Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters Chapter 333: 211: There is Only One Person at the Summit

Chapter 333: Chapter 211: There is Only One Person at the Summit

Jas walked from the dia room into the corridor backstage, his face weighed down with concerns.

As Jas’s full-ti personal assistant, Randy Mims, along with Maverick Carter and Rich Paul, who together with their boss called themselves the “Four Horsen,”

They were true confidants, absolutely loyal and trustworthy to each other.

Now, Maverick held a position at Nike under Jas’s direction, while Rich was learning about being an agent, ready to take over the right of representation from Jas’s agent Aaron Goodwin as soon as the ti was ripe.

Seeing Jas’s furrowed brow caused by Yu Fei, Mims said resentfully, “Frye is only using you as his tool, he would have won the ga against the Bucks even without playing like that! He showed no rcy because his new generation of sneakers has just been launched, and this ga is the best advertising opportunity. Moreover, I’m sure he’s really enjoying the situation, Bron, he…”

“Enough,” Jas did not want to face the incessant ‘Frye issue’ even when with his most trusted friends, “If he didn’t play like that, I would be very upset, because that would an he doesn’t take seriously.”

“This is for the best,” Jas seed to have an epiphany, no longer troubled by being completely overshadowed by Yu Fei in the ga, “He treated as a rival, which is a form of respect. That’s what true friends should do.”

Would a true friend humiliate you in front of the entire audience, leaving you forever in his highlights? Mims wasn’t sure.

He always felt that the relationship between LeBron and Frye was as fragile as paper.

Both aid for the summit, and with Jordan retired, Yu Fei’s way of humiliating the other was to beco the greatest player in history. Jas had carried the weight of being the greatest since entering the league.

Mims wondered, when they t on the path to the peak, could the farce of “big brother and little brother” continue?

In fact, it almost fell apart tonight.

Mims wouldn’t forget the round when Frye toyed with LeBron, nor the look on LeBron’s face, filled with anger, dissatisfaction, and a sense of betrayal—expressions Mims had seen during high school.

That was when LeBron’s high school coach decided to abandon them for his own future.

Mims believed that in that mont, LeBron saw Frye for who he truly was—not the purely kind-hearted big brother, especially not on the court where he was far from warm.

On their way back to the locker room, they happened to run into Yu Fei and his crew.

With Tim Grover and Anthony Lawson by his side, Yu Fei looked surprised to see Jas, “LeBron, those reporters didn’t give you a hard ti, did they?”

Yu Fei’s face caused Jas to have a montary auditory hallucination, as if he could hear those questions about “Frye… the ga… its significance to you” all over again.

“The usual,” Jas replied with a wry smile, “You know how they are.”

Yu Fei joked, “Apologize to your mom for , she asked to go easy on you and I broke my promise tonight.”

Whether intentional or not, Yu Fei’s words seed to remind Jas who was the winner tonight.

Jas forced a smile, “Don’t worry, she’s fine.”

“Next ti you co to Milwaukee, I’ll treat you to food,” said Yu Fei, “an absolutely on-point pork chop al.”

Jas replied, “Frye, I don’t eat red at anymore.”

“Oh, is that so? That’s a sha, we’ll figure it out next ti,” Yu Fei said, “Goodbye, tonight was really enjoyable.”

Yes, enjoyable for him alone.

“Let’s go.”

After Yu Fei left, Mims fud, “Bron, that guy was clearly showing off!”

“Let it go, that’s just Frye,” Jas replied, whether to comfort himself or to convince Mims, “Didn’t you see how he treated Darius? Compared to that…”

Compared to that… he was blasted in a much harsher way, but Frye didn’t hurl insults at him like he did with Darius, suggesting he valued this friendship and didn’t want to embarrass Jas. Yet in the end, it made Jas feel even more embarrassed.

He was blown out in front of a national audience, highlighting the gap between them, and restating that he was the big brother; therefore, the ga was like a welco fraternal cody of the big brother picking on the little brother. But did that an the little brother could never surpass the big brother?

Is this a good thing?

Thirsty, Yu Fei went to the vending machine to get a bottle of soda water.

“You looked a lot like Michael tonight,” Grover said.

Yu Fei asked back, “Tim, do you know what the least funny joke is?”

Grover asked, “What is it?”

“Telling a sick dog that it looks like a cancer-stricken baby,” Yu Fei replied indifferently, “that it will never grow up.”

Grover felt a chill run down his spine.

“But the joke you just made is even less funny than that,” Yu Fei said, “I rember telling you not to compare with a rapist, and now I’ll add, don’t compare with anyone on this planet nad Michael Jordan.”

Grover was curious whether Yu Fei now hated Jordan more or Shaquille O’Neal more.

But such a question seed aningless.

To Yu Fei, it was a typical choice between two piles of shit.

