Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The Hornets Team walked into Key Arena looking much like the Lakers Team had arrived.

They are another yellow legion from the Western.

Yu Fei had no particular feelings for them, just as the outside world didn’t have much impression of the Hornets either.

The Hornets’ dark horse story had been taken by the Supersonics, and the MVP discussions about Paul were dominated by Yu Fei.

Yu Fei just wanted to say hello to the other side and then advance to the next round as quickly as possible.

However, when he routinely exchanged pleasantries with Paul at mid-court, he could clearly feel the hostility emanating from him.

"Hope you have a nice evening,"

that’s what Yu Fei said.

After all, the other party was a teammate from Team USA; it was normal to give a smile.

"We will certainly enjoy ourselves," said Paul, "but I can’t say the same for you guys."

Where did this Jordan disciple come from, talking trash even before the game started?

It had been a while since anyone had spoken to Yu Fei like that. He was first taken aback, then said, "OK, we’ll see about that."

Back in the backcourt, Roy asked, "Do you have that many enemies?"

"I’ve heard he’s Bronny’s godfather," Yu Fei guessed, "Given his relationship with LeBron, it’s only natural for him to dislike me."

Roy speculated maliciously, "Could it be a problem with you personally?"

"Get lost!"

The Hornets are a very modern team.

With Paul as the core, they paired him with shooters like Peja Stojakovic and Morris Peterson; David West is an underrated power forward who, with his already proficient shooting ability, developed a 35% three-pointer in this premature era of small ball.

Tyson Chandler is the only Hornets starter without a shooting range, but his rim protection, rebounding, scrapping, and dunk finishing are all top-notch.

George Karl, in private (behind Kwame Brown’s back), called him "Kwame with good hands."

Lack of range is not the problem, the important thing is whether one can fit the system.

Clearly, Chandler fits the current system well; he’s like Paul’s Kwame Brown.

At the jump ball to start the game, Brown looked at Chandler and felt as if he’d gone back seven years to that summer full of infinite expectations, the summer when he blew Chandler out of the water in front of Michael Jordan during a D.C. workout.

To this day, he still wonders if things would have been different for his career had he not been selected by D.C, if he’d gone to a team more suited to a rookie’s growth.

D.C. was an arena for beasts; only beasts could survive, and Brown was no beast.

He still doesn’t know the answer to this day.

But seeing Chandler’s situation, Brown eventually let go.

The Bulls, who initially had Chandler, traded away their star, Elton Brand, to nurture him (having selected him), but in the end, they didn’t pan out. By the time his rookie contract expired, the Bulls showed no interest in retaining him, convinced he was a failed product.

Yet, to everyone’s surprise, Chandler grew into one of the top blue-collar workers of the Western with Paul by his side.

See, everyone relies on a benefactor to survive, but some benefactors are just stronger.

Brown firmly believes that as long as he does everything he should, Yu Fei will lead them to victory.

The ball was tossed into the sky by the referee; Brown leaped at the perfect moment and tapped the ball to Roy.

Roy caught the ball and, without hesitation, whipped it at Yu Fei.

Yu Fei caught the ball, sped past Peja as if he were a speeding car, and sprinted to the frontcourt for a slam dunk.

2 to 0

"That’s the MVP!" Key Arena’s home announcer Bob Blake shouted, "Give our MVP the cheers!"

The sound was so loud that it truly satisfied the vanity of winning the big award for MVP.

But as Yu Fei ran past Paul, he noticed the other man staring back at him with a grim face.

With just one glance, Yu Fei seemed to understand where Paul’s animosity came from.

Was it because of the MVP?

But that’s not right, is it? Wasn’t he the third in voting?

If it had been second place, it might make sense, but why be angry about third place?

Yu Fei continued the game with his question lingering, while Paul quickly responded on the frontcourt.

Using Chandler’s screen to shake off Roy’s defense completely, Paul dribbled to the right side and hit a wide-open jumper for a swish.

2 to 2

"Chris is the real MVP!"

Chandler yelled at Yu Fei.

"Interesting," Yu Fei passed the ball to Brown for the inbound, "Do you think they’ve gone crazy?"

Volunteering himself, Brown declared, "Big Fei, you don’t need to handle that idiot!"

Brown’s confident demeanor about handling Chandler really did give Yu Fei a sense of déjà vu back seven years ago.

Brown blew past Chandler during the trial, and Yu Fei was present.

Looking back now, that was the beginning of a cursed relationship.

"If you don’t make the shot, you’ll have no rights to play singles tonight," Yu Fei said.

"Don’t worry!"

Is there such a thing as suppression of bloodline in basketball? Yu Fei didn’t know.

