Chapter 486: Could It Be an Enhanced Version of Me?

Los Angeles' basketball market has long held the NBA's second spot, behind only New York. The rise of the Kuaisuan has made the local fan market even more dazzling, and ticket prices have smashed historical records.

The summit tickets for Game Six were scalped up to $3,000, and demand still outstripped supply; many are willing to spend a month's salary to attend this basketball spectacle, using it as talk in their long, dull lives.

Even more are the upper class, who spend big money to sit in the front rows or VIP area, enjoying the best viewing angles and even interacting with the players of this classic showdown.

Fan Xi battles the Three Giants.

Fan Xi and James face off at the Purple Forbidden Summit.

A title like that, once released, would drive the entire basketball world crazy.

Kobe Bryant arrived at the arena, seated beside him were Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Jia Ba'er.

The arrival of these legendary players was to witness the birth of a new history.

After the Pivotal Game, Fan Xi's historical standing was elevated like never before; if he clinches this year's championship, he will be regarded as the era's number one.

Unlike James or Kobe, who became number one through long evolution or media hype, Fan Xi earned it on the court.

The previous self-made league's number one was Shaquille O'Neal; at his peak he was unstoppable, winning three straight titles and becoming the three‑peat MVP. Yet his peak was short; after those three titles plus the next two seasons, once he was traded from the Lakers to Miami, he was no longer the number one, even though he later helped Wei De win the championship after UI.

But Fan Xi is different; this is only his third season, and he is far from reaching his personal peak, still possessing Unlimited Shooting Right.

If in the first three seasons Jieke Fan sweeps the championships and grabs three consecutive Finals MVPs, then he would have an undisputed nomination… to challenge Michael Jordan's spot as the historic number one.

Just as Michael Jordan ended the era of the Magic–Bird rivalry.

That's probably why Jordan came to the sidelines.

TNT's camera sweeps over the group of superstars; they aren't in the front row but are seated among the crowd behind, in the same row as league execs like Ya Dang Xiao Hua.

Jordan, smiling broadly, chats with Magic Johnson about something; the two MJ's private relationship has always been good, even back in their playing days. At that time, Magic never disparaged Jordan during his early career; Jordan is a very grudging person.

He and Magic Johnson always maintain a good relationship, but with another super point guard at the time, Isaiah Thomas, they kept a cold, no‑contact stance.

Jordan's mood looks wonderful; he seems untroubled about his own historical standing.

Or perhaps Fan Xi's upcoming situation won't allow him to keep challenging Jordan's dominance. The circumstances that let Jordan build two dynasties with the Bulls are irreproducible; he had a stable roster, with Pippen signed early on for a low salary, and a warrior like Rodman.

Moreover, during his three‑peat later in his career, his $30 million salary wasn't even counted against the team's cap space. But Fan Xi now faces an immediate departure from his own team to a brand‑new lineup. If he returns to the Kuaisuan a year later, everything may have changed.

Jordan and Magic discuss this issue, and he says: "Johnson, your Lakers can finally breathe a sigh of relief. If Jie Ke wins the championship next season, he'll head east. Then your Lakers can smoothly claim the Western title, maybe even face off with the Miami Heat—you've always wanted that, right?"

Magic Johnson has now quit all his jobs with the Lakers, though he still holds Lakers stock. However, he's not in a good mood; Chris Paul and Dwight Howard are set on leaving the Lakers, waiting only for the season to end and the trade window to open.

Before them, D'Antoni had already resigned first.

He has recently been hot against Houston and may head to Space City. Moreover, further reports show Howard and Paul will also go there, forming a new Western powerhouse. After all, James Harden is much younger than Kobe Bryant.

Jordan's another reason for happiness is that he and Fan Xi have some tacit understanding; he has a good chance to acquire the Kuaisuan's Jimmy Butler, but Fan Xi wants him to promise Jimmy Butler absolute core treatment and Unlimited Shooting Right. And all Jordan is paying is a few draft picks.

