The Best Point Guard-Chapter 73 - 8: Overlord James

Grover jogged over and pulled Su Xi in front of the camera. He gave his own seat to Su Xi, having him sit next to James while he stood behind them.

With Su Xi and James sitting side by side, it was clear at a glance who the real star was.

The ESPN camera involuntarily panned slightly to the left.

The cameraman, too, was captivated by Su Xi’s handsome features and refined air.

According to data from a reputable United States institution, attractive people receive more favorable treatment in the same job than their average-looking counterparts and are 35% more likely to be hired.

James didn’t catch this subtle movement, nor did he notice that half of his right shoulder was now out of the frame.

"Hey, Jack. Say hello to ESPN." James flashed a practiced smile for the camera.

Su Xi waved and offered a faint smile. "I’m Su Xi, and I’m eighteen. LeBron should be calling me big brother. I’m three months older than him, and if you use the Chinese lunar calendar, I’m two months older. I’m a college sophomore who has just put my studies on hold, and I’m looking for a job in the NBA."

There was a certain magic to the way Su Xi spoke. Even when he was just stating facts, the words came out sounding witty and memorable.

And with that, he had effortlessly countered James’s attempt to call him ’little bro’.

’He had no intention of being anyone’s little bro.’

The reporter seized on this to create some back-and-forth. "Jack, you’re only a couple of months older than LeBron, yet you’ve already finished your sophomore year of college. That sounds a little unbelievable."

"That’s why my nickname is ’The Law’, while LeBron’s is ’The King’," Su Xi said with a smile. "The law requires a lot of studying, while a king inherits his title by blood."

The reporter found the reply quite clever.

James was also delighted, adding with a grin, "That’s right. I’m the Chosen One."

He radiated powerful self-confidence. American culture loves people who aren’t afraid to express themselves.

However, any more sophisticated viewers in the television audience would undoubtedly prefer Su Xi, with his greater elegance, restraint, and depth.

The reporter then asked Su Xi about his training and his thoughts on the upcoming NBA Draft.

"I’m getting the best training possible here, and I have LeBron and Tim to thank for it. LeBron is a selfless person who loves to help others, and Tim is the best trainer in the world. He’s working every muscle in my body, making me stronger than I’ve ever been."

"I haven’t really thought about the draft. In that respect, I’m just like LeBron—he knows he’s going to be the first pick. As for me, no matter which team drafts me, I will keep moving toward my goal."

Su Xi’s answer was suave and polished, and it also gave a nice boost to both James and Tim.

Both of them were inwardly ecstatic.

James, especially, was so pleased his invisible tail was wagging. ’My man! Yes, this is it. It’s just like how you talked up Cameron. This is exactly what I wanted.’

’James had his own crew of little bros, but their compliments always missed the mark. They had no on-camera experience and just spouted mindless praise that sounded hollow and unrealistic. Jack is so much better. This is the King’s Law, for real.’

"So what is your goal? To do what you did in college and defeat every phenom you come across?" ESPN followed the NCAA, so they were well aware of Su Xi’s reputation. "To become the NBA’s ’Phenom Terminator’?"

"Yes," Su Xi nodded, his answer short and to the point.

Su Xi had an aura like the Godfather; without any exaggerated expressions or gestures, he projected an immense, powerful confidence.

"Then what about LeBron? Are you going to terminate him, too?" the reporter asked provocatively.

James turned and looked at Su Xi with a grin.

"He’s different from the other phenoms. Like he said, he’s the Chosen One," Su Xi said with a completely straight face. "Terminating him will take a little time."

"Hahahaha!" James burst out in a hearty laugh. This was exactly the kind of special treatment that set him apart. As for how long it would take Su Xi to terminate him, he just took it as a joke.

"I’m not worried about him terminating me, because we’re going to be partners," James said.

"LeBron, are you saying you want the team that drafts you to also draft Little Sheep Su Xi?" the ESPN reporter asked in astonishment.

"Why not? Who would turn down having the number one and number two players of the 2003 class?" James said with confidence.