But thinking about how Lowry and DeRozan’s Raptors, no matter how strong they seemed, always got played by James, and considering how Lillard’s Trail Blazers, despite their courage against other Western powerhouses, always seemed like servants before the Warriors, maybe there is some truth to the idea of mutual restraint.

Perhaps certain inherent compatibilities and conflicts do exist.

Brown’s confidence against Chandler stemmed from seven years ago. Time had passed, and the paths they took could be described as different routes to the same destination — one formerly known as Little Webber and the other as Little Garnett, yet now both ended up as soulless blue-collar players.

Brown’s capacity for singles play had long since vanished.

But now, as he took the ball and backed down Chandler, that hint of Little Webber’s flair that Jordan had once crushed seemed to revive a bit.

Brown dribbled, posted up, then made a hard drive to the basket—still gripping the ball firmly, Yu Fei felt a surge of relief.

Chandler’s defense wasn’t stable; under Brown’s forceful attack, he ultimately couldn’t hold his ground and was scored on with a power move.

Yu Fei could hardly remember the last time Brown had played with such dominance.

Could it have been last year during the American Championship when he dominated weaker opponents a few times?

"No matter what you call me, Big Fei is the MVP!" Brown scored and trash-talked in one breath, "And nobody can take that away!"

Before Yu Fei could approach Paul, this overlooked contender in the MVP race couldn’t help but confront the rightful owner.

Paul called for a pick and roll with Peja to draw out Yu Fei for a switch, then he dribbled the ball. His speed and direction change were excellent, but this time, Yu Fei stuck to him closely.

Regardless of how Paul tried to shake him, Yu Fei managed to keep his body in front of him.

With no way to turn back, Paul, facing Yu Fei’s defense and completely blind to the basket, forced up a tough floater.

"Swish!"

This was why, as a mere 6 feet tall key guard, he left so many teams without an answer.

Shooting, driving, and finishing under tough contact, his skills were top-notch in all these areas.

The versatility in his offensive threats coupled with his master-level playmaking was the reason he could single-handedly rise the Hornets.

After that play, Yu Fei could no longer hold back.

"He’s playing like I owe him an MVP," Yu Fei said to someone nearby.

Roy asked, "Can you afford it?"

"Hmph, give me the ball!"

Yu Fei couldn’t be bothered to explain.

Read exclusive adventures at NovelBin.Côm

Yu Fei dribbled up to the front court and called for a pick and roll to force a switch, just like Paul.

But Paul’s situation was a matter of small against big, whereas the Hornets didn’t want to give Yu Fei any chance for big against small.

Hornets Coach Byron Scott insisted on not switching defense whenever Yu Fei called for a pick and roll.

Yu Fei’s forceful drive resulted in a foul on Peja.

On the inbound, Yu Fei didn’t immediately go for the ball.

He moved inside the three-point line, waiting for an opportunity, then suddenly, he set a pick and roll next to Roy.

His towering frame turned him into a veritable wall, which Paul utterly failed to shed, allowing Roy to drive with the ball, disrupting the interior defense, and then passing it to Yu Fei.

This time, Paul had no escape.

Yu Fei forcefully bumped with his body, nearly knocking Paul to the ground, and immediately drove forward with the ball. Paul tried to stop him, waiting for help, but was brushed aside in an instant.

All he felt was a sharp pain; the force of the drive was not inferior even to what he learned from his father’s instruction.

Yu Fei charged into the paint once more; Chandler desperately moved to defend but didn’t anticipate the ferocity.

Yu Fei, treating him like nothing, leaped high within the paint, riding over Chandler’s body to slam in a dunk that would intimidate any player.

"BOOM!!!!!"

A resounding boom echoed as the basketball rocketed towards the floor, only to bounce back higher than the top of the backboard.

"!!#￥#@%￥"

The referee added a whistle, Chandler was ridden but still violated the offensive cylinder, counting as a defensive foul, and Yu Fei was awarded an extra free throw.

But Yu Fei was indifferent to the main obstacle of this attack. Turning around, he looked at Paul, who was now rubbing his stomach, "Do you know how to prove to people that you are the real MVP? It’s by standing up to me like a man, not by dodging me in defense. What, did LeBron’s spineless disease spread to you?"

"This has nothing to do with LeBron!"

"Better not," Yu Fei retorted with a cold laugh, "If you chose to stand against me because of LeBron, then we really have a game to play!"

Even Paul didn’t want to get involved in the grudge between Yu Fei and James.

But when he chose to become hostile with Yu Fei to prove he was more deserving of the MVP, did it really make a difference how he chose?

The high and mighty king does not wish to share his crown with anyone. As long as you harbor any intentions towards it, you have already chosen a path that leads to your doom.