LeBron James brought the ball past half-court to the top of the arc.

Mike Bibby defended him, disrupting his path to the basket. James let out a couple of sharp hisses, signaling for Carlos Boozer to come set a screen. Boozer was a bit slow to react. He’d set several screens without getting the ball back in return and had grown a little lethargic.

Just then, Su Xi approached from the side. He wanted to help set a screen for James, lest James fail to get past Mike Bibby and become a laughingstock.

But when James saw Su Xi coming, he subconsciously assumed Su Xi wanted to take the ball. He abruptly spun around and went the other way. This unexpected move actually caught Mike Bibby out of position; Bibby had expected James to go toward Su Xi’s screen.

James took two sudden strides, shaking his defender. He lifted his head, just about to look for a path to drive... BANG!

He ran head-on into Brad Miller, who had come over to hedge. The two of them slammed into each other... and most importantly, their heads collided.

Needless to say, LeBron James’s force on impact was immense.

The instant their noses smashed into each other, both men felt a sharp, stinging pain shoot through their heads.

They both bowed their heads almost simultaneously to clutch at their noses, but soon, a warm stream began to drip down.

Blood gushed from both of them.

After calling a blocking foul on Brad Miller, the head referee stopped the game. Both players were led away by their team doctors.

There were 4 minutes and 6 seconds left in the game, and the Cleveland Cavaliers were down by 12 points.

The Cavaliers’ absolute cornerstone was injured and heading down the tunnel.

Could the Cavaliers still win?

The Cavaliers fans watching on TV had lost all confidence. In fact, as the deficit continued to grow, they had already given up hope of winning. But they were still happy. LeBron had 35 points, and Jack had a near-quadruple-double... They both had bright futures, and the Cavaliers had an even brighter one.

Who could have guessed that in the 2003 draft, Cleveland would land two prodigious talents in one go!

The Cavaliers’ owner was very satisfied.

A loss could just be written off as the young guys gaining experience.

Just then, the TNT camera panned over to the Cavaliers’ bench. A clear, firm voice was speaking: "Heads up! I said we can win! Listen, we can win!"

Su Xi, his face covered in sweat, was telling his teammates in a resolute voice, his chiseled, handsome face radiating boundless tenacity.

The camera perfectly captured the powerful confidence in his eyes.

Su Xi scanned the bench, and tens of millions of viewers watching on TV could feel his powerful aura.

He was leading this team.

Larry Bird was dumbfounded as he watched on TV. This was not what he had expected. He never thought Su Xi would be able to step up at a time like this, both commanding and inspiring all his teammates.

That was innate leadership ability.

’Little Sheep Su Xi, oh, Little Sheep Su Xi, just how many more surprises do you have in store for me?’

Just then, Paul Silas’s voice came through the television: "Jack, I’m giving you LeBron’s Play Number 1. Can you run it?"

"I can!" Su Xi agreed without hesitation.

Play Number 1 it was.

Play Number 1 was a set designed for LeBron James to initiate the offense from the top of the arc.

BWEEET!

The whistle blew.

Su Xi held out his hand, and his teammates placed their hands on top of his. "One, two, three!"

"Cavaliers!"

After the shout, Su Xi led the way onto the court and received the inbounds pass from Carlos Boozer.

At this time, the Kings’ two big men were Divac and Tony Masonberg. Both were veterans, and Masonberg was purely a blue-collar player, completely incapable of acting as a passer in the Princeton offense.

Su Xi stood at the top of the three-point arc, directing his teammates’ positioning.

Once his teammates, including Davis, were all in position, Su Xi suddenly dipped his shoulder and made a sharp drive forward. His explosiveness and speed kicked into high gear, and the sheer force of his momentum instantly blew past Mike Bibby’s defense.

With Su Xi’s combination of strength, speed, and explosiveness, not many point guards could stop him. What’s more, his ball-handling was even more refined than LeBron’s; he just lacked variation in his moves and couldn’t stop on a dime.

But Su Xi had no intention of hitting the brakes anyway.

’Isn’t there a human shock absorber in the paint? What better airbag could there be?’

He charged into the paint without any change of direction, accelerating, constantly accelerating, like a cannonball fired from its barrel, heading straight for Divac under the basket.

When Divac saw Su Xi charging in like a murderer, he got scared. He was a veteran who had earned enough accolades and money; he didn’t want to risk his neck against a reckless young buck, and besides, he couldn’t jump that high anymore.

As Su Xi leaped violently in front of him, hurtling forward without a shred of hesitation, the veteran surreptitiously shifted half a step to the side.

He symbolically stretched out his arms.

Su Xi flew violently past his side. Divac’s left shoulder was bumped, and he felt as if he’d been stepped on by an elephant. ’So painful! So powerful!’

’Do all the young guys these days grow up eating spinach? First, there was James, and now there’s this Little Sheep Su Xi. What the hell is going on with the Cavaliers?’

BOOM!

Su Xi smashed the basketball through the hoop with his right hand, grabbed onto the rim, and swung violently twice to absorb the excess momentum. Only after regaining his balance did Su Xi land.

