Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

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Why not take Lebron James to a Paris Hilton party and have a blast?

The idea was quickly vetoed by Yu Fei.

Setting aside whether Lebron James would agree, getting past his mother Gloria and girlfriend Savannah would be impossible.

If you really corrupt the guy, it'll be awkward next time you see him.

After that, Yu Fei took a quick shower backstage and then went to the makeup room to have a professional stylist dress him up.

Yu Fei doesn't normally use a stylist, unless he is attending an event with Christina. But now, he had to consider it.

Because he had insider information that David Stern had had enough of Iverson's street style and was about to implement a so-called "Dress Code", prohibiting players from wearing hats, T-shirts, sneakers, etc., when representing a team or the league at events.

Reportedly, this was to make the players look less thuggish and more gentlemanly.

No wonder, after the brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills, the NBA's image was a total mess.

Yu Fei didn't care much about this because he normally dressed formally in public, but with the dress code becoming official, he needed a professional stylist's help.

Yu Fei stared at Rachel Johnson, the square-faced blonde white woman styling him in the mirror. She was Puff Daddy's personal stylist. "Where can I find an outstanding stylist like you?"

"I heard you're friends with Paris?" Rachel asked.

"Sort of."

"Your friend knows the world's most outstanding stylists, you should ask her for help with this issue."

Hearing this, Yu Fei would have to find some time to ask Paris Hilton.

Soon after, Yu Fei left the makeup room and entered the star-studded green room. Jay-Z was sitting in the center like a boss, surrounded by big shots of the music industry.

Puff Daddy, Kanye, Nas, Beyonce...

James acted as if Yu Fei really didn't know these people and introduced them seriously.

Only Puff Daddy came over specifically to say, "I watched your game, thanks~~~ you're the best Chinese basketball player I've ever seen!"

Apart from Beyonce, Puff Daddy was probably the only other person there who genuinely watched games.

Afterward, Yu Fei took a seat.

Jay-Z then said, "I heard you and Bron are very good friends, how did you meet?"

Everyone was curious about this.

Logically speaking, an Asian like Yu Fei and an African-American like James wouldn't have much in common, let alone become friends.

Yu Fei shared the story of how he met James at the ABCD Camp years ago.

After listening, Jay-Z felt somewhat more favorable towards Yu Fei.

Being friends with James was not uncommon; given James' stature these days, who wouldn't want to be his friend? Even Jay-Z acknowledged James' consolidating NBA status before solidifying his place in his circle, advancing their relationship. Yu Fei had met James when neither was well-known and maintained this friendship even after making a name for himself in the NBA.

"If you're a friend of Bron, you're a friend of mine," Jay-Z said. "My 'Palace' will always have a place for you."

Yu Fei didn't expect to enter Jay-Z's circle through this connection. He had never thought about joining it, as he and Jay-Z were not on the same path. It was enough to know Jay-Z through James, and no further thought was necessary.

Before the stage was transformed from a basketball court into a performing venue, there was still a lot of conversation among the stars in the green room.

Jay-Z, like a CEO, spoke endlessly. Indeed, this was his palace.

After that, the performance began.

Various stars took the stage in succession and at the end of the performance, they all came on stage to conclude with Jay-Z's famous song, "Encore".

James was also one of the stars invited on stage, and there were even lyrics for him to sing in the performance, which thrilled him.

His relationship with Jay-Z was getting closer. If before it resembled the big-brother-little-brother type he had with Yu Fei, now it was becoming more like "family". Jay-Z not only knew him but also recognized the other members of the Four Horsemen, even his mother, and treated them all the same as he treated James.

Standing on the grand stage, performing alongside a group of stars, James could feel himself shining like a king.

The screams, the spotlight, it all seemed to be for him, and he was intoxicated by the feeling.

After stepping down from the stage, an excited James shared his experiences with Yu Fei, "Not even playing 100 games gives you this feeling."

Yu Fei laughed and said, "Then play 101 games."

After the party ended, Yu Fei returned to the hotel after a busy day.

The new season was about to begin, and from now, he needed to adjust his status anew.

As usual, the Bucks set their pre-season training camp at St. Francis, their home ground.

This was in line with the team's custom.

For the owner, the money that needed to be spent during the off-season had already been spent, and of course, money that could be saved should be saved.

In mid-September, Yu Fei arrived early at St. Francis to report for the first day of training camp.

He immediately saw George Karl yelling at Ariza.

"Rookie, what the hell did you do this summer? Haven't you improved at all!"

