Chapter 56: He Will Rewrite Grizzlies History
Xu Ling walked to the front under the gaze of thousands, and David Stern looked extremely friendly: “Congratulations, kid.”
“Thank you.”
Xu Ling responded politely, then walked to the sidelines and stood in front of senior reporter Greg Sage, known for his colorful suits and humorous interview style.
“Congratulations, Eli!” Sage offered congratulations first, then threw out the first question: “After becoming this year’s Third Pick, what are your feelings at this moment?”
Xu Ling took the microphone, a relaxed smile appearing on his face: “Feels good, at least it proves I didn’t waste the past few months. Of course, most importantly, I finally don’t have to answer questions like ‘Would you be disappointed if you didn’t make the top three in the Draft?’ anymore.”
“The bidding war between Nike and Adidas around you has sparked a lot of discussion outside.” Sage threw out the second question, “What prompted you to ultimately choose Adidas?”
Bidding war? Xu Ling couldn’t help but smile inwardly.
“Actually, there’s no particularly complicated reason,” he said frankly to the camera, “It’s just that the contract Adidas offered looked better.”
Sage smiled knowingly, then asked the third somewhat sharp but highly anticipated question: “As everyone knows, the Grizzlies’ record last season was not ideal, and team owner Michael Heisley tried to sell the team last year but failed. Facing a team in a trough and uncertain environment like this, how do you view the starting point of your professional career that’s about to begin?”
This question was very realistic, and Xu Ling’s agent Leon Rose had expressed concern about it. But the Draft is inherently a passive game—the Trail Blazers and SuperSonics preferred players with higher talent, while the Grizzlies chose the remaining one from the big three.
“I’m here to play ball.” Xu Ling’s answer was concise and firm.
“Is that your entire answer?” Sage pressed.
“That’s right,” Xu Ling nodded, “That’s the only thing I need to care about in Memphis.”
The Draft continued.
The Hawks predictably selected their long-locked target—University of Florida’s champion center Al Horford.
However, starting from the fifth pick, the chaos arrived as expected.
The Boston Celtics, who had planned to trade up for Xu Ling or hoped for his unexpected slide, quickly activated Plan B after their plans fell through and snatched Mike Conley with the fifth pick.
This surprise disrupted the Milwaukee Bucks’ plans, forcing them to abandon their original target and instead select forward Jeff Green.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, whose plan to select Green fell through, surprisingly used the seventh pick on China’s big man Tai Kong Yi after weighing their options.
Faced with this series of surprises, the Charlotte Bobcats were delighted and unhesitatingly took their long-desired versatile forward Corey Brewer.
This was the chaos triggered after the Grizzlies took Xu Ling.
Half of the teams in the Lottery Zone did not select their initially targeted players.
After finishing interviews with domestic media, Xu Ling felt like he had become a ruthless answering machine.
The NBA’s globalization has been so successful not only because its talent selection scope has expanded from the United States to all eligible players worldwide, but also because of the pervasive media network behind it. To this day, almost every major country has media reporters stationed in the NBA.
The American media was still manageable for Xu Ling, as he had gradually gotten used to their questioning style and focus. What truly made it hard for him to cope was the media from Europe and Japan and South Korea. Sometimes, he couldn’t even understand the intent of their questions and could only rely on politeness and intuition to barely respond.
For example, a Japanese reporter once seriously asked: “Xu-san, I heard you have ‘absolute taste,’ able to discern subtle differences in sports drinks. Is this an important reason for your choice to partner with Adidas? Do you think this extraordinary sensory ability helps your defensive judgment in the NBA?”
Faced with such imaginative questions, Xu Ling could only suppress his inner astonishment, try to keep a calm face, and give watertight answers like “I’ll focus on basketball itself.”
The NBA staff responsible for guiding rookies noticed the impatience between Xu Ling’s brows, walked up, and said in a tone as if it were commonplace: “Eli, these are all the segments you must adapt to,” he said, “This is the daily life of the NBA.”