Anyway, Jordan has plenty of draft picks, and the Mountain Cat's drafting ability has always been mediocre; being able to make such a trade makes him overjoyed.

Jimmy Butler is a ready-made superstar prospect, and Fan Xi has already developed him well.

In fact, Jordan also wants more cooperation with Fan Xi—ideally a long‑term partnership: Fan Xi drafts a good prospect, trains him for two years, then sells him to the Mountain Cat, which sends draft picks and some cash in return.

Isn't that a win‑win?

So that's why Jordan hasn't been giving statements to the media lately.

He's not a magnanimous type; even while playing, he struck down any player who dared to challenge him. After retiring, he rarely praises those dubbed Jordan's successors, the only possible exception being Kobe, who is indeed too much like him; because of that similarity, he cannot surpass Jordan.

Moreover, Carmelo Anthony has also earned his praise; Carmelo is one of his players.

From this angle, Jordan is now a businessman. His historical standing is a hollow title, and he believes Fan Xi will find it hard to surpass him. So why sacrifice tangible benefits over some baseless reputation?

"Le Bu Lang Zhang Si is such a pity; he could have become the league's number one. In fact, his skill already tops the league, and in games his two‑way performance, I think, surpasses Fan Xi," Larry Bird said from the other side of Magic.

He is the historic number‑one small forward, but James stealing his spot is now hardly in doubt.

Although Larry Bird's career was that of a show‑off king, his swagger unstoppable, after retirement he has been very supportive and encouraging to the younger generation.

Magic nodded and said, "Yeah. But this season they missed the championship; next season their odds of winning will rise. Fan Xi will be traded out of Los Angeles."

At that point, Magic Johnson turned his head to ask the new president, Ya Dang Xiao Hua.

Ya Dang Xiao Hua nodded and said, "If the Kuaisuan wins the championship, Jie Ke will go east. If the Heat win, all Western teams except the Kuaisuan will receive varying probabilities based on regular‑season rankings, and through a lottery obtain Jie Ke."

"These are the pre‑established rules."

Ya Dang Xiao Hua has just taken office, presenting himself as fully inheriting Stern's policy guidelines.

He doesn't intend to alter Stern's sound plan, though he does have his own "improvement plans"; maintaining the league's profit growth is a mandatory lesson for every president.

Ya Dang Xiao Hua's confirmation moved these historic superstars; Jia Ba'er said, "Jieke Fan created so much history; back then we never had such rule restrictions."

"But back then, no third‑year player ever amassed so much wealth—and women," Larry Bird turned and teased.

That remark silenced all the superstars.

In ancient times, most superstars had little money and relied on NBA subsidies each year. Larry Bird's wealth accumulation is decent. Kobe's salary is high, but his net worth isn't as high as Magic Johnson's or Michael Jordan's, though he remains a regular on the NBA wealth list.

Yet those earned theirs after playing most of their lives; Fan Xi, after just three seasons, is already rolling in money.

At this moment, the Kuaisuan players began to enter as the on‑site DJ energetically pumped up the post‑match atmosphere.

The crowd's cheers peaked, especially when Fan Xi entered, the roar like a mountain‑tide, as if countless fighter jets were roaring inside Staples Center.

Before Fan Xi's name, the DJ added a long string of prefixes: "Youngest Finals MVP in history, youngest MVP Grand Slam winner, basketball nightwatchman of Angel City, Hao lai wu's absolute darling, the current number‑one superstar, basketball emperor from the East… Jieke Fan!!!!!!"

Those prefixes are like a tickle that spikes fans' adrenaline; each one spoken raises the roar several octaves, as if it never ends.

This gave viewers at home a huge shock and made the Miami players feel intense pressure.

Tonight, the Kuaisuan's starting lineup is: Lu Biao, Fan Xi, Butler, Mili Xiqi, Little Jordan.

