Chapter 80: The Holy Infant’s Curse
Kevin Durant, carrying that iconic backpack, head down, squeezed off the gangway first among his teammates. Inside the bag, besides headphones and a basketball, was that Bible he often flipped through but more often used to project a certain image to the world《 Bible》.
On the airport corridor bridge’s billboard, a familiar and glaring figure was looking down at him.
Adidas’s massive poster of Eli Xu placed here. He wore the Grizzlies’ dark blue jersey, with a cold gaze, lightly cradling a basketball on his fingertips, the background a boiling sea at FedEx Forum, the slogan bold and direct: “Trust your judgment—The ‘Lord’ of Memphis will change everything.”
“Lord”（The Lord）.
Durant felt his eye twitch. What a bunch of damn heretics, not afraid of being cursed by God!
Nike’s Holy Infant subconsciously hefted the backpack on his shoulder, the Bible’s《 Bible》 hard cover digging into his back.
The true “Lord” didn’t teach you to be so flashy.
Durant could almost imagine how the local Memphis media had racked their brains to come up with this lame pun—representing both “lord” and blasphemously alluding to the divine. A mix of jealousy and disdain, like some kind of energy, rippled in his heart.
“KD, look!” Durant’s teammate, the fifth pick Mike Conley traded from the Celtics for Ray Allen, pointed at the poster, his tone full of innocent awe, “Eli Xu is like a superstar here!”
“Mm-hmm.”
A sound burst from Durant’s mouth, no reaction, just quickening his steps to leave the place fast.
On the SuperSonics team bus heading to the hotel, Durant looked out the window.
He found Memphis unlike Seattle; it was more rundown and rougher. But on most bustling streets, every huge wall had Adidas ads about Xu Ling.
He was everywhere.
Durant wanted to close his eyes, unwilling to see the next poster related to Xu Ling.
They finally arrived at the hotel.
Before training started, Durant shut himself in his hotel room, turned on the television, and saw that bastard he wanted to avoid on TV.
On the local sports channel, they were tirelessly recapping Xu Ling’s performance from last month, analysts praising his big heart and “leader quality” and transcendent personal charm with exaggerated words.
Leader quality?
Durant grabbed the remote control and turned off the TV.
A guy who publicly executes teammates, spouts nonsense in front of the media, and stirs up trouble—deserves to be called a leader?
This really reminded Durant of himself.
Durant realized he was always saying “we’re great,” “we still need to learn,” “respect opponents.”
These perfectly correct platitudes repeated over and over—how many NBA players truly believed them? How many fans took them to heart? Fans only dug up your interview clips when you violated them to call you out for inconsistency.
But this was the image Nike deliberately designed, all for popularity, all for public opinion, all to make fans believe Durant was just like the approachable boy next door.
But this guy, why? His draft pick was lower, yet he got a sky-high endorsement contract from Adidas bigger than LeBron James’s that year, never needing to follow the company’s advice, firing off wherever he wanted, and Adidas still used its media power to fully protect him. Now just because they’re doing well, people start rationalizing that behavior?
Is this fair?
Durant irritably opened his backpack, wanting to take out the basketball, but that ever-present《 Bible》 slid out. He stared at it for a few seconds, suddenly having an absurd thought: maybe that bastard’s “Bible” is《 Antichrist》, or《 How to Efficiently Be a Bastard》.
Durant was suddenly amused by his somewhat blasphemous but oddly fitting imagination, his mouth just starting to curve, then quickly suppressed it, returning to that harmless calm look. He even felt a twinge of guilt from that thought.
This constant self-censorship and pretense filled Durant’s life after leaving college.
A few hours later, FedEx Forum.
Before the game started, the arena’s big screen played TNT’s pregame show, featuring Xu Ling’s highlight reel, Charles Barkley’s booming voice piercing through the headphones: “I said it long ago! Eli Xu is the best player this year! He transformed a team! He should be Rookie of the Year!”
Xu Ling was warming up on site.
Every move he made captivated hearts.
But as usual, Xu Ling was immersed in his own world. The outside world seemed separated by thick glass. His attention was only on the rim, the basketball, and his body’s coordination.
Until a chubby little ball boy brought him the trainer’s special Gatorade.
Xu Ling noticed him. The focus on his face instantly melted, “Henry, right?”
The little boy flushed with excitement, nodding vigorously: “Y-you remember me, Mr. Eli!”
It was indeed hard to forget; this little chub had too many memorable points.
“Of course, did today’s Gatorade have honey added too?” Xu Ling asked with a smile.
“I secretly added it,” Henry whispered. “Mr. Dreym doesn’t know.”
