Chapter 72: The Ability of the Smiling Assassin, the Man Who Suppressed the God, Demon, and Bird

For this world.

This game was already a final conclusion as Fan Xi jumped down from the basket. Fan Xi became the peerless hero of the night.

However, the discerning head referee still offered the final surprise. After repeatedly watching the game footage, he clearly pointed out DeRozan's foul. Fan Xi would get an additional free throw opportunity, and the game time was dialed back by 0.2 seconds to show fairness and authority.

This was equivalent to a dessert after a shocking buzzer-beater.

The fans were already celebrating the first-year victory. Los Angeles fans shouted MVP before Fan Xi even stepped onto the free-throw line.

Fan Xi whispered two sentences to Stephen Curry: "Stephen, you have indeed become much stronger and smarter. However, who said that a buzzer-beater must be a shot?"

Curry raised his eyebrows, and he spread his hands helplessly.

But he still blessed his good brother: "Good luck, my old partner. From today on, you are the No. 1 person on the First-Year Team. Go get what I didn't get, Rookie Game MVP, Rookie of the Year."

Swish!

Fan Xi hit the free throw steadily without any hesitation.

Subsequently, the second-years opened the ball in the backcourt. DeRozan caught the basketball and threw it hard to the front court, but the basketball deviated from the court early, and there were no more miracles.

The Staples Center became an ocean of celebration again. Fan Xi defeated the powerful second-years with his amazing actions.

And in this game, he proved with actual actions that he was indeed the player who should be selected for the All-Star Game among the rookies of this class.

The criticisms about him before would all become things of the past.

John Wall and Blake Griffin, the two arrogant No. 1 picks, walked over to hug Fan Xi at the first opportunity.

"From today on, I regard you as a real opponent. I will become your lifelong enemy!" John Wall left this sentence in Fan Xi's ear and congratulated him: "Congratulations, Jack, you deserve tonight's MVP trophy."

Blake also congratulated Fan Xi, and he said convincingly: "If it weren't for you, we would have lost the game long ago. You are the best player tonight."

Fan Xi accepted their blessings with a smile.

"DeMarcus, you said if I hadn't been so headstrong from the beginning, but chose to join forces with Blake Griffin, would Jack still have a chance to get the MVP?" John Wall asked his college friend Cousins after walking to the side.

Cousins thought for a while and said: "I don't know. However, I still think Jack has the ability to change any situation."

Cousins was silly, but this sentence made John Wall fall into deep thought.

Perhaps, if time could turn back, the MVP would still be this undrafted player who never gave up and never abandoned in difficult times.

TNT's live broadcast room became Kenny Smith's personal performance after Fan Xi completed the dunk buzzer-beater.

He kept roaring, venting his emotions.

"I said long ago that Jack is the Miracle Child. He will never give in. No situation can stump him."

"Now, who else says Jack is not the MVP? Stand out!!"

"Charles, hurry up and brush your teeth. I can untie your belt for you now!! Wahahahaha!"

"......"

The more excited Kenny Smith was, the quieter Charles Barkley was.

He sat there dumbfounded, with an expression of life being loveless.

Fan Xi shocked his soul again and destroyed his fantasies.

Even if David Stern hadn't walked up to announce the ownership of the MVP, as long as people who had watched the game knew... how could there be any accidents?

Fan Xi contributed an epic game. He broke the rookie game assist record, he completed an unprecedented one-man buzzer-beater dunk, and... video playback, even the tactics of the last few rounds he arranged himself.

Everything was proving: this undrafted player who was unknown a month ago was indeed a shocking chosen one.

Fan Xi's legend set up a monument again, and his influence would further expand along with his miracle journey.

Nike executives jumped up excitedly in front of the TV. They had never seen such a shocking rookie.

And the information they implemented showed that Fan Xi's name was soaring on all the Internet popularity charts globally. Especially in the two super markets of North America and East Asia.

This showed that Fan Xi's independent brand would definitely achieve amazing success. Although Nike paid an amazing price in this cooperation case, it could be said to be humble to the extreme. But they still felt it was worth it.

TNT's camera returned to the court. Kobe Bryant hugged Fan Xi and proudly introduced Fan Xi to superstars of the same era like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

Shaquille O'Neal left the court early. He began to worry when Fan Xi hit the buzzer-beater. He began to worry that the Lakers would establish a new dynasty this season.

