Where the noise did not reach

Chapter 62 will no longer feature his script.
Xu Ling didn't like to boast about how popular he was, but Guy's immediate mention of "Mr. Sixty Million" showed that he cared a lot about it.

Since he cares, let him say a little more. Anyway, it won't hurt Xu Ling. Besides, Adidas and Nike are rivals. Guy, as a lowly employee under Nike, is so eager to stand up for his employer, so he deserves to be taught a lesson.

Guy was furious.

4000 million over 7 years?
Back when he entered the league with the talent of Tracy McGrady, Nike only offered him a 5-year, $600 million contract. Why? Just because Xu Ling was the third overall pick? Was his eighth overall pick that much less impressive?

What Guy never realized was that he and Xu Ling were indeed very different. Xiao Mai Di was just an expectation, like Gojo Ren, Tano Yu, and Kimura Ai, as well as all the big but ugly assembly line products. They were also considered to be the next Utsunomiya-style superstars, but in the end, they were just ordinary stars with some highlights but not much.

The Tracy McGrady template is Rudy Gay's selling point, but he must become uniquely himself. Rudy Gay can only become what Rudy Gay can become.

On the contrary, Xu Ling was never limited by her own template.

Initially, scouting reports compared him to Ron Harper; soon after, he was compared to Ray Allen; and during March Madness, the idea of ​​him being an "athletic version of Reggie Miller" began to circulate. But when the draft officially arrived, all the scouts reached a consensus: he was the most likely candidate among his draft class to become "the next Kobe."

Because of his diverse styles and varied templates, Xu Ling has avoided being directly compared to a certain legend.

When the rookie team launched another attack, Gay tensed up, convinced that Xu Ling would take the ball and attack one-on-one, determined to redeem himself defensively. However, despite a hard-fought offseason, the defensive weaknesses exposed in his rookie season remained unchanged, and his supposed strengths showed no improvement whatsoever.

Xu Ling easily shook off the defender with a nimble back-cut, and Jackson's pass arrived perfectly. By this time, Gay had already lost his position, and Eddie Jones had to hastily switch on defense. According to conventional defensive logic, Gay should have quickly rotated to help defend the player Jones was originally responsible for, but he only had eyes for Xu Ling and had no concept of team defense.

Without hesitation, Xu Ling made a casual pass, and the basketball was accurately delivered to the open Kathy Jacobson.

Without hesitation, the latter opened his mouth and made a three-pointer.

“Honestly,” Xu Ling said with a smile as he ran past Gay, his words cutting to the bone, “could your defense get any more outrageous? I’m starting to wonder where your floor is.”

Gay was infuriated by the repeated defensive successes, and what only fueled his anger was that Kyle Lowry seemed to have formed some kind of "alliance" with him, unhesitatingly passing him the ball as soon as they reached the frontcourt. Even though Pau Gasol in the paint was already showing his displeasure at the pointless back-and-forth runs, and even though his other teammates were frequently open, Lowry ignored them all.

Even more outrageous, despite Guy clearly being at a disadvantage in the fight, Lowry kept egging him on from the sidelines: "Rudy, keep hitting him! You can do it!"

In his numerous encounters with Gay, Xu Ling has gradually figured out his offensive tactics. He relies too much on jump shots, especially when he can't get past his opponent with his explosiveness, he often chooses to shoot hastily—regardless of position or posture, it seems that the act of "shooting the ball" itself is more important than "making the shot".

"Let's go to the right!"

Xu Ling once again made a precise prediction, blocking Gay in advance and keeping him firmly outside the three-point line.

Gay was forced to stop abruptly, barely managing to catch the ball before jumping and shooting.

"Rebound!"

Xu Ling kept Guy firmly in check while shouting towards the inside.

Sure enough, such a reckless shot was unlikely to go in, and Gay missed again in frustration.

Now, not only did the players on the field look embarrassed, but even the coaching staff on the sidelines frowned.

Head coach Marc Jaffaroni, who had just transferred from the Phoenix Suns, a team known for its fluid and fast-paced offense, was already accustomed to smooth and efficient teamwork. The inefficient and monotonous individual play before him made his heart sink.