“Good job.” Xu Ling smiled warmly, “You’re capable; maybe I should give you a trophy.”
“Mr. Eli, I don’t want a trophy; this is my job.” Little Henry said seriously.
Xu Ling’s interaction with the ball boy was seen by the audience; to supporters, it was another proof of his cold exterior and warm interior.
Before tip-off, the teams didn’t exchange much.
This was probably because the SuperSonics currently had no strong enough leader qualified to take charge; they were focusing all resources on Durant, and before he grew up, using their draft picks to select more high-talent players.
This was nine months after the Big 12 regular season ended, Xu Ling’s first matchup against Durant.
He only remembered their first college meeting, when he hit a long-range three-point buzzer-beater almost from logo range to beat Durant’s University of Texas, propelling him into the lottery zone of mock drafts; in a way, Durant was his benefactor.
Moreover, the negative impressions from Durant’s actions in his past life had improved a lot due to the opponent’s current youthful purity, unaware of the world’s dangers.
Before tip-off, Xu Ling greeted Durant: “Hey, KD. Welcome to Memphis. Like our ‘atmosphere’ here?”
Durant stopped. He looked up, face expressionless, no pregame pleasantries or banter from being teased. His gaze was icy, even with undisguised rejection, like looking at an unpleasant stranger.
Durant gave no response and just walked past Xu Ling.
Nearby, Pau Gasol gave an encouraging look.
Well done, Eli; offended another one.
But this time it was truly undeserved.
Since the draft ended, they hadn’t met, no usual interactions, let alone grudges—how did he get labeled a wolf?
Xu Ling was speechless; his final conclusion was that the old No. 1.5 soul in little Du’s heart was awakening, just a symptom before onset.
In any case, the teams currently weren’t in the same tier.
Grizzlies ranked Western Conference Eighth, with playoff potential; SuperSonics at the bottom of the West, basically heading for the lottery zone again; in this matchup, the outcome wasn’t the focus.
The focus was the Xu Ling-Durant showdown.
Otherwise, ESPN wouldn’t be doing a national broadcast.
Commentator Mike Breen stated the night’s highlight before tip-off: “There’s a viewpoint that Eli is the 2003-04 Carmelo Anthony, while KD is that year’s LeBron James. Will tonight’s game affect the Rookie of the Year outcome?”
Breen’s partner, Jeff Van Gundy who just retired from the Rockets to become a commentator, said: “In my view, 2004’s ROY should’ve gone to Melo, and this year’s ROY has no suspense. If you really know basketball, you know Eli’s performance, stats, and team record are all above KD’s; I can’t imagine him not winning in this situation.”
Before Xu Ling dealt with Gay, the outside debate on who between him and Durant was Rookie of the Year was fierce.
Xu Ling seemed to have stronger immediate combat power, but Durant had exceptional talent; even relying just on talent, currently only playing shooting guard due to insufficient physicality against bigger players, still averaged 20 points easily.
However, when Gay was voluntarily out indefinitely, Xu Ling fully took control of the team, Grizzlies’ record soared from then on, and all controversy dissipated like morning mist in sunlight.
What once troubled Xu Ling now swept over Durant unchanged. Who in this world truly enjoys endless comparisons to another? Whether you’re stronger or currently weaker, it’s extremely mindset-breaking.
Now, Xu Ling’s existence itself had become an unavoidable nightmare in his life. His only thought tonight was to go all out and personally dismantle the temple built for the “Lord.”
Both teams’ starters took the court. Just before tip-off, Xu Ling lightly pulled Mike Miller, who was supposed to guard Durant, and signaled with his eyes. Miller got it, silently moving to the SuperSonics’ starting small forward Damien Wilkins.
Xu Ling himself sidestepped one step, stopping directly in front of Kevin Durant.
Pau Gasol, with height advantage, easily won the tip-off for the Grizzlies. The basketball was tapped backward; Xu Ling caught it steadily.
No probing, no hesitation. Xu Ling dribble pushed to a step outside the frontcourt three-point line; Durant immediately spread his long arms, gaze icy, body tense.
However, Xu Ling’s acceleration was lightning-fast, an extreme crossover dribble, right shoulder drop, looking like a full-force drive.
Durant’s center of gravity instinctively shifted back half a step.
In that split-second, Xu Ling didn’t drive deeper but used the half-step space to suddenly rise! His jump height wasn’t exaggerated, but the rhythm was abrupt, shot fast as lightning.
Durant realized the feint, leaped desperately to block, but his fingertips were still far from the spinning basketball.
“Swish!”
“You look the same as in college,” Xu Ling’s comment easily reminded Durant of their first meeting. “No progress at all.”
