Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

LeBron James's childhood dream had come true.

But in front of him was a harsh reality: he had to surpass Frye Yu.

This was not about personal relations, whether it was for himself or the Nike he represented, it was imperative for him to accomplish this.

James aspired to be the greatest player of all time, so initially his goal was to surpass Michael Jordan. However, during this journey, other voices began to emerge.

The name Frye Yu was mentioned frequently.

Both were high school players, both prodigies, and both were considered to have the potential to reach for the top.

James believed that he, at 19, was stronger than Yu Fei at 19, which could be proved by the youngest records that he dominated.

However, at the ages of 20 and 21, there was a chasm-like difference between him and Yu Fei.

At 20, James could still rely on his 19-year-old data to claim some youngest records at 20, but Yu Fei astonishingly won double MVPs and led his team to the championship that year.

At 21, Yu Fei led his team to defend the title and dominated the youngest records at 21, averaging 33 points per game, while James needed to average 32 points per game the current season to maintain most of the records.

And in Yu Fei's 22nd year, the previous season, he averaged 36 points...

Yu Fei replaced the Chicago Ghosts and became another ghost hovering over James's head.

For James, if he wanted to chase Jordan, he had to surpass Yu Fei first.

For Nike, as their heavily invested player, Yu Fei's fame had already had a significant influence; if James couldn't become the modern Michael Jordan, Nike's dominance in the basketball realm could be shaken by Reebok.

Therefore, James could not afford to lose.

But now, he stood leisurely outside the right three-point line, not eager to receive the ball.

That was what puzzled Yu Fei.

On the court, James had a completely different face from that off the court, showing almost no overt desire, calm and composed.

When James was not actively asking for the ball, the Knights did not treat him as the primary offensive option.

Facing the Bucks' zone defense, the Knights chose to shoot from outside. They missed, but grabbed the offensive rebounds again.

Drew Gooden pushed Kwame Brown away and forcefully dunked.

4 to 7

"Bron, seems like you really don't have control of the ball anymore," said Yu Fei.

Now, Yu Fei could confirm that the Knights were trying to turn James into a pure small forward.

This also conformed to the views of many contemporary coaches regarding Yu Fei.

Being a ball-dominant star was considered the wrong approach.

Even Jordan needed the Triangle Offense to share the ball-handling responsibilities.

So, Mike Brown let James "loaf" around outside the three-point line while Snow organized most of the Knights' opening set offense⑴.

⑴ In the first month of the 2005-06 season, James averaged 28+5+4 assists, with his ball-handling rights so reduced that even his assist and rebounding numbers were lower than in his rookie season.

James was generally supportive of the team's tactical trials, as he also didn't know what system would suit him best.

He didn't respond to what Yu Fei had said.

Just because James didn't have ball control didn't mean Yu Fei didn't.

The Bucks' lineup was built around Yu Fei as the central figure in a three-out, one-in system.

Yu Fei dribbled up front, foregoing tactics and not calling for spacing, ready to personally test how fragile the no hands-on defense was.

Tasked with defending Yu Fei for the Knights was Larry Hughes, who was selected for the All-Defensive Team last season.

Yu Fei subjectively believed that every player who had been selected for the All-Defensive Team during the hands-on era needed to be reassessed in the no hands-on era.

Hughes made an emphatic defensive stance, but was called for a foul as he attempted to block Yu Fei's drive.

Yu Fei felt Hughes hadn't even touched him, just some minor movement with his torso, but it was still called—a sign of the strictness in the Knights' home court.

So stringent?

Every introduction of a new rule was accompanied by overly strict initial penalties by the referees. After a while, as players and referees adjusted, the strictness would gradually ease back. Yu Fei had seen this during the early part of the 2022-23 season. Then, the League had implemented new rules to reduce flopping by setting out new defensive and traveling parameters, causing some flopping kings to perform disastrously.

Now, it was the era of strict regulation against hands-on defense, and referees were coming down hard on those trying to exploit the chaos.

To Yu Fei, this was not a disadvantage.

If this was the level of strictness, he was certain that no one could defend him.

After being penalized by the referees, Hughes got the message and strictly adhered to the League's defensive rules.

For Hughes, a guard under two meters, attempting to block the 206-centimeter barefoot Yu Fei, who was in a completely different league both in height and weight—if he couldn't play rough, how was he supposed to defend?

Yu Fei broke past Hughes and scored with a one-step shot inside the free throw line.

4 to 9

On the Knights' side, Hughes called for a pick and roll and drove past Martin, missing the layup, but James followed up with a rebound basket.

6 to 9

Yu Fei isolated again, driving aggressively, stopping abruptly, executing a fake, and following it with a step-back three-pointer after shaking off the defense.

6 to 12

James missed a three-pointer, and Yu Fei grabbed the defensive rebound and pushed the ball up the court, encountering James's defense again.

"If you don't start taking the ball, there won't be a game to play," Yu Fei said.

After saying this, Yu Fei appeared to stop suddenly, making James instinctively jump.

The moment he jumped, James knew he had fallen for the fake.

Yu Fei moved past James's body and scored with a dunk under the basket.

6 to 14

Yu Fei scored 9 consecutive points, prompting the Knight's first timeout of the evening.

"Compared to LeBron James, Frye's skillful execution is more reasonable. These past few possessions, he's been dazzling with a variety of moves, just spectacular!"

