บท 57: James: "Wang Chong? Is He Worthy of Competing With Me?"
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It wasn't surprising that James wanted to compete with Kobe. After all, his idol was Allen Iverson, and Iverson's biggest rival in the league was Kobe.
When it comes to achievements, Kobe even surpassed Iverson. Despite Iverson's regular season MVP, Kobe had three championship rings, which made him the most successful guard after Jordan. So, for James, who was also an outside player, wanting to play against Kobe when facing the Lakers was natural and reasonable.
But this wasn't the answer reporters were looking for.
A reporter followed up, "What do you think of the Lakers' No. 13 rookie, Wang Chong? Will you be competing with him in today's game?"
James frowned slightly and after a moment of thought, replied, "I don't know much about Wang Chong, but he seems like a good player. I hope he can secure a starting position with the Lakers."
While his words were polite, the underlying message was clear: "Wang Chong? I don't know him. Is he even worth my time?"
Of course, James knew who Wang Chong was. He had even mentioned Wang Chong in the green room during the draft, using him to suppress Carmelo Anthony's confidence. Back then, James was aware of Wang Chong but didn't see him as a threat.
However, as Wang Chong joined the Lakers, his exposure increased, especially after his performances in the summer league where he outshined Anthony. The media began to list Wang Chong as one of the best rookies of the 2003 draft. Some even compared James and Wang Chong to Iverson and Kobe, which naturally made James feel uneasy.
As noted before, Kobe began at a lower point than Iverson but later surpassed him in terms of achievements. James was determined not to let history repeat itself, where Wang Chong would surpass him as Kobe did Iverson. So, when a reporter tried to draw attention to his matchup with Wang Chong, James avoided the topic, as if even acknowledging Wang Chong was beneath him.
"I'm not Carmelo. I'm not as easy to deal with as him. You want to compete with me? You're far from it!" James thought to himself as he glanced over at Wang Chong during warm-ups, sneering in disdain.
Wang Chong, however, was oblivious to James's attitude. Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. With the system backing him and Durant's growth template at his disposal, Wang Chong was destined to become one of the strongest players in the league, surpassing all his peers, including James.
As the best player of the 2003 class and one of the future greats, James was a record and honor collector. Naturally, he was one of Wang Chong's fiercest competitors.
Surpassing James wouldn't be easy. It wasn't just about winning more championships but also about excelling in personal accolades. James fans would always point to his 4+4+4 honors, his status as the all-time scoring leader, and his potential 40,000 points as his legacy.
It was undeniable that James's career honors—four championships, four regular season MVPs, and four Finals MVPs—placed him among the best in league history. Only Jordan could claim to have surpassed him.
Kobe's 5+1+2, Duncan's 5+2+3, Curry's 4+2+1, none had the clean and impressive package that James's accolades had. Wang Chong understood that even if he beat James in the Finals multiple times, like Duncan or Curry, he wouldn't be able to win the argument unless he surpassed James in individual honors as well. James fans would always fall back on his "4+4+4" as proof of his invincibility.
Thus, Wang Chong's plan was to dominate both team honors, like championships, and personal honors, such as MVPs, to thoroughly outshine James and leave his fans with no room for debate.
...
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Surpassing James in every aspect would be a long journey. After all, James's career was extraordinarily long and consistent, making him a marathoner in this competition. For now, what Wang Chong was more concerned about was completing his system task:
"In the first week of the regular season, your average score per game must not be lower than that of James, Anthony, or others."
Wang Chong pondered this.
"It's perfect. Let's use today's game to test James's skills as a rookie."
Wang Chong didn't clearly remember James's overall rating when he first entered the league. But looking at his regular season stats of 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists, his ability must have been rated at least over 80, possibly even higher than Wang Chong's current level.
Finally, the game was about to start. The starting lineups for both the Lakers and the Cavaliers were on the court, ready to tip-off.
Lakers starting lineup: Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, Wang Chong, Karl Malone, and Shaquille O'Neal.
Cavaliers starting lineup: Ricky Davis, LeBron James, Carlos Boozer, Darius Miles, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Both teams brought out their main players, but even a glance at the lineups revealed the massive gap in strength between them.
Apart from James, the Cavaliers had Boozer, Ricky Davis, and Big Z as their only competent players, but they were clearly outmatched by the Lakers, who were packed with superstars.
As mentioned before, no one really cared about the outcome of this preseason game. The Cavaliers had little chance of defeating the Lakers, even in the regular season.
The real attraction was the competition between James and Wang Chong, two rookies from the 2003 class.
Unfortunately, based on their current positions, James was listed as a shooting guard, different from Wang Chong's small forward role, so he was matched up against Kobe instead.
At this point, Kobe had just returned from dealing with legal issues in Eagle County. He looked visibly unhappy and wasn't particularly excited about facing James, the new No. 1 pick.
O'Neal, on the other hand, was eager. Before the game started, he said to Wang Chong, "Come on, Wang! Beat the guy on the other side and let everyone know you're the best player in the 2003 class!"
The centers from both teams lined up for the jump ball.
Even though Big Z was 7'3", his jumping ability left much to be desired. Despite O'Neal's declining physical condition, he easily won the tip-off.
The Lakers had possession.
Gary Payton brought the ball across half-court, waiting for the players to get into position before passing it to O'Neal in the paint.
With his back to Big Z, O'Neal easily muscled his way to the basket and hooked the ball in.
Even in the 2003-04 season, O'Neal remained an unstoppable force on offense. His main issue was his declining stamina, making it harder for him to play the entire game. His sheer size and weight alone made it difficult just to run up and down the court.
As for Big Z, who was only 240 pounds despite his 7'3" frame, he was no match for O'Neal, who weighed nearly 340 pounds.
End of the chapter
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