He couldn't help but begin to doubt whether Rudy Gay's role on the team in the new season was really as reliable as initially envisioned.

Meanwhile, in his second-floor CEO's office, Jerry West silently watched the game from the window. His assistant, Laura Grankole, dared not disturb him—West was usually quite mild-mannered, but once the game started, the perfectionist within him would fully awaken. If the team made a mistake, he couldn't help but swear; if players repeatedly made errors, he would even consider trading them. Extreme emotions churned within him, to the point that he often refused to see his family after a loss, fearing that his anger would be directed at those he cherished most.

At this moment, West was deeply troubled. To promote Gay, he had gone so far as to trade away one of his most admired players. And this one-sided duel before him seemed to be a sharp reminder that this decision might have been even more of a mistake than his decision to choose Drew Gooden over Amar'e Stoudemire in 2002.

How could he remain calm and composed? How could he bear to watch this?
Gasol finally decided to stop tolerating it.

Upon reaching the attacking third, the Spaniard coldly told Lowry, "If you keep passing to Rudy like that, you're getting off the field right now!"

Gay never expected that Gasol, who was practically already out of the team, would be the first to publicly express his dissatisfaction.

Lowry naturally wouldn't dare to go head-to-head with Gasol. Regardless of Gasol's future, as long as he's still with the Grizzlies, he will remain the undisputed number one player on the team.

Basketballs began to be continuously passed to Gasol.

Facing Milicic's defense, Gasol couldn't completely overpower him with sheer strength, but his refined and well-rounded skills allowed him to handle a draft bust who had long been addicted to alcohol and women and lost his way with ease.

He scored easily in two consecutive possessions, demonstrating the solid skills of an All-Star center.

In the third possession, Gasol received the ball in the low post again. Just as he was about to post up, Xu Ling suddenly and decisively abandoned his defender and quickly rushed into the paint to double-team him!
Faced with the sudden double-team, Gasol calmly passed the ball to the wide-open Gay. It was an absolute open shot.

However, Gay's shot bounced off the rim again.

"As expected!"

Gasol didn't even bother with a word of encouragement, simply giving a cold snort: "See? This is your future teammate!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ling calmly retorted, "Isn't he also your teammate?"

Gasol seemed not to hear him at all, and continued, "No matter how well you play or how hard you try, even if you lead your team to 50 wins, if you can't win in the playoffs, you are the culprit for all of this!"

"Enjoy this mess." After saying that, Gasol signaled for a substitution, indicating that he was done playing.

Before anyone could react, the Grizzlies' only All-Star player in franchise history took off his training uniform and walked to the sidelines without looking back.

No one tried to persuade him to come back, not even a single person attempted to speak.

Xu Ling considered himself to have a decent understanding of the NBA. He knew that Lakers fans often jokingly called Gasol "Gasol's sister-in-law," but this nickname was more of a joke and didn't capture the toughness and decisiveness in his character.

With Gasol's departure, the last vestige of the veteran team's reliance vanished.

Xu Ling smiled at Rudy Gay, who was still somewhat dazed: "Looks like the ending is pretty satisfactory. At least I don't have to worry about Darko getting destroyed by Paul anymore, and you don't have to worry about anyone taking the ball from you. From now on, I'll give you every ball to play one-on-one. Don't worry, I promise I'll play to the end."

Gay is quite capable; provoked by Xu Ling, he regained possession of the ball in the next possession and went one-on-one again.

This time, he still couldn't completely shake off Xu Ling's defense, but under tight interference, he forced a backward shot—the basketball arced high and went straight into the net.

This was his first successful shot in his last four attempts.

That shot was undeniably cool, and incredibly difficult—but why did he have to make it so hard? Don't ask. As for his shooting percentage? Don't worry about that either. Let's just award him the Most Beautiful Pull-Up Dunk Award.

"Don't think you have the right to lecture me just because you managed to stop me for a few rounds!" After scoring, Guy seemed to finally let out a sigh of relief and retorted impatiently, "You were just lucky!"

