Chapter 89: After The Judgment
Morning light filtered through the window, casting alternating stripes of light and shadow on Jerry West’s desk. On the front page of the Memphis Commercial Appeal sports edition in front of him was a snapshot of Xu Ling dunking over Bynum.
This was a photo that was hard to ignore; West had been staring at it for a long time.
In the photo, Xu Ling’s physique was like a fully drawn bow, his eyes sharp as a sword, while Bynum was twisted into a desperate posture of trying to block but failing in vain. The headline was in huge bold black letters: 《God’s Hammer》.
Next to the newspaper was a heavy Dell LCD monitor displaying the ESPN.com homepage. The headline had already been updated.
West picked up his Starbucks coffee from the side and took a sip. His gaze moved past the newspaper to the even more shocking headline on the screen:
【Breaking News: Lakers disaster! Bynum diagnosed with torn left knee ACL, out for the season】
The article coldly stated the facts: “Confirmed by MRI last night local time in Los Angeles, Lakers center Andrew Bynum suffered a serious knee injury in last night’s game against the Grizzlies, diagnosed as a complete tear of the left anterior cruciate ligament with meniscus damage. Expected to miss all remaining games this season, with return timeline indefinitely delayed.”
West set down his coffee cup, his fingers tapping silently on the desk, his face showing no joy of victory,
only various thoughts emerging in his mind.
Then, West picked up the cordless phone on his desk and dialed a number.
“Mitch,” West’s voice was steady, without a trace of fluctuation, “I just saw the news. I’m very sorry about Andrew; it’s a heavy blow for him and the Lakers.”
On the other end, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak’s voice sounded like he hadn’t slept all night, hoarse and tired: “Thanks, Jerry. This is a fucking disaster.”
The pleasantries ended quickly, and West cut to the real topic, his tone as if asking casually: “So, those previous discussions… probably have to be put on hold for now?”
2007 was nearing its end, and the Lakers had made no moves; Kobe’s trade negotiations had been delayed because their record was good, and both sides felt the situation could continue for a while.
Bynum was a key figure, his talent recognized by the entire league; if the Lakers wanted to trade for an All-Star for Kobe, Bynum would be a strong chip.
Now, that chip had been shattered by Xu Ling’s dunk.
And Bynum wasn’t just an enticing chip; he had actually become an important player for the Lakers, scoring 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks last night, a pillar inside.
Setting aside last night’s game, Bynum had averaged 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks this season, far stronger than Kwame Brown.
Without Bynum, the Lakers would really be just a team relying purely on Kobe’s individual performance.
Bynum’s season-ending injury wasn’t just the Lakers losing their starting center; it would disrupt all plans, and the butterfly effect it produced might be astonishing, even terrifying.
In fact, the Grizzlies had already been affected.
West had recently been actively shopping Pau Gasol.
The team most interested in this was the Lakers.
Both sides had already discussed specific chip exchanges, preliminarily settling on a big trade involving Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, and Luke Walton.
Now everything was back to zero.
“Jerry… all the frameworks we discussed before were built on Andrew being the core chip.” Kupchak’s tone was full of frustration. “Now none of it means anything.”
“I understand.” No emotion was detectable in West’s voice. “Keep in touch.”
With that, West hung up the phone.
Meanwhile, Xu Ling was in the living room of his apartment, watching ESPN’s Sports Center on television.
On the TV screen, the host looked solemn: “This is undoubtedly one of the most heartbreaking moments of the season. Andrew Bynum, this 20-year-old young center, was having a breakout year in his career, only to go down in such a cruel way. Let’s review what happened last night.”
The screen switched to slow-motion replays of that dunk from multiple angles.
Xu Ling watched expressionlessly as he battled Bynum in the air, slammed the ball in, then Bynum’s knee twisting horrifically on landing and his scream.
Roderick Craig, sitting on the sofa next to him, couldn’t help exclaiming: “Holy shit, Eli, I’ve watched it so many times, it’s unbelievable but also fucking scary!”
On TV, the experts had already begun discussing the aftermath.
“This is more than just an injury,” the commentator said. “It has completely changed the Lakers’ season plans and might even alter the entire Western Conference landscape. Bynum was a core part of the Lakers’ future plans and their most valuable asset in any Kobe trade discussions. Now, all of that is gone.”
Another guest chimed in: “Exactly, now all teams interested in Kobe—Chicago, Dallas, New York—will reassess. Without Bynum as the core chip, what can the Lakers get? Draft picks? Expiring contracts? Those things can’t help the Lakers rebuild quickly.”
“More importantly,” the host added, “what will Kobe himself think? He desires victory, desires a championship, but the Lakers have now lost their most important young chip, and their path to contending for a title through trades is almost completely blocked. How much patience does Kobe have left?”
Xu Ling pondered this again: had last night’s game already disrupted the future course of this timeline’s NBA?
Since the Grizzlies could no longer cheaply sell Pau Gasol, if the Lakers wanted an All-Star caliber helper for Kobe, they had to offer Bynum; now with Bynum out for the season, the Lakers’ competitiveness had further declined, and without chips to trade for an All-Star player, as soon as the declining competitiveness showed in subsequent games, what reason did Kobe have to stay with the Lakers wasting his prime?
At this thought, Xu Ling began considering the most terrifying possibility—Kobe might really get traded?
“Eli, what are you thinking?”
Seeing Xu Ling silent, Craig couldn’t help asking.
Snapping back, Xu Ling said indifferently: “I’m thinking, although Kobe scored 58 on me, I got 48 points and 13 assists, which should be decent for a rookie. Will those respectable media friends be a bit more forgiving to me this time?”
“If they dare not to be, I’ll help you curse them on Twitter!”
