Chapter 388: The Basketball Emperor from the East

When Kuaisuan becomes a champion team, the treatment the team receives is entirely different.

Although the NBA is hard to call a league where only the winners take all.

However, the next day every media outlet reported Kuaisuan's historic championship, and the news of Fan Xi leading a ragtag squad to defeat the Miami Heat Big Three was placed on the front page of the sports section and given a legendary hue. Especially the last‑second set‑shot, which on the internet was called a divine stroke.

The remarks of Fan Xi's teammates also received extensive coverage.

People issued strong admonitions about these veteran players finally realizing their championship dream, and even began a rally: why don't the still‑uncrowned veteran stars hurry to call Ku Pu Qie Ke? This could form a fast‑track championship squad.

With Grant Hill and Yao Ming announcing their retirements this summer, the vacant spots sparked huge discussion, and many fans volunteered to recommend veteran players to Kuaisuan.

It seems this has become a hot position, and some even suggested that championship‑seeking veteran stars join the roster with salary.

At this moment, some retroactively said: I've long favored Kuaisuan; it's no surprise they can win a championship. They resemble a true team more than Miami, their roster composition is more sensible, their salary cap is more reasonable, and their players value winning a title even more.

Those speakers are not lacking in people who, before the season started, criticized Kuaisuan as old, weak, and infirm.

Now the consensus is that Kuaisuan's troops are strong and robust, with a well‑balanced mix of old, middle, and young generations.

Moreover, Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard are highly praised, with people calling them last year's top rookies. In fact, the previous season's Rookie of the Year went to Kyrie Irving.

At this point, Fan Xi's draft eye also received lavish praise, and many began to focus on Kuaisuan's operations at this year's draft.

But in reality, Fan Xi never paid any attention to it.

He felt speechless at the pretentious discussions on TV.

Of course, the media's most heated debate was still: is this truly the Fan Xi era?

As everyone knows, after the Jordan era came a dazzling constellation of stars, with no single superstar able to lend his name to an era. One could say that after Jordan retired, the historic giants Duncan and O'Neal took turns holding the throne.

Yet they did not eclipse other players' brilliance; at that time, the four great power forwards, the four great guards, and the later '03 generation all shone brightly.

Before that, people generally believed the NBA would usher in the Le Bu Lang Zhang Si era.

Even after Fan Xi helped the Heat secure a three‑peat dynasty, most people still steadfastly awaited the ascension of the Heaven's Chosen Son.

But now, Fan Xi once again directly shattered Le Bu Lang Zhang Si's Three Giants, and did so while the Heat held a clear advantage.

It is hard for people not to discuss who will dominate the next NBA era.

In the media, roughly sixty percent think the upcoming era will be the Fan Xi era—likely thanks to Fan Xi's just‑won championship. Online polls show over seventy percent believe Fan Xi will dominate the basketball world, probably also because he just clinched the title.

The remaining crowd, for the most part, still firmly believes in James.

As James told Fan Xi during the game, he's better than Fan Xi at everything; he shouldn't lose.

James and Wade flew to Las Vegas that night after the Finals ended, ready to seamlessly join the Dream Team's training camp.

They are the strong ones, and they use such actions to prove they won't be crushed by a single crushing defeat.

In fact, after the game, James and Wade held a debrief in the locker room, urging teammates not to lose courage; they still firmly believed they could bounce back.

The Heat's morale remains intact.

They truly think they're only one possession away from the championship—if Fan Xi fails to hit consecutive threes, or if Wade opts for free throws instead of risking it. Once the Heat brings the game back to Miami, the winning team will surely be the Heat.

Fate and destiny.

Spoelstra, at the post‑game press conference, also refused to admit the loss was due to lack of skill; he merely apologized to Heat fans, claiming his own insufficient effort and a coaching mistake.

He took responsibility for all the errors.

Fan Xi sat in front of the TV, watching Spoelstra's press conference to the end.