"You're right, LeBron still has a long way to go."

The feelings of the Knight fans onsite for Yu Fei were mixed.

To this day, no Knight fan wants to revisit the 2001 draft.

In 2001, the Knight chose Yu Fei with the eighth pick, then immediately traded him to D.C. to acquire a future draft pick, a move that surpassed what the Bucks did in 1998 when they traded Dirk Nowitzki for Robert Traylor.

If Yu Fei is considered Milwaukee's recompense, then James is also Cleveland's recompense.

However, Knight fans always like to fantasize: if they hadn't made that trade, they might have had the chance to have both Yu Fei and James at the same time.

But now, all that remains is in the most intriguing "what ifs" of the sports world.

Yu Fei walked off the court, hardly breaking a sweat.

Karl saw it too, the new rules regarding hands-on defense has unimaginably enhanced players like Yu Fei and James.

James' one-on-one plays on the perimeter are unstoppable, but Yu Fei? He can no longer be described as merely unstoppable.

Facing last season's defenses, Yu Fei basically treated the opponents like stars he could toy with however he wished.

"Isolation plays are good, but don't be obsessed with them," Karl suggested, "Next, they will definitely tighten defense on you, and others will get more opportunities."

Yu Fei smiled, "If I'm shooting 100%, what's wrong with taking a few more shots?"

"You can't keep making all of them, it's time to pass the ball," Karl really worried that Yu Fei was getting overzealous.

But Yu Fei wasn't foolish; he knew when to attack and when to pass.

He pondered that after this timeout, little Bron would probably get restless to control the ball, at which point the Knight's offensive rhythm would change again.

Sure enough, once the timeout ended, James received the sideline pass and dribbled forward.

James stationed himself on the left, waiting for Big Z to position himself.

This was the Knight's strongest duo, one inside and one outside, both posing a threat.

Standing behind the seven-foot-three Big Z, Brown looked like a dwarf but he staunchly resisted the former's lower body, disrupting his offensive flow.

Unable to attack at his comfortable rhythm, Big Z passed the ball back to James.

James feinted, and ultimately bulldozed past Bell with his physique, breaking into the paint where the Bucks converged on him. James, having penetrated the defense, leaped with all his might, his body mysteriously drifting to who knows where, and with his left hand, he tossed the ball at the basket, incredibly scoring off the backboard.

This thing called talent, well, it's just so overpowering to a point where it allows one to easily humiliate a top defender like Bell.

People say James lacks skill and this implies he relies solely on his physical talent to play the game, but wouldn't anyone with such a once-in-a-decade monstrous physique play the same way?

Yu Fei didn't envy it, really, not at all.

What's so great about relying on physique to play? Just wait, wait until you're 50 and you can't play anymore.

Then, as Yu Fei crossed half-court, the Knight's defense strategy appeared explosive.

He wasn't even close to the three-point line when Snow, along with Hughes, came up to trap him, completely disregarding Bell.

Yu Fei raised his hand to pass, and Bell, who had been relentlessly bullied by James, decided to redeem himself from the perimeter. He took the pass, stabilized his center of gravity, and launched a three-pointer.

8 to 17.

The situation was unfavorable for the Knights because other Bucks players were starting to score.

James made the sort of mistake young players make, overly eager to shoot triples he attempted a pull-up from the outside.

He missed.

Yu Fei grabbed the defensive rebound, and this time, he was tactically fouled by the Knight.

Yu Fei received the sideline ball and progressed into the frontcourt leisurely. After Bell scored a three-pointer, the Knights had sobered up quite a bit.

Hughes kept a watchful eye on Yu Fei, unsure of what he was about to do.

Suddenly, Yu Fei spun his body, to the left? No, it was just a feint. Hughes moved in response and at that instant, Yu Fei changed direction with his left hand to the right, tearing open a gap and breezing past the unrecoverable Hughes.

The Knights' defensive line contracted, vowing to stop Yu Fei.

However, Yu Fei slipped the ball through the defenders to Kwame Brown.

Brown certainly wasn't going to miss out on this pie served to him, and with a lift of the ball, he scored another two points.

"Unstoppable!" Brown exclaimed excitedly.

Yu Fei gave him a look, "Try saying that after a slam dunk." Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire

"You think everyone's a beast like that guy?" Brown retorted, referring to LeBron.

The next play, James was obstructed by a zone defense and opted for a mid-range shot, which didn't go in.

Brown took the defensive rebound and passed to Yu Fei.

As if trying to prove, against LeBron, that he was superior in every aspect except for physical attributes, Yu Fei sprinted up the court, encountering James once more. He made a swift dribble-stop, no unnecessary movements, caught the ball and pulled up, while James jumped to his peak, believing he had obscured Yu Fei's line of sight.

But Yu Fei's shot was unaffected, smoothly released, and as the ball reached mid-air, the shooter already had a hunch.

"Bingo!"

The ball fell through the net just as Yu Fei's words did.

"You still have a lot to learn, Bron."

Just as Hakeem Olajuwon dominated David Robinson in the 1995 Western Conference Finals, there has never been a more direct comparison between two primary players with similar positions and styles of play.

James had exceptional talent, incomparable to anyone else, but at this stage, the obvious gap in his skills compared to Yu Fei's was far greater than the advantage his talent provided.

This game between the big brother and the little brother is set to continue.

And the big brother always wins in the end.