For him, this would be a devastating blow.

Because after he broke up with Kobe, he only won one championship, while Kobe had already won two. Establishing another dynasty, people would see the wind and steer the rudder and think that Kobe's contribution ratio in the previous dynasty should be increased.

No ex-wife would want her husband to live better than herself after divorce.

David Stern finally came to the center of the court. In the eyes of everyone's expectation, he read: "... the winner of the 2004 NBA All-Star Rookie Game Most Valuable Player is... Fan Xi, Jack Fan!"

This was an announcement without suspense.

The Staples Center fell into boundless sound waves again because of this name, MVP! MVP! MVP!

The sound waves from all sides were like a tsunami in the Pacific Ocean, which could lift the entire arena.

This was Fan Xi's first honor and first trophy since entering the league.

When he walked from the bench to the center of the court, he had a dreamy feeling.

Last summer, he dreamed of running onto the stage to shake hands with David Stern and put on a hat of any team.

However, things went against his wishes.

The moment he was not selected, he was devastated.

The basketball dream he pursued all his life had traces of shattering.

Now, he looked at David Stern holding the trophy, smiling at him.

He had a strong sense of unreality, but at the same time, he had an urgency of dreams shining into reality.

The two emotions merged when he reached out and held David Stern's warm right hand together. The excited emotion reached its peak when he touched the trophy, and his body trembled violently.

A powerful fluctuation rushed into his mind, and his brain quickly generated bioelectricity.

Zzz! Zzz! Zzz!

The halo in Fan Xi's mind was instantly lit up, and then a short but strong player appeared, wearing a No. 11 jersey.

Isiah Thomas.

Fan Xi recognized this person at the first time.

This person was a player whose influence was seriously underestimated. Many people thought he was just the boss of the Bad Boys. But he was actually the only person in history to defeat Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan.

The nickname was the Smiling Assassin, but he could kill the three.

He was called the second point guard in history, and the first was Magic Johnson. Considering Magic Johnson's body shape that could play center, he might be called the first point guard, although many people would feel that John Stockton's data was better.

Chris Paul had always been considered a replica of the Smiling Assassin, and his technique was also very similar to the Smiling Assassin, but he had never really reached the height of Isiah Thomas.

What Fan Xi got this time was Isiah Thomas's full set of breakthrough techniques, and... low center of gravity.

Fan Xi's ball-handling ability was very strong, and his breakthrough level was also good.

However, he was still a distance from the Smiling Assassin.

Because Fan Xi's previous ball-handling techniques all came from the street, they were juggling, they were playing with opponents.

And Isiah Thomas, as the nickname suggests, his breakthrough technique was a one-hit kill, it was a sharp throat-cutting, it was a precise destruction after the assassin rushed into the restricted area.

And what made Isiah Thomas most convincing was his low center of gravity. He could carry the basketball to a very low position and maintain absolute control.

On this point, Chris Paul was also very similar to him. Chris Paul's ball-handling and breakthrough techniques were also extremely similar to his, all clean and neat one-hit kills, never dragging his feet. At the same time, his passing vision and passing skills were also very excellent.

In today's league, there were very few point guards who possessed these.

This was why Chris Paul was increasingly called the No. 1 point guard in the league.

When Isiah Thomas's experience and techniques were all integrated into Fan Xi's body, Fan Xi instantly had a feeling of great benefit.

His spirit was also lifted, and his understanding of basketball was much higher.

He even felt that if the game were to be replayed, he would lead the victory more easily, and he wouldn't even need to enter the final countdown stage to decide the winner.

Those who are good at fighting have no glorious achievements.

That's probably it.

This "inheritance process" was completed in an instant, although Fan Xi accepted Isiah Thomas's lifelong breakthrough experience and techniques.

"Jack, I am very happy that you created a miracle again tonight. You know, I have always been committed to promoting the globalization of the NBA."

David Stern leaned into Fan Xi's ear and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "You are the box office star I have been most optimistic about since 2003. You even exceeded my expectations for Kevin Durant back then. In the future league, I think it will be you, Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Chris Paul... these people who dominate."

David Stern was familiar with the stars of the new generation.

Fan Xi didn't expect David Stern to value him so highly, actually mentioning him in the same breath as these players who had obviously become leaders of various teams.

However, he was full of confidence, and he believed that he would definitely be able to shine like them.