Xu Ling didn’t fully agree inwardly. He didn’t think every NBA team gets this scale of media attention on a daily basis. The current worldwide attention was only because this was the hyped 2007 Draft, and more because it was in New York.
The several hours of back-to-back interviews finally ended, and the process moved to the photo session. Xu Ling, wearing the Grizzlies’ hat, arrived at the shooting area, where most of the other First Round picks were also present.
He looked around and immediately noticed Tai Kong Yi sitting alone in the corner, his expression somewhat wooden, out of place with the lively atmosphere around him.
He was undoubtedly the most silent and closed-off one on site.
But this was completely understandable.
Xu Ling knew that Yi’s team had always hoped he would be selected by a team in a big city with many Chinese people, but against their wishes, he was ultimately taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Not only was the pick lower than expected, but more tricky was that the team he was joining already had a superstar Kevin Garnett at the same position.
Anyone in such a situation would inevitably feel confused and worried about their future.
However, things had come to this point—what could be done? Few people are in perfect circumstances, and few get perfect timing. It’s like you’ve seen Mamen Chisen playing the role of an yakuza wife—that was her peak period, and every tough guy who studied Japanese action films in the 2000s would be deeply impressed by her. But when she came back in 2025 sporting a beautiful witch persona, time hadn’t left traces of vicissitudes on her face, but a failed cosmetic surgery destroyed all the good memories.
Sometimes, the best moment has arrived, you just haven’t realized it yet.
Xu Ling walked over and asked: “How are you feeling now?”
Yi looked up, saw it was Xu Ling, squeezed out a smile, and said in Mandarin with a Cantonese accent: “Congratulations, Third Pick, well deserved.”
His congratulations were sincere, but the gloom between his brows hadn’t dissipated.
“Thanks,” Xu Ling smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere, “Memphis is indeed good, they have a stable roster there, at least I don’t have to be treated like a savior before even playing like Oden, too much pressure.”
Hearing this, Yi just shook his head lightly, lowering his voice a bit: “I’m not that lucky, Minnesota is too cold, and there aren’t many Asians.”
Xu Ling immediately understood he was hinting at requesting a trade. He was silent for a moment, didn’t respond directly, but pointed to the busy photography lights and backdrops around: “Look here, it’s a mess, everyone rushing to squeeze into the most glamorous template, hoping to get famous with one shot.”
He looked at Yi and said pointedly: “But sometimes, the brightest spot under the flash isn’t necessarily the best place to grow. On the contrary, those seemingly remote corners might have more solid soil, allowing one to quietly take root and grow at their own rhythm.”
Yi naturally heard the comfort in Xu Ling’s words, nodded lightly, and then asked: “Maybe. Do you listen to music?”
“Occasionally,” Xu Ling followed up with a question, “Any recommendations?”
Yi smiled and said a meaningful song title: “《Next Stop: Queen of Heaven》. It’s pretty good.”
Xu Ling was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then laughed too. This song title in this context felt like a silent prophecy.
“Good,” he nodded in agreement, “I’ll listen to it.”
At the end of the Lottery Pick group photo session, all the young geniuses stood in place under guidance. Greg Oden, as the much-anticipated Number 1 Draft Pick, rightfully stood in the center, with Kevin Durant and Xu Ling on either side, like guardians or challengers. Then, faces like Mike Conley, Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, and Yi Jianlian—these youthful faces had been continuously hyped by the media since a year ago, carrying the hopes and fantasies of countless teams. Oden and Durant, this pair of once-in-a-generation duo, probably never expected that after the college season, a black horse from China would emerge out of nowhere, strongly entering the top two pick discussion and nearly rewriting the script.
However, the NBA ultimately follows its iron rule upheld for decades: talent above all, talent is everything, talent is the only thing.
