Chapter 285: Chapter 70: [Big Brother Arenas]

"The Pistons probably think they’re on par with us, or maybe slightly ahead... But in reality, it’s like a 5,000-meter race where we’ve lapped them... no, four times."

"Of course Jack is the best point guard. Is there any doubt?"

"I don’t even know his true ceiling. He doesn’t need to show it, either. He just has to be a little bit better than his opponents think he is."

"LeBron James? Why are we even talking about him? He’s the ’Chosen One’ anointed by the media. Our Jack is just your average rookie who led his team to the Finals, a super quadruple-double winner, an All-NBA and All-Defensive team member, and the current best point guard in the league."

"..."

Artest went on and on, getting particularly animated when he talked about Su Xi. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Carlisle was the same way when asked about Su Xi. He was always full of emotion and passion. He said, "Jack is the smartest, most impactful, and most creative player I’ve ever seen in my career. Bar none."

Even though Su Xi didn’t attend the press conference, all this praise ensured he still dominated the conversation.

Su Xi’s name was all over the headlines the next day.

...

Su Xi woke up around noon the next day in his house in Indiana. They had flown back overnight... a flight originally meant for Game 5, arranged to give the players better rest as they prepared for the fifth game.

Turns out... it wasn’t necessary.

Su Xi was in for a long break. On the plane, Carlisle had announced three days off to start. Whether that break would be extended depended on the series between the Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They were now tied 2-2.

Su Xi saw Shaquille O’Neal’s ’timely response’ on TV. He was still in his usual clowning persona, putting on an exaggerated look of shock: "What? The Pacers swept the Pistons? Little Sheep Su Xi scored 38 points? That’s terrifying? Oh, my god, what are we going to do? What are we going to do?"

He deliberately feigned a frail, frightened expression.

It got a good laugh.

But no one took it seriously.

Frankly, the Lakers should probably be relieved that the Pacers were the ones who came out of the East.

The Lakers would much rather face the Pacers than the Pistons.

The Pistons were a tough matchup for the Lakers.

As for the Pacers, their interior was pretty mediocre. While the "Big and Little O’Neal" showdown would be a media-hyped gimmick, pretty much everyone thought it was unlikely for Little O’Neal to put up any impressive numbers in a paint guarded by Carl Malone and Shaquille O’Neal.

After Su Xi got up and washed, his management team started calling him to go over various commercial endorsement deals.

After the Eastern Conference Finals, Su Xi’s on-court value was at an all-time high, and so was his marketability.

The most concrete metric for a player’s influence is their team’s success.

Even looking at the sweep of history, Su Xi’s current record was legendary.

That’s why Nike wanted to shoot another new commercial with Su Xi. With Kobe unable to do promotions due to the fallout from his legal troubles and LeBron James already home fishing, Su Xi had inevitably become their number one promotional focus for the time being.

Besides, sales of Su Xi’s signature shoe were skyrocketing.

Nike was unexpectedly ecstatic about Su Xi leading his team to the Finals.

’Of course, now they were also wondering: Could Jack actually beat the Western champions and win MVP?’

If Su Xi won Finals MVP, it meant they’d have to pay him an extra 20 million USD, which would make his sponsorship earnings for the year a historic high.

At the same time, this presented another painful problem for Nike: if Su Xi won Finals MVP this year and repeated next year, his bonus would double. On top of that... Nike would also have to give him a 5% cut of his signature shoe sales.

Nike’s Phil Knight had probably run his mouth, thinking Su Xi would never win a Finals MVP within five years, let alone win it back-to-back. The clause was meant purely as a motivational tool.

Even someone as great as Jordan came up empty-handed in his first five years.

But now... Su Xi actually had a real shot at making it happen.

Nike was both ecstatic and wincing at the cost.

It was almost like they were handing over all the profits from the shoes to Su Xi.

They were just working for him at this point.

But regardless, they had to keep up the work.

In fact, they had to double down on their investment.

Su Xi agreed to two new endorsement contracts, which would bring him 4 million USD in after-tax income over the next three years.

When it came to commercial value, Su Xi was without a doubt at the pinnacle of the NBA. The only one who could even come close was LeBron James.

Back in Cleveland, James was already jealous of Su Xi’s earning power. Now, with a winning record to back him up, Su Xi’s money-making ability had leveled up again. If James found out, it would probably motivate him to unlock even more of his "talent."

...

Hollywood was talking about Su Xi, too, still fixated on those comments from Scarlett Johansson.

The basketball media was concerned with just how much potential Su Xi was hiding on the court.

The entertainment media was concerned with just how much prowess he had in the bedroom.

This inevitably sent ripples through Hollywood’s starlet circles. Actresses were, by nature, always chasing trends, pursuing luxury, and seeking out the unique.

Just imagine, what was a hotter topic than Su Xi right now? Because of him, two new-generation actresses were now drowning in film offers and endorsement deals. How could the other starlets not be green with envy?

On top of that, his mysterious "prowess" had them flocking to him. Who wouldn’t want to experience that for themselves?

Add to that the mysterious rarity of "Little Sheep Su Xi."

O’Connor was flooded with invitations, all of them asking Su Xi to attend fashion events and high-society parties... some even offered an appearance fee.

Mike O’Connor thought Su Xi should attend to expand his social network.

But Su Xi rejected them all. When it came to basketball, he was aggressive and fiercely assertive.

But in his personal life, he much preferred the quiet of his own room.

...

Arenas arrived in Indiana after the Lakers won their pivotal game, putting them at series point.

"Jack, I never thought your first season would be this successful."

Arenas walked into Su Xi’s indoor basketball court. "You’ve got that superstar energy now," he said.

Su Xi just waved him off. "Hey, man, cut the chatter. Let’s go one-on-one. I’m dying to learn a few things from you."

Arenas was a player Su Xi greatly admired. They were also similar in many ways, so when Arenas said he was coming to Indiana, Su Xi immediately invited him over, promising to cook him a home-cooked meal.

But the moment he stepped out of the car, Su Xi had athletic gear ready for him.

As Arenas put on the Nike gear Su Xi had laid out, he said, "You better not be filming this. I’m the face of Adidas..."

"Isn’t that Tracy McGrady?"

"It’ll be me soon."

Arenas got dressed. He was about the same height as Su Xi, with a similar wingspan. He had powerful upper-body strength, incredible explosiveness and speed, and an outstanding vertical. This gave him a huge advantage on offense, allowing him to elevate over defenders and make all sorts of unbelievable shots.

This was probably why Adidas signed him. Adidas loves to sign guards who are freakishly athletic with shots that are difficult to defend.

Isn’t their star player, Tracy McGrady, the same way?

Su Xi coveted Arenas’s pull-up jumper. Having already acquired Reggie Miller’s talent for shooting off the catch, Su Xi was getting greedy and now wanted to level up his own offense off the dribble. In the current NBA, the ability to create your own shot was the gold standard for superstar guards.

Su Xi and Arenas had very similar physiques, so it made perfect sense for him to target Arenas.

Arenas on offense, Su Xi on defense.

Arenas brought out his signature moves.

In the year since last summer in Chicago, Su Xi’s abilities had grown exponentially.

On the first possession, Arenas wasn’t taking it seriously. He tried to pull up for an easy shot, but Su Xi immediately swarmed him. He tried to force the shot up anyway, but before he could even leave his feet, Su Xi had smothered both him and the ball, forcing him back down.

"Haven’t seen any scandals about you online recently. Why’d you suddenly get so soft?"

Su Xi was taunting the veteran.

The veteran instantly looked like he’d taken a Viagra pill. He slammed the ball on the floor, his eyes blazing. "Again!"