Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The fallout from the Bucks and Wizards game gradually fermented.

Jordan's absence from the post-game press conference attracted even more media attention.

The next day, Jordan's agent, David Falk, came forward to clarify the rumor that "Jordan felt too ashamed to face the reporters": "Many people don't know what Michael is going through. He's almost 40 years old. His body is bearing a heavy burden. After last night's game, he felt unwell, so we went to the hospital, where the doctor drained fluid from his knee."

This explanation did not win the media's acceptance or understanding.

They still wanted to hear Jordan's thoughts on the game.

Then Falk conveyed Jordan's views on last night's game for him: "Everyone played terribly, there are no excuses, Michael said this is the most fragile team he's been with."

Some things are better left unsaid; once mentioned, they can easily trigger a chain reaction.

The most fragile team? Continue reading stories on empire

Then who made the Wizards such a fragile team? The answer, of course, was Yu Fei with his 56 points.

The question is, who traded Yu Fei to the Bucks, giving him the motivation to slash 56 points against the Wizards?

That account would have to be settled sooner or later, and now was just the beginning.

First, seemingly unrelated third-party media directly pointed the finger at Jordan.

The Seattle Times: "I'm inefficient, I'm incompetent, I sent the most outstanding rookie in Wizards' history to Milwaukee, and then we got blown out. So, what's the conclusion? This team is fragile. Is that Michael Jordan's leadership?"

The Los Angeles Times evidently had more insight; they caught one of the most special scenes from last night: "Frye's former teammates almost all congratulated him at the end of the game, which shows he has good relations in D.C. This raises a question, why was Frye, who brought the Wizards into the playoffs without MJ and Rip, and who was endorsed by his teammates, rapidly sent to Milwaukee? Who didn't want him to stay in D.C.?"

The most aggressive were naturally the local media in Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee Sentinel wrote the following day: "Frye scored 56 points against the Wizards, claiming his motivation came from his hatred for D.C., and he made it clear that his hatred stemmed from the person who didn't even dare to attend the post-game press conference."

The most comically effective was The Washington Post, which used an article titled "Frye, Welcome Home" to gloss over last night's game, as though Fei's return was as exhilarating as Gandalf's miraculous appearance in The Lord of the Rings.

Even the least contemplative Wizards fans would ask the question: Why did Gandalf go to the other side?

The only one firing against the wind was ESPN's famous writer, Bill Simmons.

After the 2002 NBA Draft, Simmons published his draft diary and spoke disdainfully of Yao Ming. Fei stood up for justice, and after several verbal skirmishes, the two bore grudges against each other.

Facing the best night of Fei's professional career, Simmons still found a point to criticize.

His criticism was that Fei missed the opportunity to score 60 or even 70 points.

Because Fei refused to continue playing during garbage time.

His "positive example" was what?

Larry Bird's 60-point night. Simmons said that on Bird's 60-point night, the most selfless superstar in history was not at all selfless. In fact, his teammates vigorously supported Bird's selfishness, and even his opponents (the Atlanta Hawks) celebrated when Bird made a 35-foot three-pointer, as if they had witnessed a miracle.

"If you had scored 70 points last night, then fifty years later, no one would care that you played during garbage time. People would only remember you scored 70 points. Sports is not just about winning and losing, it's also about the challenges along the way. Once you miss this opportunity, you've missed it forever. It proves that Michael Jordan is right; Frye is destined to be a 'could-have-been, but...' character, his actions last night proved everything!"

As the most popular writer in professional basketball today, Simmons's article had a siphoning effect, and his history of animosity with Fei will amplify the impact of this article.

There would indeed be reporters taking Simmons's viewpoint to Fei for a question.

And before asking, they would solemnly declare that the opinion in the article does not represent their personal views.

When the Bucks returned to their home court, this scene happened at the airport.

Fei, who had intended not to respond, decided to "face it honestly."

"Every writer wants to make themselves look like the smart person, but I have to speak the truth, the author of this article doesn't understand sports as much as he thinks he does on the scales of 'forever' and '50 years.' Not many sports events stand up to scrutiny." If Fei had stopped there, his rebuttal would sound official but not forceful enough, "When I first entered the NBA, the League spent three days teaching us what troubles to avoid. I learned there was a guy named Len Bias who overdosed right after the draft; I learned about a guy named Reggie Lewis who died on the training court because he didn't listen to the doctor; I also know Larry Bird ended his career prematurely because he didn't take good care of his body."

Fei looked at the reporter, who was no longer just an inquirer in his eyes, but the fly that was Bill Simmons: "You know, those are the best examples of 'could-have-been, but...' If the author of the article can't even give a proper example, then I have the same thing to say, his thinking deserves all the misfortune the Boston Celtics have suffered since 1986."

