Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

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"He said it's a joke? CTMD! This is not a joke! Neither will 70% of people think this is a joke, that dog-bred bastard has issues not just with his character but his math is a mess too!"

"If a white guy pretended to be Shaquille O'Neal, making monkey sounds and eating watermelon and fried chicken, would you think it's a joke?"

"What would happen if Yao responded to him with the N-word?"

"QTMD! When can this double standard end?!"

Unfortunately, Yu Fei's scolding and rebuttal against Shaquille O'Neal couldn't play a decisive role because the victim, Yao Ming, was a typical Chinese who didn't want to make a big fuss out of the incident.

Having finally freed himself from the shackles of CBA to come to the United States, he didn't want to fall out with the face of the NBA, so reconciliation was the only choice.

Later, before a game, Shaquille O'Neal reasserted, "We live in such a world, full of trials and tribulations. I am never the type of person you say I am; let's keep moving forward."

The Lakers' general manager, Mitch Kupchak, also stepped forward to defend Shaquille O'Neal, "I know Shaq, and I'm sure this was just an attempt at humor that was misinterpreted. He did not mean to insult or criticize Yao Ming or any other Chinese person."

Good guy Yao Ming stepped forward to put an end to the fuss, "There are many difficulties hard to understand between two different cultures, especially between two very large countries. The world is getting smaller, and I think it's very important to understand other cultures. I believe Shaquille O'Neal was just joking, but I think many Asians do not understand this kind of joke."

It was over, the parties involved who wanted peace chose to selectively ignore Yu Fei's words.

This made the Chosen One from 2023 realize one fact, it's 2003, and it's the era of the United States being invincible; Yao Ming, a rootless tree who had crossed the ocean, had no right to make a fuss over this with Shaquille O'Neal. And as for the Chinese that Yu Fei represented, they were an indescribable group of people; he remembered seeing in his past life an ethnic Chinese governor feeling ashamed of his own heritage and skin color online. How could such people ever gain respect?

He couldn't change this reality; after all, he was just a lousy basketball player who could only settle things on the court.

Shaquille O'Neal was also a basketball player, there was already bad blood between them, and this incident only made Yu Fei loathe him even more.

Yu Fei went back to check the schedule, their next game with the Lakers wasn't until the beginning of March, it was still early.

But there was an opponent, perfect for venting.

At the end of January, the Bucks were waiting at home for the Washington Wizards.

At that point, the Bucks with a record of 34 wins and 10 losses were ranked first in the Eastern Conference, second in the league (just behind the Mavericks), while the Wizards with 21 wins and 26 losses were ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference.

Even though it was still early for the battle for playoff positioning, the Wizards were already three games behind the eighth-place Hornets.

If the gap widened further, it would be tough to catch up.

Everyone knew that the Bucks wouldn't go easy on the Wizards, because Yu Fei harbored a towering hostility towards them.

Not to mention that the incident with Shaquille O'Neal had recently left Yu Fei in a foul mood, looking for a vent to ease his anger.

You don't know until you fight, and upon clashing, Yu Fei was truly shocked by the Wizards. Not shocked by their strength, but by their way of playing the game.

At the beginning of the season, although the Wizards were also not playing fast, with Cassell and Starkhouse, two All-Star level players, driving them, their pace was not slow.

However, during the second confrontation, Yu Fei distinctly felt that the rhythm of the Wizards had slowed down a lot.

Hasn't the lesson from last season made Jordan realize that at his age, playing slow grind-out games is a dead end?

This is how it happened: when the original style failed, Jordan would play 'big', having owner Jordan instruct Collins: "Doug, let's try playing slower."

As a result, Jordan scored 30 points to lead the team to victory. Collins thought this was effective, so the Wizards began to change their style, returning once again to the slow-paced grind-out games that Jordan favored.

If Jordan's shooting felt good, the Wizards would play smoothly, otherwise, they would struggle. Moreover, Yu Fei was very clear that once a team gets used to playing at a slow pace, shifting gears is very difficult because they don't have someone like him who frequently doesn't give two hoots about Jordan's well-being and accelerates the pace in spite of him.

Cassell and Starkhouse both dare not go against Jordan.

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Moreover, they were not averse to a slow pace; they could adapt to any game tempo.

As Jordan's control over the team's playing style grew, internal conflicts arose. Cassell voiced complaints, and Starkhouse felt the pain of Fei and Hamilton. When they won games, Jordan was a god; when they lost, everyone else became inept, incapable of easing God's burden.

Once, during a fast break that left Jordan behind, Collins immediately stopped the game, then erupted at Cassell.

After that, no one dared overlook Jordan's position during a fast break again.

The Wizards became a team without fast breaks, and it must be said, a slowed-down Jordan often brought surprises to the team, at the cost of sacrificing the team's style and turning all the young players into shrinking violets like Kwame Brown.

Such Wizards were no match for the Bucks.

Fei, looking to vent, targeted Jordan all night.

Every time he got the ball, he called for a pick-and-roll to face Jordan.

Moreover, he didn't aim to break through Jordan with speed, he wanted to confront Jordan, to draw Jordan's fouls, to knock Jordan aside and then score under his watch.

The consequence was that Jordan mostly could only stop Fei by fouling.

That night, Fei drew 5 fouls from Jordan and put up 40 points and 7 rebounds.

Most of the fourth quarter was garbage time.

When Fei was subbed out, he glanced at Collins, nodded slightly to say "Tough game," and then looked back at Jordan, shrugging, "No one should miss the playoffs after bolstering their roster with two All-Stars, right?"

Jordan watched Fei coldly but was unable to rebut.

After that, the game lacked any suspense.

The Bucks won easily.

"When I was single-handedly leading the team in D.C., I didn't have All-Star teammates like Sam Cassell and Jerry Stackhouse. If they fail to make the playoffs this season, there's only one reason," Fei said emotionlessly, "Someone's just too bad!"

Fei's naked sarcasm and assault on Jordan made the Wizards' postgame press conference particularly awkward.

Collins was forced to endure a barrage of questions from the outside world.

Most were related to Jordan, some to Fei, and a portion were tirelessly inquiring about what exactly the Wizards gained from the trade involving Fei.

These questions finally prompted Collins's most controversial response: "You damn bastards, don't you have any other questions? Michael is human too, he's 40 years old and it's only natural that he feels fatigued! Stop asking these pointless questions!"

No matter how Collins argued for Jordan, one thing was indisputable: Jordan's divinity had faded away.

His ability as a player, along with his appeal to fans and his market value, were all gradually diminishing.

Once the fall of a deity begins, it doesn't end until the very last—this isn't just about Jordan's career but also his remaining years. This mediocre helplessness will follow him to the end.

If you ask for a defining moment of a deity's fall, it would be this year's All-Star voting.

In the Eastern Conference, the top vote-getter was Tracy McGrady, followed by a physically troubled Vince Carter with a worrying attendance rate, next was the still influential Allen Iverson, and then came Fei. Jordan couldn't even rank fifth—Ben Wallace took that spot, sitting at fifth in the overall Eastern Conference All-Star vote count.

The "hero" about to be celebrated during the All-Star weekend is merely a variation of the "Funeral March," and no matter how Jordan's supporters try to embellish this, or how grand the League makes the ceremony for sending off Jordan, it doesn't change the fact.

We are in an era where Michael Jordan doesn't even outpoll Ben Wallace in the All-Star voting.

The wheel of time has arrived, and it only moves further away, with no one looking back, regardless of what lays behind.