Chapter 249: Chapter 53: [Joint Instruction from the Two Rulers]

Two relatively ’mediocre’ performances had led many in the ’media’ to start badmouthing Su Xi. Lately, it seemed like a group of basketball pundits had made it their mission to tear down Su Xi just to build up James.

James hadn’t even made the playoffs, yet everyone was saying that if he had, he would have risen to the occasion, unlike Su Xi, who had supposedly hit a ’bottleneck’.

Moreover, these people were fond of calling Su Xi a high-end blue-collar player, whose ceiling was Scottie Pippen.

It was as if Su Xi could only represent the ’role player’ path, while LeBron James was already on the grand highway to ’superstardom’.

The weight of this public opinion became especially significant just as Su Xi was about to board a flight to Boston.

At the airport, Su Xi got a call from Mike O’Connor. "Congratulations, boss," O’Connor said over the phone. "You got Rookie of the Year."

Hearing the news, Su Xi couldn’t help but smile.

This was the reward for his hard work throughout the past season.

But then, Mike O’Connor continued, "This year’s Rookie of the Year is like in ’00 and ’95—it’s a shared award. Another player is sharing the trophy with you."

Su Xi’s mood instantly plummeted. He asked, "Who? Cameron? Dwayne? Or LeBron."

Mike O’Connor gave Su Xi the one name he didn’t want to hear: LeBron James.

Su Xi was silent for a long time. He felt like it was some kind of joke.

’How could James win Rookie of the Year?’

’His stats were good, sure, and he was talented and full of potential, but he didn’t even make the playoffs. How was that any different from Ricky Davis bragging to anyone who would listen that he was a 20-5-5 superstar?’

’Of the players in the same draft class, both Wade and Antonio had led their teams to the playoffs.’

"Okay, I get it."

Su Xi ended the call, the joy of winning the award completely gone.

It was like finding a fly on a beautiful cake.

Carlisle heard the news on the plane and went over to congratulate Su Xi. When the other players found out, they also came over one by one to wish him well, congratulating him on a wonderful start to his career.

The Rookie of the Year award was an honor you could only win once in a lifetime.

Su Xi kept a smile on his face, but he didn’t feel much joy in his heart.

Late that night, after arriving in Boston, he saw an ’expert analysis’ on ESPN on his hotel TV.

"...This year’s Rookie of the Year decision was clearly the result of careful consideration, though some LeBron fans might be unhappy. But we have to recognize that LeBron James and Little Sheep Su Xi are the two most prestigious players from the 2003 rookie class. LeBron’s prestige comes from his talent and his on-court dominance. Little Sheep Su Xi’s prestige comes from his exotic appeal and masculine charm."

"Furthermore, their playstyles are completely different. LeBron is only the third super-rookie in history to average 20-5-5. The first two were Oscar Robinson and Michael Jordan. This fully demonstrates LeBron’s talent; he is already on the path of an all-time great. Little Sheep Su Xi finished the season second in assists, first in steals, and led all point guards in blocks. He also helped the Pacers achieve the best record in franchise history, while also recording a monster quadruple-double and 16 triple-doubles this season. This fully proves he is a perfect team player..."

Su Xi reached out and turned off the TV at that point.

’What kind of expert analysis was that?’

But this had been the mainstream narrative in American basketball circles for some time now.

It felt as though Su Xi was the one actually playing in the playoffs, yet James, who had gone home to fish early, was somehow considered superior.

Or, to put it another way, James was seen as a Wall Street elite making fast money, while Su Xi was like a blue-collar worker in a manufacturing plant.

Public opinion was drawing a clear line between the two.

This was typical American arrogance.

In the *Cleveland Plain Dealer*, a reporter made the absurd claim that, "This trophy is unfair to LeBron James. He should have won the whole thing. But because of the Pacers’ excellent record, he was forced to share half of it with his former teammate, Little Sheep Su Xi."

These vicious words prompted a swift and direct rebuttal.

The one delivering the rebuttal was Stephen Jackson, who was now a free agent. He no longer had to worry about locker room politics, and he didn’t want to play for the Cavaliers anymore anyway. In fact, the day after the season ended, the Cavaliers’ general manager had explicitly told Stephen Jackson he could start looking for a new team, though they wanted to do a sign-and-trade.

"16-9-7-3-1 is weaker than 20-5-5? What kind of evaluation system is that? It’s unbelievable."

During a radio interview in New York, Stephen Jackson clearly expressed his disagreement with the Rookie of the Year award, a view that was completely at odds with the mainstream consensus in the basketball world. "There’s only one Rookie of the Year this year, and that’s Little Sheep Su Xi."

"No question about it! When he left the Cavaliers, the team was fourth in the East. Now they’re ninth and missed the playoffs. Before he went to the Pacers, they had never achieved such a brilliant record and kept losing to the Pistons. After he arrived, the Pacers improved across the board."

"I can’t believe I’m seeing the Cleveland media complain about James only getting half the award. That’s ridiculous! It’s the thief crying ’stop, thief!’"

"I played with James for half a season. I admit his physical gifts are a rare sight, and I’ll admit he has a unique understanding of the game. But he simply does not deserve even half of this Rookie of the Year award."

"Jack is the one who got ripped off."

Although Stephen Jackson’s comments didn’t get much exposure in the mainstream media, they sparked a great deal of discussion on the internet. In China, they spread even more widely.