Chapter Sixty-Six: That Was Entirely Unnecessary

“Hey Charles, take a look at Michael’s performance—I think you ought to reconsider your opinion of him.” At the commentator’s table, Shaquille O’Neal laughed heartily. “Did you see that backdoor cut? That alley-oop? Man, pulling off a move like that with a second-round pick—now that’s what I call Orlando Magic’s draft magic!”

“Well…maybe…” Charles Barkley hesitated, unsure of what to say. He hadn’t expected the Magic to send Wu Rui onto the court right at the start of the second quarter.

The moment Wu Rui was introduced as a starter, Barkley had a bad feeling. Honestly, if Wu Rui had put in a dull, uneventful stretch, Barkley would’ve wasted no time dousing the hopes of fans who believed in this Chinese rookie. But before he could rain on their parade, Wu Rui’s performance sent a chill down the Round Mound’s spine.

In the previous game against the Utah Jazz, Wu Rui had used a crafty backdoor cut to shake off his defender and connect with his teammates for an alley-oop. Even though Wu Rui had relied more on his quick wit to slip away from Gordon Hayward, once Hayward realized what had happened, he still couldn’t recover in time.

All of this was thanks to Wu Rui’s explosive legs. With those springs, he could execute the backdoor alley-oop to perfection—even an All-Star small forward struggled to keep up, to say nothing of Jerami Grant, who was defending him now.

“Michael, was that pass high enough for you?” On the way back down the court, DJ Augustin, who had set Wu Rui up, grinned at the rookie. “Any higher and only Superman could catch it!”

“Oh, really? You mean that?” Wu Rui shot him a look, one eyebrow arched. “That was barely enough to fill the gap between my teeth!”

“I thought that was just a warm-up,” Wu Rui said, his spirits high after scoring right off the bench. “Next time, throw it even higher. Don’t think you can fool me so easily!”

“Come on, Michael, you think the defense is made of paper?” chuckled Bismack Biyombo, jogging back on defense. “That alley-oop was just luck. They won’t give you another chance like that. Better play it safe.”

“Alright, alright, you’re not wrong, Bismack.” Wu Rui nodded, then shot a glance at DJ Augustin. “DJ, whatever you do, don’t pass to Bismack next time. The guy doesn’t even dare ask for an alley-oop. Don’t waste the opportunity.”

“Michael…” Biyombo protested, but Wu Rui cut him off. “Trust me, Bismack, their defense is much weaker than you think!”

“Don’t forget our plan,” Wu Rui whispered, sidling up to Biyombo. He knew Biyombo was worried his offensive approach was too one-dimensional. “Russell is still sitting on the bench. All we need to do is force him onto the floor!”

“Once that happens, I’ll make good on every word I’ve said.” Wu Rui flashed a confident grin.

“Michael, are you sure you can pull this off?” Biyombo was still uneasy, despite Wu Rui’s bravado. After all, Wu Rui’s offense hinged on that same backdoor alley-oop—could one trick really carry him through?

“Of course. Trust me!” Wu Rui nodded emphatically and looked toward the opposing point guard. “Heads up on defense, Bismack. Stop this possession!”

As they spoke, the Thunder players took their positions. Most were unfamiliar faces to the fans, but the one recognizable name was also the most dangerous scorer.

In the paint, Kanter caught a pass from his teammate. Wasting no time, he muscled his way into the lane, backing down his defender with sheer strength, and forced up a layup. The ball circled the rim but spun out.

But the Thunder’s possession wasn’t over. As the ball bounced off, Kanter muscled past his defender, leapt up, and with a single hand, tipped the ball back in!

“Enes Kanter is a mismatch for Aaron Gordon, both in height and strength. The Thunder’s center is practically devouring the dunk contest star alive!” O’Neal couldn’t help but comment from the booth. Though Kanter wasn’t that type of player, Shaq saw a shadow of his own dominance in the play. “Of course, if I’d been holding the ball, that would’ve been a thunderous slam!”

Back on offense, DJ Augustin pushed the pace. Near the free throw line, Orlando and Oklahoma’s forwards were already locked in a silent battle.

Jerami Grant, an undrafted player, was always fighting for recognition—every minute on the floor was a chance to prove himself. That’s why he played with such tenacity on defense.

But on the previous possession, a split-second lapse had let the Magic’s number zero slip away for the alley-oop. If the coach took note of that mistake, Grant’s playing time would surely suffer.

Determined, Grant pressed up on Wu Rui, giving him no breathing room.

“Man, is this really necessary?” Wu Rui shuffled lazily under Grant’s suffocating defense, his mouth running as always. “You’re overdoing it.”

“Overdoing it? Defense is the foundation of surviving in the league, rookie!” Grant snapped back, mistaking Wu Rui’s nonchalance for surrender. “Let me teach you a lesson tonight!”

“No problem at all…” Wu Rui replied, giving a subtle signal to DJ Augustin, who was cutting into the paint off a screen. “Only, I think you’ve misunderstood my meaning.”

With those words, Wu Rui stopped feigning, planted his foot, and exploded toward the basket!

Grant was startled and gave chase. In truth, Grant was two centimeters taller and just as quick, but the distance between them grew mercilessly.

For a fleeting moment, Grant wondered why Wu Rui wasn’t running track.

Under the rim, Kanter, the lone big man, instinctively lunged at DJ Augustin, not even noticing Wu Rui’s cut—after all, in his mind, the Magic’s number zero was still locked up on the far side of the free throw line.

Augustin, seeing the Thunder’s big man leap out at him, flicked his wrist and lobbed the ball high. In the next instant, Wu Rui soared as if spring-loaded, hammering the ball through the hoop!

“WOW!”

Amway Arena, deflated moments before by Kanter’s put-back over Gordon, erupted. The Magic fans leapt to their feet, filling the air with raucous cheers.

Landing, Wu Rui shrugged and glanced at Jerami Grant, who could only watch him finish the alley-oop. “Man, you just can’t stop me.”

“So really, there’s no need to try so hard.”