"I am very optimistic about you."

"Next, it's your turn to say your acceptance speech."

Stern patted Fan Xi on the shoulder and handed the microphone to Fan Xi.

Fan Xi took the microphone. He was the only one left in the center of the court. He faced the cheers and applause of more than 20,000 fans in the Staples Center from all directions.

"First of all, thank you very much to my teammates. Thank you John Wall, thank you Blake Griffin, thank you Cousins, thank you Wesley, thank you Favors..." Fan Xi read the names of everyone on the team. "It was them who achieved this great counterattack. We completed this impossible task. We are all MVPs."

Fan Xi's words moved everyone.

Because he was sincere.

"I have a dreamy feeling. I didn't expect that my first handshake with David Stern would be on such an occasion. Originally in my plan, it should have been half a year earlier, at the draft conference in Madison Square Garden."

When Fan Xi said this, there was laughter on the scene. This was a classic American humor.

After this joke was passed back to the country, the domestic commentator also translated it for the national audience. However, for Chinese fans and Chinese commentators, although it was very funny, it was also very sad, because Fan Xi was one of their own. Everyone knew how difficult it would be for an undrafted player to make it on his own in a foreign country.

"This is the first trophy of my career. I am honored to have a dreamy start. I know that from today on, everyone's expectations for me will be raised to a very, very high standard, and I will also continue to work hard and use actual actions to repay everyone's expectations for me."

"I will definitely get better and better. Thank you everyone, thank you Los Angeles, thank you NBA."

Fan Xi bowed to all sides.

Ending his speech.

At this time, the TNT reporter walked to the center of the court.

As the league's official broadcast platform, TNT had the privilege of conducting interviews in the center of the court, and it was facing the entire audience and the global audience.

They spent hundreds of millions of dollars every year, so they had to have some privileges.

"Jack, I really want to ask a question that fans all over the world are very concerned about. Why did you launch a fast break at the last moment, and when you encountered a double-team in the middle, you even adopted a juggling move like passing the ball, and faced DeRozan's chase and still went forward to complete the buzzer-beater with a dunk? What drove you to take such a bold action?"

The TNT reporter asked.

Fan Xi thought for a while, and he answered very seriously: "Because, I can."

This was a simple answer, a willful answer, and an answer that was confident to the bone.

After half a second of astonishment in the Staples Center, thunderous applause erupted.

What could be a more perfect answer than "Because, I can"?

Why do this? Because I can.

So cool!

The screams on the scene showed Fan Xi's charm. This beautiful reporter was also a little refreshed. No one didn't like a confident man.

She subsequently asked: "The second question is, the First-Year Team has two No. 1 picks, Blake Griffin and John Wall, but in the end, you emerged as an undrafted player and became the MVP. Does this prove that the teams that didn't choose you before all have problems?"

This was a very difficult question. A slight wrong answer would easily lead to criticism.

For a 19-year-old who was not deeply involved in the world, it was out of bounds.

But Fan Xi was quite calm. He smiled and said: "How do you think my MVP came from? If it weren't for the full support of the two No. 1 picks, Stephen Curry or James Harden of the Second-Year Team would have been talking here about why they weren't selected in the first position, where would it be my turn?"

Fan Xi played Tai Chi in front of everyone.

There was laughter on the scene.

Clever, humorous.

Fan Xi resolved the crisis easily on such a grand public occasion for the first time, which proved that he had the social ability to become a top star.

Those sponsors were even more eager to move. Their checkbooks couldn't wait to fill in astronomical figures for Fan Xi.

Finally, the beautiful reporter asked a relaxed question: "Jack, do you know? Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith made a bet before the game. Charles said that if you get the MVP, he will kiss Kenny's butt. What do you think of this bet?"

This question was thrown out by the reporter, first a burst of laughter, and then booing.

Fan Xi took the microphone and said: "My opinion is, please be sure to broadcast it live across the United States."

Hahahaha!

Amidst the laughter, the new MVP completed the interview.

He won the full house.

During this All-Star Weekend, he used his charm on and off the court to solidify his brilliance as a star player.

Of course, for Fan Xi, these were not the most important things.

The most important thing was that he had improved again, and he had obtained Isiah Thomas's ability.

The Smiling Assassin.

The man who suppressed the Bird.

... ===== CHAPTER 73 =====