Chapter 115: A Bit Hurtful
Denver’s Pepsi Center arena is located on a plateau with thin air, making the physical environment itself the first hurdle for visiting teams. But for tonight’s Memphis Grizzlies, the more severe test is the pair of league-renowned Golden Twin Guns standing opposite them—Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony.
This was Xu Ling’s first time stepping into the Nuggets’ home court.
This team, which seems only able to touch the playoffs, is one of the most attention-grabbing teams in the Western Conference because they possess both Iverson and Anthony at the same time, and perhaps Iverson is the more important part.
Even though it was their first meeting in life, Xu Ling received no goodwill in Denver.
Nuggets fans erupted in deafening boos, making this guest feel intense hostility from the first second he entered the arena.
“Did you do something during All-Star Weekend?” Jason Kidd looked at Xu Ling with some curiosity.
“In fact, I didn’t do anything.” Xu Ling replied.
—This statement might need to be more precise. He indeed didn’t do anything to Iverson or Anthony, but he did plenty to LeBron James.
And precisely because of that, he became this year’s All-Star Game MVP. In the eyes of some Nuggets fans, this rookie Xu Ling didn’t deserve that tactical status. If it weren’t for their “Golden Twin Guns” barely holding on the court, where would this kid’s explosion in the final five minutes come from?
The truth doesn’t matter. Nuggets fans just found a reason to hate Xu Ling, so they welcomed this young first-time visitor with full-arena malice.
Xu Ling was just as rumored, treating the on-site fans like pigs and dogs. Those piercing curses and deafening boos didn’t stir the slightest ripple in his heart.
He received a pass from Kyle Lowry, raised his hand, and a super long three-pointer swished through the net.
“So accurate, this young guy…”
Allen Iverson stood at the other end of the court, thinking silently.
Iverson was full of curiosity about everything about Xu Ling. This young man rose to league top-tier status in just half a season, more precisely seizing every opportunity that could make him famous—he drove Gay out of Memphis, completed that “Judgment Dunk” in front of Kobe, shook his finger at James, and suddenly exploded in the final five minutes of the All-Star main game, forcibly snatching the AMVP trophy from James’ hands.
His performance was dazzling enough to turn heads, yet his off-court reputation was notoriously bad.
Iverson recalled his long career and couldn’t find a player with a worse public opinion than Xu Ling: team bully, off-court thug, rude to reporters, disrespectful to fans… these labels stuck to this young man like shadows. However, during the brief interactions at All-Star Weekend, Iverson didn’t sense the toxicity from Xu Ling that the media hyped up.
On the contrary, Xu Ling got along well with every Western Conference All-Star teammate.
At this moment, looking at the back of the figure who calmly hit a three-pointer amid the sky-full of boos, Iverson suddenly thought of his past self. Back then, he was also seen as a cancer, troublemaker, with every away game filled with mockery.
People loved to criticize his tattoos, his hairstyle, his outfits, yet selectively ignored the sweat he shed in the training hall. So when he returned from missing a training session due to a close friend’s death, only to find reporters grilling him about that one missed training, he erupted with that earth-shattering “We’re actually talking about training here?”
Maybe every era needs a villain, and today’s media has accumulated enough experience from Iverson’s generation— with just a pen that can sway public opinion, they can mold this controversy player with no off-court blemishes into the league’s number one villain.
When both starting lineups met at center court, Iverson remained completely silent.
But.
“Hey, Eli!”
A voice suddenly came. Xu Ling turned his head and saw Anthony had approached at some point, with a seemingly friendly smile on his face: “Ready for a long night?”
Xu Ling’s expression unchanged, he responded indifferently: “I’m more looking forward to a clean victory.”
“Hear that, AI? He wants a blowout!” Anthony burst into laughter as if he’d heard the funniest joke, “Looks like the New Orleans experience has our AMVP bursting with confidence!”
Anthony then dropped the smile, staring sharply at Xu Ling: “But I’m not LeBron.”
“You’re indeed not.” Xu Ling’s greatest “evil” might be that he couldn’t help poking holes in stupid statements when he heard them, “You’re not the 2004 Rookie of the Year, nor the runner-up from last season.”
After saying that, he didn’t even wait for Anthony’s reaction and turned to his position, as if he had just stated a simple objective fact like “the Earth is round.”
The muscles on Anthony’s face instantly tightened. He, who was once called twin stars alongside James, had now been left behind by that classmate. Of course, he didn’t like hearing others compare him to James.
But Xu Ling walked away without waiting for his response.
The Nuggets won the opening tip-off, and the ball naturally went to Iverson.
