Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

February 6, 2003, marked the last game day before the All-Star Weekend, with the Bucks crushing the Seattle SuperSonics at home, bringing their record to 39 wins and 11 losses.

This victory finally allowed the Bucks to leapfrog over the Mavericks, ranking first in the League.

Yu Fei and Ray Allen were selected for the Eastern All-Star Team.

Among them, Yu Fei saw a comprehensive statistical improvement after the Bucks began experimenting with the "Random Tactics" (named "X-Offense" by Karl), averaging 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists per game. This made Yu Fei the second-highest-voted forward in the Eastern Conference, second only to Vince Carter, who barely played (McGrady was counted as a guard this season).

The Bucks' experiment was successful, proving that Yu Fei had the ability to master the "X-Offense."

But Karl also saw the downsides.

If the team played the "X-Offense" for an extended period, it was certain that Yu Fei's stats would increasingly dazzle and achieving an average triple-double like The Big O was not impossible, but the cost would be varying degrees of skill atrophy and functional loss among his teammates.

In the "X-Offense," shooters, although crucial, were not as indispensable as ball handlers. Shooters just needed to keep setting screens around the ball handler, creating chaos, and then sinking threes.

Employing Yu Fei, the all-around creator, to his fullest extent, relegated outstanding offensive players like Ray Allen and Sprewell to just snipers lurking on the sidelines.

In the long run, this was not beneficial for the team.

Therefore, Karl and Yu Fei agreed to keep the "X-Offense" as a secret weapon rather than a regular tactic.

Yu Fei had no objections; compared to the small-ball era, the Bucks' current 5 OUT system was still too primitive, relying entirely on him. James, Dončić, and Harden could all accommodate a secondary ball-handler. Playing this way felt great for him, and his stats looked great, but it was also indirectly draining his teammates' abilities.

Moreover, Yu Fei felt that he had not yet reached the point of being a system unto himself.

It was only his second year in his career, and solidifying his style of play and system now would not be conducive to his growth.

On this point, he and Karl had no disagreements.

Most players looked forward to the All-Star Weekend, but some disliked it.

Like Yu Fei.

Every time it came around, Reebok would prepare a host of its endorsement activities. Once Reebok milked him dry, it would be the NBA's turn to saddle him with tasks.

This year was somewhat unique.

Although there was still some time before the end of the season, Jordan's team had been hinting that this would be his final season.

Whether from publicly released news or inquiries made behind closed doors, the League knew that Jordan would retire after this season.

As a result, many of this year's All-Star festivities revolved around Jordan.

But here lay the problem: the supposed main star didn't even make the Eastern All-Star starters.

Nothing could more vividly illustrate the decline in Jordan's appeal to the younger generation, and his commercial value was no longer what it once was.

An empty shell, no matter how well packaged, remains empty.

Understanding this explains why, 17 years later when the Lakers won the bubble championship, the phenomenon of anti-Jordan rhetoric on some forums emerged. In that era, Jordan had become a tool used specifically for comparing rising achievers or those at the pinnacle of success. Once the comparison was made to someone like a deputy who could almost see the throne's backside, and they gained power, retribution was inevitable, and those who saw Jordan as a tool would not speak up.

Jordan was now a tool as well, his on-court value negligible; all that was needed from him was to attend the All-Star Weekend with dignity and deliver some platitudes about "passing the torch to the next generation," after which people could bid him farewell with laughter and say: "Roll along, don't let us see you again."

So, the current issue was that Jordan needed to start, but he couldn't outvote others, so it was left to well-educated Generation Y individuals like Yu Fei to step aside.

From the beginning of this issue, Yu Fei made it publicly known: "My fans voted for me hoping I would start in Atlanta, so I'm not giving up my spot to anyone."

This rebellious Anti-Mike statement was selectively ignored by everyone.

First, Iverson and McGrady, both exhibiting high emotional intelligence, volunteered to give up their starting spots.

Jordan declined, recognizing younger players' respect for protocol; he couldn't shed all decency.

Across the entire All-Star starting lineup, the only one who could arguably give up his starting spot to him was North Carolina underclassman Vince Carter, who didn't play much but still drew votes.

Ironically, the relationship between Jordan and Carter had always been tense.

Ever since Carter entered the NBA in 1998 as a UFO and snatched the slam dunk crown with a performance echoing through the ages, he became the slam dunk's top dog in everyone's eyes. Furthermore, coming from the same school as Jordan, he was the most qualified to be Jordan's successor as the next "Air" Jordan.

Jordan disliked Carter, due to his underclassman's lack of defensive skill.

Carter, in turn, disliked being compared to Jordan, but the world had already designated him as Jordan's successor.

As time passed, it felt more and more like Gen Z and the post-2010s comparing Shen Teng and Stephen Chow. Carter went from resistance and loathing to rebelliousness like Yu Fei the previous summer.

During one event, when interviewed about comparisons with Jordan, Carter responded, "When it all ends, you'll see I'm better than him."