Xu Ling did not reply, but simply walked to the front of the field.

In the next possession, he positioned himself in the low post and calmly received the ball. The moment he received it, he feigned a turn towards the baseline, a convincing fake that sent Gay flying. In that instant when Gay was out of position, Xu Ling calmly adjusted his footwork, gracefully leaped, and sent the ball into the basket with a textbook fadeaway jumper.

Looking at Guy's resentful face, Xu Ling believed he would attack again.

This reminded him of what Yao Ming had said to him when they defeated the University of Florida to win the championship.

You won't find such pure brotherhood in the NBA anymore.

He is absolutely right.

Americans have their reasons for preferring the NCAA to the NBA, but everyone who excels in the NCAA ultimately aims for the NBA.

It's like descending from an ideal world into the real world.

It would be a lie to say that Xu Ling didn't miss his university days at all. But that nostalgia was just a fleeting moment; he had to return to reality—there was still someone to defeat, countless expectations to fulfill, and a huge mess to clean up.

Rudy Gay is by no means a great ball-handler. Given his skill set, he should be a more threatening secondary scorer, capable of off-ball cuts and catch-and-shoot plays. But driven by his competitive spirit, he's determined to prove himself in isolation plays. And Xu Ling is about to show him that his jump shot was pure luck.

Gay's offense became hasty and disorganized. He tried to force his way through with crossovers, but Xu Ling's accurate anticipation and swift lateral movement always blocked his path; he tried to push forward with his back to the basket, but found that Xu Ling's core strength far exceeded his expectations, making it difficult for him to move; he even tried to confuse Xu Ling with a series of dribbling moves, but his slightly clumsy dribbling was full of flaws under Xu Ling's focused defense.

Finally, during a difficult crossover, the clumsy dribbling revealed a fatal flaw, and Xu Ling immediately reached out and precisely sliced ​​the ball away!
"Snapped!"

The basketball slipped out of Gay's control.

Guy stared in disbelief, watching helplessly as Xu Ling streaked away with the basketball like an arrow, charging down the court. His figure left a blurry trail on the wooden floor before he soared into the air and ended the play with a powerful dunk!
On the second-floor stands, Jerry West slowly withdrew his gaze.

He didn't want to watch any longer. Without Gasol's help, Gay, who was clueless about his own strength and rhythm and whose entire technical system was crude, was no match for Xu Ling. This power struggle within the Grizzlies was about to end. The newcomers would establish their positions, while the future of some who had already established their positions would become uncertain.

Gay's counterattack was once again cornered by Xu Ling. His dribbling space completely disappeared, and even his barely passable shooting angle was completely blocked. He could only awkwardly pass the ball to Lowry beside him.

Lowry drove straight in with Eddie Jones' screen and scored a layup.

But it doesn't matter.

Because the outcome has already been decided.

From the moment the opening whistle blew, Xu Ling completely dominated Gay. From any angle, he was the undisputed winner of this matchup. This reality clearly disrupted Gay's rhythm. He was still unsettled when he looked up and saw the 60 million dollar man dribbling towards him from the backcourt.

Xu Ling arrived at the front without pausing. A swift change of direction was followed by a smooth, fluid feint—the transition was seamless, instantly deceiving Guy and shifting his center of gravity.

Just as Guy lost his position, Xu Ling calmly stepped back.

That technique has almost become his trademark, so much so that Adidas designed his first signature boot, the Terminator, using that backward lightning bolt arc.

Guy stumbled as he landed, falling awkwardly to the ground. At the same moment, Xu Ling leaped up and struck with his wrist.

"Shh!"

The basketball goes hollow into the net.

Xu Ling didn't even leave a single trash word; he simply turned around indifferently and ran back to his own half of the court.

The game wasn't over yet, but Gay's plan had already completely failed. Having already played a full NBA season, he was no match for the third overall pick. Adidas's $60 million man seemed to live up to his name. Some things were about to change. Pau Gasol believed this was just a replay of his script, and many people present clearly knew that the Grizzlies would not have Rudy Gay's script again.

(End of this chapter)