Chapter One Hundred and Two: He the Grand Swindler

It was the Clippers’ turn. Attending the press conference were Xinghui He, Dunleavy, and Brand.

The reporters, already prepared for battle, raised their cameras and snapped away incessantly.

“Congratulations on your victory over the Suns,” began the ESPN reporter with the customary pleasantries, hoping to avoid another of Xinghui He’s wounded retorts.

“There’s nothing to congratulate us for. We paid a tremendous price,” Xinghui He replied.

“Damn it,” grumbled the reporters. If they didn’t offer congratulations, they’d be accused of rudeness; if they did, he’d say there was nothing worth congratulating. Either way, they were in the wrong.

The journalists seethed. They’d never seen a player so brazen before the media. One by one, they readied themselves, prepared to unleash all their firepower.

Originally, they planned to start with gentler questions. But now, an impatient reporter skipped the trivial gossip and went straight for the jugular.

“To be blunt,” the ESPN reporter fired, “the Suns were the innocent party. If you hadn’t provoked them verbally, Barbosa wouldn’t have reacted so violently.”

“Oh, so you mean that next time someone trash-talks me, I can punch him, and then tell the referee I’m the victim?” Xinghui He shot back.

The ESPN reporter was instantly speechless. Clearly, that was absolutely unacceptable.

His assertion that the Suns were innocent was nonsense. The party that strikes first is always in the wrong.

“But don’t you think deliberately using trash talk to anger your opponent is unnecessary? Why not play more civilly?” Another reporter, seeing reason wouldn’t win, quickly shifted to the moral ground—a tried and true tactic, since morality has no fixed standard and can be endlessly debated.

“So by your logic, no player in the league should ever commit a foul. Let’s play civilly, without confrontation. Or better yet, let’s dissolve the NBA entirely and form a table tennis league, where players never come into contact or conflict. Come to think of it, table tennis is quite fun—I hope Stern seriously considers my suggestion,” Xinghui He retorted.

Rules don’t forbid players from certain actions; they simply dictate the consequences of those actions.

Besides, Xinghui He’s trash talk hadn’t violated any rules.

His words left the reporters stunned. In less than three sentences, he’d nearly talked the NBA out of existence.

The reporters couldn’t help but think Xinghui He was wasted as a player; he should have been a journalist.

Many fans watching on television burst out laughing at the reporters’ embarrassment, especially at the suggestion to dissolve the NBA and form a table tennis league—it struck an inexplicable comedic chord.

Still, the journalists weren’t ready to give up.

Johnson, seeing no one else willing to step up, stood and fired, “Your teammates stood up for you, but you quietly stepped aside. Should I conclude you’re not a loyal person?”

If he couldn’t accuse Xinghui He of being despicable, he’d at least brand him as disloyal.

“So you’re saying I should have joined in and fought?” Xinghui He countered.

If Johnson dared to say yes, the NBA would surely come after him. The league’s main directive is to prohibit fighting, and public figures are forbidden from advocating or endorsing violence on the court.

If Johnson said as much, the league could revoke his NBA press credentials on the spot.

But Johnson wasn’t fooled. He clarified, “That’s not what I meant. I just think the fans might see it that way.”

“Who gave you the right? Since when do you represent the fans?” Xinghui He mocked, then continued, “But since you’ve posed the question, I’ll answer it directly.”

At this, the reporters sat up straight, waiting for his response. They wanted to see how Xinghui He would salvage his image. If he slipped up even a single word, they’d pounce.

Xinghui He paused, then spoke.

“All of us Clippers players are utterly devoted to our craft. We have only one goal: to help the team win more games and repay our fans’ support.”

“For that goal, we are willing to give everything. We train hard, play through injuries, and bear the burden of criticism.”

“My good friend Chris Kaman stepped in to stop Barbosa—not because he loves fighting, but because Chris is a kind-hearted gentleman. He wanted to protect me from being attacked and from suspension, so he chose to risk suspension himself.”

“And I understand the magnitude of Chris’s sacrifice. It’s so I can contribute to the team in the coming games, fulfill our shared ambition.”

“I carry their hopes. I can’t let them down. My heart burns with the urge to rush in, but I must not. Even if this means bearing infamy, I must remain calm and repay my teammates’ sacrifice with victory. Like in a war film, when comrades choose self-sacrifice to draw enemy fire for the sake of victory, the true hero is the one who bears the guilt and makes a ruthless but rational choice, not someone who dithers between sentiment and reason.”

“Every Clippers player helps the team in his own unique way. Each one is extraordinary…”

His words left the reporters dumbfounded.

Good heavens.

They mentally cursed. A simple basketball game, and Xinghui He had elevated it to a fever pitch, even to the level of national defense.

If you didn’t think too deeply, you’d be swept up by his rhetoric. The analogy wasn’t entirely without merit; but, on closer inspection, there were differences.

Yet the shrewd reporters wouldn’t expose them—not now. Xinghui He’s speech could make for a moving headline, and if he brought them benefit, there was no need to oppose him.

So, after Xinghui He finished, one reporter began to applaud.

Others followed.

Clippers players helping the team in their own way, their star willing to bear criticism—it was a touching story. With some screenwriter’s polish, it could be a movie.

“What the hell is happening?” Johnson was totally bewildered. They’d agreed to give Xinghui He trouble, but now everyone had defected.

A pack of opportunists, spineless.

Johnson cursed inwardly, then stood up.

At that moment, he resolved to uphold the truth, to be the lone clear-headed figure, and continue to challenge Xinghui He.