Chapter Sixty-Seven: I Am Your Fan

"Michael, throw down another one!"

"Come on! Michael! Keep going!"

Inside the Amway Center of Orlando, the Magic fans roared in unison, eager for Wu Rui to score every single possession with an alley-oop dunk.

On the sidelines, Shaquille O’Neal was already nodding and swaying his head. “This is just Michael Wu’s usual business. From now on, his stat line should have a new category: alley-oops per game.”

“Shaq, that’s not exactly easy to track,” Kenny Smith chuckled at Shaq’s comment. “How do you even know Michael can finish an alley-oop in every game?”

“That’s simple, man.” Shaq pointed at Wu Rui on the court, his tone dead serious. “Just look at those calves of his. That’s where all the answers are. They’re packed with cosmic energy!”

Even Shaq couldn’t help but laugh after saying that, and Kenny Smith leaned back in his chair, bursting into laughter as well.

Charles Barkley could only sigh helplessly in his heart. Truth be told, since Wu Rui stepped onto the court and threw down back-to-back alley-oops, the crowd had been ecstatic. Barkley had to admit, the kid’s athletic gifts were truly extraordinary.

After all, he never relied on screens to shake off defenders, just pure straight-line acceleration. Just as Shaq said, those legs of Wu’s contained an unbelievable power.

“Charles, aren’t you going to say something?” With Kenny Smith still laughing beside him, Shaq couldn’t resist ribbing his old friend. “Michael is really putting on a show tonight!”

“Maybe his highlight reel will be thirty seconds longer this time?”

“That’s enough, big guy. Michael certainly has the potential to become an outstanding player,” Barkley conceded after a couple of Shaq’s jabs. “But until he finds a way to score with something other than dunks, I’m reserving judgment.”

“I’ve seen too many players with physical gifts like Michael’s. If all you have is athleticism and no jump shot, the NBA will leave you behind.” Barkley flipped through the stat sheets. “Unfortunately, Michael’s numbers tell me he’s exactly that kind of player.”

Barkley had a point, and even Shaq, who’d been rooting for Wu Rui, fell silent. Wu Rui was explosive, but the NBA isn’t a league you can dominate with alley-oop dunks alone.

In the end, shooting always determines the fate of a forward’s career.

At this stage, Wu Rui was sorely lacking in that department—at least for now.

Possession switched, Thunder on offense. Even before this season, people joked that Oklahoma City’s playbook had three pages: give it to Durant for isolation, give it to Westbrook for isolation, or Westbrook passes to Durant for isolation.

Now, Durant was in Golden State, Westbrook rested on the bench, and a new Thunder tactic was born: Kanter isolation!

Nicknamed “The Stat-Padder” in China, Kanter had just bullied Aaron Gordon for a basket. The Magic’s defense quickly adjusted—Bismack Biyombo stepped up to take Kanter head-on. With lower body strength to match Kanter’s, Biyombo leapt at the perfect moment and sent Kanter’s spinning layup flying with a powerful block!

The ball landed perfectly in CJ Wilcox’s hands. The Magic’s backup shooting guard dribbled coast-to-coast, faced no defender, and laid it in easily.

33:15—the Magic now led the visiting Thunder by eighteen points on their home court. One more basket, and they’d push the lead to twenty!

And only 1:40 had ticked off the clock in the second quarter.

Beep!

Thunder head coach Billy Donovan had seen enough and called timeout. He couldn’t stomach his team’s performance a moment longer.

“Coach Billy Donovan has to call timeout. The Oklahoma City Thunder are in big trouble,” Shaquille O’Neal declared bluntly from the commentary booth. “Without Russell, they look like they don’t even know how to play basketball.”

“That just shows, from another angle, how important Russell is to this Thunder team,” Kenny Smith chimed in. “It may sound obvious, but it bears repeating: Russell Westbrook is the Thunder.”

“True, but…” Charles Barkley started to weigh in, but his eye was suddenly caught by a scene on the court. “Look, Michael Wu seems to be saying something to the Thunder bench!”

As the three TNT commentators took turns analyzing the action, both teams’ players were heading back to their respective benches—except for one man, who walked in the direction of the opposing team.

“Hey, Russell, I’m your fan!”

Wu Rui called out to Westbrook, who sat on the Thunder bench with a towel draped over his head. “Hurry up and get back in! Your team can’t do without you.”

With a toothy grin, Wu Rui flashed Westbrook a smile, then was dragged away from the Thunder bench by Biyombo.

“Michael, what are you doing!”

As he pulled Wu Rui back to the Magic bench, Biyombo scolded him. “Are you drunk? That’s enemy territory!”

“Bismack, I think you’re the one who’s drunk. This is the Amway Center—it’s our home turf!” Wu Rui patted Biyombo’s hand, signaling him to let go, then added, “I just wanted to show my respect to the MVP, that’s all.”

Of course, Wu Rui’s “respect” only earned him a stern lecture from Frank Vogel. If not for Ibaka and others pleading on his behalf, Vogel might have pulled Wu Rui from the game on the spot.

Meanwhile, things were awkward on the Thunder bench.

“Russell, do you know that kid?” Grant, who’d started guarding Wu Rui at the beginning of the second quarter and had been blown by like he wasn’t there, asked first, still annoyed by how easily he’d been beaten.

“This is literally the first time I’ve ever seen him, I swear,” Westbrook replied, still a bit bewildered. “Maybe he really is just a fan?”

“Let’s set that aside. At least the kid was right,” Billy Donovan interrupted, ending the discussion about Wu Rui. His face didn’t look any happier. “Russell, it’s time for you to suit up. And it’s time for you to score.”

“Of course, Coach. That’s my job.” Hearing Donovan’s words, Westbrook peeled off his jacket and stood up, every muscle in his body exuding power.

When the timeout ended, the Thunder sent Russell Westbrook back onto the floor, subbing him in for the ineffective Christon.

“I did it, Bismack! Russell’s back in the game!”

Having been scolded into silence by Vogel during the timeout, Wu Rui’s eyes lit up. “Getting chewed out wasn’t for nothing, man. Now comes the best part!”