The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 98 - 92: Did LeBron Substitute for Su Wan?_2

Chapter 98: Chapter 92: Did LeBron Substitute for Su Wan?_2

The Rookie of the Year award eluded him during his rookie season, which likely dealt a blow to the "Chosen One". In his second professional season, his stats didn’t experience the explosive growth like LeBron or Wade did—there was even a declining trend.

Before the All-Star weekend, he averaged a mere 20.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, all stats showing a decrease. Compounded by his continual off-court troubles, he wasn’t even able to secure a spot on the Western All-Star bench this year, although he was slated to be the host.

The enraged Denver media suggested that the Nuggets administration trade him.

Then came his chance for redemption.

He impressed the local Denver crowd with his skilled one-on-one play.

It had a pretty good effect, as the cheers for him gradually grew louder.

In the end, he scored a game-high 29 points for the Sophomore team, and they defeated the Rookie team 125-108.

Under the flashing lights, Carmelo Anthony held aloft the Rookie Challenge MVP trophy, marking the brightest moment of his career so far. Don’t underestimate the Rookie Challenge MVP—Kobe broke through in his rookie season by shining in the Rookie Challenge, which earned him more playing time.

Su Wan stood off the court, watching Anthony hold the Rookie Challenge MVP trophy and delivering his acceptance speech, without much regret in his eyes.

He scored the game-high 36 points for both teams and added 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks, racking up a total of 38,000 zone points. Both the stats and zone points were maxed out.

After the game, Su Wan was interviewed, and Erin was among the interviewers. Seeing her, Su Wan smiled; this woman always asked him the kinds of questions he liked to hear.

"Su, I noticed that you repeatedly provoked LeBron during the game, wanting to ’bullfight’ with him. This wasn’t the first time it’s happened; it’s also occurred in the regular season. So I’d like to know, why are you so insistent on ’bullfighting’ with LeBron?"

You see...

That’s Erin for you!

That’s the kind of question I like to hear—more, please!

In this Rookie Challenge, Su Wan metaphorically "ate the grass" of the opposing Sophomores, naturally including LeBron. Everyone else agreed to it, except LeBron James, who still didn’t have the courage to stand in front of Su Wan.

"When I was a Cavaliers player, I was always looking for a chance to ’bullfight’ with LeBron. I wanted to see what his real level was, but my head coach always stopped me, even during practice games; he wouldn’t put LeBron and me on different teams. I don’t know what he was worried about. I’m a bit stubborn; when I’m determined to do something, I will certainly do it. I am also curious about when LeBron will dare to stand in front of me; time will give me an answer."

This topic continued until the end of the second day of the All-Star weekend, because the "Three Major Challenge Competitions", especially the Dunk Contest, were absolute garbage compared to the year 2000—it was horrendous.

When reporters asked Su Wan if he intended to participate in next year’s Dunk Contest, Su Wan responded, "You should be asking LeBron to participate instead. He won the McDonald’s Dunk Contest championship, albeit in high school, but he should also experience the adult world."

LeBron was on the verge of insanity.

Will this Huaxia rookie die if he doesn’t mention me?

What made it even worse for him was that after Su Wan signed with Nike, the media resources he could use against Su Wan drastically decreased, resulting in Su Wan’s comments floating around the media all day—the dumbest part was his agent, who actually said to LeBron, "Next time he provokes you, just face him directly!"

Face him my ass!

If I had absolute confidence, would I need you to tell me this?

It’s still up to him.

On the third day of the All-Star weekend, the main event arrived, and the media presence was even more overwhelming than the previous two days. LeBron could no longer hide and had to stand in front of the cameras with a rigid smile. The first question from a reporter was exactly what he didn’t want to answer:

"LeBron, Su is looking forward to facing you 1v1 on the court, but you always seem to deliberately avoid him. Can you share your thoughts on this?"

"Actually, I keep hearing this kind of talk, and it’s not uncommon. Everyone promotes this so-called opinion—a belief that you have a special move, or that the other person has no technique. Everyone thinks, if you have a favorable matchup, it means it’s time for one-on-one. You can even hear rookies who are just starting to learn basketball saying, ’Let’s go one-on-one. Do you want to go one-on-one?’ What the hell kind of question is that? This isn’t a game of Jordan versus Bird; basketball is played five on five."

"Right, if you get the chance to face a favorable matchup, you can beat your man. But you need to realize most strong teams will play help defense. Can you make the right reads? Can you correctly read the court situation? Can you inject confidence into your teammates? And when you score twice against that advantageous matchup, do you realize the double team is coming? You still have to see clearly whether the help is coming from the baseline or the top, and you must be prepared for it."

"I had a player who really said to me on the court, ’Why double team me? Stop doubling me, let me go one-on-one.’ You’ve already got 40 points, no, we will double team you, not just because you’re great, but also because I know your teammates haven’t been in rhythm all game. We’ll see if they can make their shots, and if they do, then hats off to you."

LeBron went on and on, and then concluded with a statement, "I’m not that kind of player, I’m a team player. I can do a lot of things on the court, I’m level-headed, so I won’t fall for the opponent’s words and get trapped."

Realizing perhaps he’d said too much, LeBron added, "Do you understand what I’m trying to say?"

The reporter nodded blankly, "So you mean you don’t want to have a one-on-one with Su because you think there are more important things in the game than that?"

"Exactly, that’s it!" LeBron nodded with delight.

The reporter was speechless.

So why didn’t you just say "unwilling" directly?

Spouting such a spiel.

This is the difference with not having gone to college, the expression is really redundant.

The reporters were much gentler with their questions for Su Wan. They asked about his first All-Star Weekend experience, to which Su Wan said, "Not bad, apart from being a bit tired, everything else is OK. It’s a quite novel experience, and thinking we’re doing all this for the fans makes it less tiring."

But he soon realized he’d spoken too soon.

The disgusting part was about to come.

The head coach of the All-Star main game is generally the coach of the team that ranked first in the Eastern and Western Conference before the All-Star Weekend, unless the coach who served in the previous season is not allowed to serve consecutive terms.

This season, there was no such situation, as those who were first in the Western and Eastern Conference before last season’s All-Star Weekend had fallen off their thrones.

This year’s current leader of the West was the Phoenix Suns, and D’Antoni, for the first time in his career, became the head coach of the Western Conference All-Star Team. He stood on the sideline, dressed sharply in a suit and a special pair of Italian calf leather shoes he had prepared for today.

The leader in the East was the Pistons, and Larry Brown, who had a grudge against Su Wan, was the coach of the Eastern All-Star Team.

Furthermore, as a coach known for his hostility towards rookies, the Eastern Conference’s first substitution happened early. At 6 minutes and 34 seconds into the first quarter, Larry Brown called for a substitution, and the player he wanted to replace was none other than Su Wan.

The person to replace him was LeBron James.

Larry Brown knew there was bad blood between these two and wanted to disgust Su Wan.

If LeBron James knew his thoughts, he’d probably seriously ask,

"Are you trying to disgust Su Wan, or disgust me?"

Su Wan walked off the court toward the bench, while LeBron James stood in the player waiting area, ready to come on as a substitute.

The cameras focused on the two of them at this moment, and countless journalists captured this scene, which years later became the definitive proof of LeBron James subbing in for Su Wan.

Hmm...

So a substitute in the All-Star game isn’t a substitute?

"Enjoy your first All-Star substitution experience, High School Kid!" Su Wan said with a laugh as he greeted LeBron, emphasizing the words "substitute" and "high school kid".

LeBron’s face: -#╯^╰〉.

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