After landing, Su Xi didn’t celebrate at all. He just yelled, "Defense!"

He strode toward Mike Bibby, intending to apply a full-court press.

As soon as Bibby received the ball, Su Xi was on him with intense pressure.

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t something Su Xi excelled at. His coordination and agility were quite poor, and defending over long distances would only amplify his weaknesses.

But Bibby didn’t try to play with Su Xi’s center of gravity; he just tried to power his way forward against him.

This played right into Su Xi’s strengths.

As a result, Bibby struggled to advance, barely making it past half-court. Su Xi had him trapped on the sideline, and he was struggling.

"I feel like Bibby is about to burst into tears any second now, and then Little Sheep Su Xi is going to tell him: ’Welcome to the NBA.’"

Charles Barkley cracked a deadpan joke on TV.

That one-liner perfectly conveyed the suffocating pressure Su Xi was applying.

Indeed, at that moment, the flustered Bibby looked more like a rookie.

After quickly gathering the ball, Bibby jumped abruptly and threw the ball... but just as he released it, Su Xi, who had already anticipated the move, leaped up, extended his right hand, and with one hand... caught the basketball!

He actually caught the ball!!

It was jaw-dropping, simply unbelievable. To think he could catch a pass thrown with that much force with just one hand.

My god.

How strong must his grip be?

How large must his hands be?

This wasn’t just palming the ball; this was a one-handed interception!

While everyone was still in shock, Su Xi brought the ball past half-court and drove to the basket. Bibby grabbed his jersey from behind, but it wasn’t enough to stop Su Xi from jumping up and forcing the ball into the hoop.

SWISH!

Su Xi scored his 20th point of the game.

BWEEET!

And, he drew a foul for one free throw.

Prior to that, his steal count had reached 9.

He was just one steal away from completing a quadruple-double! A quadruple-double!

A stat line whose name alone was enough to get a player’s blood pumping.

You could call this statistic the crown jewel of individual achievements. Since the NBA began keeping records, only four people have ever claimed this crown jewel: Nate Thurmond, Elvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson.

They all achieved it in the ’80s and ’90s. The most recent one was David Robinson, who had 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks against the Knicks in ’94.

Now, almost 10 years later, was Su Xi about to achieve this feat in his professional debut?

Was Su Xi about to claim this crown jewel in the very first game of his career?

With 3 minutes and 5 seconds left, the Cavaliers were down by 8, and Su Xi was heading to the free-throw line.

"Thanks for grabbing me."

Su Xi turned and said to Mike Bibby with great sincerity. If Mike Bibby hadn’t pulled on him from behind, he really would have had trouble stopping.

But sincerity can be a lethal weapon.

Mike Bibby easily took it as sarcasm. ’Are you mocking me for not being strong enough? Mocking me for getting the ball stolen and then fouling you on top of it?’

"Don’t get too cocky, young blood!"

Mike Bibby warned Su Xi.

Su Xi didn’t argue back. He turned his head, and as he happened to be passing the Kings’ bench, he saw Chris Webber. Their eyes met.

Su Xi suddenly said, "Chris Webber. Are you going to be the first King in Sacramento history who’s afraid to take the court in a clutch moment?"

The words were devastatingly effective.

And what’s more, they were broadcast across the entire nation by the TNT courtside camera!

"OH-HO-HO!!"

Charles Barkley screamed on TV, covering his face. "MAN!! That’s the most perfect, most powerful piece of trash talk I have ever heard! It’s like the punchline in a diss track! It hit Weber perfectly! All of Weber’s career pride was just shattered in that one moment! What’s Weber going to do?"

"I swear, I’ve played basketball my whole life, and I’ve never said trash talk that cool!"

Barkley yelled, slamming his hand on the table.

The line itself was devastating enough, but when combined with how Weber had been avoiding Su Xi all game, getting manhandled in their matchups, and all the arrogant trash talk from before the game...

It was explosive!

The viewers at home were all screaming too.

It was like a rap battle, and Su Xi had just insta-killed his opponent with a single line.

Larry Bird slapped Rick Carlisle’s thigh hard again, and Reggie Miller jumped up, pumping his fist. They all got the devastating impact of that line; after all, they were masters of trash talk themselves. Sometimes, they would even think up their trash talk before a game even started.

But Su Xi’s line was definitely a freestyle, delivered on the spot. And it hit its mark perfectly.

Su Xi walked to the free-throw line.

At that moment, Chris Webber shot to his feet, heedless of everything else. He couldn’t stand being taunted like that; he was a superstar with a temper too.

If that line from Su Xi got out, his reputation, built over half his life, would be ruined.

Who would want to be known as a King who was afraid to answer the call in a clutch moment? Especially when his team was in the lead.

However, what Weber didn’t know was... TNT had already broadcast it.

Right now, fans all across America were screaming over that line.

BWEEET!

Substitution at the scorer’s table.

Weber walked onto the court, substituting for Masonberg.

He stared fiercely at Su Xi.

But Su Xi just revealed a satisfied smile. This was exactly what he wanted.

He exchanged a look with Carlos Boozer, and Carlos Boozer nodded.

...

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