Chapter 161: The Sole Bright Spot

On the 20th, the All-Star Game officially began.

TNT, ABC, Fox, and even ESPN—which was known for criticizing Xinghui He—all tried to get him to do guest commentary, but he declined every time.

Simply commentating would be quite dull.

To make commentary interesting, it would be best to roast the players’ performances.

But that risked offending the fans of those stars.

The last time He Xinghui guest-commentated on TNT, he mainly teased Charles Barkley, only occasionally making fun of Kobe Bryant.

Teasing Kobe was acceptable; after all, everyone knew the two were competing for the title of King of Los Angeles.

Roasting other stars, however, felt like criticism for the sake of criticism.

At nine o’clock, He Xinghui gave David Stern some face by showing up in person to watch the game.

If he had done something else today, the media would have spun it as “disinterest in the All-Star Game.”

“Over here, cousin!” Leonardo DiCaprio greeted warmly, and He Xinghui sat down beside him.

They had plenty of common ground.

“I’m planning to gather a bunch of girls and have a water gun fight so everyone’s clothes get soaked...” Leo whispered, sharing his idea.

“Do you know how to play mahjong?” He asked.

“A little,” Leo replied.

“Then we could bring 108 Victoria’s Secret models to the arena, hang mahjong tiles—like the one, two, and three bamboo tiles—around their necks, and treat them as mahjong tiles, giving all kinds of commands...” He Xinghui shared his own plan.

“Sounds spectacular, but isn’t 108 a bit too many? Making such a big fuss will be hard to keep away from the media...” Leo’s eyes lit up as he seriously considered the feasibility.

He Xinghui was startled—he hoped Leo wasn’t serious about this.

One hundred and eight was just too many.

Fortunately, just then, the players’ entrance diverted Leo’s attention.

The Eastern Conference starters were originally Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, and Dwight Howard.

However, Shaq was injured, and Vince Carter took his place.

The reserves included Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Gilbert Arenas, Gerald Hamilton, Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, and Chauncey Billups.

The Pistons accounted for four roster spots; adding Tayshaun Prince rounded out the Pistons’ starting five.

This so-called “commoner” team wasn’t just talk—despite being first in the East standings, they had no true superstar.

The Western Conference starters were Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, and Yao Ming.

Reserves included Ray Allen, Pau Gasol, Elton Brand, Kevin Garnett, Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki, and Shawn Marion.

The East roster sparked little controversy, but as soon as the West lineup was announced, fans began their sharp critiques.

“Interesting—Carmelo Anthony, one of the top ten scorers, didn’t make it.”

“Even more interesting, a team that didn’t make the playoffs has two starters. Are the other sixteen playoff teams really just playing team basketball?”

“The most ridiculous thing is, the Clippers’ top player didn’t get in, but their second-best did.”

...

Amidst all the complaints, the All-Star Game began.

Kobe missed shots, Iverson missed shots, McGrady missed shots, Yao missed shots...

Right from the start, it was a shooting struggle.

An outsider might think this was a fiercely contested finals series.

Fans watching had faces that basically said, “Are you kidding me?”

Then Duncan, expressionless, banked in a shot.

The crowd was speechless.

Finally, a made basket—but it looked like something from a high school game.

In the early minutes, both sides had terrible shooting percentages, relying solely on Duncan and Wade to hold the game together.

Then, inexplicably, Western coach Avery Johnson subbed out Duncan, who was shooting 6-for-7, for Kevin Garnett.

The Timberwolf king came in and promptly went 1-for-9.

But it didn’t matter—the West still led.

Iverson and Rasheed Wallace donned the “blacksmith” jerseys for the East.

Watching all this, He Xinghui groaned on the sidelines, genuinely concerned for these guys.

This All-Star Game was truly one of the worst in years.

“Not entertaining at all. The rookie game was way better,” Leo commented.

By halftime, both sides had delivered a hideous performance, and many viewers had already turned off their TVs.

In the second half, the only highlight came off the court.

Nash drove in, trapped by two defenders; his teammates hadn’t caught up to help.

Thinking quickly, Nash tossed the ball to He Xinghui standing courtside, then broke free from his defenders—just like Nate Robinson did in the rookie challenge.

But unlike Robinson, He didn’t pass the ball back; he stood up, aimed, and shot straight at the basket.

His suit didn’t affect his touch—the ball went in.

“Cool,” Leo clapped beside him.

“Cool,” the previously silent crowd finally cheered.

“Damn, where did this guy come from? He’s stealing the show!” Barkley grumbled.

“Beautiful! Our cousin just set a record—he’s the first player not selected as an All-Star to actually score in the All-Star Game,” Smith laughed.

“Where He’s around, surprises are guaranteed.”

ABC commented, “His shooting touch is unreal—just a casual toss and it goes in.”

Fox added, “He’s just showing off. Why didn’t he pass back to Nash and recreate that classic play from the other day?”

ESPN questioned, “Does that shot even count?”

On the court, LeBron quietly approached the scorer’s table, negotiating with the statisticians, leaving them bewildered.

No one expected someone to care about the three-point tally in an exhibition game.

Wasn’t it agreed that winning didn’t matter?

Moreover, since McGrady had recently lost a family member, and this was his home court, the West stars had been intentionally feeding him the ball, aiming to secure him the All-Star MVP.

The statisticians couldn’t understand why LeBron didn’t want those three points counted for the West.

The game continued, but He’s three-pointer wasn’t added.

Many viewers felt this was a shame—they couldn’t understand why counting the three points mattered. This wasn’t the finals or a competitive match.

Not counting it meant the league lost a good story.

On the court, the teams battled back and forth; the East put all five Pistons starters in.

Relying on the Pistons, the East caught up and took the lead.

Though the Pistons’ four starters weren’t as famous, they had chemistry and coordination.

They trained together daily, unlike the other stars who were just thrown together.

In team play, the Pistons quartet outperformed everyone.

In the final moments, the East led 122 to 120, and the West had the ball.

It came to McGrady, with no East defenders closing in—seemingly giving him a chance.

McGrady jumped and shot; LeBron swatted the ball, causing it to fall short.

Everyone was stunned, unable to understand what was on LeBron’s mind.

LeBron had his reasons.

Since debuting in 2003, nearly three years had passed.

Though crowned “The King,” he had yet to earn any real honors.

The veterans like Kobe and Nash hadn’t fully aged out, while rising stars like He Xinghui and Dwight Howard were emerging.

LeBron was anxious.

Though many players looked down on the All-Star MVP, it was still a prestigious title.

He was the highest scorer for the East today; if they won, the trophy was his.

Such an easy honor—how could he just give it up?

The game ended; the score was final.

LeBron, shooting 12 for 21 with 1 for 5 free throws, ultimately claimed the All-Star MVP.

McGrady scored a game-high 36 points but left with an awkward consolation.

He Xinghui skipped the postgame interviews.

He knew reporters wouldn’t ask LeBron why he stole McGrady’s MVP or why he wouldn’t show sportsmanship.

As time passed and the game’s details faded, LeBron and McGrady would use this to boast about LeBron’s honors.

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