Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The Wizards' trade of Yu Fei should have been a big deal, but in reality, it caused far less of a stir in the professional basketball world than expected.

You can't really blame the media and the audience for this, just like when Wang Feng, striving to make headlines, encounters the little Mi deer getting hair done on its butt in an indescribable way. Some things are just more important and attention-grabbing than yours.

Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals in 2002 was such an event.

For years, many WWE fans claimed that the NBA, like WWE, was rigged; NBA professionals always sneered at such suggestions.

But now, they couldn't explain what happened last night.

How could they explain it? The Lakers scoring 31 points in the fourth quarter and then taking 27 free throws? How could they explain Scott Pollard being called for a phantom foul two feet away from Shaquille O'Neal and then fouling out? How could they explain Chris Webber and Doug Christie's clean and incredible interceptions being called defensive fouls? How could they explain Kobe elbowing Mike Bibby's nose, and then Bibby being called for the foul?

If there had to be an explanation, it was that the League didn't want the Lakers to be eliminated just yet.

As a bystander, Yu Fei's answer was "the script."

This was the League's script.

They didn't necessarily want to favor the Lakers; they just hoped the series would go to a full seven games, and the process had to be thrilling. For instance, in Game 5, Shaquille O'Neal fouled out, Kobe carried five fouls, and the Kings narrowly won by a one-point margin.

This was the Western Conference Finals of 2002: the same game where two days earlier, O'Neal couldn't even glance at his opponents, and two days later, the opponents couldn't glance at him. The issue was that Game 6's "manipulation" was too obvious, and while some could tolerate it, others couldn't.

"If I'm destined to lose, then why should I fight so hard?"

This was what Chris Webber said at the end of Game 6, hinting at the outcome of the Western Conference Finals.

So that was the situation, Yu Fei was traded, but the fans didn't care.

Just like Yao Ming who was about to be the number one pick in the 2002 NBA draft, and sports fans in China also didn't care, since the 2002 World Cup had started, with the national team participating, and the country's largest news portal at the time, "Old Wave," only featured football on its sports page.

As someone else upstaged by headlines, although Yu Fei had not yet met Yao Ming, he believed they would become friends.

Then, Yu Fei went home and discussed future plans with his mother.

In terms of living environment, Washington D.C. was far superior to Milwaukee.

Now that his mother's restaurant had opened in Washington, and business was doing well, Yu Fei thought his mom should stay there.

"I really don't understand why they traded you," Yu Fenglin said. "Weren't you playing well?"

It was difficult for Yu Fei to explain the ins and outs of professional basketball to his mother, "Uh, it's hard to say."

In the end, that's how it was.

Yu Fenglin stayed in Washington, and Yu Fei took Lawson and his assistant to Milwaukee.

Although the season wasn't over yet and there was still some time before Yu Fei would officially don the Bucks uniform, he needed to meet with the senior management team and hold an official press conference to leave a good impression on the fans.

It was the norm.

So, on the morning of Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, Yu Fei headed to Milwaukee.

Here, Yu Fei met the smiling but calculating General Manager Larry Harris, the coach he longed for, George Karl, and the enigmatic owner Herb Kohl.

"Frye, did you have a pleasant trip?" Harris initiated a half hug with Yu Fei.

Yu Fei chuckled awkwardly, "It wasn't bad."

"Welcome to the Bucks' kingdom!" Harris had effectively set the tone on behalf of the entire organization.

Karl wasn't as affectionate; he liked Yu Fei, but he wouldn't act as chummy as Harris upon their first meeting.

Then came owner Kohl.

"Frye, how much do you know about Milwaukee?" Kohl asked.

Yu Fei replied, "I'm sorry, Senator, not only am I unfamiliar with Milwaukee, but I also know nothing about the Midwest."

The biggest difference between Herb Kohl and other owners was that he wasn't just a businessman; he was also a senator from Wisconsin.

Hearing Yu Fei's response, Kohl chuckled, "So you mean to say, you don't even know how to express affection to people in the Midwest?"

Man, I'm here to play basketball, not to court someone, give it a rest.

Yu Fei smiled stiffly, "I guess it's similar to other places, if I love someone, I'll tell them I-L-Y."

To Yu Fei's surprise, Kohl took this seriously, "It might be like that elsewhere, but not in the Midwest, especially not in Milwaukee. If you want to show someone you love them, the most straightforward way is to help them clear their gutters."

If Kohl had said "her," Yu Fei would have thought he was hitting on him, but that wasn't the case. So maybe he was serious?

"Oh, that's interesting," Yu Fei said. "I'll remember that."

Kohl laughed again, "Young man, I don't believe the gossip out there; I know you're not like that. I also trust what George says, that you'll bring us victory. Welcome to the Midwest!"

That was Yu Fei's first meeting with the three power brokers of the Bucks.

Afterward, Kohl left.