The Heat's starters are: Dehwayne Wade, Ray Allen, Le Bu Lang Zhang Si, Ke Li Si Bo Shen, Kenyon Martin.

The Heat have a new move, while the Kuaisuan are steady and balanced.

The whistle blows.

Little Jordan wins the tip over Martin, and as the clock officially counts down, the game begins.

Lu Biao drives past half‑court, then passes to Fan Xi; James unsurprisingly stands in front of Fan Xi.

He lowers his stance, spreads his arms, assuming a fierce defensive posture.

The fans on site were already shouting there: Take him down! Jie Ke, take him down!

Los Angeles fans won't be polite to Heaven's Chosen Son; although the Kuaisuan once desperately pursued James in the summer of 2010, now James is not the slightest bit appealing, merely a defeated underling of Jie Ke.

Fan Xi faced James's defense.

He smiled.

James, fully prepared, clearly understood that tonight's only chance to win was to block Fan Xi.

Over the past three days, he and the entire Miami coaching staff have been studying Fan Xi's shooting, including Stephen Curry's shooting. Their conclusion: Fan Xi's release speed is still a tad slower than Curry's, and Fan Xi's shooting accuracy may not be as precise as Curry's, despite his usual godlike accuracy in games.

Therefore, they specially retrieved Stephen Curry's defensive reports and communicated with several other league teams that defend Curry well, obtaining a lot of defensive data.

Thus, James stood in front of Fan Xi from the very first second tonight, intending to stop Fan Xi's shot, using his height and speed to curb Fan Xi's sudden release.

At that moment, Fan Xi suddenly made a Probe Step; although James had prepared beforehand, his center of gravity still involuntarily shifted backward.

As his center of gravity shifted back, Fan Xi abruptly changed direction, driving inward.

James pursued relentlessly; when Fan Xi reached the free-throw line, in motion he suddenly lifted his shoulder, James abruptly stopped and quickly executed an upward press, preparing to block in time.

But Fan Xi abruptly changed direction and blew past James.

Buddha bless!!

The crowd erupted in astonishment.

Fan Xi instantly slashed into the paint, leaping violently, as Kenyon Martin came straight up to contest.

At that moment, Kobe exclaimed, "Oh no!" He thought Fan Xi's offensive choice was too reckless. At this moment Kenyon Martin was at his physical peak, not the best time to challenge him.

Jordan, however, smiled at the same instant.

In his view, this was a decent offensive choice, even though he knew Fan Xi would be head‑to‑head with Kenyon Martin and James might chase from behind.

But as long as he hangs in the air just one second longer than Martin, wouldn't he easily get the shot off?

But Jordan's expression changed abruptly the next second.

Because Ke Li Si Bo Shen appeared out of nowhere beside Martin, fully prepared, while James also came up from behind.

They triple‑teamed him.

And they were staggered.

This shot, even immortals would find hard to score.

Not even Jordan had full confidence.

But in the blink of an eye, Fan Xi suddenly laid the ball in, swinging his body around Kenyon Martin in midair; the unexpected part was that his rotation went toward Ke Li Si Bo Shen.

Isn't that walking into a trap?

Many people had that thought.

Ke Li Si Bo Shen also screamed, stretching his arm to block.

But just as he was about to block the "spent arrow" Fan Xi, Fan Xi lifted the ball with his left hand, gave it a tiny nudge; the ball resembled a nimble note, barely hopping as if in a conversation world, sliding just above Ke Li Si Bo Shen's fingertips… Ke Li Si Bo Shen watched the ball tantalizingly close, yet seemingly easy to block.

But he simply couldn't.

On the other side, Kenyon Martin could only turn his head to watch the ball; he couldn't turn around to block either.

James, leaping up from behind, was even less able to reach it; he was blocked off.

Fan Xi's shot turned death into life with exquisite technique, miraculously succeeding from desperation. Utterly clever.

