Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The Supersonics stormed on unchallenged, and after the Hornets broke their undefeated streak, they surged into December with an eight-game winning streak, only to suffer their second defeat of the season when they went to Orlando to challenge the Magic. That night, Howard harshly schooled Kwame Brown in the paint, furiously scoring 25 points and grabbing 22 rebounds, with Carter providing support from the perimeter with 34 points. The Magic's dazzling small-ball tactics stymied the Supersonics. But that loss did not warrant much contemplation for the Supersonics. The opponent was at home and on a hot streak. It was a game they were meant to lose. However, their next opponents were in for trouble. Tasting defeat once again, the Supersonics arrived at the second away game of their Eastern Conference trip, facing the Charlotte Bobcats. That evening, the team's minority owner and de facto controller of the management, Michael Jordan, made an appearance at the home court dressed in a beige suit. "Doesn't Michael know that his presence will only make things worse?" The experts at ESPN deliberately steered the discussion toward Jordan. Because of Jordan's connection, Yu Fei was likely to take a hard stance against the Bobcats. And as it turned out, the experts' speculation was justified. If one were to say that Yu Fei's response to the Hornets breaking the Supersonics' undefeated season was to score 55 points with a 95% shooting percentage, then at the Bobcats' home court, with Jordan sitting courtside, he felt a surge of a killing instinct. That night, Fei took 29 shots, including 12 out of 15 from beyond the arc, tying the NBA record for individual three-point field goals in a single game, and racked up 60 points and 12 rebounds with stunning efficiency. Victory, of course, belonged to the Supersonics, but what was important was how Fei secured that victory. "Which is more impressive, scoring 55 points with a 95% shooting percentage or scoring 60 points with an 80% shooting percentage?" Ernie Johnson from TNT asked Barkley, "Chuck, what do you think?" As Jordan's close friend, Barkley was, of course, inclined to give his brother a little face. "Both are impressive, but I think Frye took the game against the Bobcats personally; he scored half of his points when the game was already out of reach," Barkley reasoned, "I believe there are a few others in the league who could do this. Compared to tonight, I prefer his 55-point game against the Hornets. That was a Greatest of All-Time performance." "GOAT?" Kenny Smith noticed something amiss, "AYO! Chuck, are you saying Frye is the GOAT?" Barkley's eyes darted around: "I didn't say that, what I mean is, he can play like the Greatest of All Time." "OK, since the subject has come up, maybe we should seriously discuss who the real GOAT is between Frye and Michael." Then Barkley started, "The answer to this question is always Michael. Let me tell you, Michael is an Alien. During his prime…" Fei's fifth championship pushed the Greatest of All Time debate beyond where Jordan was at the time of his first retirement. Now, Fei stood where Jordan did in 1993. When Jordan completed his first three-peat, something neither the legends of Black and White had achieved, the GOAT topic first linked with him. As an exceptional mega star, "Jordan equals GOAT" was the prevailing view at the time, though not without controversy, as his championship count was not the most dominant. However, as Jordan began his second three-peat, the league, media, and sponsors, with a narrative of "merging eras", undervalued all history prior to 1977, bringing the GOAT status within Jordan's grasp. When he achieved his second back-to-back, there was no one left to match him. By 1998, when he retired perfectly, he was recognized as the best in history. Now, Fei was in Jordan's 1997 position. He was close but not there yet. Yet, some discussions could already start. Since Jordan's honors were fixed, while Fei still had ample time. As the Supersonics showed signs of a champion early in the season, the sixth championship seemed to beckon to Fei. One could foresee that once Fei retained the championship, his GOAT debate with Jordan would become the biggest topic in basketball history. Because it was 2008. Only a decade had passed since Jordan last played like the GOAT, and his fans were still in their prime, their supporting force still formidable. If another decade passed, perhaps Fei wouldn't need to win six championships to stand side by side with Jordan. Because time spares no one, those willing to defend Jordan would eventually lose their vigor, and for the new generation, theories of player evolution in the left hand and game evolution in the right could devalue twenty-year-old games to insignificance. It's