The NBA's Twilight Star System

The game ended with the Cavaliers falling to the Spurs 88-90.

LeBron James, once again, fell to his Finals nemesis. And once again, it came down to the smallest of margins.

This lingering feeling of coming up just short—LeBron had had enough. He needed more help.

Final box score: LeBron finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 5 turnovers—a stat line completely uncharacteristic of him. (And yes, this was his actual stat line; I looked it up.)

Kyrie Irving had 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Kevin Love had 10 points and 11 rebounds, fulfilling his double-double machine duties.

But the game's top scorer?

Jay Sun.

Jay finished with 23 points, shooting 5-for-8 from three, along with 4 assists and 4 rebounds.

The loss hit LeBron the hardest. He bore the most pressure.

As for Jay? He was flawless. What more could anyone ask of a late first-round rookie?

In fact, this performance solidified Jay's growing reputation.

Clutch shooter. Elite 3-and-D player. High basketball IQ.

These were the labels now being attached to Jay.

With his rising fame, Jay's commercial deals started rolling in. But after discussing with Bill Duffy, Jay decided to sign only small endorsement deals for now, all with one-year contracts. As for the big ones—clothing, cars, shoes—they would wait.

After the Spurs game, the Cavaliers had one road game against the Wizards, but the rest of November—and even their first game in December—would all be home games, giving them a five-game homestand.

No need to worry about exhausting road trips.

However, the flaws exposed in the Spurs game couldn't be ignored.

There was bound to be movement from management. The question was when.

But Jay didn't concern himself with these things. He had a more pressing matter on his mind:

Could he win Rookie of the Year?

At this point, his only real competition was Andrew Wiggins from the Timberwolves and Jabari Parker from the Bucks.

But Jay knew something that others didn't: Parker was about to suffer a season-ending injury.

That left Wiggins.

Winning Rookie of the Year came down to stats. Jay's numbers were comparable to Wiggins', but his clutch performances left a stronger impression on the media.

After all, it's hard to forget someone who always hits big shots.

Still, Jay knew he had to be cautious.

Wiggins, being from Canada, had that advantage in media exposure. And his physical gifts were undeniable.

With that kind of athleticism and a "low-risk" style of play, it would be hard to justify not giving Wiggins the award.

So Jay pushed himself harder in practice. He wanted his numbers to decisively outshine Wiggins'.

"Better stats, better record, stronger media impression—what do you have left to beat me with?" Jay thought.

November 22 – Cavaliers at Wizards.

Everyone expected an easy win.

And then…

The Cavs crashed and burned.

The Wizards beat them 91-78.

The entire team looked off.

LeBron shot just 8-for-21 from the field, finishing with 22 points thanks to free throws.

Kyrie had 22 points, 6 rebounds, and only 2 assists—a stat line that highlighted the lack of ball movement.

Kevin Love finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds, drawing heavy criticism from fans and media alike.

Jay?

He put up 12 points, 3 assists, and 1 rebound. Not great, but at least he wasn't the target of criticism.

On the ride back to Cleveland, the team bus was dead silent.

It felt like a scene from Silent Hill.

LeBron, noticing the low morale, stood up to say a few words of encouragement.

The next day, the Cavs lost again—this time at home to the Raptors.

110-93.

LeBron didn't say a word.

The Cavs had actually started the game well, leading the Raptors 34-21 after the first quarter.

Then Lou Williams happened.

Coming off the bench, Lou Will torched the Cavs' defense, scoring a game-high 36 points.

Dion Waiters, tasked with guarding him, was left utterly helpless.

Following a promising 9-0 start to the season, the Cavs had now lost three straight games.

LeBron had seen enough. He met privately with the front office, demanding reinforcements for the bench.

Management promised to address the issue before the trade deadline.

November 25 – Cavaliers vs. Magic at home.

There were some notable changes to the rotation.

Dion Waiters? Benched.

With the Big Three needing to preserve their energy for the playoffs, someone had to shoulder more minutes.

Kyrie, already playing a taxing style of basketball, couldn't take on more responsibility without risking injury.

That left Jay.

Reluctantly, he accepted the challenge.

After all, he had his system perks to fall back on.

Time to let my Closer badge shine.

With Jay taking more minutes at shooting guard, Matthew Dellavedova handled backup point guard duties.

The first quarter saw LeBron on a mission. He wasn't about to let the team suffer a fourth straight loss.

By the end of the first, the Cavs led 26-16.

In the second quarter, Jay and Kevin Love took over.

Their two-man game—pick-and-rolls, pick-and-pops—completely baffled the Magic's defense.

The Cavs won the second quarter 30-22, taking a commanding 56-38 lead into halftime.

LeBron's expression?

Dead serious. He knew the game wasn't over yet.

In the third quarter, Kyrie went off.

Victor Oladipo struggled to contain him as Kyrie weaved his way through the defense.

The Cavs won the third quarter 25-20.

Finally, after three quarters, LeBron exhaled a sigh of relief.

The fourth quarter began with Jay leading the second unit while the Big Three rested.

Dellavedova brought the ball up the court and passed it to Jay.

Jay jab-stepped to create space before exploding past Evan Fournier.

Driving to the rim, he executed a Eurostep and finished with a layup, aided by his Acrobat and Slasher badges.

On the other end, Oladipo tried to drive past Dellavedova, but Jay came over to help.

Pickpocket activated—another steal for Jay.

He bolted down the court and finished with a dunk.

Jay's first career dunk—achieved.

Fueled by Jay's burst of energy, the Magic completely fell apart.

Thanks to his Closer badge, Jay led the Cavs' bench to a dominant 25-16 fourth quarter.

Final score: 106-74.

The Cavs snapped their losing streak.

LeBron finally cracked a smile after the game.

Jay finished with a career-high 29 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter alone.

Back in the locker room, Jay was still catching his breath when Tyronn Lue approached him.

"Jay, come with me to the post-game press conference," Lue said.

"Me? Uh, sure, Coach!"

Jay followed LeBron to the press room, chest puffed out with pride.

Of course, LeBron was the main attraction. No Cavs press conference would be complete without him.

Jay had prepared dozens of potential answers in his head.

And then…

Nobody asked him anything.

Well, one reporter did ask what it was like playing alongside LeBron.

"What's it like?" Jay repeated.

What else could he say?

"You know, LeBron is an incredible player. He's a great leader, and he's helped me a lot. I'm very grateful to him."

And that was that.

Jay's first post-game interview was officially in the books.