiah Thomas had his work visa in hand and was set to receive a 100,000 USD consulting fee.

When Isaiah Thomas informed James Dolan that he was taking a trip to China and would be heading to Athens as a consultant for the Chinese Team, James Dolan agreed without a moment’s hesitation and even gave him a bonus.

He said this was a golden opportunity and urged Thomas to build an even closer relationship with Su Xi.

Su Xi was, after all, the youngest Finals MVP in history.

Besides, Su Xi was the player James Dolan himself had spotted from day one, which just went to show how sharp his eye for talent was. Nowadays, at every friendly gathering, he would boast, "Back when Little Sheep Su Xi was still Carmeron Anthony’s backup, I saw him and knew instantly that he had a brighter future than Carmeron Anthony."

Then, he would sigh dramatically and curse Layden and Donnie, blaming them for ruining his grand plan.

Now that Isaiah Thomas shared his vision, he had granted Thomas more administrative power than anyone in the history of the Knicks organization.

So now, with Isaiah Thomas about to leave his post during the busy offseason, Dolan wasn’t the least bit angry. On the contrary, he offered his full support and even gave Thomas a double bonus.

Thomas also felt it was surreal.

’Damn, this paid vacation is amazing,’ he thought.

But Isaiah Thomas was a responsible man. He wasn’t the type to take a paycheck without putting in the work.

He pulled two all-nighters, watching video footage of all the players on the Chinese National Team. Much of the time, he watched it together with Su Xi.

"Your roster isn’t half bad. You’re at the one, Yao Ming is at the five, and you’ve got Bateer and Wang Zhizhi. Your power forward spot has some character too. You’ve gathered a bunch of distinctive role players."

"But their tempo is way too slow. Your head coach is a conservative European, and his defensive scheme is incredibly rigid. It’s like a math problem where you add 5+5+5+5+5, counting each one on your fingers. It might be simple to execute, but you’ll get blown out of the water against a real offensive powerhouse."

Isaiah Thomas was very experienced when talking about defense; after all, he was Chuck Daly’s star pupil.

He believed defense wasn’t simple addition, where you just account for each zone separately.

It should be multiplication. All the players need to be interconnected.

"You have to consider the technical and tactical level of the domestic players. You can’t demand they meet NBA standards," Su Xi said on behalf of his future teammates.

Isaiah Thomas stretched and said to Su Xi, "Jack, for our first time working together, we should at least win a medal, right?"

"I was thinking the same thing," Su Xi said with a smile. "Preferably the gold medal, after beating the Dream Team."

"Of course. There’s a great chance of that," Isaiah Thomas said with complete seriousness.

The Dream Six Team, one could say, was ill-fated.

The Dream Team failed to recruit enough superstars this year. For the FIBA Americas Championship, they had assembled a powerhouse team with Ray Allen, Bibi, Carter, Nixon, Duncan, Iverson, J Kidd, Jefferson, Ma Long, Kenyon Martin, Tracy McGrady, Okafor, and Little O’Neal.

This superteam of A-list stars was invincible in the FIBA Americas Championship.

However, as the Olympics drew near, ten players from that 2003 championship-winning Dream Team pulled out of the training camp. They offered a variety of excuses, the primary one being security concerns in Athens. These NBA multimillionaires had no desire to put themselves in harm’s way. Additionally, players like J Kidd, Ma Long, Little O’Neal, and Martin cited injuries as their reason for withdrawal.

O’Neal and Garnett had already won Olympic gold medals and had long since stated they would not play in the Olympics again.

Surprisingly, the head coach of this Dream Team, Larry Brown, couldn’t even get his own Pistons players to join. Both Ben Wallace and Hamilton had decided against playing.