"Yi, congratulations on another 30-plus-point game."
As Su Yi settled into the passenger seat, Xu Rui congratulated him. Then he stepped on the gas, and the car pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.
As soon as he got in, Su Yi went looking for food. He'd just finished a game, after all, and he was definitely hungry.
Xu Rui knew that, of course, so whenever he picked Su Yi up, he made sure to have food ready in the car.
"Yi, how about I get an RV? Then it'll be more convenient for you to eat on the road."
Xu Rui said, watching Su Yi wolf down food in the passenger seat.
"Sure, but I'll pay for it. And let's hire a driver while we're at it."
Su Yi nodded. Since signing with Nike, he was flush with cash.
"No problem!" Xu Rui replied with a smile.
Then Xu Rui remembered something. "By the way, Yi, we've already assigned people to the three teams. You have no idea what happened when I told them about it.
"Eric and Markus practically begged to be on your team.
"They said they'd definitely learn a lot working with you."
Everyone at Yirui Studio idolized Su Yi.
Especially Brandon Beck, Marc Merrill, Eric Barone, and Markus Alexej Persson—the four men who would later become household names in the gaming world.
Ever since their conversation with Su Yi, their game development had made a sudden leap forward. So many things had suddenly clicked for them!
These days, whenever they ran into a problem, they emailed Su Yi for advice.
They all knew perfectly well that their boss wasn't just an excellent programmer—he was also an NBA player.
As a result, watching NBA games had become one of their hobbies.
A few of them had even chipped in to buy a huge TV, all so they could cheer on their boss.
They'd even dragged their own employees over to watch the games with them.
Before long, those employees had become Su Yi fans, too.
If Su Yi knew, he'd surely tease them: So this is what it means to pay to raise your own fanbase?
"Sure. I checked the schedule. I've got three games over the next four days.
"After those three games, I'll have four days off. I'll come by then."
Su Yi replied.
"I'll let everyone at the studio know. They'll probably be thrilled.
"By the way, Yi, can your body handle all that?"
Xu Rui was a little worried. Su Yi was putting himself through a double ordeal, both physically and mentally.
Playing basketball took effort; coding took concentration!
"Of course. If I don't work hard while I'm young, won't I just end up regretting it when I'm old?"
Su Yi replied with a smile.
"Hahaha, you're absolutely right, Yi!"
Xu Rui burst out laughing.
"Once I retire, you can bring your family, and I'll bring mine. We'll travel around the world together, see the sights and customs of every corner of it, and sample all the food the world has to offer."
It was a dream he'd had in his previous life, too. Of course, back then, he could only entrust that dream to Fei-ge.
Now he needed to start making plans for the freedom he wanted for himself.
"Absolutely, absolutely!"
Xu Rui's eyes lit up at Su Yi's words, and he said "absolutely" three times in a row.
A day later, the Cleveland Cavaliers welcomed the Eastern Conference's struggling Charlotte Bobcats to their home court.
The team had only joined the league in 2004, so they were still quite young.
Over their first two seasons, they'd had quite a few players who performed well.
Unfortunately, having talent didn't guarantee results. They still hadn't found a centerpiece to build the team around.
A team without a star was like a heap of loose sand, with everyone doing their own thing on the court. How could a team like that expect to win?
So against the strong and deep Cleveland Cavaliers, the Charlotte Bobcats only held on for one half before the outcome was all but decided.
In the end, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Bobcats 104–81 at home, winning by 23 points.
Su Yi remained consistent, making 11 of 19 shots, 5 of 10 three-pointers, and both of his free throws. He finished with 29 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.
LeBron James, back at power forward, put up excellent numbers. He made 6 of 15 shots and 3 of 6 free throws, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block—just shy of a triple-double.
Four other Cleveland Cavaliers players also scored in double figures.
With Su Yi as the team's offensive centerpiece, the Cleveland Cavaliers had unlocked the scoring potential of the entire roster.
Everyone else's scoring was rising quickly. The only one left watching his average drop like a roller coaster was LeBron James, who couldn't feed off anyone else's scoring.
But what could he do?
It wasn't that he didn't want to score. He just didn't have many ways to do it.
Whenever he got an open look from outside, he failed to capitalize.
He had no idea how many of Eric Snow's assists he'd wasted.
After beating the Charlotte Bobcats, the Cleveland Cavaliers wasted no time heading to Seattle to face the Seattle Supersonics on the road.
Ever since Gary Payton left, the Seattle Supersonics had entered the era of the Dual Guns: Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis.
Both men had improved year after year, especially Ray Allen.
Last season, Ray Allen averaged 25.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals. He made an average of 3.4 three-pointers per game, shooting an impressive 41.2% from beyond the arc.
The media thought that was the best season of Ray Allen's career.
But they were wrong. This season, Ray Allen was even better.
He was averaging 26.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals, while making 3.7 three-pointers per game and shooting 40% from beyond the arc.
With him leading the way, the Seattle Supersonics had gone 15–8 and sat fourth in the Western Conference.
As the announcer introduced the players and the fans cheered, the Seattle Supersonics came out of the tunnel one after another.
When Ray Allen, the last player, emerged, all of KeyArena erupted.
The fans chanted, "Ray Allen! Ray Allen! Ray Allen!" The deafening roar seemed ready to lift the roof off KeyArena.
Once the introductions were over, both teams began warming up.
During warm-ups, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis couldn't help looking over at Su Yi, who was warming up on the other half of the court.
As two of the league's top three-point shooters, they were curious about the rookie who was making more than 50% of his threes.
They had also watched the Cleveland Cavaliers' game against the New Orleans Pelicans Hornets two days earlier.
After seeing Peja Stojakovic lose the three-point battle to Su Yi, they were even more excited about the upcoming matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Warm-ups ended quickly, and the starters took off their jackets and stepped onto the court.
The announcer took the opportunity to introduce both teams' starting lineups to the fans in the arena and watching on television.
The Cleveland Cavaliers' starting lineup: Eric Snow, Su Yi, Larry Hughes, LeBron James, and Big Z!
The Seattle Supersonics' starting lineup: Luke Ridnour, Ray Allen, Damien Wilkins, Rashard Lewis, and Nick Collison.
Both teams were starting one big and four guards.
However, the Seattle Supersonics' big man was slightly less imposing by comparison.
"Beep! Beep!"
The whistle sounded, and the game was underway.
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