Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Back at the home court, the Bucks welcomed the Philadelphia 76ers.

Before the game started, Yu Fei chatted with an old acquaintance.

This acquaintance was not Allen Iverson, but Andre Iguodala.

The relationship between the two could be traced back to the Adidas ABCD Camp in 2001, when Iguodala was just an unknown player, struggling to find a team that would accept him. It was Yu Fei who took him in when he was rejected by the older players.

Afterward, as Yu Fei became famous at the camp, Iguodala also attracted attention, successfully got into college, and maintained contact with Yu Fei all the way through to the draft.

"AI, has old AI been good to you?" Yu Fei joked.

Iguodala said, "I think Allen is the veteran every rookie wants; you know, he gave me a car as soon as I arrived in Philadelphia."

Iverson's magnanimous gesture once again impressed Yu Fei.

If Jordan had treated his rookies the same way, perhaps their stories would have been entirely different.

"Well, are they planning to have you guard me tonight?" Yu Fei casually probed about the 76ers' pre-game plans.

Iguodala was tight-lipped, "I can't say."

Although he couldn't say, his response was as good as an admission.

Apart from Iguodala, who else on the 76ers could match up with Yu Fei?

Iverson? Aggressive enough, but much too small.

Korver? Only if they were crazy.

Webber? The coaching staff would have to be out of their minds to try something that bizarre.

So, it had to be Iguodala.

From a distance, Iverson shouted, "Frye, don't scare my rookie. He's not a coward!"

Yu Fei waved his hand, indicating he was not that kind of person.

Then, the game began.

Iverson came out strong tonight, exploding from the start with 9 out of 13 shots in the first quarter, scoring 20 points and 5 assists, leading the 76ers to a 36-point quarter.

The Bucks' defense system was virtually blown apart.

That had become the norm since the Palace of Auburn Hills brawl.

The Bucks firmly played a 5 OUT, not focusing on defense, which often resulted in high scores for both the opponents and themselves.

Yu Fei combined driving and passing, leading the team with 33 points in a quarter, trailing by only 3 points against Iverson's hot streak.

Going into the second quarter, Karl assigned Ariza, who had volunteered earlier, to face Iverson. However, judging from Iverson's shooting percentage, this arrangement didn't work out.

Iverson scored 10 points from 4 out of 7 in the quarter.

Meanwhile, Yu Fei scored 17 in a single quarter, tying the score before halftime.

The third quarter was decisive. Yu Fei fell into the predicament of a big core, his individual state was hot, but he wanted to engage his teammates, passing the ball a bit too much, which they couldn't capitalize on.

In these situations, the advantage of a ball-dominant star like Iverson became evident.

When they're on fire, they don't need to think about the team and can push isolation play to the limit.

Yu Fei's 11 points and 3 assists in a quarter were impressive, but Iverson again scored 20 points in a quarter, racking up 50 points in three quarters, extending the 76ers' lead to double digits.

By the fourth quarter, when Yu Fei realized his teammates couldn't make shots and his own touch declined, while the 76ers' interior started to exert pressure, Webber succeeded with a few one-on-one plays, and Iguodala hit a three-pointer, securing the win for the 76ers.

Yu Fei scored 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists for the game, while Iverson for the opposing side had 54 points and 7 assists.

Yu Fei's stats were more well-rounded, but Iverson's 54 points were decisive.

After the game, Karl said to Yu Fei, "Frye, you're not selfish enough."

Yu Fei realized this; Iverson was on fire today, and his touch wasn't bad either. If he really had decided to go head to head with the opponent, maybe the result would have been different.

The desire to involve his teammates affected Yu Fei's judgement.

"Maybe I should shoot like Kobe, 30 times a game," Yu Fei said.

Karl laughed, "Why not? You can do anything on the court."

"George, don't spoil me too much," Yu Fei countered, "I still prefer the old you."

Karl's face only held a cold smile. After so many incidents, he was 100% sure that if he hadn't catered to Yu Fei's demands and changed proactively, he probably would have been dismissed by now.

Having lived half a lifetime, Karl realized that people have a complex nature. If you control them too tightly, they'll resent it; if you let them loose, they're afraid of spoiling themselves.

But Karl wasn't the kind of nanny-coach who only says "yes". He agreed with Yu Fei's approach because he believed it was the right path.

The Bucks, having lost their All-Star sidekick, had to fully revolve around Yu Fei as the core of the team.

In the past, Yu Fei only had this kind of lineup and freedom at critical moments. Now, he needed to grow into a ball-dominant core with a system built around him. This required him to make mistakes continuously and accumulate experience.

Yu Fei's advantage as a time-traveler was that he knew how a ball-dominant big core played, which would allow him to avoid many detours.

What he really needed to improve was his on-the-spot decision-making, which required extensive game experience.

Karl showed him a way, just go solo when in doubt, believing that believing in himself would never be wrong.

Two days later, the Bucks were set to host the Timberwolves at home.

This was also Kevin Garnett's comeback game.

Since the All-Star break, Garnett had been sulky with the team because the Timberwolves did nothing at the trade deadline.

