Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The failed experience with the national team made Karl want to shift his focus to the NBA, then he remembered the tricks Larry Harris played during the Sprewell trade.

Seeing the 7'2" but utterly useless Travis Knight, Karl thought of Antonio Davis, who was ruthlessly humiliated by the European giants during the World Championships.

"Hey, Knight! Why can't you be tougher?" Karl's anger erupted, "Do you want me to get you a skirt?"

As Karl's new lead assistant, Ron Adams wasn't sure if he could do better than his predecessor Jerry Stotts.

But he did have a piece of news to tell the head coach.

"George, there's a situation with Frye." Adams said.

Karl asked, "What's wrong with him?"

"He needs to report to training camp the day after it starts." Adams said, "His assistant said he has been invited to this year's Hall of Fame ceremony, and he wants to attend..."

"Understood..."

Speaking of the Hall of Fame, Karl thought of his old friend Larry Brown, who was also inducted into this year's Hall of Fame.

But Karl wasn't going to attend, because he didn't want to show his face right now.

As for why Yu Fei insisted on going, Karl figured it had something to do with Magic Johnson, who was also being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.

The rookie Yu Fei was also called the contemporary Magic by some.

And a personality like Magic's, who wants to be friends with all the influential figures, would not miss out on a prospect like Yu Fei.

He would definitely invite Yu Fei to join his night of honor.

Thinking of this, Karl let it go.

Although he didn't like players getting special treatment, someone like Yu Fei indeed deserved some privileges, and this privilege wasn't excessive.

Then, Adams went on to say, "Anthony Mason will also miss the first day of training camp..."

"What about him?!" Karl's attitude was obviously much more agitated when it came to Mason.

Adams hesitated, "He said no comment."

That response directly sent Karl into a fury, and he smashed a brand-new tactical board on the spot.

Subjectively, Yu Fei wasn't so keen on attending the Hall of Fame speech.

Although he had never attended before, he had seen videos of the speeches uploaded and translated by enthusiastic netizens on various websites before crossing over.

It can be said that aside from a few humorous ones, most people just thanked everyone and added some not-so-funny jokes, eventually entering the hall of glory amid cheering and applause.

The most spectacular Hall of Fame speech Yu Fei had ever seen was Jordan's, although he didn't want to admit it.

Why? Because Jordan settled scores with everyone in his Hall of Fame speech. From the minor character who took his spot on the high school team to his unpleasant experiences with people like Van Gundy/Riley/Krause, he responded to all of them. Some said it didn't seem like a Hall of Fame speech, and Jordan's way of speaking appeared utterly graceless. But after Yu Fei had interacted with Jordan for a year, he found that the Jordan during his Hall of Fame speech was infinitely close to the real Jordan.

That was his most unguarded public appearance.

As for attending the Hall of Fame today to congratulate Magic, it was purely for relaxation and work reasons.

Relaxation because Yu Fei had just finished special training; since the season ended, he hadn't really rested, and with the preseason training camp about to start, taking a day off wasn't too much.

The work reason was Reebok's arrangement.

Larry Brown was also inducted into the Hall of Fame, and according to the news received in advance, Allen Iverson was supposed to appear as a special guest at the event, as part of Reebok's marketing plan.

Once Iverson and Brown staged a foul-smelling "master and apprentice reconciliation" drama, Yu Fei could attend the event with him.

However, Iverson changed his mind at the last minute and didn't board the plane, causing Reebok's plan to fall through, and Yu Fei had to attend the event alone after the Hall of Fame ceremony was over. Experience new stories on empire

According to Quentin Demio, Reebok's senior executives were deeply disappointed in Iverson; if the situation didn't improve, they would take "drastic measures."

Even though Iverson was absent from Brown's Hall of Fame ceremony, Brown still spoke highly of the rebel in an interview: "I've been with him for the past three weeks, watching him come to the gym, watching him interact with teammates, watching him work hard on the court, seeing him trying to lead the team on the court." So surely it was because you weren't in the team that he didn't attend your Hall of Fame ceremony, someone has to lead the team, right? "I've never seen anything like this before. I know what he's gone through, especially this year. I think it will make him better, stronger."

Will throwing one's wife out of the house and then going to the home of the person who took her in, armed, and beating him up, make the great AI become "better, stronger"?

If so, then the Portland Trail Blazers should become the champions for the next season, the season after that, and the season after that one.

"I think Allen has enough respect for our new players, as well as the returning veterans. I really believe he understands that he has to change his style of play."

Being such a leader that he won't even attend the Hall of Fame ceremony, the changes are more than just a little bit.

"I watched him play like a point guard, getting everyone involved. Watching him work on defense in practice games, talking loudly, he showed leadership by setting an example. Showing up with his teammates every day is a huge step forward."

Enough, enough, Yu Fei doesn't want to snark anymore, but he must say Brown is quite diplomatic, what with the way he used to cuss out Iverson like dog poo everyday in Philadelphia, yet here he is, making the effort to speak well of him. Good, that's what a good coach should do.

It just sounds like saying "Showing up with his teammates every day is a huge step forward," is like when the media said Kobe was the perfect team player before Yu Fei entered the NBA. What was the reason? He started joking with his teammates.

Then, the Hall of Fame speeches began.

Leaving the others aside, Yu Fei was only concerned about Magic's speech.

When Magic finally took the stage and formally entered the Hall of Fame, bringing the night's activities to an end, his eyes were moist. In 1991, when he told the world he was "infected with the HIV virus," Magic was incredibly firm, but this time he couldn't stop the emotions from overflowing, he couldn't contain himself when thanking (among others) Pat Riley, his parents, and wife.

Lastly, Bird's interview elevated the theme.

The Dream Team's home defeat made people miss the golden age of basketball in the United States even more.

But Bird said, "Boston should stop hating Magic now, the fight is over, maybe you'll see the two of us sitting in a coffee shop, laughing and talking."

"No, no," Magic said with an excited smile, "If Larry's back were a little better, I'd take him to my garage or Rucker Park, I can still play one-on-one with him."

Bird laughed and said, "I'm game anytime."

Then the two of them laughed together.

This scene did indeed briefly turn back the hands of time, as if bringing everyone present back to 1979.

That was an era that Yu Fei could call "ancient," one in which he had no interest.

While he was on his way to the event as per Reebok's arrangements, LeBron James sent him a message.

"Hey Frye, I'll be at the game against Philadelphia with my friends just when you guys start playing, can you hook me up with some tickets?"

Yu Fei replied, "Of course, as many as you need."

"Thanks, brother, that's awesome, I just need eight tickets!"

"Don't mention it, it's no big deal. A big brother should take care of his little brother, right?"

(1) John Thompson: A legendary coach at Georgetown University, he was the head coach of Team USA in 1988, unilaterally chose players, then got the Americans beaten defensively at the Olympics, indirectly leading to the creation of Dream Team I.