Chapter 117: The Favor of the Miracle Child

Since Fan Xi became famous, Charles Barkley is the person who has been "hurt" the most. In the past, people would affectionately call him "Flying Pig" when they saw him, but now, many people will tease him as the "Guardian of the Donkey."

Although some are for the sake of the show, who wants to be associated with a donkey's butt all the time?

Barkley was once a superstar who dominated the scene.

When Chris Paul entered the court to warm up, Barkley and Kenny Smith went to interview Paul again.

Barkley said deliberately: "Chris, I've placed a heavy bet on you. If you lose to Jack tonight, I'll be in trouble again."

Then, he told Paul the content of his bet with Kenny Smith.

Paul told him decisively: "You definitely won't lose this time. I will definitely let Kenny have a passionate contact with the donkey."

Chris Paul was full of confidence; for him, this was just a side matter.

If he couldn't even solve a rookie, what qualification did he have to wear the title of number one point guard on his head?

This time, Paul came to stomp out the flames of the so-called Miracle Child.

How could he let Kenny Smith win Barkley's bet? If Kenny Smith won, Jack Fan got Barkley's media vote, and Barkley fought for another 20 first-place votes for Fan Xi, then Fan Xi becoming Rookie of the Year would be a sure thing.

Wouldn't that brew an even bigger miracle instead?

Paul absolutely could not accept it.

Phil Jackson announced in the locker room that Kobe would not play tonight.

This news did not cause an uproar among the players, because it was too normal.

In the past week, the news about the Kobe couple had already caused a storm. Vanessa suspected Kobe was unfaithful to her again and had already filed for divorce with the court; they are now in the stage of dividing property.

There was even a ridiculous news report: "The only suspense now is whether the Ferrari gifted to Jack has completed the transfer. If the transfer hasn't been completed, is Vanessa qualified to claim back half of it?"

Phil Jackson subsequently announced the tactical approach for tonight. He promoted Fan Xi to the perimeter core again, announced that Fan Xi would be the main focus tonight, and clearly pointed out that Fan Xi has the Unlimited Shooting Right.

This point also did not cause an uproar among the players.

Fan Xi had long become the "successor" within the Lakers; when Kobe is not around, he has the right to act as an agent for all of Kobe's privileges.

Andrew Bynum sat in the corner of the locker room, wearing a suit, witnessing the players' acceptance of Fan Xi and Phil Jackson's favoritism toward Fan Xi.

His heart was full of jealousy and anger. After he returned to the team, he quickly felt Fan Xi's rising status.

This posed a real threat to him.

He hated everything that was happening and couldn't wait to return to the court; he wanted to take back what originally belonged to him.

But now, he couldn't do anything yet.

He could only stare at his shoes with resentful eyes, not letting them be discovered by others.

He felt like a vicious, stinking bug hiding in the sewer.

That originally unknown undrafted player had replaced his original position, shining brightly.

Andrew Bynum's mentality was unbalanced, and his psychology was somewhat perverted.

When Fan Xi walked out of the locker room, the CCTV camera followed him, and Fan Xi greeted the lens. About three days later, it would be broadcast on the country's largest media: "Hello everyone, I'm about to go on court to play."

Fan Xi had a bright smile on his face.

He ran to the corner of the player tunnel.

The arena DJ began to introduce the players appearing tonight one by one, starting from the backup players ranked lowest.

The Lakers' entrance is full of ritual.

There were fewer and fewer players in the tunnel, and soon only the last 5 remained; these were the starters tonight.

Matt Barnes was the first to be called by name.

In a long introduction, he ran onto the court.

Then it was Mike Dunleavy.

Lamar Odom.

Then... it was Pau Gasol.

When Pau Gasol was called by name, Fan Xi was very surprised.

He originally thought he would be the second to last, or the third to last.

Because this appearance order is based on team status.

Last time at the Lakers' home court, Fan Xi was the second player to appear among the starters, only appearing after Dunleavy; Odom, Gasol, and Kobe were behind him.

Today, Fan Xi stood in the last appearance position for the first time in his career.

"... Next, let's welcome the Miracle Child of Los Angeles, the youngest 20+ assist record holder in NBA history, the first rookie All-Star MVP in Lakers history, the super point guard from Davidson College... Jack... Fan!!!!!"