The Heat's meticulously prepared triple‑team enabled Fan Xi's layup, which was like a leaping sprite.

At the instant the ball fell through the net.

The Staples Center erupted completely.

Magic Johnson at that moment couldn't help shouting: "Silk‑thread finesse!! This is silk‑thread finesse!! This is Qiao Zhi Ge Wen's ultimate move!!"

Qiao Zhi Ge Wen was an astonishing scoring king before Michael Jordan, known to few.

Jordan's face was full of shock then—not because Magic Johnson shouted Qiao Zhi Ge Wen's name.

Rather… he was astonished, unable to think of a better way to handle it; this dragonfly‑touch‑water, lift‑heavy‑as‑light, turn‑death‑into‑life ethereal perfection was hard for even him to react to.

He lifted his head and watched the replay.

The replay more clearly displayed Fan Xi's nonchalance and sense of measure during this siege—like a top‑tier boxer surrounded by three heavier opponents in the ring, yet he merely used superb dodging to evade all defenses and finally knocked them out with the simplest move.

Jordan couldn't help but stand up and applaud voluntarily.

Jordan is a proud person who rarely gives praise; most top‑five plays to him are just leftovers. But this shot, its skill, talent, and wisdom made him sing its praises without end.

Although to many fans this basket pales in comparison to a domineering dunk over someone.

But insiders look for the technique.

Based solely on this shot, Jordan already affirmed, and after sitting down he told Kobe: "If Jieke Fan's back‑to‑back single‑drive hit rate improves a bit, and his defense gets stronger, the gap between LeBron and him will widen further, even in pure ability comparison."

Kobe nodded in deep agreement.

He had originally thought Fan Xi's first step led straight into a dead end.

Jordan only frowned upon seeing the second step.

But Fan Xi walked out of layer after layer of barriers.

This shot dealt a heavy blow to the Miami Heat, whose pre‑game plan was to stop Fan Xi from making his first basket at any cost.

They did exactly that. Yet they failed, even though they laid out a triple ambush.

After landing, Fan Xi raised his eyebrows at LeBron James and said, "LeBron, you should know me—since I decided to hide my weapon, I could never hide just one."

This is a bluff.

But Fan Xi feigned it with clear, otherworldly ease.

It dealt a huge blow to James.

If it were some defenders lacking resolve, they might even collapse outright—after all, they had finally found a solution, only for the opponent to announce progress.

How is this to be played?

Still have to keep playing.

James fiercely slapped his palm, he loudly said: 'Make this shot, take back the victory!'

Afterwards, he received the basketball from Wei De's hands and walked toward the front court.

Butler took the initiative to step up his defense.

Fan Xi followed Wei De, while Rubio went to track Ray Allen's steps.

James reached the front court, he ignored Butler's strong interference.

He suddenly probed inward from the top of the three-point arc, Butler thought he was going to drive, and consequently retreated backward.

James directly leapt up and shot……swish!

Three-pointer made.

"Really two monsters." Moshushi Yuehanxun sighed: "How desperate must the people defending them be? No matter what choice you make, it's the wrong answer."

Saying that, he looked toward Larry Bird and said: "Back then we weren't this abnormal."

Larry Bird seriously said: "Le Bu Lang Zhang Si's physical quality is better than yours, his scoring is stronger than yours, his passing and big-picture sense are also approaching yours. Now, he has again begun to approach me in shooting, I believe he has a good chance of becoming our combination in the future. Such a guy, we should be fortunate not to have lived in the same era as him."

Larry Bird's evaluation is very high, although James always defeats his Indiana Pacers.

But he has never underestimated James.

"Then, how terrifying would Jieke Fan be, who can defeat the combination of Moshushi and Da Niao?"

Jia Ba'er opened his mouth and said.

His words made the surrounding air turn into low pressure, everyone was silenced.

Only Jordan there pondered: 'Could it be an enhanced version of me?'

…