“How to curse?” Xu Ling teased. “Like how Eagle County dragged Kobe down this time?”
Craig burst out laughing. “Exactly, why are we always passively defending? We should occasionally go on the offensive too, and besides, if Kobe dared to do that, is he afraid of people talking?”
Man, what more could I say?
Xu Ling responded to his best friend’s “profound insight” with a barely straight-faced shrug.
Undoubtedly, the Grizzlies vs. Lakers game was the most attention-grabbing game of the season so far.
Whether it was Kobe’s empty 58 points and 6 rebounds, or Xu Ling’s career-high 48 points and 13 assists, plus that devastating dunk at the end, it all made the NBA a hot topic in the sports world.
Collapsing, angry, out-of-control, desperate Lakers fans surged with hatred toward Xu Ling through various channels.
Not long ago, because Roderick Craig mentioned dragging Kobe down with Eagle County, Lakers fans had already left thousands of curse messages under Xu Ling’s Twitter from a few weeks ago; after the game, in less than half a day, the curses broke five figures.
Lakers fans tried to prove on various channels that Xu Ling had intentionally harmed Bynum.
Onlooker fans and vengeful Grizzlies fans used Xu Ling’s interview response from yesterday—”Sir, may I dunk?”—paired with posters of Bynum tragically down and Xu Ling looking down disdainfully, to mock them.
Major media outlets all reported on the game.
ESPN even specially produced a talk show led by the now somewhat famous loudmouth Stephen A. Smith.
“Undoubtedly, this is the most pivotal event of the season and even the last few seasons!” Famous commentator Stephen A. Smith waved his arms on the show, spittle flying. “It goes far beyond the win or loss of a single game! Listen, let’s set aside those hypocritical moral debates! Was Eli’s move within the rules? Yes! Was Bynum’s injury unfortunate? Yes! But that’s the NBA! That’s top-level competition!”
“The fact now is!” Smith was almost roaring, “The Los Angeles Lakers, this powerhouse, their plans have gone bankrupt! Kobe Bryant’s chances of staying with the Lakers to chase a fourth title have vanished along with Bynum’s knee!”
Nike-aligned media, like Chris Sheridan, still tried to guide public opinion, emphasizing the dunk’s “danger” and Xu Ling’s “cold-bloodedness,” but in the face of the huge real impact, these moral accusations seemed pale and powerless. The public’s focus had completely shifted from “was the move clean” to the bigger question of “what happens next.”
Adidas’s marketing machine went full throttle across the web, officially releasing massive posters of Xu Ling dunking over Bynum on major platforms right away, with concise and impactful text: “Judgment Dunk.”
Thus, this earth-shattering dunk was overnight crowned the Judgment Dunk, spreading wildly in headlines of major sports media and fan forums.
This was what happened the day after the Judgment Dunk.
In most corners of the world, people were living the same as yesterday, but the NBA could never go back to yesterday’s state.
With no need to play in this season’s Christmas Game, after beating the Lakers, the Grizzlies got four days of rest before facing the next Western Conference powerhouse—the New Orleans Hornets—at home.
These four days, the team just needed to maintain basic training, then could comfortably enjoy the most important holiday in the Western world.
Xu Ling arrived at the training hall earlier than usual. In the locker room, he ran into Pau Gasol. The Spaniard was smiling as he handed over an elegantly wrapped long gift box.
“Merry Christmas, Eli.” Gasol’s voice was gentle and steady. “A small gift, hope you like it. Time flies; I’ve spent another year in Memphis.”
The Spaniard smiled, a calmness in his smile from having been through ups and downs.
“The team is changing, the city is changing, but spending New Year’s here with this group of teammates doesn’t feel bad.”
“Thanks, Pau.”
Xu Ling accepted the gift, then started worrying about what gifts to prepare for his teammates.
They didn’t mention the trade; perhaps Gasol’s desire to be traded wasn’t as strong anymore, but things were already in motion, and unless something special happened, that moment would come sooner or later.
Xu Ling quickly changed into his training uniform and went to the court to stretch.
Darko Milicic was munching nonstop on popcorn; seeing Xu Ling, he wanted to invite him to join.
“Training is about to start; is it okay for you to eat this?” Xu Ling asked.
“It’s just training; what’s the big deal?” Milicic said smugly. “Plus, I prayed for myself; you know, there’s a fortune teller near my place who says my luck has been good lately.”
Xu Ling couldn’t help asking: “Do you really think these things work?”
He had noticed that Milicic really liked praying.
How could such devout faith appear on this playboy? It just didn’t fit no matter how you thought about it.
If he was truly devout, his private life would be enough to make God abandon him.
If he wasn’t, then why did he pray all day for everything, and even when there was nothing?
“Of course, don’t you believe, Eli?” Milicic said to himself. “Let’s be fair; without my prayers, maybe your last-second dunk yesterday would’ve failed. Okay, I admit you played a great game, but honestly, I think my prayers deserve at least 1% of the credit. That’s what I think; you denying it doesn’t change it!”
Xu Ling stared at him for a long time, and after confirming he was serious, asked a question that made everyone on the court burst out laughing: “So did you forget to pray for our opponents too? Otherwise, how could poor Andrew Bynum have gotten hurt? I’m serious; I think you not praying for them is at least 99% responsible for Andrew’s injury. That’s what I think; you denying it doesn’t change it!”
That was the situation: the pain was the Lakers’, Kobe’s, and especially Bynum’s.
The happiness was the Grizzlies’; they had no worries now, they had four days off, they had an All-Star who applied for a trade but still lingered with his old team, a backup big eating a huge bucket of popcorn before training, and a very, very, very respected (team-only) rookie king; they were very happy and had no troubles.
Until trouble came knocking again.