Harris made small talk with Yu Fei for a while and then went off to attend to other matters.

Karl gave Yu Fei a tour of the Bucks' practice facility and they started chatting casually.

Last season, Karl's coaching style had made a deep impression on Yu Fei.

Karl on the court looked like a monkey in heat that couldn't find a mate; he seemed like a coach with an iron fist, yet was helpless against someone like Anthony Mason.

Therefore, in his heart, Yu Fei actually equated Karl with Collins.

Even, Yu Fei felt that doing so was somewhat disrespectful to Collins.

But if one were to compare the careers of Karl and Collins, five Collins wouldn't be a match for one Karl.

Just having once led a team to the finals and battling it out with Collins' beloved Coach Dan for six games was something Collins would not even dare to dream of.

"I heard you and Michael didn't get along well in D.C?," Karl just had to bring up the awkward subject, "Why is that?"

Yu Fei knew that Karl came from North Carolina.

Jordan trading him to the Bucks might just be because George was his senior.

Therefore, Yu Fei didn't expect Karl to understand his actions.

"How come? We got along great," Yu Fei opened his mouth with what everyone knew was a joke, "Michael is my mentor and friend, and I will always respect him."

Karl burst out laughing.

Because he couldn't contain his laughter, his neck-down beer belly seemed to be rolling endlessly, as if it was about to burst open any second.

Was it really that funny? Yu Fei was almost infected by Karl's laughter.

"Alright, let's drop it. You are now a Bucks player, D.C is in the past," Karl said, before suddenly changing the topic, "Anyway, Frye, do you have any plans for this summer?"

Yu Fei nodded, "Yes, I have lots of plans."

"Do you have time to participate in Team USA's training camp?" Karl looked at Yu Fei intently, "You might still have a chance to wear the Team USA jersey and play in this year's World Championship on home soil."

Yu Fei knew that George Karl was now the coach of Team USA.

But Karl didn't know that the first catastrophe in American basketball was about to arrive; he thought the world was still that same world where Team USA could easily dominate global basketball.

Moreover, because of the bad relationship with Karl, the Bucks' superstar Ray Allen declined Team USA's training camp call-up on grounds of injury.

If Yu Fei also declined, Karl would lead a Team USA without any Bucks players to the World Championship.

That was precisely what Yu Fei was about to do.

"You know, George, I've been through a lot in the past year, I'm quite exhausted," Yu Fei expressed his weariness, "Right now, I need rest the most..."

And it wasn't just this year; he needed rest every offseason from now on.

Karl understood.

Yu Fei didn't want to play for the national team, and considering what he went through with the Wizards, that was comprehensible .

"I got it, no problem, take your time to rest. I want to see a recharged you at the start of next season's training camp."

Although Karl was disappointed, he didn't dwell on it too much.

What Karl didn't expect was that soon after, Kobe, McGrady, Shaquille O'Neal, Garnett, and Duncan would all announce their plans of "I will not play for Team USA this year."

Then, Karl would have to lead a team comprised of lower-tier All-Stars, fraught with internal strife, to the World Championship, and experience the seismic shift of international basketball.

It was the seeds that the Dream Team had sown in Barcelona ten years ago; now, they were sprouting.

Next came the NBA Finals.

With Chris Webber disappearing in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, Mike Bibby fighting valiantly but unable to turn the tide, the Lakers once again entered the Finals stage, and standing opposite them was the season's biggest dark horse—the New Jersey Nets.

This was a special era; the Kings and the Nets were historically insignificant in the NBA narrative of the past few decades, never the main theme in sports stories. Suddenly, as the NBA entered the zone defense era, the Kings' playing style became somewhat of a restraint for the Lakers, and Kidd transformed the Nets during his time with them, turning what was thought to be a barely playoff-worthy team at the start of the season into the best in the Eastern Conference.

However, after the Kings tragically lost the Western Conference Finals, the harsh world of sports seemed to hint at the end of this fairytale.

The Lakers made the Nets realize that battling out of the Eastern Conference did not mean they were just one step away from success because countless teams could never take that final step.

The Lakers swept the Nets to secure a three-peat.

The 2001-02 season came to a close.

Here are Yu Fei's rookie season performances and honors.

Played 73 regular-season games, averaged 19.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.1 block, 1.2 steals, shooting percentages of 47%, 83%, 35%.

The playoffs first-round exit at the hands of the Nets 3 to 1, averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.5 steals, 2 blocks, shooting percentages of 45%, 80%, 34%.

Awards: Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie First Team.

As for next year?

Yu Fei said to the Milwaukee reporters, "I've just arrived in Milwaukee, I don't know much yet, but I know we didn't make the playoffs last season, so I'll keep my feet on the ground and aim to go further than my rookie season in D.C."

"How much further exactly?"

"Winning a championship shouldn't be too much to ask for." Continue reading stories on empire

PS: Asking for a half-day off, there's only one chapter today.