Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

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"200." Yu Fei said, "My mom lives here, I have a few friends here too, and my feelings for this place are as mixed with love as they are with hate."

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White really wanted to ask how Yu Fei felt about Jordan frequently disparaging his teammates in the media lately.

However, Yu Fei didn't seem to want to answer questions related to Jordan, as he was asked way too often.

So, White didn't ask, and he didn't think he would get anything new even if he did.

When the Bucks' plane landed in D.C., the media at the scene was unusually excited.

Not only were there local media from Washington, but also media from outside the area.

Although it was just a game between the first in the League and the ninth in the Eastern Conference, the media coverage both inside and outside the arena was as if it was a meeting between sworn enemies in the finals.

Lawson and Clark stood in front of Yu Fei, blocking dozens of mics that were about to thrust in his face.

"Tony, you don't have to do this," Yu Fei said, "I can answer a few questions."

So Lawson personally selected a media outlet—a reporter from "The Washington Times" got to ask Yu Fei: "Frye, what is your take on the Wizards' current situation?"

Yu Fei glanced at the reporter, "Nothing particular."

"The Wizards need to win five straight games to have a chance at the playoffs, and tonight's game is a do-or-die for them. Will this fact affect your team's level of engagement?"

Yu Fei blinked and replied with a friendly smile, "I didn't know about that before, but now that I do, it might have some impact."

"Michael has recently been publicly criticizing his teammates quite often, what's your view on that?"

"It's pretty normal for someone who, after a loss, calls his teammates dumbasses and doesn't reflect at all on his own poor performance."

"Alright!" Lawson cut off the line of questioning like an expert halting a challenge, "This is the airport, Frye doesn't want to cause any disruption here. If you have further questions, you can ask them in the media room after the game, when Frye will answer all of them."

As Yu Fei's fame grew, so did his standing in the League. Being one of his closest friends, Lawson also gained some privileges he shouldn't ordinarily have.

He could chide journalists and decide who could interview Yu Fei outside of the court, while also controlling the interview duration.

Although neither Yu Fei nor Lawson would admit it, they were indeed developing in the direction of Jordan and Tim Grover.

That's just the way it goes for privileged players and the confidants of privileged players.

After leaving the airport, Yu Fei went home to see his mom first.

Though mother and son lived in different cities, Yu Fenglin was happy with her own state of affairs. With her son's seed money, her store in D.C. was doing very well, and she was busy all the time. She didn't care about how her son played basketball, or his conflicts with anyone.

In her opinion, even if Yu Fei couldn't make it in the NBA, he'd have nothing to worry about for the rest of his life as long as he managed the money he earned well.

The only issue was Yu Fei's lack of interest in dating. It's been years, and there wasn't even a trace of a girlfriend.

Yu Fei felt helpless about finding a girlfriend. He wanted to find one, but it wasn't that easy. After chatting with his mother about trivial family matters, he left and checked into the hotel, as per the rule.

In the afternoon, Yu Fei attended a training session.

After the training, Yu Fei had something to eat and then went to MCI with Lawson for shooting practice.

There was someone in the Wizards who knew that Yu Fei would come to the venue early for practice.

That person was Kwame Brown.

"It's a pleasure to see you still alive," Yu Fei teased him.

Brown knew his situation and just responded to Fei's joke with a smile.

"How have you been lately?" Yu Fei asked.

Brown felt nothing wrong; while it was hard to shake off the ridicule being a draft bust, he hadn't lost any money and didn't need to shoulder the heavy burden of leading the team forward like Fei, which was quite nice.

In Washington, when a team loses, people look to Jordan, and when they lose too much, people ask why Jordan traded Yu Fei. As for the top draft pick, no one took him seriously.

Although being ignored is the ultimate insult, if one is willing to be average, there is some joy in being a nobody.

"If you win tonight, our season is over," Brown said with a hint, "and the remaining four games will become that man's farewell tour."

"That sounds like it lets him off easy, but for me, it's the perfect arrangement."

Yu Fei looked at Brown and was reminded of his rookie season.

As a rookie, he had led the team into the playoffs amidst the injuries of the number one and two players, only to be traded as his reward.

He was determined to settle this account with them tonight.

Brown didn't say anything further; he could see that Yu Fei's fighting spirit was even higher tonight than when he first encountered the Wizards at the beginning of the season.

That evening, ABC, TNT, and ESPN all provided live nation-wide broadcasts of the game.

Furthermore, all countries around the world with NBA broadcasting rights would also provide live coverage of the game.

Yu Fei and Jordan's personal grudge had started last year, gradually escalated, and had been widely reported, becoming a sensational event in the basketball world.

During the warm-up, there was no interaction between the two parties.

Fans couldn't see the leading stars from both teams in a friendly interaction at center court.

Ten minutes before the game started, Yu Fei and Jordan were interviewed on-site by ABC.

ABC asked Yu Fei, "What's the secret behind your rise this season?"

"We respect each other," he said, "In the past, our team often took internal conflicts public to stimulate ourselves to change. But now, we don't do that anymore. If I have a problem with someone, I'll tell him to his face, correct what's wrong, and encourage what's right. This honest way of dealing has benefited the whole team."

"The Wizards are the first NBA team you played for, do you have any feelings towards them?"

"No, I'm just focused on the Bucks."

"So, this game isn't personal?"

"Of course, it's personal," Yu Fei said to the camera, not disguising his desire for revenge, "I know how it ended there."

Jordan, in front of the ABC cameras, was asked if openly criticizing his teammates could cause internal strife.

"Truth always hurts," Jordan found a reasonable stance for himself, "Sometimes you have to say things that might hurt...you have to look in the mirror and be honest with yourself or others, that's why we have freedom of speech. Sometimes we need to stop and listen, take a good look at ourselves. In the end, you might decide it's all nonsense, but issues can only be addressed by speaking out."

"Do you want to talk about Frye?"

"No."

"What about the game tonight?"

"We will win."

Even though the Bucks were number one in the league, and despite the Wizards' prior two crushing defeats against the Bucks, Jordan still declared they would win, because it was the only way for the Wizards to keep their playoff hopes alive.

After ten minutes, the starters from both sides took to the court.

Yu Fei shot Jordan a look and asked sarcastically, "Did your donkeys get enough to eat tonight?"
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"You'll find out soon," Jordan replied coldly.

Yu Fei hummed with a smile.

Both teams took their positions, the referee came to center court with the ball, and the match that would determine the Wizards' fate was about to begin.