He didn’t hesitate at all, like a blade—drawn from its sheath, it gleamed coldly.
Facing Kidd’s defense, Iverson did two quick crossover dribbles, with highly deceptive shoulder shakes, making Kidd’s center of gravity sway like reeds in a gale.
Just a moment’s hesitation, and Iverson had already flashed past him like lightning, driving straight into the Grizzlies’ interior.
Darko Milicic tried help defense, but Iverson in mid-air twisted into an extremely contorted posture, as if defying gravity, lightly lobbing the ball over Milicic’s fingertips toward the backboard.
“Swish!”
Kidd steadily brought the ball over half court. He held up two fingers, signaling a simple tactical gesture. Xu Ling started running off-ball, using Milicic’s sturdy frame to get open for a pass, and Kidd’s pass arrived as expected.
Anthony, who should have been guarding Josh Howard, abandoned his usual lazy defense and proactively switched onto Xu Ling.
“Come on, rookie, show me what you’ve got!” Anthony lowered his center of gravity, pressing his chest firmly against Xu Ling’s back.
Xu Ling didn’t respond to the trash talk. He dribbled and posted up, feeling the strength Anthony brought. One, two… just as Anthony thought he would continue driving inside, Xu Ling spun right with lightning speed, his body twisting like a top, the move clean and crisp without excess. Anthony’s reaction was half a beat slow, his closeout too late.
Xu Ling created space, calmly rose up, and softly flicked the ball off his wrist.
“Swish!”
“Is that it?” Xu Ling returned the trash talk, “I thought it would be more challenging.”
Not vulgar, not harsh, just sufficiently contemptuous.
Anthony wasn’t a nice guy; in fact, he was one of the rare NBA players with gang background.
Xu Ling’s trash talk made him furious. He wasn’t an outstanding defender, but on offense, he wouldn’t lose to anyone.
Competition between young stars often carries more gunpowder than between established superstars.
Because they all want to win their status in the league through this.
Especially someone like Anthony who entered with massive hype, like a gold medalist in the industry. When they enter, people expect to see their all-around performance because they can do everything, have everything, and just need a stage to showcase their comprehensive skills to the audience.
But Anthony didn’t have a good platform. Even though as a rookie he helped last season’s bottom-feeder Nuggets reach the playoffs with averages of 21 points and 6 assists, he still missed out on Rookie of the Year honors.
Over the years, James’ achievements made that outcome seem perfectly reasonable, while Anthony stagnated after his stunning rookie season—first round exit, continued first round exits, even after Iverson arrived it was still first round, no one compared him to James anymore, now the one replacing him as James’ arch-rival is Xu Ling.
Another super talent from NCAA, just like him leading a talent-mediocre team to national champion as a freshman, but the difference is Xu Ling became the outside focus before even playing an NBA game.
Xu Ling’s stunning debut was in some ways the Anthony entering the NBA that people had anticipated back then.
Anthony himself didn’t want to compare with a rookie like Xu Ling, but those aiming to climb up are destined to fight.
Xu Ling’s trash talk made Anthony’s rage burn in his chest, almost bursting out through his pores. He almost savagely signaled for the ball from Iverson in the next possession.
Iverson hesitated slightly but still passed the ball over.
Anthony caught the ball, backing down Xu Ling. His strength indeed had the edge—one, two, solidly driving toward the inside.
Xu Ling didn’t resist head-on but retreated while fighting, using his left hand to constantly disrupt Anthony’s dribbling rhythm. Anthony backed deep, using excellent core strength to force a right spin move, then a jab step into a fadeaway jumper, the motion fluid, showcasing his solid fundamentals.
“Melo’s signature move! Beautiful fadeaway!”
However.
“Bang!”
A crisp clang, the ball smashed hard off the back rim and bounced up. Kidd turned back to secure the defensive rebound.
Xu Ling didn’t even look at the rebound’s landing spot; the instant Anthony shot, he accelerated like an arrow off the string, quietly fast-breaking down the sideline.
Kidd understood, firing a full-court long pass precisely to the frontcourt.
Xu Ling caught it, open court ahead. He rose easily for a stretched tomahawk dunk.
On the way back, he ran straight past Anthony, eyes straight ahead, as if that possession had nothing to do with Anthony, as if he was just a defensive obstacle to clear.
This utter disregard annoyed Anthony more than any trash talk.
If Xu Ling knew that’s what Anthony was thinking, he’d definitely curse “fucking retard”—is ignoring you not enough, you need to be cursed too? Besides, what’s wrong with ignoring you?
Nothing wrong, just a bit hurtful.
Just a bit.
