Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

"Frye. He's unexpectedly popular in D.C.,"

"Oh?"

Susan O'Malley hadn't expected that.

She knew that Yu Fei, as an Asian basketball player entering the NBA, naturally carried the support of many Asian Americans, but Asians made up less than 5% of the total population in D.C. Even for Yu Fei, that shouldn't amount to much influence.

The assistant explained, "For the past two months, Frye has been training intensively at Keller Gymnasium in the Arlington Community. Since the place is very close to his home, he usually doesn't use any transportation. He jogs there and back every day, so fans frequently encounter him, some chat with him, others offer him rides, and before you know it, the media caught wind of it. Michael Wilbon from The Washington Post has mentioned him several times in his columns, and that's why Frye's popularity in D.C. has risen."

"In terms of popularity, Frye is probably second only to MJ and Rip," (Richard Hamilton's nickname).

O'Malley had watched Yu Fei's tryout and was impressed with his performance that day on the court when he tore through Brendan Haywood.

O'Malley had thought Jordan would be furious, after all, his trusted junior had been embarrassed by a wet-behind-the-ears high school student. To her surprise, she realized that the junior meant nothing, and the high school student was now his new favorite.

O'Malley disliked anyone that Jordan liked.

Labeling the high school student brought in personally by Jordan as "Jordan's guy" wasn't wrong whatsoever.

But today's event couldn't be canceled, so O'Malley ordered, "Then change MJ's media reception into Frye's rookie meet-and-greet, and go notify him."

Before long, the assistant came back with a strange look on his face.

"What's wrong?" O'Malley could tell from his expression that it wasn't good news.

The assistant stammered, "Frye... he says he's still on vacation, and theoretically... he... he's not under the team's control, so... so he won't attend the meet-and-greet at this time; he's going to train intensively, which is in preparation for the new season and is to the team's benefit. Please... please understand."

The assistant didn't dare look at O'Malley's face anymore.

She was right, O'Malley's expression at this time was as terrifying as the face in "The Exorcist" that rotated 180 degrees.

Ignoring regulations, not valuing team interests, acting unilaterally... to O'Malley, Yu Fei already had a strong flavor of Jordan about him.

Thinking this only made O'Malley angrier.

Before Jordan descended upon them, few Wizards players dared to defy her will, for everyone knew she was someone who dared to scold Magic Johnson to his face.

If Magic himself feared her, of course, others would too.

However, when she encountered "one of the two types of players in the world" as described by Magic, her authority dissipated into thin air.

Even the included Yu Fei could ignore her.

Authority is a peculiar thing; once gone, it's difficult to regain.

"So... today's event..."

O'Malley thought for a moment, "Let Rip do it; he's someone who takes the bigger picture into account."

Rip? The assistant wasn't sure the team's second-in-command would give up his last holiday to help with a team event.

As if reading the assistant's concern, O'Malley explained her reason for choosing Hamilton, "Rip is a true Wizards player, he's responsible and ambitious. He'll agree to it. You just need to let him know that MJ turned down the event but don't let him know that the high schooler turned it down too."

"Understood."

※※※

As a weak team, the Wizards didn't understand the principle of the early bird catching the worm, they postponed the start of their preseason training camp until October 1st.

During the same period, other NBA teams had started their training camps ranging from five days to a week earlier.

Starting later was beneficial for Yu Fei, who was immersed in intensive training.

From mid-July to the present, over the course of two and a half months, Yu Fei's three-a-day training sessions had resulted in a comprehensive improvement in his fundamental skills, techniques, and strength. The most notable increase was in his weight.

Yu Fei not only achieved his initial target of gaining 10 pounds but even exceeded it, ultimately putting on an extra 12 pounds (approximately 10 jin).

Currently, his weight is 229 pounds (104kg), which still doesn't qualify him to play in the frontcourt in this era of muscular players. However, if viewed as a tall winger, his weight might not be enough, but he's no longer the skinny type that goes down at the slightest touch.

More importantly, Yu Fei had proven that he could gain weight and was willing to put in the effort to do so.

From a fitness science perspective, barring those who are inherently unable to absorb nutrients well, there's no such thing as a person who can't gain weight.

However, scientifically gaining weight is both hard and dull. Thus, at the end of September, after finishing his intensive training, Yu Fei rewarded himself with an indulgent meal.

That day, Quentin DiMio returned from Reebok USA Headquarters in Los Angeles to meet with Yu Fei, along with Anthony Lawson and the newly recruited Assistant Alex Clark—Yu Fei's team was rarely all together.

DiMio shared his experiences working at Reebok and brought some inside information for Yu Fei.

Inside Reebok, there were still many executives who were dissatisfied and concerned about the company spending such a large sum to sign a contract with a high school player selected eighth overall.

Yu Fei understood their feelings, as after all, the big contract he had wasn't entirely earned by his own strength; Reebok valued the Asian market behind him.

For Reebok, as long as Yu Fei could establish himself in the NBA and play for ten or eight years, it would make many Asians proud and in turn, buy the company's products. That would be worth it.

Yu Fei, who knew these tricks of the trade well, didn't take it to heart.

Then they talked about the Wizards Team.

Lawson mentioned the incident where Susan O'Malley had asked Yu Fei to end his intensive training early to participate in team activities but was rejected, "I've heard of that woman's story, she's always been at odds with MJ. Anyway, the Wizards are MJ's team; we don't need to make her happy."

DiMio asked, "How's MJ doing? I heard he's having a bit of trouble."

Yu Fei shrugged nonchalantly, "Who knows."

This was the last night Yu Fei spent with his team members. Tomorrow, he would fly to Wilmington, North Carolina, with his assistant to attend the Wizards' pre-season training camp.

The first day of the training camp was also Media Day.

Dressed in a black and red tracksuit adorned with the prominent "JORDAN" logo, Michael Jordan appeared in front of a group of reporters, where they swarmed him. His presence struck a wise image, sometimes reflective, sometimes defensive, sometimes firm, occasionally humorous, and at times showing a competitive edge. In the end, he even discussed the possibility of failure, showing his candidness and uncertainty.

"I know how old I am, so I also know that I might end up failing miserably," Jordan tilted his lips to the left in his signature manner, just for an instant. "I accept failure, but I do not accept giving up."

For the rookies Yu Fei and Kwame Brown, having Jordan on Media Day was a stroke of luck.

Even though Brown was the first overall pick and Yu Fei was the eighth, the media wouldn't waste their time on them.

Watching Jordan surrounded by a pack of reporters, having to give interviews wherever he went, Yu Fei felt that wasn't the life for a human being.

Most importantly, Yu Fei noticed a bulge at the knee of Jordan's sweatpants, clearly indicating an ice pack was being applied there.

It seemed that the rumor about the Wizards' training camp being postponed due to Jordan's tendinitis wasn't without basis.

"Fei, aren't you going to say hello to MJ?" Brown asked.

Yu Fei turned with a smile, "Nah, I don't know him that well."

(1) Magic Johnson: In the world, there are only two types of basketball players—Jordan and everyone else. (Old as it may be, let's review this classic quote)