During the draft, The Celtics released unfavorable news about Fei's fight with Eddie Griffin to lower Fei's draft position. This made Fei dislike The Celtics from the start, and then after the 2002 Draft, he saw Bill Simmons's draft diary filled with prejudice against Yao Ming.

Oh boy, he is also a Bostonian.

The dislike instantly doubled.

Since the man willingly offered up his face, Fei certainly did not mind delivering the slap he deserved.

After Fei's comments went public, Bill Simmons had no reaction, but New England, including the states around Boston, was up in arms.

For Fei, this was just a bunch of added haters in Boston, where he had no influence or commercial value to speak of.

Even expanding the scope to the whole of New England, Fei had truly offended only Celtics fans.

The most important thing was that Bill Simmons had fallen silent.

It was evident that these comments had hit a sore spot.

Afterward, everyone still had to return to their lives. The lingering impact of the game between the Bucks and the Wizards was still settling, and this wasn't the last time the two teams would meet this season.

Before they faced each other again, people needed a new talking point.

And this talking point was still on the Wizards.

Two days later, the Wizards hosted the Detroit Pistons, Richard Hamilton's new team. Since the start of the season, Jordan had been making comments that didn't sit well with Hamilton. He said the Wizards finally had a tough guy who could contend with Kobe during games. That person was, of course, Jerry Stackhouse.

In the game, Hamilton not only triumphed in his matchup but also secured the victory for his team. He scored 22 points, while Jordan scored 17.

Doug Collins expressed his disappointment, "We were drowned by Detroit's defense. When they play like that, we can't respond."

Compared to Yu Fei two days ago, Hamilton was extremely excited, as if he had won a Game 7 in the playoffs. He rushed into the locker room cheering and then went outside to take interviews, "Oh, I feel happy. You know, incomparably happy. It's not about revenge; I'm just happy for the win."

He said it wasn't about revenge, but when reporters asked him how he felt about the Wizards, his revengeful mindset was completely reflected on his face, "Well, I know they must be heartbroken. I used to be in that locker room, but I'm glad I can be in this locker room now."

First, it was Yu Fei, and then Hamilton.

Why were all these promising young men who left Washington like this?

Who was it that had driven them away?

The answer to this question was obvious.

The Bucks started a winning streak.

As one of the teams with the lightest schedules at the start of the season, they were determined to win all the games they should win.

The 56 points Yu Fei got against the Wizards was quickly put out of their minds.

For Yu Fei, the only change the 56 points brought was that his average points per game went from 25 to 26, and then it slowly dipped back down to 25 in subsequent games.

Although Yu Fei was taking the highest number of shots within the Bucks, in a team that featured Ray Allen, Latrell Sprewell, and Michael Redd, he needed to control his shot volume.

Otherwise, his teammates who also needed their share of shots wouldn't be able to provide enough support. This could lead to negative emotions and internal strife.

Yu Fei certainly didn't want incidents like the disputes over shooting rights that made Kobe universally resented to happen to him.

However, even though the Bucks were steadily at the top of the Eastern Conference and had recently been on a winning streak, there was still an undercurrent stirring within the team.

December 11th

The Bucks' winning streak ended at the hands of the Pacers.

Jermaine O'Neal dominated the Bucks' paint with 35 points and 13 rebounds, leading his team to victory.

Yu Fei scored 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, but it was in vain because Sprewell retired due to injury, Ray Allen shot 8 for 21 scores, achieving the team's high of 28 points, but his inefficient offense hurt the entire team.

After the game, George Karl angrily stated, "If Ray can't act like a leader, then he's not a leader. I have suggested that he sit out for a while, but he refused, and this is the result. He should take responsibility for the loss!"

"Take responsibility?" Ray Allen dismissed the reporter's paraphrasing with disdain, "We lost one game, which happens often because we can't win all the games. Me take responsibility, how exactly?"

He sarcastically asked, "Trade me?"

Yu Fei really thought that if the Bucks played in a media-heavy area, they would become the focus of the media like the OK Lakers.

A coach like George Karl, who liked to criticize his players in the media, was too good at setting the tone.

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"Frye, you should make George shut up; you've got to do it, like you did in D.C." — Tyro, from Brookfield (a small town in Milwaukee).

"Sorry, Tyro, I'm new around here, still getting to know the situation."

"You're such an asshole, I always liked you so much, why would you say that? BS is an idiot, and you're an even worse one! I don't like you anymore!" — Phoenix, from Boston.

"I really don't know why you're reacting so strongly when Len Bias and Reggie Lewis haven't said anything..."

"Frye, I've always been a fan of yours, but I found out I kind of like Michael Jordan recently, his mustache is so cool, do you think that's okay?" — Fredo, from Kent.

"Oh, that's fine, it's your freedom. By the way, your next favorite might be Adolf Hitler; he also had a mustache."

—— Exclusive radio program for Yu Fei: "Conversations with the Chosen One"