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"Coach, I'm still recovering,"

Frye threatened, "If you don't recover soon, I'll trade you to the Clippers!"

Yu Fei rolled his eyes upon hearing this. Why was it always a threat to be traded to the Clippers? What did they think of the Clippers? Oh, it was himself who loved to send people there the most — no problem then.

"George, why the big anger?" Yu Fei asked. "How's your health?"

Seeing Yu Fei, Karl's face broke into a smile, "God bless, the surgery was very successful."

"Take care," Yu Fei said meaningfully. "We've still got big things to accomplish."

Karl of course knew what Yu Fei was referring to.

Unlike last season, the Bucks had bolstered their squad during the offseason and could now be described as strong and robust.

Reclaiming the championship was a reasonable goal for them.

Upon entering the locker room and getting ready to put his stuff away, Yu Fei ran into Sprewell.

Sprewell had not played for almost a year, but there wasn't a hint of being out of shape on his body.

It was apparent that Sprewell had kept up with training during his suspension, so perhaps one needn't be too pessimistic about his performance upon returning.

There was Sprewell, reading a car magazine again.

Yu Fei felt that most of his earnings were spent on this.

"Sprewell, you're just one person, you can't drive that many cars, right?" Yu Fei asked.

Sprewell laughed, "I may not drive them, but I can't be without them."

"You're still playing, so affording these cars won't be a problem, but you won't play for many more years. Maybe you should think about how you will support all these cars after you retire." This might have been Yu Fei's last attempt to get Sprewell to manage his money wisely.

Sprewell asked, "What should I do then?"

"Find a financial adviser," Yu Fei replied. "Just like we need agents to communicate with the team, let professionals do professional work."

Sprewell's expression changed, "I won't let those damn white-collars manage my money!"

"Then I can only wish you luck, buddy."

Yu Fei put his stuff down, ready to leave, but suddenly noticed that Ray Allen's locker was still empty.

After Ray Allen was traded last season, this locker naturally went to Mobley.

Now, with Mobley gone too, the Bucks' roster was strong, yet they lacked a second star player.

"Is this locker taken yet?" Yu Fei inquired.

Sprewell shook his head, "Not yet, but George plans to give it to Danny (Granger)."

"Handing Ray's locker over to a rookie isn't appropriate," Yu Fei said surprisingly. "Let's give Kevin this locker."

While giving a rookie lottery pick the second-best player's locker might be inappropriate, letting a bust, which made everyone doubt Yu Fei's drafting abilities, use the second-best player's locker…

Sprewell's eyes shifted, but he ultimately didn't voice his thoughts.

No matter how unreasonable it seemed, as long as Yu Fei decided on it, it would happen.

This was the power of absolute authority.

Martin's dismal performance during his rookie season led to a lot of criticism behind Yu Fei's back, and although no one would say these things to his face, the consensus was that "Frye should be responsible for Kevin Martin's draft flop."

The management, eager to deflect blame, willingly let it slip to the media that it was Yu Fei who insisted on drafting Martin.

Yu Fei wasn't too concerned about this, because he knew Martin would rise to prominence, and the beautiful record of demanding the team draft Kevin Martin in the late first round would also be attributed to him.

Half an hour later, the entire Bucks team assembled at the training camp.

A serious illness gave Karl more time to reflect on the future.

When he missed out on a three-peat, he couldn't help but think about his nemesis — Phil Jackson, and how he managed to win three three-peats. Was it really just because of O'Neal and Jordan's dominance?

Before winning a championship, Karl might have thought Jackson won so many because of luck, always coaching the best players.

But after his own victory, even though he also considered Yu Fei a decisive factor, he felt his coaching was indispensable.

Karl studied Jackson and felt that both had their strengths in coaching, but off the court, Jackson's Zen philosophy seemed better at managing players' psychologies.

Karl had no interest in Zen and didn't want to be a charlatan, but some zero-cost good habits were worth learning.

Every season, Phil Jackson set the theme for the new season with a phrase.

For instance, during the Lakers' F4 season, Jackson felt the team's future was unpredictable since everyone needed to find their own soul, so he set the theme as "Where Is The Soul?"

Now, Karl had his own idea.

"Guys, after all we've been through, I think we need a theme to define our goal for this season," Karl said. He grabbed the whiteboard and quickly wrote down "Rebirth through Fire". "Let's rise from the ashes like a phoenix!"

No sooner had Karl finished writing than Yu Fei joked, "Oh no, someone's impersonating Phil Jackson."

Laughter erupted throughout the room as a cheerful atmosphere wafted around. Experience more on My Virtual Library Empire