Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Yu Fei was back, although the outcome was not surprising.

This matter also made Yu Fei realize the complexity within the Wizards' organization.

On the surface, Pollin and Jordan shared common interests, but Jordan's "performance" was still too stable. Clearly, Yu Fei wasn't the only one who couldn't stand his high-and-mighty attitude.

In Yu Fei's memory, this was the first time Pollin stood up against Jordan since he arrived in D.C.

The result was a complete victory for Pollin.

But would Jordan just lie low? Yu Fei didn't think so, but he had already used the incident to announce his presence and significance. Even Jordan wouldn't treat him as just a simple rookie anymore.

As for the higher-level struggles, Yu Fei didn't want to get involved; he just wanted to play basketball. So as long as Jordan wasn't too overbearing, he was still willing to be a dutiful good player.

The day after Christmas, Yu Fei and his mother, Yu Fenglin, returned to their hometown in Kent for the holiday.

Perhaps because the house was somewhat empty, Yu Fenglin rarely showed concern for Yu Fei's personal life: "You play your basketball games, but you can still find a girlfriend, right?"

"Haven't you been following the news recently?" Yu Fei didn't expect that right after his clash with Jordan, his mother would start to worry about his love life.

Seriously, where had he had the time lately?

"What does a big news story have to do with you? Isn't it just some friction with your teammates?"

"Yes, that's it. Um, I'll ask Tony to introduce me to some later."

"Tony? You want him to introduce you?" Although Yu Fenglin didn't have a dislike for African Americans, she really worried that Lawson might introduce unreliable girls to Yu Fei. "You should ask QD (Quentin Demio) to help you out with this."

"Alright, I'll talk to him about it later."

After the holidays, Yu Fei needed to rush back to D.C. to meet with the team, while Yu Fenglin had some sudden matters to attend to and stayed in Kent.

On December 27th, the Wizards set out from their home court, heading to Indiana.

This was Yu Fei's first away game with the team after being suspended for protective reasons for more than half a month.

It's worth mentioning that the person sitting next to Yu Fei was no longer Steve Wyche from The Washington Post, but Thomas Flynn from The Washington Times.

The reason for this change was twofold; one, Wyche was Jordan's mouthpiece to the outside world, a true Jordan loyalist.

Flynn, on the other hand, was temporarily drafted from The Times. On his first day at the Wizards, he managed to offend Collins, and Jordan refused to give him an interview. He also prohibited anyone from revealing any news about himself to Flynn. Yu Fei was the only Wizards player willing to accept him.

Naturally, Flynn took the place of Wyche in Yu Fei's heart.

Since Yu Fei and Jordan's relationship had already ruptured, Wyche could no longer do anything for him, but he needed a local media outlet with influence to speak for him. Flynn was the perfect replacement.

Although Flynn himself did not want to become Yu Fei's man, he actually had no choice.

"Hey, Thomas, do you have any suggestions for me for tonight's game?" Yu Fei asked.

"Do you think every sports journalist is a basketball expert?" Flynn asked.

"I don't think so, but I know you pretend to be one when you report on the Wizards' team," Yu Fei said with a laugh. "Come on, tell me. I like to hear what laypeople think about the Pacers."

Laypeople... you really have a way with words.

"I think Indiana is a well-balanced team, but they haven't fully tapped into their potential," Flynn said incisively. "Isiah Thomas is a problem."

Yu Fei's face showed no surprise: "I've heard legends about how Isiah managed to run the prospering CBA into the ground. I didn't expect his coaching skills to be so 'remarkable.' I guess across the whole league, only Michael's leadership can give him a run for his money."

This person had claimed in front of numerous media outlets a few days ago that he had learned to respect veterans.

Only two days had passed and the respect he spoke of had been dismantled down to just the character "cao."

Luckily, Jordan had a habit of wearing headphones to listen to music on the plane, so Yu Fei's jest did not reach his ears.

"Do you mind if I put your words into tomorrow's news?" Flynn asked with anticipation.

"I do mind. I've just reconciled with Michael, wouldn't that be a great disrespect to him?" Yu Fei said, pausing. "However, Michael is the most forgiving man I've met. I believe he won't mind. Since he won't, I suppose I shouldn't either. Go ahead and write it—don't make me anonymous. I'm not one to change my name or sit by another name..."

Flynn would bet on anything that within a week, Yu Fei and Jordan would be at each other's throats again.

They were becoming an "ideal-state" OK.

Of course, this "ideal state" was for the media.

The tense, uncompromising relationship between Yu Fei and Jordan was precisely what the media wished to see in OK. Unfortunately, in the past two years, Kobe had somewhat corrected his ways, abandoning his wild, splashy style to become a perfect team player following team advice. Although there had been sporadic loss of control and numerous frictions with Shaquille O'Neal, since their championship in 2000, there had been no news event to rival the nation-catching headline of "he says he wants to trade me."

When will it be possible for news like Kobe challenging Shaquille O'Neal to a one-on-one during the off-season and then boasting "this is my team" only to end up getting slapped, to happen again between OK⑴? Flynn mused as he closed his eyes.

Conseco Fieldhouse

As before, Yu Fei arrived early at the venue to warm up.