Sai Linna lay in their arms; last night they had lured Fan Xi to the room under the pretense of recording a song. Then, disregarding that he had just finished a final, they subjected him to inhumane oppression—of course, the one who finally surrendered was Sai Linna. Fan Xi has always been like this: he doesn't fire the first shot, but once he starts, he must fight to total victory.

Sai Linna's current mobility is somewhat limited; she even told Fan Xi that today's recording can't happen because her voice is hoarse.

Fan Xi suggested she continue pursuing acting, because her singing talent can't match Taylor's. No matter how Taylor shouts at night, she records songs the next day just the same.

This suggestion left Sai Linna a bit resentful; the stubborn one was ready to get back on the horse again.

Considering her health, Fan Xi declined this exhibition match.

At noon, Fan Xi received a call from Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan was ecstatic; he told Fan Xi that because of this championship, Fan Xi's personal brand value is soaring. He has already partnered with major brands to actively market the title 'Basketball Emperor' for Fan Xi.

Lu Yuan hopes to portray Fan Xi as a basketball monarch from the East, whose influence rose from humble beginnings, spread among the lords, and ultimately ruled the world of basketball.

Fan Xi said, "Isn't that a bit exaggerated?"

"No, you're the one being too low‑key. Historically, no undrafted player has won Finals MVP in two consecutive seasons, and on two different teams. Imagine if Le Bu Lang Zhang Si had achieved that in 2005—would he have been hailed as the greatest in basketball?"

Lu Yuan's words made Fan Xi fall into deep thought.

He found himself without a rebuttal.

But as an Eastern person, the inherent modesty in his blood still led him to say, "Let's stay low‑key for now."

"No! I can't stay low‑key."

Lu Yuan was resolute, saying, "You just can't hype yourself enough. Put the banner out first, regardless of whether it succeeds later. You're already famous; how can you not raise a flag?"

"Moreover, that's business logic. In business, people won't easily remember you're a two‑time Finals MVP, but if you're called the Basketball Emperor from the East who rules the NBA, it's instantly clear!"

Lu Yuan, having received a full Western education, believes this can be acted on immediately.

Fan Xi could only say, "Alright."

Then Lu Yuan introduced Fan Xi to a new business venture and sent the detailed contents to Fan Xi's email. He is always meticulous, writing each cooperation report very clearly.

Fan Xi feels very reassured about him.

Fan Xi's wealth has grown extremely fast under his handling; of course, Lu Yuan also earned a hefty commission. Moreover, because of Fan Xi, he has become a highly reputable super‑agent in the industry.

Many NBA players and draft prospects hope to work with him.

Fan Xi does not object to that.

It's just that Lu Yuan still has many considerations and for now serves only Fan Xi.

From Lu Yuan's emails, Fan Xi's schedule is extremely busy. He must shoot 19 commercials, all filmed in the United States; when Fan Xi returns to Asia at the end of July, he will still have a series of commercial engagements. So far he has secured 11 ads, and with the Olympics approaching, that number will easily double. (Read the book.)

When Fan Xi becomes the face of Asian basketball, the greatest figure in Asian basketball history, he will become a cultural symbol and reap unprecedented benefits in that field.

This is probably why Lu Yuan wants advertisers to jointly market the 'Basketball Emperor' label for Fan Xi.

Michael Jordan became English also through the combined effect of advertising marketing and on‑court performance.

Now, Lu Yuan wants to replicate Jordan's path.

However, what can be foreseen is that the risks and obstacles Fan Xi faces will surely far exceed those of Jordan.

Even Jordan, on his road to divinity, encountered countless challenges; many young stars tried to make a name off him, many established superstars tried to crush his aura… that was when he was a domestic player; Fan Xi is an outsider….

After finishing the call with Lu Yuan, Fan Xi went to the recording studio to record a duet with Selina; although Selina couldn't sing, Fan Xi still insisted on completing his own part.

He is very busy and almost never has any rest time.

Although the other teammates are still partying wildly and have their summer travel plans ready, Fan Xi… simply has no time to rest.

