New Orleans Hornets Make a Beautiful Start

Slap.

Tyson Chandler got to the ball first, tipping it back to his own backcourt, giving the New Orleans Hornets possession for the game's opening play.

Chris Paul scooped up the ball off the floor and quickly dribbled it past half-court.

Once across half-court, Chris Paul passed the ball to Devin Brown on the left side.

The instant Devin Brown caught the ball, Su Yi pounced on him, applying a certain degree of defensive pressure.

At 198cm tall, weighing 101kg, with a 221cm wingspan, Su Yi stood in front of Devin Brown like a mountain all at once.

Devin Brown instinctively shielded the ball with his body, then immediately passed it back to Chris Paul at the top of the arc.

As soon as Chris Paul received the ball, big man David West rushed out from the paint to set a screen for him.

Larry Hughes reacted quickly, immediately slipping around David West and charging toward Chris Paul.

In just a couple of steps, he caught up to Chris Paul.

Seeing this, Chris Paul tried to pass the ball back to David West, who was still standing in place after setting the screen.

The next second, Chris Paul caught a glimpse of Peja Stojakovic on the perimeter out of the corner of his eye. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the ball toward Peja Stojakovic in the corner.

The ball landed cleanly in Peja Stojakovic's hands.

Peja Stojakovic adjusted slightly, brought his feet together, bent his knees, then leaped upward, rising high to his peak before releasing the shot.

A perfectly textbook shooting form.

The ball arced through the air in a beautiful trajectory.

"Swish."

The ball nestled cleanly into the net's embrace.

Three-pointer scored.

Peja Stojakovic opened the scoring for his team.

Where was the defender?

Damn it!

Su Yi cursed inwardly.

Then Su Yi quickly looked up at the replay on the big screen.

He saw that LeBron James had actually dropped back.

Wasn't Drew Gooden and Big Z already in the paint?

Why did you drop back?

Who told you to drop back?

Su Yi was utterly speechless.

How did this guy manage to make five All-NBA First Teams in his past life?

No wonder someone once said that almost every one of his accolades had some asterisk attached.

His Rookie of the Year award was especially questionable. The undisputed Rookie of the Year for the 03-04 season was Carmelo Anthony.

Carmelo Anthony averaged a blazing 21 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game, leading the Denver Nuggets—who had finished dead last in the Western Conference the previous season with just 17 wins—to a 43-39 record and a playoff berth.

And that was in the Western Conference. The weight of that achievement was immense.

Keep in mind, in the West, even a 50% win rate wasn't guaranteed a playoff spot.

In the 03-04 season, the 9th-place Utah Jazz in the West went 42-40, a 51.2% win rate; the 10th-place Portland Trail Blazers went 41-41, a 50% win rate!

In comparison, the 6th-place Milwaukee Bucks in the East were only 41-41, also a 50% win rate!

The 6th seed in the East equaled the 10th seed in the West!

That really puts into perspective the weight of leading the West's worst team to the 8th seed.

And what about Rookie of the Year LeBron James?

He averaged 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers—who had also finished dead last in the East the previous season with 17 wins—to a mere 35-47 record, a win rate of only 42.7%!

Similar stats, worse record, and my man LeBron still managed to snatch the Rookie of the Year award right out from under Carmelo Anthony.

My man LeBron is truly something.

That incident infuriated Carmelo Anthony so much that even after retiring in his past life, he still held a grudge!

Besides Rookie of the Year, his MVPs, Finals MVPs, and championships all had asterisks.

Take the MVP. LeBron James won four MVPs total. The ones from his first Cleveland stint are debatable—his stats and record were there, so giving them to him wasn't unreasonable.

But the two MVPs from his Miami Heat days were practically stolen.

You joined a superteam in Miami. What right did you have to compete for MVP? Isn't it expected that your stats and record would be good?

For reference, look at the Golden State Warriors dynasty in his past life. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant couldn't even crack the top five in MVP voting!

The funniest part is that his stats and resume couldn't even match the opponent from that same season.

Take the lockout-shortened 11-12 season: LeBron James averaged 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks, leading the Miami Heat to a 46-20 record.

Meanwhile, Kevin Durant averaged 28 points, 8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 47-19 record.

With similar stats, I have the better record, and on top of that, you're on a superteam—how the hell do you deserve the MVP?

As for the FMVP, that's pretty funny too. Every time LeBron James's team wins a championship, he gets a unanimous FMVP.

Isn't that ridiculous?

If every team's core player got that treatment when they won, it'd make sense.

But that's not the case!

Back in his past life, even Leonard, who led the Toronto Raptors to a championship in 2019, didn't get a unanimous FMVP.

Su Yi couldn't help but shake his head. He stopped thinking about it and focused on the game, then quickly sprinted toward the frontcourt.

The Cleveland Cavaliers inbounded from the backcourt. The ball went to Larry Hughes, who quickly dribbled past half-court.

As soon as they crossed half-court, Su Yi started moving.

Devin Brown stuck close behind him, clinging to Su Yi like glue.

Seeing this, Larry Hughes made a hand signal. Drew Gooden inside immediately ran out to set a screen for Hughes.

Drew Gooden's massive frame solidly blocked Chris Paul.

Good opportunity!

Larry Hughes took the chance to shake off Chris Paul and drove straight into the New Orleans Hornets' interior.

As soon as he drove, David West immediately rotated over to defend.

At the same time, Peja Stojakovic abandoned LeBron James and dropped back to help defend Hughes.

"Larry, the ball!"

LeBron James immediately reached out and called for it.

With an open look, Larry Hughes had no reason not to pass. He flicked his wrist and sent the ball to the unguarded LeBron James.

LeBron James caught the ball, adjusted, then jumped, hung in the air, and released the shot in a form that was hard to watch.

Peja Stojakovic, retreating, saw LeBron James shoot and made no move to close out.

He had heard plenty about this media-hyped star and had even faced him a few times before.

The result? The guy was all show, no substance.

His scoring methods were almost entirely drives, and as for outside shooting, over three seasons, he was only around 30-something percent.

So Peja Stojakovic naturally let him shoot.

Clang!

Hearing the sound of the miss, Peja Stojakovic couldn't help but curl his lips.

Tyson Chandler under the basket leaped high and snatched the rebound.

Then he quickly passed the ball to Chris Paul.

Chris Paul pushed the pace immediately, advancing at a very fast speed.

Seeing this, Larry Hughes couldn't help but lunge forward, trying to delay Chris Paul and buy his team time to get back on defense.

But that just gave Chris Paul an opening!

Chris Paul executed a behind-the-back dribble, blowing past Larry Hughes like a gust of wind.

Then he accelerated all the way, driving into the Cleveland Cavaliers' paint like it was empty, leaped into the air, and gently flicked the ball with his fingertips. The ball settled steadily into the basket's embrace.

Chris Paul scored on the layup.

The score became 0 to 5!

The New Orleans Hornets had a beautiful start to the game.