Chapter 323: Chapter 89: The Uncontested Finals MVP
BEEP!
The buzzer sounded.
2.4 seconds left on the clock.
Players from both teams took the court, and Su Xi stuck close to Kobe.
Kobe used a screen from Luke Walton to catch the ball. He then quickly drove forward two steps and heaved the ball toward the hoop... Su Xi didn’t even jump to contest the shot.
He simply focused on disrupting Kobe’s rhythm.
The ball left Kobe’s hands with speed and force. It was clear he was trying to end the battle in 2.4 seconds, hoping to draw a foul for the Lakers in the process.
But... CLANG!
The ball hit the front of the rim and bounced high into the air.
The backboard lit up red. The game was over.
SWISH!
The ball fell back through the net.
The basket counted.
But it had no effect on the outcome of the game.
With that three-pointer, Kobe surpassed Jordan, setting a new NBA record for the most points scored in a single Finals game.
For the first time in the entire series, Kobe’s performance outshone that of Shaquille O’Neal.
But they had lost the game.
After a collective gasp, the Staples Center fell silent for a long time.
Kobe walked past Su Xi in silence, head bowed, his eyes dull and lifeless. Meanwhile, Su Xi was mobbed by his teammates. They lifted him onto their shoulders, parading him around the court.
A new king is crowned!
Everyone was witnessing the birth of a new legend.
Su Xi had ended the Lakers Dynasty with his lethal three-pointer. He had shattered the dominance of the last and most powerful member of the Four Great Centers.
He took up the mantle of Michael Jordan, once again leading an Eastern Conference team to the championship. The last time an Eastern team had won was... the Chicago Bulls.
He carried on the passing legacy of Magic Johnson, becoming only the second rookie in history to lead his team to the Finals and be crowned Finals MVP.
What’s more, his achievement was even greater than Magic’s. The 1980 Lakers were Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s team; Magic just took over temporarily. But the 2004 Pacers were completely and utterly under Su Xi’s leadership.
No one would say this was Little O’Neal’s team. No one would say this was Artest’s team. And no one would dare claim it was led by Reggie Miller.
Even if those three stood before Su Xi, they would have to respectfully acknowledge him as the team’s core.
Su Xi was lifted up, a well-deserved honor.
"A legend is born."
Yao Ming said excitedly from the CCTV broadcast booth, "I can say this with certainty: Su Xi’s rookie season is the greatest in history. None of the great legends we know—Jordan, Magic, Bird, Chamberlain—had a rookie season as dominant as Su Xi’s."
"You have to remember, back in July of last year, when the United States was discussing the rookies, all the talk was about James and Antonio. When they talked about Su Xi, they thought he was drafted a little too high."
Yao Ming felt a great sense of shared pride.
The Chinese fans watching on TV were beyond ecstatic. This was the most glorious moment in the history of Chinese basketball.
Su Xi had won a championship in basketball’s highest temple, and he was a lock for Finals MVP.
This would surely be a major event recorded in the annals of Chinese sports history.
And in the United States, this was an equally earth-shattering event.
The records Su Xi set were truly staggering.
"Now, can someone tell me... who exactly had the other half of their Rookie of the Year trophy stolen?"
Barkley was demanding justice for Su Xi on television.
When the co-Rookie of the Year award was announced, he had spoken up for justice, but he was met with a lot of ridicule at the time.
Now, he finally had his chance for revenge.
He didn’t care what fate might befall the Nth plasma TV in James’s house.
"Jack is about to be crowned Finals MVP. And the other ’Rookie of the Year’? Where is he?"
"If LeBron James is the Chosen One, then Su Xi is the Man of Destiny. If James is the Crown Prince of basketball waiting to inherit the throne, then Su Xi is the conquering general who fought his way from the frontier with a blade in hand."
"I know a lot of people will say LeBron James has more talent, more potential. But... where’s his Finals MVP?"
Barkley was on a roll with his fiery tirade.
He had surely become a five-star villain on James’s little blacklist.
While Barkley was running his mouth, the event staff set up the presentation stage.
