The Cleveland Cavaliers, who had missed opening night, went ahead with their usual practice.
But partway through, everyone headed to the conference room to watch the opening-night games about to begin.
Drinks and snacks had already been laid out on the conference-room table for the players to enjoy.
Of course, they couldn't just sit wherever they wanted. Even the seating had its own rules.
LeBron James naturally claimed the seat of honor, while the rest of the players sat according to their standing on the team.
And Su Yi, a rookie who had just joined the team, could only sit at the very back, off to one side.
Su Yi hadn't really planned on watching the opening-night games, but everyone else was there. Would it look right if he went off to practice by himself?
Of course not. GM LeBron might even think he wasn't a team player.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
As he snacked, Su Yi watched the opening-night matchup about to begin: the Phoenix Suns versus the Los Angeles Lakers.
Just then, LeBron James spoke up. "Who do you think will win? I'm leaning toward the Suns. They've got Nash, Stoudemire, and Marion, after all."
Su Yi silently mocked him. Yeah, right. You had a whole Dream Team, and still came home with a bronze medal. You're always thinking about how big everyone else's legs are. Why can't you become the big leg yourself?
Su Yi had watched LeBron James practice for a while now. No wonder the guy couldn't develop a jump shot—he barely practiced it at all. He spent most of his time in the weight room and the training room.
Su Yi really couldn't get over him. He was taking care of his body at such a young age.
No wonder LeBron stans kept bragging that the guy could still put up those numbers at forty, then asking, "Who else can do that?" They even took shots at Jordan and Kobe.
Then Jordan stans and Kobe stans fired back.
Jordan had six championships by age thirty-five. Kobe had five by age thirty-two. What about LeBron James?
In an instant, the LeBron stans disappeared.
Not enough championships? Take a shortcut.
Not enough accolades? Make up the difference with stats.
If the NBA titles and MVPs weren't enough, they could make up for it with stats piled up over an absurdly long career.
"I'm picking the Suns too." "Obviously the Suns. They've got Nash, a regular-season MVP!" "..."
The Cleveland Cavaliers players all agreed with GM LeBron.
That was just how things worked. Anyone who dared disagree would end up like Ricky Davis.
As for rookie Su Yi, no one cared about his opinion, and he couldn't be bothered to give one.
"Tweet, tweet."
The whistle blew, and the opening-night game tipped off.
Right from the start, the Phoenix Suns, led by Steve Nash, put on a flowing offensive display. The Los Angeles Lakers had no answer for them.
In the first quarter, the Phoenix Suns once again showed the world the sheer firepower of their offense: 41 points!
41 to 25!
They'd outscored the Lakers by 16 in a single quarter.
"Boss, you've got a great eye," Drew Gooden said, immediately sucking up to him.
The other teammates followed suit, flattering LeBron James until his face lit up with a smile.
But then LeBron James got slapped in the face—twice.
In the second quarter, the Phoenix Suns' offense mysteriously went cold. They kept missing shots, and the Los Angeles Lakers seized the opportunity to claw back 10 points in the quarter.
At halftime, the score was 58 to 52. The Los Angeles Lakers were down by just six.
"The Suns will adjust. They'll get back to the way they played in the first quarter."
"Besides, the Suns are still up by six. They'll make some adjustments at halftime and still win."
Seeing the displeased look on LeBron James's face, his teammates hurried to chime in.
Hearing them, LeBron James's expression brightened at once. "That's what I think too. Come on, let's toast."
LeBron James raised his cup of juice.
"Cheers!"
His teammates all raised their cups, and Su Yi did too!
They drained them in one go!
The short halftime break ended, and both teams returned to the court.
After making adjustments, the Phoenix Suns' offense picked up again, but the Los Angeles Lakers had found their rhythm, and they were hungry for revenge.
Led by Kobe and Odom, they poured in 34 points in the quarter.
They outscored the Suns by seven and took a one-point lead.
Watching the conference room fall completely silent, Su Yi could barely keep his grin from stretching wider than an AK.
So the guy didn't just contradict himself in front of reporters. He did it in private too.
In the fourth quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers gave the Phoenix Suns no chance. They steadily widened the gap, putting the game out of reach.
In the end, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns 114 to 107, winning by seven.
The result left an awkward air hanging over the Cleveland Cavaliers' conference room.
(Su Yi: I'm not awkward!)
Fortunately, Mike Brown quickly switched the channel to another opening-night game: the Chicago Bulls versus the Miami Heat.
Seeing his "good brother" Wade, LeBron James immediately smiled.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers players saw that LeBron James was finally smiling again, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Watching from the very back, off to one side, Su Yi couldn't help shaking his head.
Living beside a ruler was like living beside a tiger!
He really felt sorry for them.
As for him, he definitely wouldn't stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers for long. At most, he'd see out his rookie contract, then part ways with them.
"My good brother Wade will definitely lead the Heat to victory in this game."
As soon as LeBron James finished speaking, his teammates chimed in once again.
But the next moment, the smile vanished from LeBron James's face.
Because the next event was the championship ring ceremony.
You were afraid your brother might be struggling, but even more afraid he might be driving a Range Rover!
"Damn it, why did he win a championship before me?!"
LeBron James grumbled to himself.
After the championship rings were handed out, the Chicago Bulls versus Miami Heat game tipped off.
The game was one-sided from the start. The Chicago Bulls took the fight to the Heat, scoring again and again at American Airlines Arena.
They racked up 59 points in the first half alone.
As for the Miami Heat, Wade was the only one playing well. The rest seemed to be sleepwalking.
At halftime, the Chicago Bulls led the Miami Heat by a whopping 25 points, 59 to 34.
LeBron James: ???
The rest of the teammates: Should we say something?
The whole conference room fell silent again.
Su Yi quickly covered his mouth. He was afraid he'd burst out laughing.
This was just too hilarious. Whoever LeBron rooted for was guaranteed to lose. He was an NBA super-jinx.
Holy crap! Hahahahaha!
Su Yi was practically bursting with laughter inside.
He'd been a die-hard LeBron hater and had been dead set against joining the Cleveland Cavaliers. But he hadn't known what he was missing. Now that he was here, there was no end to the fun.
In the end, the defending champion Miami Heat were thoroughly jinxed by LeBron James.
Wade was the only one still playing well. He went 10-for-15 from the field, 2-for-3 from three, and 3-for-6 from the free-throw line, finishing with 25 points, two rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
The Heat were crushed by the Chicago Bulls, 108 to 66—a 42-point loss.
At that moment, Su Yi finally understood why LeBron James would go join Wade a few years later and cling to his coattails. Those were some seriously strong legs!
Even the Big Shark O'Neal couldn't withstand a mouthful of LeBron's jinx. He went 3-for-13 from the field and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line, finishing with just seven points, seven rebounds, one assist, and two blocks.
Only Wade was unaffected—truly the one carrying the team.
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