Moreover, last summer, the Timberwolves, citing "to ensure long-term salary cap health," refused to match Tskitishvili's max contract, letting the Turkish agent slip away for nothing.

Therefore, many media outlets were lamenting for Garnett, "KG, just go, you don't owe the Timberwolves anything" had been on the talks for a while now.

Yu Fei understood Garnett's feelings; if the Bucks let go of a future All-Star just to save money, he would be furious too.

That evening, Yu Fei seemed not to have learned from his previous game's lessons, still passing a lot.

That was because his teammates had a hot shooting hand.

Although the Timberwolves had Garnett, Cassell was out due to injury, leaving gaps in their perimeter defense.

Garnett, whose thoughts were elsewhere, was merely providing mechanical help defense, leaving one open spot after another on the perimeter.
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Via Yu Fei's passes, he managed a near triple-double of 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists by the half, with the team leading by a large margin.

Garnett was reminded of himself by Yu Fei; why was it that, though both played in cold regions, Big Fei had two championships under his belt before his rookie contract even ended, while he, despite working so hard, had fought nearly ten years for nothing?

"Frye, what would you do if you were me?"

At halftime, Garnett asked Yu Fei.

Yu Fei said, "I'd refuse to exercise the option this summer and then get as far away as possible."

"Minnesota's fans are loyal," Garnett said. "I wouldn't betray them."

"Then what the hell are you asking me for?" Yu Fei sneered sarcastically, "Enjoy the fruit of that loyalty, and take it with your Minnesotan pride straight to the grave!"

Garnett was incensed, recalling Yu Fei's infamously criticized short-term contract, and retorted on the spot, "Someone fickle like you could never understand my situation!"

Then why are you asking me, Jimmy Butler?

"You're right, but I've won two championships for Milwaukee already," Yu Fei decided to convince Garnett, another high school superstar, with facts. "So even if I do leave later on, I don't feel like I owe anyone anything. I'm different from you; I didn't sign a huge contract that burdened the team, so you'd best not point fingers at me. Plus, Milwaukee's fans aren't as loyal as those adorable Minnesotans; over here, the Bucks are less popular than Marquette University's basketball players. Do you understand now?"

Yu Fei said a lot, but Garnett only took one thing to heart.

I've already won two championships for Milwaukee.

That was important.

If you join a team for the championship, then force that team into mortgaging its future to strengthen the lineup, and leave it in shambles when you depart, then no amount of fan criticism is unwarranted.

Yu Fei had already brought championships to the Bucks without demanding future sacrifices, and no matter what choices he made for the future, he had plenty of leverage.

Garnett's emotions were even more complex.

In the second half, the Bucks' onslaught was fiercer than the first, defeating the Timberwolves within three-quarters and securing a big victory at home.

After the game, Yu Fei and Garnett's discussion at the end of the first half sparked media interest.

Noting Garnett's emotional fluctuations, reporters asked Yu Fei what had transpired between him and Garnett.

"Nothing much, KG and I have always been friends, it was just an ordinary conversation between us," he explained.

"KG's reaction didn't look simple," pressed the journalist, "can you share what exactly you said to him?"

"Sorry, I really can't remember," Yu Fei responded.

Later, ESPN's lead reporter Marc Stein somehow uncovered most of the content of Yu Fei and Garnett's conversation.

He summarized Yu Fei's words to Garnett as, "Don't let loyalty hurt you."

The fans were abuzz with discussion, and neither party denied the reports.

Although Yu Fei had been harsh on Garnett, he believed that unless there was a major change, it was unlikely Garnett would leave Minnesota.

However, since the Timberwolves could let Tskitishvili go to save money, it was clear they didn't value Garnett's opinion much, and sooner or later, a bigger shake-up was bound to happen.

Garnett might choose to stay for what he called loyalty, but if the management or owner backstabbed him, then he would have a just cause to leave.

Yu Fei wasn't particularly interested in the Garnett and Timberwolves saga; after all, if a trade commotion arose later on, it probably wouldn't involve the Bucks; focusing on Minnesota was less useful than playing well in the remaining regular season one-third.

Next was an away game against the Bulls, where the Bucks emerged victorious but Cuttino Mobley twisted his ankle, sidelining him for 4-6 weeks, further depleting the Bucks' ball-handling options on the perimeter.

After returning home and losing by 22 points to the Mavericks, Yu Fei decided to alter his core style of play, which was a balanced mix of "iso" and "team play," to focus primarily on personal offense. Through countless pick-and-rolls, he shattered the opponent's defense, forcing them to double-team him early on.

To achieve this effect, just a game or two wasn't enough; he planned to stick with this strategy until the end of the season.

The next day, the Bucks visited the Bulls again where Yu Fei played aggressively, scoring 47 points, leading the team to a victory over the Bulls and thus kicking off a wild personal showcase for the end of the season.

PS: The second chapter of today may be updated at either two or four in the afternoon. I was out all night with a friend, and when I got home, I was too tired to keep my eyes open, so the second chapter will have to wait until I wake up to post it, as I still haven't proofread it.

Reminder: The second chapter of today may be updated at either two or four in the afternoon.