When Fan Xi rushed out of the player tunnel, deafening cheers from all directions erupted.

Energy seemed to surge up from under the floor.

The clamor of more than 20,000 people at the Staples Center made Fan Xi feel the passion rushing toward him.

Fan Xi's emotions surged crazily.

At one point, there was even a sign of brain waves fluctuating directly.

The explosive sound waves verified how favored Fan Xi is in the City of Angels: never has a rookie, even Magic Johnson back then, been so deeply loved.

Fan Xi is like a huge black hole; from the moment he was born, he crazily absorbed the love of Lakers fans.

As Fan Xi established phenomenal miracles, the fans' favor for him increased rather than decreased.

Last month, the Fan Xi jerseys sold in Lakers stores even surpassed Kobe Bryant's.

This shows how astonishing Fan Xi's popularity is.

The CCTV camera followed behind, and they were completely stunned.

They have also seen big scenes, but they really, really didn't expect Fan Xi to be so popular; Fan Xi is simply a rock star.

When Fan Xi raised his hands high in the center of the court, the cheers of the whole arena turned into a chorus of shouts: Fan! Fan! Fan! Fan! Fan!

A real man should be like this.

The cameramen exclaimed crazily.

At the same time, Chris Paul on the opposite side frowned as he looked at this rookie with super high popularity.

An absurd feeling even emerged in his heart: This guy must have stolen my luck. If he hadn't replaced my All-Star starter spot, if he hadn't won the All-Star MVP, how could he have such popularity today?

His gaze looked at Fan Xi on the opposite side with hostility.

And Fan Xi also happened to lock onto Chris Paul firmly and tenaciously; the four eyes met, and the smell of gunpowder was strong.

What Fan Xi was thinking in his heart was: Tonight is the most shining moment of my career; even if God comes, don't think about sharing my glory.

"Jack!! Come on!!"

At this moment, Fan Xi heard a familiar scream from his ear.

Fan Xi saw Taylor Swift stand up and wave at him; she was wearing a pink baseball jacket, which was particularly eye-catching.

"Hey, Jack! Look here, look here!"

Kendall Jenner was not to be outdone and stood up; she waved at Fan Xi. She was sitting less than 6 meters away from Taylor Swift; in fact, they were sitting on both sides of the technical table, looking at each other from afar.

Kendall was wearing a bright yellow baseball jacket tonight, which was also very eye-catching.

It was like two flames of different colors shining at Fan Xi from both sides.

Soon, they attracted the attention of all the fans in the arena.

The Staples Center was very happy... the fans really wanted to see the gossip news about their Miracle Child and the Hollywood teenage stars.

The CCTV camera also captured this scene; they didn't know the identities of these two beautiful girls, they just simply felt... Fan Xi's charm was astonishing.

They believed that once such a documentary was broadcast in the country, it would definitely lead to an explosion of ratings and reputation.

"Hmph, enjoy it well, after the game, these won't belong to you anymore."

Chris Paul snorted on the opposite side.

The game started soon.

The starting lineup the Hornets sent out tonight was Chris Paul, Belinelli, Trevor Ariza, David West, and Emeka Okafor.

The Hornets have been regulars in the playoffs for the past few seasons. Under Paul's leadership, although they haven't touched the floor of the Western Conference Finals, they can be considered a powerhouse in the West.

This season, there have been some upheavals within the Hornets; their owner is determined to sell the team. There have also been some adjustments to the internal players. The most important shooter by Paul's side, Peja Stojakovic, was traded away. Although Trevor Ariza was added, the cooperation between Ariza and Paul has not yet been polished.

Therefore, although the Hornets are still in the playoff camp, their overall strength has declined.

However, with the Lakers missing Kobe and Bynum, the media generally still believes that the Hornets have a greater chance.

Beep!

The whistle blew.

Gasol and Okafor jumped for the ball.

Okafor was the second overall pick in 2004, a founding hero of the Bobcats, and once snatched the Rookie of the Year from Howard's hands. However, he has never been an All-Star player; he has been able to contribute a stable double-double per game since his rookie season, very stable.

He can be considered a typical elite player.

If he were 210cm tall, perhaps it would be different.

But... Pop!

The tall and long-armed Gasol easily tapped the ball into Fan Xi's hands.

When Fan Xi got the ball, Chris Paul quickly pressed up.