The Pacers players changed into their pre-made championship T-shirts and hats. Larry Bird walked over, his face so swollen from crying he looked like a puffy-cheeked child.
Tears streamed down his wrinkled face, unable to be contained.
Before David Stern walked to center court to present the awards, Su Xi went to Larry Bird’s side. "Stop crying, Larry. If you keep this up, the eyebags you just had removed will come back."
Bird sniffled, clearly emotional. He wrapped his arm around Su Xi. "You have no idea how happy I am."
Su Xi was happy too, but he remained calm. ’My pact with Bird isn’t complete yet,’ he thought.
"So now, your life’s biggest regret has been taken care of, right?" Su Xi said to Bird.
Bird nodded. "Yes, I’ve finally helped Indiana win a championship. Thank you, Jack. My basketball career has no more regrets..."
As he said this, Bird suddenly felt a numbness wash over his body, like the time he stuck a fork into a power outlet as a child.
At that same moment, Su Xi received the talent he had been dreaming of: Super Spatial Sense Talent.
This was Larry Bird’s famous trademark, the skill he was known for throughout the league.
The legendary King Bi owed at least seventy percent of his swagger to this ’spatial sense’.
Su Xi sampled it for a moment and found it to be indescribably wonderful. It was a playstyle that constantly tested the limits, dancing on the ’edge of life and death’.
Su Xi felt like a door to a new world had opened. ’So this is another way to play the game.’
Just then, Artest and Pollard were fooling around. Pollard gave the burly Artest a push, and his massive body came tumbling in their direction. Mike Brown and Reggie Miller, who were standing next to Su Xi and Bird, dodged out of the way with exaggerated movements.
But Su Xi just turned slightly to the side and took a small step back.
King Bi casually glanced over and simply leaned back slightly.
THUD!
Artest fell right on his butt, the momentum sending him sliding backward a full meter.
He winced in pain.
"Jack, you’ve got the composure of a general," Larry Bird couldn’t help but praise. He admired Su Xi’s unflappable demeanor—the type to not bat an eye even if a mountain collapsed before him. It reminded him of himself.
"Learning from the best," Su Xi replied with a slight smile.
"Good." Larry Bird gave him a thumbs-up. ’The gate of swagger has a worthy successor,’ he thought.
"You guys gonna help me up or what?" Artest couldn’t help but ask.
Only then did Su Xi remember, and he hurried over to pull Artest to his feet.
Just then, David Stern walked onto the stage.
He first announced the Indiana Pacers as the 2003-2004 world basketball champions and presented the massive O’Brien Cup to Carlisle.
Carlisle immediately tried to hand it to Su Xi, but Su Xi deferred, passing it to Reggie Miller instead.
Miller had put in a lifetime of service for the Pacers, and now he was bawling his eyes out, his face a mess.
Charles Barkley commented sourly on TV, "Miller is so lucky. At the end of his career, he runs into a heaven-sent talent like Jack and gets to coast to a championship. Sigh. Even if he died now, he’d probably have no regrets."
Most of the stars from their generation scrambled desperately at the end of their careers, trying everything to win a single championship ring. Robinson got lucky, ran into Duncan, and made his dream come true. Miller got lucky, ran into Su Xi, and also made his dream come true.
The rest of them were left with a much sadder fate.
Players like Payton and Ma Long, who chose to latch onto a superteam this year, ended up with nothing to show for it. This was especially true for Ma Long, for whom this year’s Finals left nothing but a stain on his legacy.
Miller raised the championship trophy high, unable to stop himself from letting out a couple of guttural roars as he sobbed.
Even David Stern was startled by his pig-butcher’s wail, but he was the commissioner, after all. He quickly composed himself and prepared to announce the winner of the Finals MVP award.
Around four or five thousand people had remained in the Staples Center to watch the award ceremony.
As Stern paused deliberately for dramatic effect, chants of "Su! Su! Su!" echoed through the arena.
The answer was never in doubt.
"...The winner of the 2004 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award is... Su Xi!"
...