This was a Draft Class publicly recognized by scouts as overflowing with talent, making the teams involved fall into a grand dream. Some teams’ dreams might extend to 2016 or even further, while some teams’ dreams might shatter soon—everything would start from the one right in the center, Oden.
“Gentlemen, look here—” the photographer shouted, “Say ‘cheese’ with me!”
The lights flashed brightly, instantly freezing the moment. A 2007 Lottery Pick group photo destined to go down in history was born here.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
After all on-site activities ended, Xu Ling did not linger. Accompanied by his agent Leon Rose and his team, he flew to Memphis overnight. The next day, in the Grizzlies’ management office, both sides formally signed the rookie contract.
According to the current salary cap, Xu Ling signed a 4-year, 19.5 million US dollar contract, in the standard “2+1+1” form, with the first two years guaranteed and the last two as team options.
The signing process was smooth, because everything had relevant regulations with no room for bargaining, so West took out the contract, Xu Ling signed, both sides smiled for photos, and it was done.
The next day, the Grizzlies held a press conference for their third pick. Jerry West sat beside Xu Ling. Facing the flashing cameras below, this dynasty architect, known for his stern demeanor, rarely showed a hint of satisfaction on his face.
“Many people talk about talent,” West’s voice was low and clear, instantly capturing everyone’s attention, “They talk about height, wingspan, vertical leap, those things visible to the naked eye and measurable. But in the basketball world, the rarest talent is here.”
He pointed a finger to his head.
“It’s a cool head, judgment beyond one’s years, the ability to see through and tear apart the game. Our choice yesterday wasn’t for some ‘possibility’ in the future, but ‘certainty.’ I’m certain that what Eli has is precisely this rarest talent. Eli will rewrite Grizzlies history, I have no doubt!”
————————————
Sina Sports
Author Wang Meng
【NBA Signing Express】 Memphis Grizzlies officially signed this year’s Draft First Round Third Pick Chinese star Xu Ling on local time June 29. Team basketball operations president Jerry West lavishly praised Xu Ling at the press conference for having “the rarest basketball mind” and clearly stated “he will rewrite Grizzlies history.” This player, the highest draft pick Chinese after Yao Ming, has officially begun his NBA career. #NBA2007Draft##XuLingSignsWithGrizzlies#
Netizens hot discussion
@IAmNothingAndThusAll:
“So excited! Pride of Chinese basketball! From Yao Ming to Little Xu and Little Yi, we’re witnessing history! Third Pick well deserved, just look at his composure in the Sage interview, you know this kid has the demeanor of a general! Go Memphis! Must follow Grizzlies games next season!”（Likes3824Replies56）
@HeavenlyDynastyIQKing:
“LOL, some people still hyping Durant’s talent crush? Xu Ling’s commercial value alone laps him twice! Adidas contract says it all! Old man West said the rarest is the mind, O Emperor is just a fragile physique, that Number 2 Draft Pick skinny like a bamboo pole, three years from now Xu Ling will be the top of 07 class!”（Likes2155Replies423）
@RationalFan30Years99995:
“Must admit Xu Ling’s commercial value and basketball IQ are top-tier, but is West’s bold claim of ‘rewriting history’ a bit over the top? Grizzlies nearly sold last year, Gasol trade rumors never stopped, can such turmoil really develop a rookie? Compare to Yao Ming who had Francis leading, Rockets had mature system. Of course Xu Ling is way stronger than some bust third picks, but Memphis… just wish him good luck, future performance depends on fate.”（Likes1768Replies617）
@XuBallKingSurpassesJordan:
“Pretending to be rational fan? Kobe braindead fans rhythm-stirring here? Grizzlies turmoil won’t stop my Xu God from carrying the team! Does West’s eye for talent need your doubt? You guys said Yao Ming wouldn’t make it back then, now same playbook blacking Xu Ling? Even at worst Memphis looks better than your idol forcing trades!”（Likes1033Replies89）
