Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

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"Enough! Enough!" Collins exerted all his strength, "Stop arguing!"

It was already too late. The rift between Yu Fei and Jordan had not only torn open a huge gap, but the conflict had also been fully publicized. During the live broadcast of the game, NBC's cameras focused on the two men, and their mutual hate-filled exchanges could not be hidden.

Collins had originally thought that in this team, the only one he needed to be loyal to and serve was Jordan.

But Yu Fei's arrival completely changed the situation.

"Anti-Mike" might be seen as teenage rebellion, but what about this? Does he respect Jordan? What is Jordan in his eyes? Does he acknowledge Jordan as a leader? If the answer is no, then what does he, who does not regard Jordan as leader, want to do? Jordan, in his fury, had already revealed the answer.

Yu Fei wanted to replace Jordan.

Once this terrifying truth was revealed, their relationship could never return to how it once was.

Although Collins tried to stop them from continuing to argue with all his efforts, some things were completely out of his control.

For the remainder of the game, Jordan didn't look at Yu Fei, and Yu Fei disregarded Jordan.

Jordan frantically took 25 shots but only made 9, while Yu Fei, relying on Chris Whitney's unreserved support (passing) and his one-man pushbacks after grabbing defensive rebounds, created 17 scoring opportunities for himself as well, tying his career-high of 28 points in a single game and securing 8 rebounds.

When two tigers fight, it is Richard Hamilton who gets hurt.

The sharpshooting Hamilton, on this night of suffocating intra-team atmosphere, received only 7 shot attempts, making 5 of them.

The Wizards, having lost all chemical reaction and team coordination, were unexpectedly defeated 89-95 by the Memphis Grizzlies, who ranked second to last in the Western Conference.

When the referee blew the final whistle, Yu Fei had already exited the game a minute earlier, marking the second time he had done so this season.

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The Grizzlies' commentator was still criticizing him for being rude, disrespectful to the opponent, and lacking sportsmanship, while the media, smelling blood, eagerly anticipated the postgame press conference.

Postgame interview

"Frye and Michael have no problems, they are both competitive people... We've seen a lot of similar things, like with the Lakers... They might not be friends... but that doesn't affect them fighting side by side." — Doug Collins commenting on the intense argument between Yu Fei and Jordan during the game.

"How could they possibly not pass to each other? Go back and watch the game tape again, such a thing could not happen, I wouldn't allow it." — Doug Collins responding to the notion that Yu Fei and Jordan were isolating each other on the court.

"We lost the game, everyone feels the head coach should take responsibility, yes, I am willing to take responsibility." — Doug Collins discussing the upset loss.

"Next question." — Michael Jordan being asked about the intense argument with Yu Fei.

"My foot is fine, but our team has a problem, I won't say who specifically is the problem, but obviously, it lies with certain individuals." — Michael Jordan responding to questions about his injury.

"I think Frye will become the Rookie of the Year, but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up winning the award." — Pau Gasol discussing his matchup with Yu Fei.

"We can definitely feel the tension in D.C., all I can say is that we were very lucky tonight." — Sidney Lowe (Memphis Grizzlies' coach) evaluating the game.

"Frye, how do you evaluate Michael's 9-for-25 shooting tonight? Is tendinitis still affecting him?"

"When us young players make mistakes on the court, perform poorly, we are told it's because we're not trying hard, not focused, too bad, and age is not an excuse for making mistakes and poor performances. So I think, if someone goes 9-for-25, you shouldn't focus on his injury. If you step onto the court, there are no excuses, neither age nor injury, that's all part of the game, he just played terribly."

"Would you like to talk about your altercation with Michael during the game?"

"Why not?"

"What happened at that time, do you... do you have a bad relationship?"

Yu Fei let out a mischievous laugh, looking at the reporter who asked the question, who came from the New York Times, "Have you ever heard of any of Michael's former teammates maintaining a good personal relationship with him? Oh, there might be one, Charles Oakley, that should be the right name, he is Michael's good friend because he can fight for Michael on the court. But he couldn't help Michael win, so he was traded. And those teammates who helped Michael win are the same ones who didn't maintain a good relationship with him. So this is how I see it; if I really want to help him, I can't be his friend."

"How did the argument happen?"

"I don't remember." Yu Fei said, leaving the reporters disappointed, although "I cannot be his friend" was headline-worthy, it was not explosive enough. However, Yu Fei's next words made the media room surge with excitement, "All I remember is, he said he wanted to trade me."

"What?"

"He said he wanted to trade me." Yu Fei raised his voice, "Please write this down, put it in tomorrow's news, these are his exact words, he wants to trade me, so this might be my last press conference as a Wizard player, nice to meet you all."

An experienced player would never be so blunt, but a young man can be. Today's Yu Fei, just like "Magic" Johnson 20 years ago, was dissatisfied with the status quo. Although he could make a better decision when he calmed down, the young Magic wanted reporters to write his thoughts down in the newspaper, to tell the whole world he had had enough. Yu Fei felt the same, he had had enough too.

So is age really not an issue?

No, sometimes it can be.

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