Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 491: Chapter 338 Good Luck_2

He clearly knew that the window to contend for a championship with him as the core had closed.

That meant he would never again win a significant ring, and moreover, the gap between him and Yu Fei would only grow wider.

This made him seriously consider the possibility of easing his relationship with Yu Fei, but he didn’t think Yu Fei would give him a chance.

In the past few years, many had tried, but the result was that their conflicts had become sharper.

Therefore, the only thing Shaquille O’Neal could do was to try not to provoke Yu Fei actively.

If Yu Fei came looking for trouble, he could only brace himself and face it.

After the first two days of All-Star Weekend activities, the Bucks came up empty-handed.

Bell underperformed in the three-point contest, Lou Williams was stopped again in the skills challenge preliminaries, and as a freshman representative in the Rookie Challenge, Aldridge’s team was naturally outmatched by the more experienced sophomores.

The only interesting Slam Dunk Contest ended with Gerald Green’s victory. The pre-contest favorite, Dwight Howard, didn’t even make it to the finals.

To the outside world, this year’s All-Star Weekend held in Las Vegas could be described as quite mediocre.

However, the mood at the venue livened up when Shaquille O’Neal’s clowning antics during the first Eastern All-Star Team practice drew laughter.

When Shaquille O’Neal comically posed and pranced around the court, even Yu Fei was amused.

Unlike last year, Yu Fei had no interest in competing for the AMVP today. Let whoever wanted the award have it; he didn’t care.

On the contrary, over in the Western side, someone was eager to use the AMVP to quell his MVP drought.

That person was Kobe.

It’s worth mentioning that Kobe’s first career MVP was the 2001 AMVP, which proved that he had already emerged as a major player, not just the second-in-command on a defending championship team. But the true championship definers don’t care about AMVP, so, in the discussion of Kobe’s “first/second” status, the AMVP had no weight.

However, Kobe’s recent career had been so troubled that he desperately needed an AMVP trophy to change his fortune.

Thus, people saw Kobe who could play one-on-one for five straight possessions tonight.

Yu Fei enjoyed the comment LeBron James made at the end of the first half, “You know, this stage is to entertain everyone. I always say to myself that I would never take four consecutive shots in an All-Star game; once I count to three, it’s time to start passing. But some people don’t, of course, I respect their style.”

Yu Fei liked what LeBron James said, not because he agreed with it, but because it fit the impression LBJ gave people.

Don’t look at what he says; look at what he does.

Throughout the game, James indeed didn’t take four consecutive shots, but in the end, he attempted 20 shots, which was just four less than the universally acknowledged lone wolf, Mr. Wolf of Eagle County.

It was clear that James was one in the Eastern All-Star Team who wanted to win, but there were too many on the team this year who didn’t.

Yu Fei was one of the leaders holding things back, vividly defining what it means to stand with hands on hips during positional defense; still, if there was an opportunity for a fast break, his speed was as fierce as Bolt’s.@@novelbin@@

Every one of Yu Fei’s counterattack dunks led the commentators at the scene to call for his participation in next year’s Slam Dunk Contest.

In the end, as the top vote-getter, Yu Fei only played 25 minutes, hitting all seven of his shots, scoring 14 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing out four assists before resting.

And Kobe, widely criticized, showed an uncharacteristic act of team spirit in the fourth quarter by actively passing the ball, which caused Yu Fei to give Kobe a poor review for this year. It was too lacking in Mamba mentality.

In the end, the Western All-Stars easy victory over the Eastern All-Stars, with Kobe smoothly lifting his second AMVP trophy.

Yu Fei was the first to congratulate Kobe and played a joke that only the two of them understood: “See you in the Finals.”

Upon hearing this, Kobe first smiled but then felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

With the Lakers’ current roster, did they even have a 1% chance of making it to the Finals?

“No,” Kobe didn’t know about self-fulfilling prophecies; he was just blindly hopeful about the future. “Maybe next year.”

Yu Fei knew that in his previous life, Kobe made it to the finals in 2008, but if he returned to Seattle this summer, many things in the 2007-08 season would change.

Who could say for sure what would happen?

Besides, how demoralized must Kobe feel about the Lakers’ current situation to not even bother with a fierce quip, placing all hopes on next year instead?

However, thinking back to his struggles with Shaquille O’Neal, from the beginning of his discontent with playing second fiddle to finally succeeding in driving the big man away, wasn’t his current situation the embodiment of the phrase “You chose this, idol”?

Even the word “idol” in that famous catchphrase fit Big Fei’s identity as an old Kobe fan.

Yu Fei looked at Kobe and said slowly, “Don’t call yourself the Black Mamba anymore, tonight you showed none of the Mamba mentality.”

“Shut up, Frye, you don’t know anything,” Kobe retorted.

Afterward, he went to the sidelines to give an interview.

Yu Fei passed through the player’s tunnel, entered the locker room to take a shower and change clothes, and was about to go to a party when he unexpectedly ran into another old friend—Doug Collins.

After Jordan’s fall in D.C., the Jordanian faction led by Collins was purged.

Collins left the coaching position he cherished, and with his excellent speaking ability, TNT hired him as a commentator.

“Doug, I’m truly happy to see you,” Yu Fei said sincerely. “I liked your comment about Tony Parker and Eva; do you still remember what you said about the two of them?”

“They are the NBA’s model couple?” Collins replied.

“Exactly, that’s the one!” Yu Fei laughed. “You said it so well!”

In recent years, basketball has changed significantly, often making Collins feel out of touch with the times.

Perhaps he left professional basketball at the right moment.

And the one who brought about these changes was Yu Fei.

Ever since basketball became systematic, coaches had always talked about increasing ball movement, and that core players should not hold onto the ball for long periods, but Yu Fei, as the ball-dominant superstar, won championships in succession, completely overturning many of basketball’s traditional tenets.

Moreover, the three-point shot became prevalent, and in recent years, the Bucks were the epitome of “if you’re accurate enough, a shooting team can win the championship.”

Many long-standing basketball concepts were broken.

Seeing Yu Fei again, Collins couldn’t help but think of the day, five years ago, when the Wizards traded Yu Fei to Milwaukee.

Collins remembered what he had told Yu Fei back then.

Your talent will become your curse.

At the time, it was merely a hopeful wish from Collins for Yu Fei, who was about to escape Jordan’s clutches.

But now, it seemed like a prophecy about Yu Fei’s future.

He indeed became the curse itself, not just Jordan’s curse, but also Shaquille O’Neal’s curse, James’s curse, and even the curse of those who hated him.

“Frye,” Collins said, “how confident are you guys in defending the championship this year?”

“100% confident,” Yu Fei replied firmly and arrogantly, which did not surprise Collins.

Collins asked, “Isn’t there any possibility of slipping up?”

“No, I’m confident,” Yu Fei responded.

“I want to know where your confidence comes from.”

This was something Yu Fei found difficult to explain to Collins; he could only emphasize, “Because I have every reason to win the championship.”

Collins didn’t press further for an answer.

As an old-timer who had high hopes for Yu Fei’s future, he sincerely said, “Good luck to you.”

“Thank you, Doug, and good luck to you too.”

All-Star Weekend had ended, and the trade deadline was approaching, but both events signified that the regular season was drawing to a close.

In Yu Fei’s heart, there was a seed; his future was clear, and now, that seed was sprouting rapidly, his will driving Milwaukee forward, unstoppable.

If you want to stop him?

Good luck.

No, good luck to all of you.

COMMENT
0 comment

Vote
3 left

SEND GIFT