The reporter turned to Grover. "Do you agree? That they’re the number one and number two players of the 2003 class?"

Grover glanced at both James and Su Xi, his eyes finally settling on Su Xi. He spoke seriously. "Yes. In my mind, they are the two best players in the 2003 class. In fact, they’re also the two most athletic perimeter players since Michael Jordan."

Grover was leveraging his status as Jordan’s personal trainer to endorse them both.

James was absolutely thrilled.

This was the exact effect he had been hoping for.

He felt that hundred and fifty thousand USD was money well spent.

He and his team had been working tirelessly to create the narrative that after Jordan retired, LeBron James would be the one to carry the NBA’s torch.

Now, Grover, Jordan’s personal trainer of seventeen years, had given him that endorsement.

’And it gave Jack a boost, too. Lucky guy, tagging along with me. A rising tide lifts all boats.’

He was feeling incredibly smug.

Just then, Su Xi stood up. He said he still had one more training set to finish, offered a polite apology, and stepped away from the camera.

James liked Su Xi even more now. ’A versatile wingman like this, who doesn’t steal the spotlight and, most importantly, knows how to prop me up... what’s not to like?’

The interview continued. King James spoke at length about combining basketball skill with physical prowess, and the similarities and differences between the contemporary NBA style and the high school game. He had the swagger of a high school kid ready to shake up the professional world.

He displayed great eloquence and leadership, leaving the reporters present marveling. They all agreed: LeBron truly was the Chosen One, born for this very moment. Michael Jordan had already announced he would retire for the second time at the end of the season; his second comeback was, without a doubt, a failure. But now, James had arrived!

ESPN had high hopes for James.

The sports media and the sports leagues went hand in hand. For them, the birth of a new superstar was a new engine for public interest and growth.

And yet, during all this, the camera would occasionally pan over to the side, where Su Xi was training diligently.

LeBron would even mention him. "Jack needs to train more to adapt to the NBA. I’ve been helping him."

James loved to display his sense of control.

...

That evening, to thank Su Xi for his stellar performance during the media interview, James invited him over to his house. There, Su Xi once again saw Eric Goodwin, James’s mother, his mother’s boyfriend, and several of James’s high school friends.

They formed an entire entourage with James at its center.

James was a pretty loyal guy. In the future, with the exception of Eric Goodwin, whom he would fire, and his mother’s boyfriend, who would go to jail, everyone else would remain by his side and live very comfortably.

He was now trying to recruit Su Xi into his inner circle.

He announced to his high school buddies, "From now on, Jack is one of our Six Musketeers."

They were originally the Five Musketeers.

Su Xi quickly waved his hands in refusal. "No, no, no. I don’t have the talent to be a musketeer."

James roared with laughter.

As Su Xi was about to head home, James wrapped an arm around his neck. "Jack, I don’t see you as just another one of my friends. I want you to be the Pippen to my Jordan, my partner. We’ll build an NBA dynasty together. Are you with me?"

James had a very kingly air about him.

For someone his age, he really did have a powerful presence. An ordinary player, treated with such importance by James—who the media was already hailing as the future king of the league—might have just bent the knee and sworn fealty, crying out: *’I have wandered my whole life without finding a worthy lord! If you will have me, I will pledge my life to you!’*

But this was Su Xi.

He had the Little Elf.

He considered himself the God of Basketball.

Besides, he was the NCAA’s MOP, the man who had recorded a legendary quadruple-double.

’A high school kid wants to recruit *me*?’

"It’s hard to say what fate has in store, LeBron," Su Xi said earnestly. "We might end up as rivals. The league has twenty-nine teams, and each one will make its own choices. Those choices weave together into the torrent of destiny, and we’re just like duckweed, tossed about in the current." He added, "Besides, I’m a guard, not a point forward."

He hoped James would get the message.

But James just puffed out his chest, full of bravado. "Jack, there are twenty-nine teams, but I only need to convince one of them. You just wait."

Su Xi just smiled.

He chalked it up to a high schooler’s delusions of grandeur.

...

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