just like how Jordan's team introduced the "merging eras" argument to rightfully crown him, the era of small-ball and big-ball would soon become the dividing line between modern basketball and the ancient game. The proximity to Jordan's era was a disadvantage for Yu Fei. When an era is too close, the resistance to reaching the top seems infinitely magnified. When Yu Fei entered the media room, a member of the New York media asked, "What do you think about the escalating GOAT debate?" "I don't care about it," Yu Fei said, "because whatever is happening now has happened before, and we all live within the prophecy of history." The media found it strange because Yu Fei's words were not easy to understand. "Before 1980, Bill Russell might have been acknowledged as the GOAT; before the new century, number 23 was the acknowledged GOAT. I think, since every 20 years gives rise to intense GOAT debates, why are we still so obsessed with it?" Yu Fei said with a smile, "You know, I don't know if I am the best ever, but I am definitely going to be the most enticing. Decades later, if people look back on this period, they will find nobody else worth mentioning besides me." Those who try to become the best are arrogant fools. They are confident they can defeat time. But as long as humanity does not master the technology of immortality, time is unbeatable. This was understood by the 1996 Jordan, and by the 2008 Yu Fei. So Jordan told the media that he felt embarrassed when he heard others call him the GOAT because he never competed against pioneers like Jerry West. Yu Fei's understanding went a step further. From his perspective, if each ultimate winner has an expiration date of about 20 years—a generation's time—then any claim to being the best beyond that period is just self-delusion. What matters is not exceeding a generation in greatness, but dominating the records for a generation. December 13 The Supersonics visited San Antonio. The Spurs were still a 50-win team, but no longer the top-tier title-contending team they were at the beginning of the century. The Supersonics made significant lineup changes, and it seemed that the Spurs reaped some benefits from this. They had two top-tier wings: Luol Deng and Caron Butler. Popovich tried having Deng play the four and Butler the three, but it wasn't working out. Butler seemed out of sync on the court with the Spurs, and off the court, he was the antithesis of the Spurs' extensive requirements for players' behavior. But it was unfair to blame Butler; expecting someone who would be dealing drugs if not playing ball to act like the perfect child was asking too much. Nevertheless, the Spurs' defense against Yu Fei was spot-on. Perhaps it was too spot-on, and it inadvertently created opportunities for Durant. With Yu Fei being heavily targeted, Durant caused trouble for the Spurs from the perimeter, the mid-range, and even under the basket. Seeing Durant, Popovich seemed to be reminded of the 2003 Yu Fei. Perhaps because he hadn't revisited the painful memory for too long, Popovich thought Durant now seemed stronger than Yu Fei had been. He had forgotten how Yu Fei defeated Duncan in 2003. "Is Michael Jordan the greatest? I don't know. But if Michael is the greatest, then Scottie Pippen, who grew strong by his side, is a strong argument for that," Popovich told reporters, "If you want to know if Frye has surpassed Michael, just look at Kevin Durant. The greatest one always elevates those around them, so if KD surpasses Scottie in ten years, then Frye has surpassed Michael." By the end of 2008, the League seemed poised for a change of eras. The GOAT debate was becoming more fierce, with not just media and fans, but even those in the league who had competed against Jordan starting to weigh in. Yu Fei's views on GOAT did not gain support, because every generation believes that what they witness is the best. Therefore, whenever Yu Fei attended an away game, there would be fans with unknown motives provoking him with Jordan's GOAT poster. Then, their opponents would comment on the GOAT issue after the game. At the same time, Kobe was recovering from finger surgery, James's carried dribbles were under intense scrutiny, Howard's Magic were quietly becoming the best team in the Eastern Conference, while the Bucks were disheartened by Kevin Martin's injury. Meanwhile, Wade and Anthony were filled with grievances, both believing they deserved better teams. Iverson had been traded, unhappy in Denver, and McGrady was criticized for not training hard enough. Duncan and Nowitzki were ignored, as they had fallen out of the top competitive circle. A golden era belonging to the past was drawing to a close. But at least one-third of this golden era was dominated by Yu Fei's name, and yet in many people's eyes, he should belong to the next era.