Chapter Forty-Eight: I Am Also Michael

For Chinese basketball fans, Yi Jianlian’s departure from the Lakers and return to the CBA meant that there were no longer any properly established Asian players in the NBA. Some might mention Jeremy Lin, but this American-born Chinese, who grew up abroad, probably never truly considered himself Asian.

Therefore, when the words “Asian rookie” appeared, the allure for fans was entirely predictable. As the link to the ESPN interview on YouTube was shared, Chinese fans with the necessary technical know-how eagerly clicked and started watching.

“No wonder I’d never heard of him before—it turns out he’s a rookie on the Magic!” one Chinese fan commented, having recognized the venue of the interview and the Magic team training gear worn by Wu Rui.

To be honest, in China, only the teams with superstars or from major markets garner real attention. For example, Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Kawhi Leonard’s San Antonio Spurs, or the Golden State Warriors, who have swept the league in recent years.

The Orlando Magic, a relatively low-key team, received very little attention back home.

“Don’t look down on the Magic—they’ve got Aaron Gordon!” another Chinese fan replied, arriving a bit late to the comment thread.

“Alright, buddy, besides Aaron Gordon, name five other Magic players—if you can, I’ll give it to you!” With this comment, the chat instantly quieted down; clearly, their knowledge of the Magic was quite limited.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the interview, Wu Rui had no idea that he was already being tracked online by fans back in China. He simply answered the questions posed by the beautiful reporter in front of him as best he could.

“So, Michael, one last question,” Serna asked, looking at Wu Rui, “Zach LaVine has invited you to the dunk contest. Will you accept?”

“Oh, I know about that. It’s an honor to receive an invitation from Zach LaVine,” Wu Rui said, tilting his neck, “but I’ll have to wait until the league officially invites me before I can decide whether to go.”

“Of course, if the league really does invite me to the dunk contest, then I think it’s absolutely fine,” Wu Rui added, flexing his legs for the camera. “They think it’s perfectly OK too!”

“What the heck is he saying? I only caught ‘dunk contest’ and ‘Zach LaVine!’”

“Replying to the previous comment—he said he’s going to enter this season’s dunk contest.”

“Oh wow, if he really does, he’ll be the first East Asian ever to compete in the NBA dunk contest!”

The ESPN interview stream on YouTube was now entirely overrun by Chinese fans, whose imaginations had been set ablaze by Wu Rui’s answers.

Just imagine—a man of East Asian descent, on the grandest stage in world basketball, stepping onto the All-Star dunk contest platform, wearing an NBA jersey, soaring through the air for a thunderous slam! This scene had never occurred in history; it would be truly unprecedented.

Yet now, everyone’s mind was occupied by a single question: which Asian country was this kid from?

Because they had tuned in late and missed the opening moments—when Wu Rui had passionately declared himself Chinese—most fans were still watching and waiting for confirmation.

At this moment, many Korean netizens had also tuned into the stream, leaving comments in Korean.

“Is this our new Korean rookie?”

“It’s possible! Our Korean oppas are always so low-key!”

“Oh, that would be wonderful. I think this is exactly the news all the fans watching want to know.”

Back at the Orlando Magic’s training facility, the beautiful host Serna smiled at Wu Rui and said, “Michael, a lot of fans online still don’t know much about you. And now that Zach LaVine has invited you to the dunk contest, I’d like to ask, on behalf of the fans, would you mind showing off some of your dunking skills for the camera?”

“Well… about that…” Wu Rui hesitated at first, glancing instinctively at head coach Frank Vogel for help.

But Vogel nodded encouragingly, signaling for Wu Rui to go ahead.

This was precisely the extra condition ESPN had agreed to, at the request of Magic management, for turning Wu Rui’s interview into a national broadcast—they wanted fans across the country to see whether Wu Rui was truly worthy of being Zach LaVine’s rival.

A Chinese rookie displaying his dunking skills on camera—this was bound to make for a very hot segment.

“Alright then… no problem!” With his coach’s approval, Wu Rui wasted no time. He stood up, stretched, and called out to Biyombo, who had been watching the fun from the sidelines, for a basketball.

“Michael, need a hand?” Biyombo tossed the ball over and mimed a pass as he asked.

“Of course not. I’m just going to do a casual dunk.”

Wu Rui answered, but his mind was still uncertain about what kind of dunk to attempt. As he hesitated, his eyes fell on Biyombo’s sneakers.

“Air Jordan!”

Seeing the iconic pose of Michael Jordan crossed Wu Rui’s mind and gave him instant inspiration.

With that thought, Wu Rui tucked the ball under his arm and jogged to the far end of the court.

He took a deep breath.

Truth be told, he had never run from this far away to attempt a dunk—not once.

On the other side of the court, Serna and the others looked on in confusion as Wu Rui almost disappeared off the court. No one knew what to expect.

Exhaling sharply, Wu Rui clutched the ball and sprinted forward at full speed.

Serna was just about to remind Wu Rui that he hadn’t taken off his training shirt, but the next instant, her mouth dropped open.

Wu Rui planted his feet just in front of the free throw line, powered upward, and soared through the air as if gliding. He raised both hands high and slammed the ball through the hoop.

“I’m Michael too!”

As he landed, having completed a two-handed free-throw-line dunk, Wu Rui was so exhilarated that he instinctively shouted out the words he had planned—in Chinese.

“Holy crap! A two-handed dunk from the free throw line! This kid is a freak!”

“That’s not the point—did I hear that right? He just shouted in Chinese!”

“Damn—it means he’s Chinese! Where are those ‘Korean friends’ from earlier? Does it sting a little? Huh?”

Wu Rui’s spontaneous shout instantly sent the YouTube chat into a frenzy.

Serna, still in shock, swallowed hard, then walked over to Wu Rui with a smile and held out the microphone. “Michael, could you repeat what you just said in English for us?”

“Of course.” Calming himself, Wu Rui caught his breath and said, “I’m Michael too!”