The Best Point Guard-Chapter 70 - 5: [The King of Ancient Babylon Proclaims the Hammurabi Code]

Chapter 70: Chapter 5: [The King of Ancient Babylon Proclaims the Hammurabi Code]

Tim Grover was now, without a doubt, a success story. He was a reflection of the great American Dream.

He had served the God of Basketball, Michael Jordan, for 17 years, achieving immense success and generous rewards. His net worth now exceeded ten million USD. He had his own column, was a motivational speaker, and owned one of the most elite training facilities in the United States: Attack Athletics.

It was a 60,000-square-foot (5,600-square-meter) training center in Chicago, which included four NBA-regulation courts and a 1,000-seat multipurpose arena.

He was no longer the little kid of Indian descent who worried about going hungry. His father no longer had to work as a porter at the morgue.

He sat on a plane bound for Cleveland, enjoying the attentive service of first class.

Frankly, he didn’t like leaving Chicago for work. But this time, the invitation came from LeBron James, a guy who was hyped as the one who could surpass Jordan. To be honest, as Michael Jordan’s loyal partner, he wasn’t worried at all about someone else surpassing Jordan.

But that didn’t stop him from making a little money off the guy.

His work schedule was from April 16th to May 16th, and his fee was 150,000 USD.

Tim didn’t believe a month was enough to completely transform a player. Training required years of persistent effort; no one could achieve success overnight.

So, he felt Team LeBron James was doing this more for the hype. Hype up the fact that he’d hired Michael Jordan’s trainer to give fans and NBA teams the impression of, ’Oh, look, he’s about to become the next Jordan.’

However, after the contract was signed, a new development arose. Goodwin said they wanted to add another person, changing the client from just James to two people. They were willing to pay more.

Grover intentionally made a difficult demand. He asked for an extra 100,000, but after some haggling, they settled on 30,000 USD.

The person haggling with him was a shrewd woman; she seemed to have seen right through his desire to make a little extra money on the side.

He pretended to agree reluctantly.

He knew this thirty thousand USD was extra income he could use to give his accompanying assistants a bonus.

Before boarding the plane, he received the player’s file.

Little Sheep Su Xi!

Oh!

This surprised him. He had watched the live broadcast of the NCAA Finals and had a very strong impression of Su Xi. He found it strange that someone could be so explosive and powerful, yet his jumping ability seemed so average.

Moreover, he felt a sense of pride for Su Xi.

He was Asian, too.

He had faced a lot of discrimination because of his skin color and origins while growing up. In fact, he had also played in the NCAA Division II, for the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Su Xi winning the MOP was a huge boost for the Asian community throughout the United States. Its impact far surpassed Yao Ming joining the NBA because, fundamentally, Yao Ming was an outsider.

But Su Xi had arrived in the United States at the age of nine and had emerged from the American system. Only other Asians could truly empathize, and only they knew how difficult that process was and how much immense effort it required.

Interestingly, before the plane took off, Tim Grover also received a call from Nike’s marketing department.

Nike hoped he would help scout Su Xi and LeBron James and provide them with two reliable internal data reports for reference.

This was a paid service.

Grover quickly had his assistant check the contracts he had signed with the two players’ agents. Fortunately, there was no confidentiality clause regarding data sharing.

When Nike offered 50,000 USD in compensation and the opportunity for future collaborations, he didn’t hesitate.

After hanging up, he thought to himself, ’This is turning out to be a wonderful trip.’

...

Su Xi wasn’t enjoying the wonders of the trip. After arriving in Cleveland, he quickly found the high school gym where he was supposed to meet LeBron James.

Su Xi’s arrival was taken very seriously by the school’s administration. They thoughtfully prepared many things for him, took all sorts of photos with him, and cautiously asked, "Can we hang our photo with you in the gym later?"

Su Xi said that was no problem at all.

He hadn’t expected to be so popular in Cleveland. He needed to slowly adjust to the change from being a nobody to a basketball celebrity.

Fortunately, Su Xi wasn’t the type to flaunt his fame. He settled into the simple dormitory arranged by the school and began training in the gym.

