Chapter 594 88: [The Great Wife-Snatching War]

"That's just ignorant and narrow-minded local protectionism."

Su Xi bluntly refuted Little O'Neal's point.

Little O'Neal just laughed. He knew he couldn't win an argument against Su Xi. Su Xi's powers of persuasion were practically certified; back in the Indiana Pacers' locker room, whenever he prepared to speak, the room would fall silent. Everyone would listen, and everyone would be convinced.

"But it wouldn't be a bad thing for you, Jack," Artest chimed in. "You should marry any one of them. Or, you could marry an American girl *and* a Chinese girl. Think of what that would do for the stability of the Pacific Rim."

Su Xi couldn't be bothered to respond.

He hadn't chatted with Artest in a long time. The last time they spoke was when Artest's grandmother was arrested for forming a senior citizen stick-up crew and robbing a bank.

Artest had already resigned himself to never seeing his grandmother again.

It was a felony charge.

On the bright side, it took elder care off the table.

The Pacers were a far cry from their back-to-back championship days, but they still had one piece of their dignity intact: they had eliminated the Pistons.

No matter how far they'd fallen, beating the Pistons was a source of pride ingrained in their very bones.

Against the Knicks, however, they didn't stand much of a chance.

Ever since Stephon Marbury went to China to find his new path, the Pacers had gotten Justin Tinsley back. But Tinsley hadn't made much of an impact. He came from a streetball background and had all of Marbury's bad habits without many of his strengths.

As a result, the Knicks had an easy time against them.

The Knicks' offense flowed like water, giving them a 12-point lead by halftime.

In the second half, Su Xi made a point of giving more playing time to Milicic and Zach Randolph.

After all, they needed to bulk up Milicic and Zach Randolph's presence in the paint in preparation for the upcoming Eastern Conference Finals.

The Knicks' opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals would be either the Cavaliers or the Magic.

The two teams were currently locked in a fierce series.

Their chances looked about even.

The Magic's style of play was a good counter to the Cavaliers. If the Cavs couldn't even make it to the Eastern Conference Finals after acquiring O'Neal, their future prospects would be bleak.

The Knicks ultimately defeated the Pacers, 112-103.

The game was intense but amicable. After all, the two teams had a deeply intertwined history.

After the game, both sides spoke highly of each other.

Even Isaiah Thomas said, "The Pacers still have the core of a championship team. They're very strong."

Thomas rarely praised anyone.

So even when he did offer praise, it came off as insincere.

But no one minded.

Even the home fans at Madison Square Garden didn't boo them.

After all, the Pacers were the ones who had sent Goat Su Xi to Madison Garden. You don't forget the people who dug the well.

As for the Pacers, they knew they couldn't beat Su Xi. He had led them to two championships, after all. So losing to the Knicks was better than losing to any other team.

At least in losing to the Knicks, they were losing to this year's eventual champions, not just some random scrubs.

They never doubted for a second that Su Xi would win the championship again this season.

Just as they never doubted he would win MVP.

Ron Artest said, "If Goat Su Xi isn't the regular season MVP, then giving it to anyone else is an insult to the game of basketball."

Even Larry Bird said, "You have to give it to Su Xi. It has nothing to do with whether he's challenging Jordan's throne. He simply deserves the honor."

And that's exactly what happened.

This year's regular season MVP wasn't announced until after the Knicks defeated the Pacers in the first game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Su Xi won.

He received the most first-place votes.

Kobe Bryant came in second, with five fewer first-place votes.

However, he had a commanding lead over all other contenders in second-place votes.

Su Xi won the regular season MVP for the third consecutive year.

Su Xi unlocked another achievement, once again completing a side quest to surpass Jordan.

This season, he had already completed two of them: winning the scoring title and the regular season MVP.

If Su Xi managed to win the championship again—securing a four-peat in his career—then Jordan's position would truly be in jeopardy.

A four-peat is far more difficult than a three-peat. Moreover, Su Xi would have achieved it after switching teams. This would be a personal super-dynasty.

While Jordan had two three-peats, they were both known as the Bulls Dynasty!

After winning the regular season MVP, Su Xi then secured a victory in the second game of the semifinals. He was a winner through and through.

The only blemish on his success was the media, which was constantly stirring up trouble. They reported on Su Xi's romance with Huang Xiaoman while simultaneously attacking him for not being with one of the three Hollywood actresses.

Some people even took to the streets to protest.

'This is ridiculous,' Su Xi thought. 'Before, they called me a playboy. Now they're calling me irresponsible and even telling me to marry all three of them. What the hell is going on?'

'And what's all this about "three Hollywood actresses can't compare to one Chinese girlfriend"?'

'That's racist!'

They were just slapping one label on him after another.

Fortunately, the next game was in Indiana.

In conservative Indiana, Su Xi wasn't met with boos. The people there had never believed he was a playboy to begin with. If he were, how could he possibly have brought the team two championship trophies?

At Conseco Fieldhouse, Su Xi received an unprecedented welcome. When he took the court, the entire arena erupted in chants of "MVP."

This was the power of championships.

This was his reward for bringing two championship trophies to the city.

As Su Xi looked up at the two championship banners hanging high in the rafters, his heart swelled with pride.