While Wang Yi's spitting incident was making headlines,
James's examination results had come back.
He had torn the ACL in his right knee. In other words, his season was over.
And according to several sports injury specialists,
even accounting for James's extraordinary physique, he was simply too old, and his body could no longer recover as quickly as before. They estimated it would take at least 500 days.
That meant not only was he out for the rest of this season, but he might miss the next one too.
When the entire Lakers team heard the news, everyone fell silent.
They had known this was a possibility, but when the results finally came in, it was still hard to accept.
The entire league had once waited for James to grow old. Now that he really had, it left everyone with an indescribable feeling.
When James had finished his surgery and Wang Yi went to visit him,
James was lying in bed.
His right knee was wrapped in a thick brace.
He looked somewhat dejected.
He looked at Wang Yi and Mitchell.
After a moment, he shook his head helplessly. The first thing he said was, "My friend, I'm afraid I'm going to have to retire."
Wang Yi's heart sank.
James was one of the greatest players in history.
For him to retire so suddenly was truly a shame.
Wang Yi didn't know how to comfort him. He had never experienced anything like this himself, and couldn't begin to understand how James felt.
After a moment, he shook his head and said jokingly,
"Then your Retirement Tour won't have a proper ending."
James gave a bitter smile.
Then he fell silent.
After a while, some of the gloom faded from his face. He looked at Wang Yi.
"Let's not talk about