Chapter Ninety-Five: He Made Me Dunk Over Him

On the foul line, the Greek Freak’s shooting touch was nothing special, but the simplest of free throws still fell through the net as expected.

With five and a half minutes left in the first quarter, the Bucks led the home-team Magic by three, 23–20, and Milwaukee’s star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, already had eleven points.

"Hey, is that Michael Wu?"

After making the free throw, Antetokounmpo was in good spirits. As he passed Wu Rui, he even greeted his opponent.

"I’ve been waiting to test myself against you."

"The guy on our bench keeps talking about you. Says you’re like what I used to be." Antetokounmpo pointed to Jason Terry sitting on the sideline, then brought the conversation back to Wu Rui. "But you’re way too short. Not like what I used to be at all."

"Height isn’t the issue, Giannis. Our names aren’t even the same." Since Antetokounmpo was so friendly, Wu Rui naturally played along. "I think your teammate means I play like you, for example, I can slam your rim to pieces."

"Oh-ho! That’s cool, man. Did your coach teach you to say that?" Antetokounmpo was startled by Wu Rui’s sudden remark. "Bro, trash talk at this level won’t get to me."

"That isn’t trash talk," Wu Rui said with a shrug. "I’m just telling the truth."

"Hey, feel free to try!"

With that parting shot, Antetokounmpo strode away, retreating to the defensive end, though a trace of disdain still lingered in his smile.

"So, Giannis, what kind of player is that Michael Wu?" As soon as his teammate was back in position, Jabari Parker seized the brief moment to ask.

"An arrogant little punk." Antetokounmpo curled his lip. "Maybe Jason misread the article. Those media clowns just love hyping up nobodies with no real game."

Michael Wu? Like me?

Antetokounmpo paid Wu Rui no mind at all.

But on the other side, the Magic were completely different. Elfrid Payton took the inbound, brought the ball up, and just after crossing half court, he and Aaron Gordon ran a beautifully timed pick-and-roll. After all, Gordon had once been the team’s true starting forward, and this was a play they had run countless times.

Matthew Dellavedova was sealed off by Gordon’s broad frame, and Payton was left isolated against Jabari Parker.

At the same time, the two small forwards were locked in battle. Against a player he didn’t rate, Antetokounmpo needed only one serious defensive possession; after a single possession, the other man would feel, deep in his bones, the terror of being utterly smothered on every front.

"What’s the matter, Michael? Didn’t you say you were going to smash our rim to pieces?" Antetokounmpo, a full size larger than Wu Rui, spread his arms wide and enveloped the newcomer. "Look up there. The basket’s right above you."

"You’re in such a hurry for me to smash it, huh?" Wu Rui felt a little crowded by Antetokounmpo’s long arms, but his mouth never yielded an inch. "Are you expecting me to dunk it in some special pose?"

"Oh, right—I heard you competed in the Dunk Contest? Looked like you were eliminated in the first round?" Wu Rui said, feigning shock. "I see now. You want to borrow my dunk ideas for this season’s contest!"

"Are you kidding me, man? I need to borrow your ideas?" Antetokounmpo was a bit baffled. He had clearly been suppressing his opponent both in words and in position, yet a hot anger still surged inside him.

And it did not feel good.

But then he turned his attention to Payton, who still had the ball. Under normal circumstances, Payton would never pass up a mismatch like this, and this time would be no exception.

A perfunctory triple-threat jab, then Payton steeled himself and drove right against Parker’s mismatch defense, getting into the paint before rising for the layup.

But Jabari Parker was, after all, the second overall pick of his draft year. His outstanding athleticism made up for his defensive positioning, slightly disrupting Payton’s touch on the finish. The ball struck the right side of the rim and bounced away.

John Henson leaned into Bismack Biyombo and sprang upward, looking ready to claim the defensive board. But in the next instant, his eye twitching faintly, he caught sight of movement.

Almost in the same breath, a figure in the Magic’s home No. 0 jersey burst in from Henson’s left, beat him to the spot, controlled the ball with one hand, then, still descending, pressed into Henson and hammered it viciously through the hoop.

Boom!

The rim thundered, and the entire Amway Center erupted.

"What just happened!"

"It was Michael! Michael Wu!"

"Michael Wu strikes again, and this time John Henson is the victim!"

"My God, please spare poor John. He’s just a child!"

The Magic fans along the sideline all sprang up from their seats. For the home side, which had been pinned under the beastly physicality of Antetokounmpo, this was a moment powerful enough to stand against every basket the Greek Freak had made in the first quarter up to that point.

"Oh-ho, Michael Wu answered right back and dunked on John Henson?" Even the announcer was stunned. "My goodness, how did he do that? Where was Giannis? Wasn’t he supposed to have Wu Rui locked up?"

On the floor, Antetokounmpo, who had been pressing Wu Rui into an awkward stance just moments earlier, was also taken aback, then immediately understood.

A moment ago, he had shifted his attention to Payton for just an instant. That brief lapse was all Wu Rui needed to seize the opening, sprint to the rim, and throw down the putback.

But this was not merely any putback. Wu Rui had dunked over Antetokounmpo’s teammate right in front of his eyes.

John Henson was clearly dazed too. He had been thinking about how to trigger the break the next second, and instead lost all balance, nearly knocked flat to the floor by Wu Rui’s dunk.

Turning back in terror to stare at Wu Rui, Henson froze as Wu Rui gave him a crooked smile.

"Don’t blame me, man. Your teammate was in a hurry to make me dunk one."

"Giannis Antetokounmpo? I think that’s what he’s called." Wu Rui went on, his face full of regret. "Maybe you should take it up with him, or I wouldn’t have chosen to dunk on you."

"What?"

Wu Rui finished speaking and left Henson with only his back, but the man was left staring in shock.

Giannis wanted him to dunk on himself?

What was going on?

"Don’t listen to that kid. He’s just trying to throw you off!"

Hearing Wu Rui’s words, Antetokounmpo came over to his teammate’s side. "That kid talks a lot of nonsense. Don’t let him get into your head."

"On the next one, I’ll dunk on him and get your pride back!"

As he spoke, Antetokounmpo immediately called for the ball from Jabari Parker, who was preparing to inbound from the baseline, while his eyes remained fixed on Wu Rui, who was laughing with his teammates in the frontcourt.