The staff were busy with preparations for the game.

Throughout the entire training period, only Pacers' head coach Isiah Thomas made an appearance.

Hearing about Yu Fei's "feat" in D.C., Thomas specifically came over to say, "Young man, I like what you're doing. It's important to stick to yourself!"

Translated, this meant: Continue to make Dan Zi uncomfortable; I love to watch.

Yu Fei didn't respond to his words.

In the evening, as the audience filed in, the players with ideas about the game also arrived around 30-40 minutes in advance.

Tonight, the Wizards' starting lineup was Chris Whitney, Jordan, Yu Fei, (Popeye) Jones, and Jahidi White.

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Christian Laettner suffered a fracture in the first two games and will be out for 1-2 months.

Although Yu Fei and Laettner had deep conflicts, Laettner was indeed the most versatile player on the team. His injury was going to have a comprehensive impact.

On the Pacers side, the starting lineup was the same as the last encounter, with Jamaal Tinsley, Jalen Rose, Reggie Miller, Jeff Foster, and Jermaine O'Neal respectively.

Thomas, dressed in a brown suit, summoned Miller to his side, looking every bit the tactical master.

After giving his instructions, Thomas even licked his lips with a hint of mockery.

Then, as soon as the game started, Little O'Neal won the tip-off for the Pacers.

The Wizards' starters quickly fell back on defense, but the Pacers set a side screen for Miller, a common move in the small-ball era, providing him with an open shot for a three-pointer as smooth as silk.

3-0

"How could someone lose track of their man right at the start of the game?" Yu Fei asked rhetorically, "Who was guarding him?"

Silence, so very quiet.

"My bad!" Popeye Jones growled, his face one of the most vicious in NBA history, "I didn't keep up."

Yu Fei crossed half court, right into Jordan's zone, and asked for the ball from Chris Whitney. Then he beckoned to Jordan, who was already in position, "Come out for a screen!"

"FUCK!" Jordan exploded, "Pass the ball!"

"OK, then you'd better make the shot," Yu Fei lobbed the ball over to him.

Ross, guarding Yu Fei, was simply dumbfounded.

Were these two even teammates?

But on second thought, it wasn't that shocking; after all, Yu Fei and Jordan had already openly split.

It would be accurate to say that this was normal.

Jordan wanted to post up and power through Miller. While his two bumps seemed well-timed, his weakness in the lower body was visible when he turned for the shot.

"Bang!"

Jahidi White caught the offensive rebound and went for a putback, only to have it swatted right in his face by Little O'Neal.

With quick reflexes, Yu Fei dashed to the free throw line, grabbed the loose ball, and seeing no one guarding him, he settled his pace and took the shot from where he stood.

"Swish!"

2-3

To others, it seemed like Yu Fei was hugely disrespecting Jordan.

And Jordan probably saw it the same way.

But Yu Fei was just trying to lighten Jordan's load a bit. A third of the regular season was already over, and Jordan's shooting percentage was still under 40%; wasn't that telling?

If you asked the LeBron of 20 years later to play like this every round, his shooting percentage would hardly exceed 45% either.

The Pacers' offense was very simple. They spaced out; Little O'Neal asked for the ball in the low post. After a small bump, he turned and made the jump shot.

5-2

"Chris!"

Whitney hadn't crossed half court yet when Yu Fei already had the ball.

Watching Yu Fei's approach, Jordan slowed down, sensing that Yu Fei wouldn't pass the ball.

His hunch was right.

Yu Fei saw the Pacers' disorganized retreat and decided to teach them a lesson.

Jalen Rose stood in front of Yu Fei, but his build was closer to a shooting guard rather than a small forward, while Yu Fei was nearer a power forward. The size mismatch made their duel seem unfair.

Rose spread his arms, and as Yu Fei dribbled the ball in front of him, he suddenly fixed his body, lowered his center of gravity, and for an instant, Rose felt as though he was facing Jordan.

In the way that Yu Fei hung the ball in the air to adjust his stance, he greatly resembled Jordan.

In just a flash, Yu Fei crossed over beneath his left hip and surged forward. Rose's defense was completely breached; he lost his defensive stance.

Yu Fei took a stride into the key, gathered the ball, jumped, and slammed it home for a score.

4-5

"Jalen, what are you doing?!" Thomas shouted. "What kind of defense is that? You let him by with one crossover?!"

It must be said that Jalen Rose's defense just then was indeed terribly lackluster, comparable to performing a circus act on the court, like Yellow Chocolate. And interestingly, they had another thing in common: their name was Jalen.

"Hmm, seems like someone got scolded," Yu Fei's teasing comment brushed past Rose like a cold draft.

The fact that Rose and Thomas had issues with each other was no longer a secret, just like the well-known tensions between Yu Fei and Jordan.

"That damned rookie!" Rose glared daggers at Yu Fei, deciding to do something to save face. Enjoy more content from мѵʟ

⑴ The incident of Shaquille O'Neal slapping Kobe Bryant occurred before 1999, though I can't recall the exact time; you just need to know it happened. The autobiographies of the Zen Master and Kobe, along with the book on the OK Dynasty ("Three-Ring Circus"), all corroborate this story.

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