LeBron James didn’t arrive until the next day, bringing a group of his good buddies with him.

Compared to Su Xi, who had come alone, he had already adopted the persona of a star.

He expertly signed autographs outside for the fans chasing him. His team strictly controlled the number of autographs, limiting him to only 20 at a time. While this disappointed many fans, it also implicitly increased the value of his signature.

The number of photos was even smaller, and those who got one were thrilled. But when they did, one of his buddies would go check the contents of the camera to ensure nothing damaging to LeBron James’s image had been captured.

"From now on, we need this place cleared out," said LeBron’s mother’s boyfriend, Eric Jackson, with some arrogance.

But when he saw Su Xi, he was exceptionally friendly. He told Su Xi, "LeBron values his friendship with you very much and is willing to develop a long-term partnership with you."

Su Xi maintained a friendly conversational atmosphere with him.

After a long warm-up, LeBron finally got down to training.

Su Xi tried to invite him to a one-on-one challenge. James glanced around, worried by the mixed crowd. He said, "Jack, we should avoid contact drills for now. If we get injured before the draft, all our years of hard work will be for nothing."

Alright.

Su Xi was convinced.

LeBron James had prepared extensively for the draft; he was born for basketball. He had even considered entering the draft back in 2002, going so far as to file an appeal with the league. But the league didn’t allow a high school junior to enter the NBA, so he had no choice but to finish the high school season.

LeBron James was truly a super-talent. Even his simple training drills revealed his immense physical gifts. He was like a real beast.

During a break in training, James revealed to Su Xi, "I played with Jordan when I was 16. He had some private training sessions back then, invited a lot of NBA players, and I was there too. I spent most of my time waving a towel from the bench, though."

"I’ve also played against the Cavaliers players. I dominated them," James told Su Xi proudly. "The Cavaliers were actually willing to provide us with a training facility, but they were worried about being penalized by the league."

Su Xi completely believed what James was saying.

There might be some exaggeration, but judging from the promotional banners and billboards for James plastered all over Cleveland, he was definitely the chosen one in Ohio.

"By the way, Jack," James brought up a new topic with Su Xi at noon, "I suggest you change your nickname. ’Little Sheep Su Xi’ sounds too cute, not intimidating enough. Look at me, King James. The Chosen One, James. I know you’re good with media promotion, but a nickname is crucial. Flying Man Jordan, Shark O’Neal, Answer Iverson, Little Flying Kobe... all the great superstars have nicknames."

Su Xi thought about this very seriously.

"Melo used to call me the goat. ’Goat’!" Su Xi asked, "How’s that for a nickname?"

Hmm?

James frowned. "No good," he said. "That’s my goal. Besides, a title like that is usually given by the media and fans, not something you pick for yourself. It would be ridiculous to self-proclaim yourself as the ’Goat’."

"Is that how it works?" Su Xi asked, confused.

"Yes!" James said with certainty.

"I’ll think of something else then."

Su Xi thought hard. As they were finishing their meal, he said, "How about ’The Law’ for my nickname?"

Hmm?

James wasn’t the most educated person. "The Law? What a weird nickname. What are you trying to say with that?"

"’The Law.’ Everyone must act according to the law. Before the law, all are equal," Su Xi said, feeling very proud inside. After all, he already considered himself the new God of Basketball.

He was about to continue: ’This means... my rules are the only rules. I’m not picking on anyone, but all of you have to listen to me.’

But before he could, LeBron’s mother’s boyfriend, Eric Jackson, clapped his hands excitedly. "That’s a great nickname! The King of Ancient Babylon issued the Hammurabi Code."

"The King and The Law, what a fantastic combination. If you two team up, you can rule the entire NBA," Jackson praised.

James was thrilled to hear that.

He said admiringly, "That’s perfect. My nickname is The King, and yours is The Law. HAHAHAHA! A perfect pair."

Uh...

Su Xi frowned. ’I should probably remind these two ignoramuses that in modern civilization, the king is bound by the law. The law can turn a king into a mere figurehead.’

...

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