After finishing the song, Fan Xi squeezed in a visit to Yao Ming's residence.

He, Yao Ming, and the domestic Basketball Association officials discussed matters of this year's Olympics.

The men's basketball situation is not very optimistic; they even lost the Asian Games gold medal, and after Yao Ming's retirement, a talent gap became the consensus among domestic basketball media.

If Fan Xi had not suddenly emerged, the media's general forecast for this London Olympics was that the team would not advance from the group stage.

The Basketball Association leaders are two former retired players; they are professional and diligent. The domestic basketball atmosphere is considerably better than that of football.

What Fan Xi did not expect is that the association official opened with the question: "If we invite Mr. Mike Brown to be the association's head coach, do you think he would agree?"

That was unexpected.

Mike Brown previously served as an assistant coach for the Dream Team and is now the head coach of Kuaisuan.

The officials considered that, given his long collaboration with Fan Xi and Yao Ming, bringing him over would allow a seamless transition.

Fan Xi also thought it was a good idea, because the previous national team coach was the head coach of the Great Shark Team; that coach could hype things a bit, but at a truly high‑level stage it was ordinary, after all he was only at a high‑school coach level in the United States.

Fan Xi's reasoning was not that Mike Brown is Kuaisuan's head coach, but that he believes Brown can bring genuine defensive concepts to domestic players. Brown's defense is truly a solid system.

He and Sid Bodu both started as assistants; the two should be the league's best defensive coaches today.

Then they moved on to discuss player issues.

A group of domestic young players have already come to the United States, training at Fan Xi's fan‑x camp.

The Basketball Association this time places great weight on Fan Xi's opinion; they want to bring the entire national team to Los Angeles for training, then have Fan Xi use it as a reference to select the new batch of men's basketball members.

That is a huge vote of confidence.

Fan Xi fully endorses the team training in Los Angeles, because on one hand the camp can provide a better training environment and on the other help teammates adapt more quickly.

Compared with returning home to play friendlies against some African teams, the training effect is even better.

After discussing with the Basketball Association for about one hour, Fan Xi returned to his mansion in Beverly Hills.

He then received a call from Kobe, who congratulated Fan Xi on winning this year's championship. Kobe then said to Fan Xi: "You'd better hope you don't meet the Dream Team at this year's Olympics, otherwise we'll definitely kick your butt hard."

"We'll each bring our full strength against you; that's already a consensus among us."

Kobe's words made Fan Xi laugh heartily; he never fears a fight. He said: "Do you know what 'eating hot pot' means? It's putting you guys in a pot, cooking you, and eating you!"

Fan Xi is always this confident.

Even though he knows the national team can't beat the Dream Team, he never backs down—what if?

"Honestly, you played amazingly last night. I don't think there'll be a 'Fan Xi era,' but I do tip my hat to your clutch performance. Kevin, Derek, Russell can't wait to battle you; they think you're ushering in a new generation, not a Fan Xi era."

"But for now I disagree. You have to wait until I retire before you can lay a hand on the NBA's crown."

Kobe said on the phone with great vigor.

Then Fan Xi heard Durant, Westbrook, and Rosa chattering excitedly.

They support Fan Xi. But they support him because they see him as one of their own; once Fan Xi wins, they'll jump out to take him down.

"I'm going back to Los Angeles tomorrow for a get‑together."

Fan Xi agreed, saying he's free in the evening.

Hung up.

Yao Ming called again, saying: the national team arrives in Los Angeles tomorrow; let's meet tomorrow night.

"Hmm?"

Fan Xi had already agreed with Kobe, but thinking they're all basketball people, he said: "Sure, just come to my new house tomorrow."

Inviting one table of guests is still an invitation; inviting two tables is also an invitation.

That's what Fan Xi thought.

But at that moment he didn't know that this invitation actually sparked a wonderful chemical reaction, affecting this year's Olympics and the future basketball landscape.

Fan Xi then called Chen Ye, who is a clean‑cut in the party‑barbecue scene.

He is an industry insider.

…