Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

James said he had encountered worse things in Las Vegas, which hinted that what Yu Fei did to him was more excessive than what happened tonight.

But he spoke too soon.

When an extraordinary event occurs, not only do the fans need time to accept it, but so do the influential opinion leaders who can stir the public discourse.

July is the most important month of the offseason for the NBA. They not only wrap up the previous season's finale (the championship parade) but also hold various meetings to prepare for the next season, along with the summer league, which allows teams to test their newly drafted rookies.

However, James's "Decision" suddenly became the theme of the month.

David Stern's behind-the-scenes efforts to prevent the special program from happening were in vain. The result was as bad as he had feared, and he had to come out and explain a few things.

"Concerning LeBron's departure from Cleveland, I have a few things to clarify. Firstly, he certainly has the right to make such a decision. I think he is both an excellent player and a very good person. If he had sought my advice in advance, I might have suggested that he inform Cleveland earlier, even if he did not announce where he was going, so that we could avoid this situation. I would also have advised him not to produce the so-called 'Decision' program. I think the advice he received on this was wrong. His performance was outstanding. His honesty and integrity were obvious. But this decision was unwise, poorly produced, and poorly executed. Those interested in this had already received our opinions before it aired."

Professional media personnel keenly sensed a series of subtle criticisms from Stern toward James.

This showed that the league held a negative view of the "Decision."

That's normal, just like when Yu Fei signed a short-term contract that completely disrupted the NBA rookie extension scheme. James's "Decision" directly challenged the principle of "GMs build teams, players play," not to mention that it teamed up the league's second- and third-best players, both at their peaks.

The matter greatly disappointed Jordan, who had always seen James as his successor.

He certainly hoped James would defeat Yu Fei, but not in this way.

It would be like him joining the Trail Blazers after 1990 to defeat the Detroit Pistons. Would that have been commendable?

"Looking back, I definitely wouldn't call up Larry or Magic and then say, 'Hey, let's get together and build a team,'" Jordan said after participating in a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada, "But... times have changed. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but if it were me, I wouldn't have done it."

TNT's Charles Barkley was quick to follow up.

"I won't say LeBron isn't the next Michael because LeBron's target has always been Frye," Barkley loudly criticized on the TNT program, "But he did something Frye would never do, and this will always leave him ashamed in the discussions against Frye. What would Frye do? He would have stayed at home, waiting for Chris Bosh to ask him to lead the way to a championship ring. But LeBron chose to take the shortcut, and in this matter, he became Kobe's Chris Bosh!"

First came the official criticism, then the disapproval from the legends who had always viewed him favorably, and now came media figures like Barkley heating up their shows—of course, the audience loved to watch.

Then, led by Bill Simmons, sports writers took the stage.

As the leading sports writer of his day, Simmons's view on the matter drew considerable attention.

Simmons responded to the expectations and penned a lengthy article, analyzing James's "Decision" like a psychologist.

Included were critiques marked by his personal flair.

"LeBron faced one of the biggest decisions in sports history, with options like 'victory' (Chicago), loyalty (Cleveland), and a chance for eternal greatness (New York). But to my utter surprise, his choice was 'Help!!!!!!' Maybe from the beginning, we cast LeBron in the wrong role. We thought he was that once-in-a-decade prodigy like Frye, but he's not. He's not Magic either; you can't expect him to end a decade-long rivalry with a skyhook in the face of an arch-enemy. He's always yearned for a Kobe Bryant to take on the major responsibilities for him."

Simmons understood James's choice as one that brought him much closer to victory.

But in the end, as a media person who prided himself on being a fan, he wrote from the fans' perspective: "This was LeBron James's ultimate choice. Not Miami, not Cleveland, not Chicago, but the West Coast. This is what he said himself. As someone older than 24, I can't blame him. But as someone who loves basketball, I cannot forgive him."

As a sports writer, Simmons's strength lay in expressing in words what fans felt but couldn't articulate, and he undoubtedly achieved this on the matter.

His article resonated widely.

It also meant that those celebrated in professional basketball circles through their writing began to attack James.

Official criticism, legend disapproval, media mockery, public questioning—James's "Decision" triggered the biggest internet backlash in history.