Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

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"I won't let this kind of thing happen to me."
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If others on the plane weren't wearing headphones, many would have heard this statement.

As one of the few Wizards Team staff who could speak to Yu Fei, Steve Wyche considered Yu Fei an "antisocial personality" in the professional basketball world.

No matter their nature, 99% of NBA players are docile babies during their rookie stage.

How humble was the tyrant Jordan when he entered the league, setting being selected for the All-Star game once as his goal? Before stepping onto the path of evil, Devil King Rodman was a shy big boy who would cry over trophies; even an NBA oddball like Jabbar showed no signs of 'disease' in his first two years in Milwaukee.

Yu Fei was a different being.

He was high-profile, flamboyant, full of spikes, unruly, whether you're Michael Jordan or Collins, anyone who tried to educate him found he had his own logic to defend himself.

This turned Yu Fei into an alternative existence within the Wizards Team.

The last rookie who was perceived as difficult was Bill Walton in 1974; before him, it was Wizards' legend Elvin Hayes.

Huai Qi did not understand Walton, but he understood Hayes.

The man who made every coach and teammate who worked with him have a headache, the freak who would collapse mentally due to his emotions, and who could give up on a game over a minor issue, even being humiliated by an inferior horse in the playoffs and not caring... Was it really fair to compare Yu Fei to someone like Hayes?

Wyche reflected for a moment, but he decided to maintain his judgment.

The terror of Hayes didn't lie in his habitual court collapses, but in his uncontrollable personality. His pitiful character always led to mental breakdowns, while Yu Fei had sharp energy, adept at diverting it by venting dissatisfaction with the outside world. Both styles could lead to the same outcome.

Yu Fei and Wyche exchanged no further words.

Until the plane landed, and the announcement came over the broadcast, Yu Fei woke from a light sleep, "Are we there?"

"Yes," Wyche asked, "Did you sleep well?"

"Pretty well, thanks for asking." Yu Fei stood up, ready to retrieve his luggage, "Hope we win tonight."

Wyche watched Yu Fei.

At least for now, Yu Fei seemed to be a very approachable young man.

Just like Elvin Hayes, when not playing, Hayes was generous and charming, who would regularly visit orphanages every month and play with the children.

But in professional sports, what's most important is performance; if you do something as normal as Vince Carter going to your alma mater for a graduation ceremony on the day of a do-or-die playoff game, and then lose that crucial game at night, you'll be pointed at by thousands.

So, the most important thing is performance, so work hard, Frye, at least be the opposite of Elvin Hayes if you really want to compete with Jordan.

There were quite a few media outside the airport; after all, this was Jordan's first visit to Boston since his comeback.

Only at times like this could Yu Fei and his teammates feel the advantage of being Jordan's teammates - being ignored by the media, who only wanted to interview Jordan.

The media in Boston had been hyping up the showdown between Jordan and Pierce, but the Wizards' coaches were very pragmatic.

Especially old assistant coach Johnny Bach, who had worked with Jordan for many years: "I don't think you can expect Michael to defend Pierce and then do everything we expect of him on offense. That would wear him out. He could do it when he was young, but it's difficult now. I believe he will match up with Pierce in the game, but we'll make sure it doesn't happen too soon."

"If Michael doesn't guard Paul, who do you plan to put on Paul?"

Bach's eyes flickered, and he said with a light smile, "I think Frye might give it a try."

Bach's wishful thinking was just that, wishful.

Yu Fei was not included in tonight's starting lineup.

Doug Collins' "secret weapon" for Pierce was Tyronn Nesby.

As the player who trained hardest aside from Yu Fei in the Wizards team, and one of the several loyal dogs that utterly worshiped Jordan, letting him start wouldn't cause any discomfort for Jordan.

As for whether he could guard Pierce, that wasn't something Collins was concerned about.

If someone wanted to assume how Pierce would rip apart Nesby on offense, then Collins would play the "trust Jordan" card, even though he hadn't really played a Jordan-style game since the comeback, but who could be sure it wouldn't be tonight?

As before, Yu Fei arrived at the Fleet Center two hours before the game to get a feel for the court.

Accompanying him were Kwame Brown and Chris Whitney.

"It's fine if you guys like to warm up early, but why drag me into it?" Whitney was now labeled "Yu Fei's best buddy," but he really didn't want that identity.

"Uncle, stop complaining. Want to guess a riddle?" Brown asked excitedly.

Whitney rolled his eyes, "Okay, as long as it's not something like what's 1+1..."

"Tell me, what's big and hard and can make a woman scream non-stop?" Brown asked wickedly.

Yu Fei looked speechless, thinking, here he goes again.

Whitney revealed a "those who know, know" smile, "Young man, you're still young..."

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