“When Michael was in Chicago, he crushed many friends,” Grover said, “Charles Barkley was his friend, so was Patrick Ewing. Heck, he once gave Barkley a grand gift during the 1993 Finals, and though he never admitted it, I believe it weakened his friend’s morale when facing him in the ga.”

“Grover was really interested in whether you were playing the sa trick on LeBron,”

Yu Fei couldn’t believe his good intentions were being so misconstrued.

Can the world really not accommodate good people?

What’s happened to the NBA? When an older brother looks after his younger brother off the court and spurs him on during a ga, it’s interpreted with such malice?

“No.”

Yu Fei didn’t want to waste words and flatly denied Grover’s speculation.

What a joke, not to ntion he didn’t have that intention, but even if he did, was LeBron soone who would lose his way in playing basketball after a bit of care?

LeBron’s mind was far more mature than his age and was certainly on par with his physique.

Take for example earlier this year, before LeBron entered the NBA and was about to sign with Nike, he attended a Nike party and gave the Nike president a watch.

The watch wasn’t particularly expensive, but it was manufactured in 1972—the year Nike was founded.

It was a very thoughtful gift, and you can imagine how much Nike people liked him.

“So, you just wanted to play a good ga?”

“Of course, what else could it be?” Yu Fei muttered, “It’s just that Reebok isn’t happy about Nike using the ga to hype LeBron.”

Grover’s expression changed, and he said with a smile, “Then they must really want you to blow LeBron away, right?”

“It’s that kind of situation, but I didn’t blow LeBron away for that reason,” Yu Fei stated with pride, “How can you act like an older brother if you don’t beat the younger brother to a pulp?”

Grover nodded, but thought to himself, you’re right, but did you really have to hit that hard?

The next day, Yu Fei dominated most sports headlines across the country.

His stats, his comnts, and the way he shook Jas were all hot topics for dia discussion.

Not wanting to miss out on the buzz, Reebok arranged an interview for Yu Fei on the sa day, hosted by ESPN’s Jim Gray, on the most influential talk show in the NBA at the mont.

On the show, Gray asked, “Many people say your kindness toward LeBron is fake, aid to deceive him. What do you think of such remarks?”

“I pity them,” Yu Fei said, “It shows that they don’t have a single genuine friend in their lives.”

After watching the show, Bill Simmons, also a writer contracted with ESPN, sarcastically wrote in his column, “I would rather die alone than have a friend who makes a laughingstock in front of my hotown elders.”

Yet, Yu Fei couldn’t afford to waste ti on these post-ga reverberations.

The season continued.

If you were to say who had the easiest schedule at the beginning of the season, it would be hard to tell, but if you were to talk about who had the weakest opponents, then it must be the Bucks.

In terms of strength, before the Christmas Day ga in December, the only strong teams the Bucks faced were the Pistons, Lakers, and 76ers, and apart from the 76ers, they only played each once.

They played the 76ers twice.

And coincidentally, the 76ers were the kind of team that couldn’t easily shake the Bucks out of their playoff-level status.

That was also thanks to the small pond of the Eastern Conference. With Kidd heading west to the Spurs, the Nets went from boom to bust, leaving the Pistons and Pacers as the only teams that could challenge the Bucks in the entire Eastern Conference.

However, as weak as the Bucks’ opponents were, their schedule was very tight; they were among the league’s leaders in back-to-back gas, which greatly affected their preparations.

From the end of November to the beginning of December, the Bucks faced a wave of injuries.

First, Ray Allen sprained his knee and needed 4-6 weeks of rest, followed by Anthony Mason pulling his thigh, requiring half a month to recover, then the veteran Sprewell with his occasional minor injuries.

The sudden entry of three core players into the injury list demanded a higher depth from the Bucks’ roster.

Yu Fei felt that his chance to rack up points… oh no, to refine his offensive skills through real combat had arrived.

Forget understanding Kobe or empathizing with him, he jumped straight to the third step—becoming Kobe!

From the beginning of December until the Christmas Day ga, Yu Fei averaged 29 shots per ga, scoring an average of 36 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

Before Christmas Day, the Bucks stood at 22 wins and 7 losses, ranking first in the Eastern Conference and third in the league, only behind the Spurs and the Kings in the Western Conference.

Then, at their ho court, they welcod their Christmas Day opponents—the Detroit Pistons, who had beaten the Bucks early in the season.

However, that didn’t really count because Yu Fei and Shaquille O’Neal were suspended due to a fight, greatly weakening the Bucks.

This ti, the encounter drew much attention.

It was not just a matchup between the strongest offensive team in the Eastern Conference against the strongest defensive team in the conference (and the league), but it also carried a series of off-court grudges.

As Yu Fei said in a radio show before Christmas Day, “I have so personal issues with Coach Brown that need to be resolved.”