Su Xi didn’t plan to appear before the media, nor was he preparing for any public commercial activities.

However, he did accept an interview with CCTV.

One had to give CCTV its due.

CCTV also took Su Xi very seriously. They brought an entire interview team and, in a hotel conference room, invited two famous hosts to interview Su Xi and Isaiah Thomas.

The sheer scale of it all made even Isaiah Thomas a little nervous. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

But once the interview began, everyone relaxed.

They started by talking about Su Xi’s basketball career, moved on to his student life in the United States, and then to his memories of him and his grandfather depending on each other. There were happy moments and sad ones. Of course, they couldn’t ignore Su Xi’s achievements.

NCAA Champion, Final Four MOP, NBA Champion, Finals MVP.

This was the mark left by a Chinese player at the absolute pinnacle of the basketball world. Naturally, it was worthy of extensive coverage.

Su Xi appeared very humble on camera, as if possessing an automatic ability to distinguish between American and Chinese lenses. In the United States, he was wildly arrogant. In China, he just said he was a product of the times and had only played a minor role.

However, Isaiah Thomas, who was beside him, pulled no punches. When asked for his opinion on Su Xi’s first season in the NBA...

He gushed with excitement.

For a long time, when domestic media reported on basketball news, they were accustomed to lionizing Jordan and casting Isaiah Thomas and his Bad Boys Legion as villains, following the mainstream narrative of American sports media and promoting a hero-centric view of Jordan’s history.

But ever since Isaiah Thomas was announced as a consultant for the Chinese Men’s Basketball Team, his own achievements began to be highlighted.

The Smiling Assassin’s credentials were rock-solid. Setting everything else aside, the fact that he was the only superstar in NBA history to have defeated Bird, Magic, and Jordan was more than enough for him to boast about.

It was just his luck he ran afoul of Jordan. Otherwise, in the late eighties and early nineties, he would have surely had a turn as a caretaker ruler of the league.

Now that he was on Su Xi’s ship, public perception of him in China was already starting to shift.

"...Jack’s first season in the NBA, in my opinion, was the greatest of all time in the world of basketball. No one has ever been better. LeBron James, the so-called ’Chosen One,’ didn’t even make the playoffs. For him to split the Rookie of the Year award with Jack is utterly preposterous. It severely undermines the authority of the NBA’s voting process."

"Magic won Finals MVP in his rookie season, but his stats and his role on that Lakers team can’t even be compared to Jack’s."

"Bird accomplished nothing of note in his rookie season. Michael Jordan just scored and scored, with almost zero team success."

"And those guys from the ancient era like Chamberlain and Russell shouldn’t even be included in this kind of discussion."

"I have complete faith in Jack. This is just the beginning. He will inevitably go from one Finals MVP to the next."

"I’m not at all worried about him adapting to the rules of international basketball. I can make a clear prediction right now: Jack will be the player among all NBA superstars who is best suited for the FIBA system. Just look at his playstyle! A powerful physique, agile off-ball movement, solid passing, forceful drives... The FIBA rules might as well have been designed for him."

"On the contrary, I think many NBA stars will hit a wall in the FIBA system. The slashers won’t get as many favorable calls. With no defensive three-second violation, the paint will be packed with physicality."

"Those physically gifted players with shaky ball-handling skills will also be targeted because they’ll face truly intense physical contact. They’ll easily lose the ball or get called for traveling. Don’t put too much faith in the NBA’s physical gifts; FIBA is a whole other level of physical confrontation."

"Jack will definitely bring a medal to China. I know a lot of fans are looking forward to that. Don’t worry, what’s meant to happen, will happen."

"Bronze? Silver? Or gold? I can’t predict that. But we will definitely stand on the podium."

Isaiah Thomas was still being somewhat conservative.

The interview with Su Xi and Isaiah Thomas was broadcast on CCTV soon after. Furthermore, CCTV also sent a camera crew to follow Su Xi as he went to lay his grandfather to rest. Traveling with a small retinue, they went to his hometown and, with the assistance of the local government, completed the burial ceremony.

Su Xi donated 1 million USD to his hometown for children’s education and sports programs, with the funds specifically earmarked for those purposes.

CCTV filmed the entire journey and produced a one-hour special titled "The Wanderer Returns: King of the Basketball World."

The program was broadcast during prime time.

Su Xi’s interview segment didn’t take up a large portion of the show. CCTV filmed Su Xi’s living situation in New Jersey and interviewed his elementary, middle school, high school, and college teachers, documenting the hardships Su Xi had overcome along the way.

It wasn’t just about the glorious moment of seizing honor and reaching the summit.

It traced the path of Su Xi’s life.

CCTV had put their heart into its production; you could have complete faith in its quality.

After the program aired, the response was enormous. It caused a public sensation and sparked a nationwide discussion. Moreover, its popularity even reached across the ocean to the United States.

Of course, the reason it caught fire there was because the American media reported on the clip of Isaiah Thomas’s interview.

Isaiah Thomas had adamantly claimed that Su Xi was the greatest rookie of all time, that Su Xi was perfectly suited for the FIBA system while other NBA superstars might not be, and that the Chinese Team would definitely win a medal and stand on the podium.