Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

On Christmas Eve, the Supersonics played against the Lakers as the visiting team. At the beginning of December, Kobe returned to the lineup, and the Lakers switched from a stumbling state to championship mode. For the Lakers, the main disadvantage of this season was Kidd's aging, and the second major problem was Jermaine O'Neal's uncontrollable injuries. At the start of the season, with Kobe out, Little O was given greater responsibility. As a former top post player in the League, Little O once averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds per game, but the good times didn't last long. His body clearly couldn't sustain such pressure for long. As the Lakers' second-highest paid player with a salary close to 20 million US dollars, he suffered a fracture in mid-November that would keep him out for several months. Just when outsiders thought the Lakers would be at the bottom of the Western standings before Kobe's return, Marc Gasol, who had proven himself at the recent Olympics, gave the Lakers a pleasant surprise. Little Gasol might not have the elegant talent of his brother, but he possessed the physicality of the European big men, solid fundamentals, and great awareness of the game. For Phil Jackson, he was an ideal pivot for the Triangle Offense. Little Gasol quickly moved ahead of Bynum in the competition to become the Lakers' starter, currently averaging 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, acclaimed as the biggest steal of the 2007 draft. For Little O, this might have been a huge irony. He had been the Lakers' most immediate post threat, but he was quickly replaced after the injury. With Kobe's return, the Lakers' frontcourt relied on the twin towers of Little Gasol and Bynum, Artest at the small forward, and Kobe and Kidd on the perimeter, forming a roster that could sweep most teams in the League. Moreover, today's Kobe, unlike last season's injury-laden version, was fully fit. One could say this Lakers team was stronger than last season's. They had the makings of a championship contender. But this also was their misfortune. Because their opponents hadn't just stood by watching them grow stronger. The Supersonics too had become stronger. Third-year player Brandon Roy was developing into the League's premier guard, and Durant was averaging 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, with shooting splits of 50+42+84. The growth of the second-in-command and the acceleration of the superstar's evolution were enough to offset the Lakers' improvement. Moreover, Yu Fei was having the most efficient season of his career. In terms of statistics, this season's Yu might not compare to his triple-double averages during his Bucks days or the crazy 36+10+9 during his solo core year. Due to sharing many ball-handling duties with Roy, plus Durant also taking up a significant portion of the offensive load, Yu's scoring was at its lowest since his rookie season, currently averaging 27 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 block, and 2 steals per game, with shooting splits of 57+44+86. For those who study statistics, this was unprecedented efficiency. Yu's data, unlike those prior to 1984 that had no game footage to corroborate and were solely based on unidentified statistical tables, were verifiable for every game. Considering this, ESPN's statistical expert Hollinger (creator of PER) said, "What's terrifying is that Fei might be attaining these numbers using only sixty to seventy percent of his effort. The regular season for him has become a game played at his leisure." Therefore, there's a view that Roy's maturity and Durant's accelerated evolution were tied to Yu's historically efficient performance. Thanks to Yu's presence, Roy, with his 6 assists per game, didn't have to worry about organizing the team because there was someone else with a lower usage rate yet dishing out 10 assists per game – Yu Fei. Durant also wasn't the main focus of opponents, as for the Supersonics' rivals, Yu and Roy posed more danger than Durant did. It was this well-defined trio of superstars that forged the Supersonics' impressive 26-3 record before the Christmas showdown. The Christmas battle between the Supersonics and the Lakers captivated the attention of over nine million Americans. After the 2005 Spurs and Pacers finals set a new low in League viewership, and the NBA suffered a loss of audience and tarnished its image two years later due to the heavy blow dealt by Donaghy to its reputation, Yu Fei and the Supersonics became a shining beacon. It was the right time with the right team and the right person creating a chemical reaction. In the world of basketball, a force seemed to be pushing Yu Fei to the summit. Jordan's devotees, including ABC commentator Doug Collins, said before the game, "Under Fei's leadership, the Seattle Supersonics lead the entire League with a 26-3 record. Their opponents tonight, the Los Angeles Lakers, are in second place with only a 20-9 record. The gap between the first and second in the League is astounding. It's even more remarkable when you compare it to the Charlotte Bobcats, who are on the opposite end of the spectrum with a dismal 3-26 record, the worst in the League." You really could feel some seals starting to loosen. The consensus that "Jordan is the Greatest of All Time, and there's no debate" was starting to be questioned. Even the stance of someone like Collins, who in 'The Last Dance' described Jordan with the phrase "If you want to beat Michael, you'd have to cut off his legs, and yet he'd still crawl over and bite you," became suspicious. While some tried to move Jordan's monument, there were those who defended it. TNT's Charles Barkley, Jordan's brother to this day, when he heard TNT guest Brent Barry (Yu's former teammate, now retired) say, "The Supersonics led by Big Fei are greater than the 1996 Bulls," immediately checked the records, then rebutted, "Brent, your math teacher would be angry if he heard that. The Bulls of the same period lost one less game than the Supersonics. Even if the difference is tiny, that Bulls team is still the best." Then, Barry started talking about the evolution of the game. Barkley laughed and said, "It's only been five years since Michael last played, and we all know he would be successful in this era too." So, Barry turned the discussion to the competitiveness of the league. This was his most compelling argument because, in 1996, with the older generation of stars having retired and rising stars like Coleman and Weber's development having stalled, the league was still dominated by the 1984 golden generation. The league was expanding around this time, which vastly diluted the talent pool, resulting in fewer competitive teams. Not only did that season have the 72-win Bulls, but there were also two teams with 60 wins and another team with 59 wins. When a season sees multiple teams with 60 wins, the most counter-intuitive fact is that it's likely not because the team strengths are overwhelmingly powerful, but because the league's competitiveness is weak. Barry made sense, but, you know, Barkley's a media person now. To defend his position and spice up the show, he could easily strap bombs onto his buddies and blow it up with Barry. "Enough, Brent, if you want to talk about competitiveness, then it's the competition of today that's lacking! There weren't any teams with 3 wins and 26 losses on Christmas night in 1995!" Even someone with Jordan's extreme egocentrism wouldn't get angry with Barkley for using his Bobcats as an example and blowing themselves up in the process. Because the essence of the topic was to defend the historical status of the '96 Bulls. Barry lost the debate due to his lack of skill in researching data. If he had looked for data like Barkley did, he would have found two things: on Christmas night in 1995, the NBA indeed didn't have a team with 3 wins and 26 losses, but they had the 4-win Grizzlies and the 5-win 76ers. This was a symbol of the Greatest of All Time contention heating up. When Yu's supporters point out Yu Fei's strengths and power, Joe's supporters immediately counter. And since both sides have solid achievements, the only thing Joe's supporters admit Jordan is inferior to Yu Fei in is three-pointers. But while they admit it, they also claim, "If Jordan played today, his three-pointers would be more accurate than Yu Fei's." From television media to newspapers to online forums and to every corner offline, wherever there are basketball fans, there is debate, and 90% of it is about "44 VS 23". This has become a cultural phenomenon extending beyond the world of sports. But for the Lakers' number 24, he had a doubt. Why was this ultimate topic irrelevant to him? Duncan only had two rings; Shaquille O'Neal was no longer advancing. Kobe, who just turned 30, was the remnant of an old era but also the only one who might shake Yu Fei's dominance. Tonight, Kobe shone with his most criticized trait - his greatest games were almost always in the regular season. In the Christmas battle against the SuperSonics, Kobe dropped 50 points on the SuperSonics. But what brought the nearly ten million fans watching TV to a climax was Fei's 51-point response. The two had dozens of one-on-one battles in the game; just their matchups alone could be edited into a highlight reel spanning over ten minutes. This was Kobe's call to arms. Number 24 deserved to enter the eternal debate of the basketball world. But it was Brandon Roy's 30 points that decided the game from the sidelines. When the absolute core players tie, the performance of their lieutenants decides everything. Durant was locked down by Artest, but Roy? He was unstoppable. This Christmas battle, the most attention-grabbing in twenty years, ended with a narrow victory for the SuperSonics. After the game, Fei and Kobe bumped into each other. "See you in Seattle." Fei was referring to the rematch with the Lakers at home in February next year. Kobe, full of pride, said, "I'll drop 60 points by then." "Then I will get 61 points," Fei responded. Kobe walked to the scene where ABC's reporters had been waiting a long time. "Many say this is the greatest game they've ever witnessed. Kobe, what do you think?" "I don't want a game where I end up the loser to be considered the greatest." "You and Frye were the stars tonight, how do you think he performed?" "Outstanding," said Kobe confidently, "but I didn't lose." "The GOAT debate between Frye and Michael has become the greatest debate of the past decade, which side do you stand on?" Kobe's gaze flashed as he spoke resoundingly, "I choose number 24."