After leaving the Pistons, Rick Carlisle was enjoying a new era of success and was considered highly likely to win Coach of the Year. Now, he had beco the head coach of the Eastern Conference Team.
Little O’Neal was selected as the starting power forward.
Five days after voting closed, Ron Artest was nad to the All-Star reserve roster.
And with that, the full All-Star rosters were officially announced.
The Eastern Conference Team’s starting lineup was: Su Xi, Iverson, Carter, Little O’Neal, and Ben Wallace. The reserves were: Tracy McGrady, Jason Kidd, Baron Davis, Michael Redd, Paul Pierce, Ron Artest, and Kenyon Martin.
The Western Conference Team’s starting lineup was: Francis, Kobe, Garnett, Duncan, and Yao Ming. The reserves were: Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, Andre Kirilenko, Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic, Brad Miller, and Shaquille O’Neal.
Both rosters were stacked, overflowing with talent.
Every year after the final All-Star rosters were announced, there were always plenty of star players who ca forward to complain, "Why wasn’t I picked?"
Being nad an All-Star is a massive honor. The difference on a player’s resu is enormous, and many players would do anything to make the team.
Making the All-Star team wasn’t just a recognition of skill and influence. It also brought tangible benefits to the players: they could command a higher salary during contract renewals and secure better endorsent deals.
With two players from China, Su Xi and Yao Ming, taking starting spots in the East and West respectively, many players took aim at them—so with passive-aggressive jabs, others with outright criticism.
Among them, Phoenix Suns forward Stoudemire was the most vehent.
"The All-Star selection has beco a joke. It’s not about skill anymore. One guy gets in because of a female celebrity, the other because China has a lot of people. What right do they have to be starters? If they had any respect for the ga, they’d give their spots to ."
"I was the 2002 Rookie of the Year, and my stats this year are better than both of theirs. So why didn’t I get selected?"
"I’ll prove it to the whole world at the Rookie Challenge."
Amare Stoudemire said with absolute conviction, "I’m going to focus all my energy on destroying Little Sheep Su Xi."
While others were being passive-aggressive, Stoudemire had thrown all civility out the window. By declaring he was going to teach Su Xi a lesson in the Rookie Challenge, the tension beca palpable.
For this year’s Rookie Challenge, the rookie team roster was: Su Xi, Jas, Antonio, Wade, Bosh, Syracuse, Kaman, Josh Howard, and Haslem.
The sophomore roster was: Boozer, Deng Liwei, Ginobili, Jalric, Nene, Murray, Prince, Stoudemire, and Yao Ming.
These teams were also stacked, bursting with talent.
Interestingly, Su Xi was the only player on the rookie team to be nad an All-Star, while Yao Ming was the only one from the sophomore team. This ant they both had to play two gas during All-Star Weekend.
After helping the Pacers beat the Bucks at ho, Su Xi boarded a flight to Los Angeles with Fraser Jones, Ron Artest, Reggie Miller, Little O’Neal, and Rick Carlisle.
This season, the Pacers had more All-Stars than ever before in franchise history, and their fans felt it was the year they were closest to their championship dream.
So, on the flight to Los Angeles, Reggie Miller kept repeating to Su Xi, "Jack, just go have fun at the All-Star Ga. Even if other guys provoke you, there’s no need to get into it with them on the court. It would be terrible if you got hurt."
Miller didn’t want any unnecessary complications.
For him, this golden opportunity had been hard-won; he’d waited years for a mont like this.
As the team grew stronger and the playoffs drew nearer, Miller’s hunger for a championship reached an all-ti high.
But he didn’t know that Su Xi was even more desperate for that championship.
...
Su Xi was given the cold shoulder in the locker room.
When he entered the Rookie Challenge locker room to change for a promotional photoshoot, Howard, Bosh, Syracuse, Kaman, Haslem, and Jas were all there. None of them spoke to Su Xi. It was as if he was invisible.
The smile on Su Xi’s face vanished. He walked over to his locker and changed into his uniform and sneakers.
A mont later, Antonio walked in.
He was a social butterfly and got along well with everyone, even Syracuse.
After saying hi to Jas, he walked over to Su Xi. "Hey, Jack! I never dread you’d beco an All-Star before I did. That’s amazing, man. I’m proud of you. You’re the pride of our whole ’03 draft class."
Antonio said loudly.
But no one else responded.
Antonio glanced aside. "Hey, LeBron. We should go out tonight."
Jas paused for a second, then said, "Nah, lo. I’ve got a sponsor event. You know how it is. I’m swamped during All-Star Weekend."
Just then, Mike O’Connor walked in.
He had an air of superiority, scanning the room arrogantly before walking up to Su Xi. "Boss, you need to hurry up and finish this little rookie photoshoot. We’ve still got eight comrcials to shoot today, three press conferences, and two good-luck videos to record for so local L.A. businesses. Don’t waste your ti here. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of USD a minute."
O’Connor’s voice wasn’t loud, but it echoed through the locker room, clear for everyone to hear.
Antonio saw Jas’s jaw clench and heard the sound of his teeth grinding together.
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