Charles Barkley of the TV station immediately became excited and shouted: "Look, the NBA's number one point guard has started to teach Jack Fan how to play basketball."

Paul's defense is very strong.

He came up and gave Fan Xi extreme pressure, trying to give Fan Xi a show of force with his strong body and sharp steals.

However, Fan Xi's ball-handling was very steady.

He himself is a top streetball player, and coupled with the breakthrough skills and low center of gravity of Isiah Thomas, who is famous in history.

When Chris Paul applied pressure at the half-court line, Fan Xi suddenly changed direction and passed him directly in a posture of flying close to the ground.

Fan Xi then quickly rushed to the top of the arc at the three-point line. He didn't hesitate at all and shot straight away.

Decisive as hell.

Chris Paul chased after him, caught off guard.

He watched the ball draw a perfect arc in the air... Swish!

It fell into the net.

The Staples Center was excited.

Cheers erupted.

"Jack Fan gave Chris Paul a shocking education right from the start."

Kenny Smith said "cheekily."

This choked Charles Barkley, who was still talking tough a second ago, enough.

He was very sad, why did such a thing happen. "This is just an accident, Jack Fan's gambling-style shooting won't last long at all."

He buffered for himself, and also buffered for Chris Paul.

At this time, Chris Paul held the ball and arrived at the front court.

However, Phil Jackson made an instruction at this time, asking perimeter defensive expert Matt Barnes to go up and defend.

He didn't want Fan Xi's physical energy to be consumed on the defensive end.

Fan Xi completed a defensive switch with him and came to Belinelli's side.

Matt Barnes quickly locked onto Paul; his defense was full of resilience, and Chris Paul spent a lot of effort to break free from the sticky defense.

After he went deep into the paint, he passed the ball to David West. West faced Lamar Odom's defense, and shot from mid-range... Odom rushed up crazily.

This is one of the few scenes.

Odom hasn't played so actively for a long time.

Who let his wife, sister-in-law, and little sister-in-law come to the sidelines to watch the game tonight.

Of course, he wants to perform hard.

Bang!

David West's shot hit the iron.

Fan Xi rushed into the paint, flew high, and plucked the ball down.

Subsequently, he held the ball and launched a fast break.

Chris Paul hurriedly let go of Matt Barnes and went to block Fan Xi.

Who knew, Fan Xi dribbled and rushed two steps, before even crossing the half-court line, he made a long pass, handing the ball to the front court. Matt Barnes caught the ball, took three steps, and easily made a layup.

The Staples Center boiled again because of Fan Xi.

"This long pass orchestration is very spiritual; I seem to see the shadow of Jason Kidd."

Kenny Smith said to Charles Barkley: "If you don't count rebounds, Fan Xi's value has already reached 4."

Barkley was hit by a critical strike at the start.

He was too uncomfortable.

The audience in front of the TV was excited, they loved watching this kind of "program effect."

Barkley gritted his teeth and said: "4 is 4, I don't believe the League's number one point guard can't suppress Jack Fan. It makes no sense, no matter how miraculous Jack Fan is, it's impossible to be miraculous over Chris Paul."

Barkley's words did have an effect.

After Chris Paul dribbled past the half-court line, he quickly found David West for a pick-and-roll, killed into the free-throw line, and used a riding-and-shooting floater to hit the ball.

Very easy.

Turning back, he pressed Fan Xi full-court.

He is a better defender than Mike Conley.

When he didn't obsess over stealing from Fan Xi, but pressed Fan Xi's rhythm, Fan Xi's movement became a bit difficult.

Lamar Odom moved to a meter outside the three-point line to screen for Fan Xi, and Fan Xi broke free from Paul.

Then he passed the ball to Pau Gasol. Gasol used perfect footwork in the paint to kill Okafor.

But this goal didn't bring any value to Fan Xi.

This is Gasol's personal ability.

Chris Paul subsequently completed a pick-and-roll with David West, and he assisted David West in hitting a shot.

Fan Xi passed the ball to Pau Gasol, letting Pau Gasol play Okafor one-on-one.

Although Pau Gasol's efficiency is very high.

However, Chris Paul's value climbed steadily, while Fan Xi's value stagnated.

This made Charles Barkley very happy.

He even took out his phone and indicated that he was going to order a fine donkey for Kenny Smith in Nevada.

... ===== CHAPTER 118 =====